Reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry has an adorable 3-year-old daughter named Riley.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images.
He takes her everywhere he goes.
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.
She’s even been known to take over a press conference or two.
GIF via Ziba Lubaj/YouTube.
Like any father, the thought of losing his daughter to a sudden, tragic act of violence is too terrible for Curry to contemplate.
With Riley in mind, Curry — and several of his NBA colleagues — made a video calling for an end to the unacceptable plague of gun deaths in America.
GIFs by Everytown for Gun Safety/YouTube.
The fear of losing a child to gun violence cuts across the generations.
Later in the video, the Clippers’ Chris Paul talks about growing up with the fear of becoming a statistic.
The Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony is even blunter.
While tragedies like San Bernardino and Sandy Hook grab the headlines — for good reason — this problem goes far beyond high-profile mass shootings.
In 2011, gun violence claimed the lives of over 30,000 Americans. A Bloomberg analysis estimates that more people will be killed by guns in 2015 than in car crashes.
Ending gun violence is often a controversial subject — but it doesn’t have to be.
A makeshift memorial for the victims of the San Bernardino, California, mass shooting. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images.
Any discussion of placing new restrictions or conditions on gun ownership tends to devolve into a shouting match between well-meaning people on both sides. It tends to get very emotional, as issues of life and death often do.
The good news is, we all want the same thing: fewer people killed in shootings.
The better news is, we mostly agree on the first steps toward getting there. An overwhelming majority of Americans support background checks for gun purchases — including a majority of NRA members. A similarly vast majority is in favor of closing the gun-show loophole, which allows firearm sales by private dealers without background checks.
These are common-sense reforms we can all get behind.
Because regardless of where you stand on the issue, the Bulls’ Joakim Noah hits the nail on the head.
Watch the NBA stars — as well as ordinary Americans whose lives have been upended by gun violence — get real about what it’s going to take below.
