Country music star Billy Currington, responding to online postings from gun nuts, has decided to back out of his previous commitment to play at a benefit concert for Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit which has the mission to:
“Protect children from gun violence so no other parent experiences the loss of their child.”
The concert, which was organized by Tim McGraw and was to be held in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 17 , was to feature McGraw, Chase Bryant, and Currington. From the minute it was announced, Second Amendment absolutists began to post hateful screeds online. For example:
3 Country musicians holding a concert to benefit an org that wants to take my#guns? #WTF? @TheTimMcGraw@chasebryant @billycurrington
#TimMcGraw: Playing Gun Control Fundraiser for ‘Community’http://t.co/J79cjgZPrfHey Tim, turn ur guns in & go home. You’re a phony! #tcot
Tim McGraw anti guns???? He just lost a fan..
Conservative propaganda website Breitbart painted the benefit concert as a “gun control fundraiser” and erroneously claimed:
“Sandy Hook Promise is a vehicle through which various relatives of Sandy Hook victims have joined to push gun control until it passes.”
Currington, wimping out with record speed as soon as the online comments began, posted this sad excuse for a reason on his Facebook page:
“I’ve never been one to take on controversial issues – I’m a singer. I do feel strongly about honoring and supporting the Sandy Hook community and will be making a donation to a local organization.”
Billy, maybe it’s time you took a stand on something that matters as much as this does. 20 precious children lost their lives at Sandy Hook, along with six adults. At what point do we as a nation stand up and say we will not tolerate the kind of lax gun laws which allow this sort of massacre to take place?
I’m not a country music fan, but if I were, I would most certainly not be listening to Billy Currington ever again. Hey, Billy, how about growing a pair?
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.