Steve Kerr Calls Florida Teens Advocating for Gun Control ‘Heroic’

Steve Kerr has long been passionate about gun control.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Thursday that the efforts of the teenagers leading the nation’s gun control debate are “heartbreaking but inspiring all at once.”

Several survivors of the school shooting in Florida last week spoke at a town hall meeting with Senator Marco Rubio on Wednesday night and pressed him on issues such as campaign donations from the NRA. 

Kerr, whose father was assassinated in Lebanon in 1984 and has long been an advocate for gun control, praised the students’ efforts while meeting with reporters on Thursday. (You can watch Kerr’s comments here.)

“I think it’s phenomenal,” Kerr said. “I think what those kids are doing is heroic. It’s heartfelt. And I think it’s the beginning of some change—I really believe that. I’m amazed any time I see them on TV or online. It’s heartbreaking but inspiring all at once.

“I feel very encouraged. We’ve got a generation that’s grown up with these school shootings and mass shootings and they’re fed up. Historically, it’s the young generation that has to initiate change. You think about the Vietnam War. All the old white guys who kept sending the troops off to fight this ridiculous war. And all the young people who protested had to make change, create change. And so it’s the young people in the county now who are going to create the change we need in terms of how we handle gun violence, and how we do our best to curb it. It’s amazing to watch them.”