Sheryl Crow Debates Gun Control and Freedom of Speech on Twitter
Sheryl Crow is not one to bite her tongue when it comes to serious issues, and she's not backing down after recent online criticism.
Following the mass shooting on Oct. 1 at Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, the singer was vocal about the need to hold lawmakers and the NRA accountable. She decried that gun violence was taking away the rights of people due to a lack of regulations, adding that people who do not support an assault weapons ban "cannot claim to be pro-life." Crow finished by calling out politicians who accept financial support from the NRA.
A week later, on Oct. 12, she posted an impassioned message for "the people telling me to shut up and sing.”
"I have a right to express my opinion under the First Amendment, just as you do, whether I am well known or not known at all," she writes in a lengthy note on Twitter. "My 'celebrity' has nothing to do with the way I feel about the future for our children and the safety of our planet."
"I'm expressing my opinion in a peaceful manner without calling anyone names or attacking anyone while hiding behind the name of Jesus or Christianity," she adds. "If you do not agree with my opinions, either thoughtfully engage, or you have the choice to not follow me. I don't agree with the anonymous hate rants that seem to be taking over our Twitter feeds."
She adds that the old "shut up and sing" adage doesn't apply to her as she's spent the better part of two decades singing about injustices "by every president from Clinton to Trump."
"You are not a fan, and do not know anything other than the pop hits, or you would realize that 'shut up and sing' is a cop out," she states.
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