Conservatives are enraged over this week’s announcement that country music legend Tim McGraw will be headlining a benefit concert for Sandy Hook Promise, an organization founded in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, with the mission of protecting children from gun violence.
A press release on McGraw’s website announced that benefit is scheduled for July 17, 2015 at the XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut, and “one-hundred percent of the net proceeds of this special event will benefit Sandy Hook Promise.”
“Out of this tragedy a group was formed that made a promise to honor the lives lost and turn it into a moment of transformation,” said McGraw. “Sandy Hook Promise teaches that we can do something to protect our children from gun violence. I want to be a part of that promise – as a father and as a friend.”
According to the release,
This cause is close to Tim’s heart, as it is to the fiddle player in his touring band, Dean Brown, a longtime friend to Mark Barden, a musician and father of a child, who was killed in the 2012 tragedy. “I look forward to being a part of a night of hope and promise and music that will help continue the great work that Sandy Hook Promise is doing,” said Brown.
“We are humbled that Tim would do this for us,” said Barden. “Dean and his wife Cindy helped my wife and I through our darkest hour and helped buoy our spirits. It meant more than words could ever say.
As one might expect, reaction from conservatives has been negative with Right Wing News calling the benefit an “anti-constitution concert,” adding:
Fans of country singer Tim McGraw might be surprised that a country singer is heading an anti-gun concert to benefit some anti-gun groups in Connecticut on July 17. But don’t be too surprised. McGraw is a big Obama man and has already announced his support of Hillary Clinton.
Breitbart characterized the concert as a “gun-control fundraiser,” complaining that
Gun control renders law-abiding citizens defenseless, but it does nothing to stop criminals from carrying out their treachery. Because of this, the money McGraw and Currington raise will ultimately succeed in making it harder for law-abiding citizens to acquire and carry the guns they need for self-defense.
While McGraw’s Facebook announcement of the event remained relatively unscathed, his Twitter announcement is a pretty even mix of tweets supporting the event and those criticizing McCraw as being un-American, anti-Constitution, and anti-gun.
Curiously, Sandy Hook Promise’s work does not include any gun control measures. Rather, as their Mission Statement notes, their aim is to:
1) Protect children from gun violence so no other parent experiences the loss of their child by engaging and empowering parents and communities with targeted prevention programs in the areas of mental wellness early-identification & intervention, social & emotional development and firearm safety & security.
2) Help our community through this tragedy by providing resources and programs that foster connection, resiliency and overall wellness. [emphasis added]
McGraw’s own announcement notes that Sandy Hook Promise’s “sole purpose is to protect children from gun violence by providing and empowering parents and communities with mental wellness and gun safety programs that help identify, intervene and stop at-risk individuals from hurting themselves or others so no other parent experiences the senseless, horrific loss of their child.”
o donate directly to Sandy Hook Promise go to www.sandyhookpromise.org.
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