NEW YORK _ The words sounded both somber and defeated.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke out once again on a mass shooting, the latest involving a man killing 11 people on Saturday with three pistols and a semi-automatic rifle at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. It marked the deadliest attack on Jewish people in the history of the United States.
"It's just devastating," Kerr said before the Warriors (5-1) played the Brooklyn Nets (2-3) on Sunday. "I just expect it now, and that's the sad thing."
Kerr then cited a television interview he watched of a student following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas on May 18. When the interviewer asked the student if she was shocked, Kerr recalled the student replied that "I expected this would happen at some point."
"Nothing surprises me anymore," Kerr said. "There are shootings at schools and churches and synagogues. Malls, movie theaters. We need our leaders to step up and unite the country with the appropriate words and appropriate actions. We're not getting that right now. It's frustrating."
Kerr has spoken out about the need for stronger gun control in the past year after mass shootings in Las Vegas, at both a high school and church in Texas and at a high school in Parkland, Fla. Each time, Kerr has decried the government's unwillingness to make it harder for people to purchase a gun. He also has critiqued the NRA's strong influence on public policy surrounding this issue.
Kerr repeated that message with the Nov. 6 mid-term elections in mind.
"I want to urge everybody to get out and vote on Nov. 6," Kerr said. "Everybody has their own issues that are important to them. My personal issue is gun safety and gun control. Nobody in this country should have a semi-automatic. It's a weapon of war. That's my personal belief."
Kerr has strong political beliefs and has often criticized President Donald Trump for his divisive rhetoric. But Kerr's beliefs also partly stem from his childhood. His late father, Malcolm, was an American academic who specialized in Middle Eastern affairs before he was assassinated in Beirut in 1984 in an act of terrorism.
"I'm going to vote for every candidate that's willing to stand up to the NRA and say, 'This is insane,' " Kerr said. "We're murdering each other every day. We have to get rid of bump stocks. We have to get rid of high capacity magazines. We have to get rid of semi-automatic weapons. Other countries don't go through this. That's the issue that's most important to me. Those are the candidates I will be voting for _ the ones willing to stand up and say, 'This is wrong.' "
Kerr also participated in a town-hall style meeting with Rep. Ro Khanna and high school students at Newark Memorial High School in March. Then, Kerr fielded both supportive and pointed questions about gun violence.
"You have to feel comfortable talking about whatever issue you're addressing. Not everybody feels comfortable in certain situations and circumstances," Kerr said. "More and more, you're seeing people in the sports world with athletes and coaches speaking out because the times call for it. It's easy to feel how broken we are right now. Our country is. Everybody can have influence, not just our political leaders, but people who are either well-known figures and have a camera in their face a lot. Or an average citizen being kinder to each other and not spewing hatred on social media."
Kerr later praised his players both for speaking out on social justice issues as well as for their philanthropic efforts. He also singled out Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and NFL players, plenty of whom have knelt during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
"I'm very proud of the players who have spoken out," Kerr said. "As long as you're speaking out in the name of positive social change and you're not spewing further divisive hatred ... more power to you."
