Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James called for more gun control in the aftermath of Thursday’s mass murder at an Oregon community college and the killing of a five-month-old in Cleveland by a drive-by shooter.
King James decreed to the press, “There’s no room for guns.”
The four-time MVP initially reserved his frustration for the drive-by shooting in Cleveland that resulted in the death of a baby. He called for more restraint and accountability.
“Obviously you’re not going to be able to take every gun out,” James told the press on Friday. “I don’t know how you can do that.”
James, a relatively apolitical figure early in his basketball career, has increasingly waded into controversies since the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012. He appeared with his Miami Heat teammates wearing hoodies in tribute to Martin in the aftermath of the teen’s killing and wore an “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirt memorializing Staten Island singles-cigarette salesman Eric Garner who died as a result of a physical altercation with police.
“There’s so many around now, today,” James said of guns on Friday. “But if there’s some stipulations behind it or some penalties, some big time penalties or rules or regulations about carrying firearms, legal or illegal, people will second-guess themselves.”
Cleveland enacted new, strict gun-control provisions earlier this year. Umpqua Community College expressly prohibits the possession, use, and brandishing of firearms on its campus.