Josh Gad calls for 'sensible gun laws' after Florida school shooting

Actor Josh Gad is calling for “sensible gun laws” in the wake of the deadly shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida — the actor’s hometown.

On Thursday, the Beauty and the Beast actor wrote on Twitter that a family friend’s son had died after being shot at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. “Last night, I received a text while I slept that our friend’s son passed away from his gun shot wound,” he wrote. “My grief for this family and the many others knows no bounds. I’m so sorry this happened. I’m so sorry our leaders are worthless. I’m so sorry we are bound to repeat this again.”

Gad later posted a thread to Twitter, promising to support those who challenge politicians “with NRA money behind them.”

“I have said everything I care to say about the massacre in FL,” Gad wrote. “I have walked the halls of Stoneman Douglass [sic]. I directly know a person trying to pick up the shattered pieces of his life now. I call this community my own. I think all of us know in our hearts something is terribly wrong with the weekly rate of these incidents. I will not lecture any of you on what to believe [or] how to respond. I will only tell you what I am going to do.”

Seventeen people were shot and killed at the Florida high school on Wednesday when a gunman opened fired on school grounds. Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz was taken into custody and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Authorities say he was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic assault-style rifle.

President Donald Trump issued an address on the tragedy from the White House on Thursday, and many viewers were quick to note how he focused the conversation on mental health and avoided all mention of gun control.

“I am going to make it my life’s goal to support and vote for every single person who challenges a politician with NRA money behind them,” Gad continued. “I am going to make sure that I read and educate myself as to why certain people refuse to do anything that resembles sensible gun laws and make sure they face early retirement.”

“I am going to be here as a voice of reason and walk proudly and tall through the echoing winds of madness as we continue to demand action in a familiar sea of inaction,” he continued. “And finally I am going to remember the 17 dead, the many injured, and the thousands of others who have senselessly lost their lives to gun violence and I am going to fight in their name so that other parents and siblings never have to [experience] such trauma. That is what I’m going to do,” Gad concluded his thread. “The question is…what are you going to do?”

Gad is certainly not the first celebrity to use his platform to advocate for stricter gun control laws. Dozens of celebrities called for gun legislation after the Florida shooting, including Elizabeth Banks, Mia Farrow, Stephen King, and Kim Kardashian West.

Banks, Lady Gaga, Sheryl Crow, Gina Rodriguez, and Alyssa Milano were some of the voices speaking out after the Las Vegas shooting that occurred at Mandalay Bay in October. Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and John Slattery joined the conversation in a PSA to #RejectTheNRA.