Jack White has joined a chorus of renewed calls for gun control following the shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead. In a statement posted to Instagram, the artist called for “new rules” that “save lives and protect us from serious harm.”
“As we tour in Texas these past few days, I can’t help but to feel saddened in so many ways about the latest in a long line of mass shootings, but mostly I’m exhausted,” White began his statement. “Exhausted with the ignorant excuses about the inability to fix this problem, exhausted with people clinging to their political party or their ‘side’ instead of looking at the issue. Exhausted with people whining about their ‘freedom’ being more important than rules that help save lives.”
The musician continued: “Like the traffic light on the road, and the warning label on poison, or the regulation of who can buy sticks of dynamite or own a surface to air missile, we already have rules, haven’t you noticed? So how about a few more rules then that ALSO save lives and protect us from harm? Maybe rules that save your own children or loved ones lives some day?” Read the full statement below.
White joins the likes of Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift in publicly mourning the Uvalde shooting. In the days following the event, the NRA was forced to cancel its “Grand Ole Night of Freedom” concert — set to take place in Houston — after all of the artists scheduled to perform dropped off the bill. Meanwhile, Netflix added a disclaimer to the beginning of Season 4 of Stranger Things, warning that “viewers may find the opening scene of episode 1 distressing.”
Jack White is in the midst of a lengthy tour in support of the two albums he’s set to release this year, Fear of the Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive. He delivered a riveting kickoff show in Detroit last month, which included an impromptu wedding between himself and his girlfriend Olivia Jean. Later this year, he’ll perform at Ohana Fest, Primavera Sound Latin America, and Music Midtown, and he’ll also appear on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic. Grab tickets to all of his remaining dates via Ticketmaster.
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