Steve Spurrier gives impassioned plea following Georgia school shooting
Tragedy struck in Georgia last week when four people were killed in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School on the outskirts of the Atlanta area.
The school’s defensive coordinator, Ricky Aspinwall, was one of the victims, killed at 39 years old.
On Tuesday, former Florida coach Steve Spurrier took the opportunity to speak out on gun violence in America. He made an impassioned plea in the final moments of the Inside the Huddle radio program on WRUF on UF’s campus.
“I want to say something about another coach, as a coach, a former coach myself,” Steve Spurrier said. “The coach in Winder, Georgia, Apalachee High School got killed in that mass shooting. Aspinwall is his name. He’s the D-coordinator there. And everybody says hearts and prayers go out.
“Why in the world in America are you eligible to walk into a gun store and buy an AR-15 rifle? They should have a sign, ‘If you need a gun for mass school shootings, here’s your AR-15. We’ll give you a discount.’ Why don’t they just put that sign up there?”
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The gun used in the shooting was an assault-style rifle, according to law enforcement. The 14-year-old who wielded it managed to kill two teachers and two students before surrendering to Apalachee High School resource officers.
But the tragedy has left a sizeable hole in the community.
Steve Spurrier seemed to indicate that that incident — and future ones like it — might be prevented if America had a better handle on assault-style weapons.
“That’s the only thing they’re used for,” Steve Spurrier said. “You don’t need them for self-defense. And yet we sit here and say blah, blah, blah. We’re messed up in America to allow sick people to have these guns. And it ain’t going to stop. It ain’t going to stop until they get all these guns out of the way. You can carry a six-shooter, protect yourself, which we’re all for.
“But these AR-15s are for mass shootings in the schools, and we sit here and allow it to happen in America. Makes me sick. All right, I’ve said my piece.”