Month: February 2023

Drake’s love of gambling has been well-documented over the years. The Toronto hitmaker is known for placing insanely expensive bets at various sporting events. Most recently, the rapper bet nearly half $1 million — $400k to be exact — for Youtuber turned boxing star Jake Paul to knock out Tommy Fury in their upcoming bout.

Paul and Fury will fight today (Sunday, February 26) at the Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia. “Knock knock @stake,” the rapper wrote in an Instagram post.

However, unlike his success in music, he isn’t always lucky when it comes to making bets. The last fighter he bet on, UFC fighter Israel Adesanya, cost him $ 2 million.

But in Drake’s case, it’s more than a case of bad luck. It’s been floated around that an alleged curse follows the rapper. The hilarious notion (but very accurate in some cases) has become its own phenomenon. It always starts the same. Drake ends up rooting for a specific sports team or individual, and they inevitably lose.

That doesn’t mean the “Rich Flex” rapper hasn’t had some big wins in the past. Following Super Bowl LVII, Drake won $1.4 million after placing a 700k bet that the Kansas City Chiefs would defeat the Philadelphia Eagles.

Lizzo declared 2023 would be the year of SZA, and it looks like she may be right. Not only did news break today (February 26), that the singer’s sophomore album, SOS, earned nearly 3 billion streams on Spotify, but it also is celebrating its tenth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

When the album first reached the top of the charts, the recording artist took to Twitter to post about what the professional accomplishment meant to her. “I appreciate every milestone and accolade but this? As a writer means so f*cking much to me. I aspire to be a better writer every day. Thank you. Wow,” she wrote.

Last month, SZA joined Adele and Taylor Swift as the only women artists to have an album spend at least seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this century.

Meanwhile, SZA is currently on her album’s supporting tour with featured guest Grammy Award-nominated singer Omar Apollo. View the remaining tour dates below.

02/27 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
02/28 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
03/02 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
03/04 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/07 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
03/09 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
03/10 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
03/13 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
03/14 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
03/16 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
03/18 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
03/19 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
03/22 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Two of the best teams in women’s college hoops met on Sunday afternoon in Iowa City and gave fans an absolute thriller deserving of a near-March top-10 matchup.

Second-ranked Indiana went on the road to face No. 6 Iowa in a huge Big Ten showdown, and there was nothing to separate the two teams through 39-plus minutes, as they were deadlocked at 83-83 with five seconds to play. Indiana would inbound the ball to Mackenzie Holmes in the post who spun to the paint and drew a foul that did not please the Iowa faithful who had gathered in a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye arena.

Holmes would knock down both free throws to give the Hoosiers a two-point lead with just over a second on the clock. Iowa would advance the ball with a timeout, setting up a chance for heroics from their star guard Caitlin Clark — who had 31 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists going into the final play of the game. Clark would peel around a pair of screens to the ball on the right wing, and in one motion spun and fired up a game-winning three that rattled home, sending the Iowa crowd into an absolute frenzy.

It was just the latest highlight from Clark in a career that will go down as one of the best in Iowa athletics history (in any sport), as she continues to make her case for Player of the Year, bumping up her 27 points per game scoring average with the 34-point effort in a win over the No. 2 team in the country. While South Carolina looks to be a juggernaut and is unquestionably the team to beat, once the NCAA Tournament arrives a player like Clark who is capable of catching fire, will give Iowa a chance against any team.

The Jonas Brothers are really burning up as they continue to make the most of their musical return. If the sibling trio’s latest single, “Wings,” wasn’t enough to excite fans, their Broadway residency next month surely will.

Although the JoBros forthcoming album, appropriately titled, The Album, isn’t set to be released until May, that isn’t stopping them from taking the big stage for a crowd of their most loyal supporters. The residency will take place from March 14 to May 18, at the Marquis Theatre.

While it is not clear as to what the act will perform, it is rumored that one, not all, of their past albums (2007’s Jonas Brothers, 2008’s A Little Bit Longer, 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times, or 2019’s Happiness Begins) will make up the entirety of the set. Maybe they will preview tracks from The Album or, at the bare minimum, perform their new single, “Wings.”

When discussing their new single, in a statement, the family said, “[this song] is the perfect start to this new chapter for us. The song is a great first taste of that creative exploration and what’s to come with The Album.”

All ticket buyers must be registered for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Onsale. Those who are selected to receive an access code will be able to purchase tickets starting March 1st. To sign up for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Onsale, click here.

Dreaming of a jungle oasis destination festival? Jungle Dreaming Festival offers just that (literally, it’s in the name). With core principles rooted in culture and community, the new event hopes to not only connect music lovers from around the world for three days of a dreamy jungle experience but also push forward issues of sustainability.

The inaugural Jungle Dreaming Festival will be held at The Park at Ocean Ranch in Jaco, Costa Rica on March 17th-19 — an 850-acre paradise boasting a canopy zipline, waterfall rappelling, horseback riding, and swimming holes galore. Attendees can expect two stages of multicultural music from the likes of The Glitch Mob, Stanton Warriors, David Starfire, Treavor Moontribe, An-Ten-Nae, Josh Teed, and nearly 30 Costa Rican artists. In addition to the music, the festival will offer a series of workshops tailored towards further awareness and education of the natural world, fire performances, live art, and more. Most crucially, the event is donating 100% of all net profits to two environmental charities that positively impact the country.

We sat down to chat with the founder of Jungle Dreaming Festival, Lilith Klassen, to talk about how she hopes to bring sustainability, awareness, and community-building to the heart of Costa Rica next month.

***

We’re one month away from the inaugural Jungle Dreaming Festival. What inspired you to take on and plan such an event? What role does the local Jaco community play in the event?

I was actually looking to create an event at this capacity in Guatemala when I was living there and for whatever reason, it just wasn’t flowing how I envisioned it. I found Ocean Park Ranch in Costa Rica and it was so perfect. As a family-run business that manages the property, the whole land is maintained through natural remedies and medicines, from mosquito repellent to waste management and more. Everything just kind of fell into place and it helped us stay true to our vision of creating such an event.

The place allows us to host a true Costa Rican jungle experience, it’s so profoundly moving even just walking the grounds here. It’s a little piece of paradise they’ve been able to maintain throughout the decades. One of the stages is being completely built by the locals and we also have lower ticket prices for locals. We’re placing an emphasis on building up the community here, so most of the vendors and workers are locals first and then we bring in international workers. We’re bringing in an event where locals can work and get paid well and feel good. We hope to continue to grow and build this throughout the years and fill out that 850-acre space.

Even in its first year, you’re expecting to donate all the proceeds to two environmental charities that impact the region. Can you tell me more about these organizations and what prompted you to make this a charitable event?

I believe in conservation and environmental protection. We wanted to make sure that this event would not only be joining the community together but also bring awareness and education. We’re going to be holding workshops that educate attendees on sustainable practices they can enact in their homes that are actually effective. That’s why this festival is so important to donate all the proceeds to environmental protection agencies that impact the region. Jacó Impact directly helps the Jaco community by helping people in need, feeding the locals, rescuing abused animals, and strategizing beach cleanups. Asociación ANAI is on the Caribbean coast and has 40 years of coral reef restoration, rainforest protection, and the largest animal sanctuary in all of Costa Rica.

I think the biggest problem right now is that we’re a throwaway consumer culture where even our recycling isn’t getting recycled because we have trash mixed into it. We just need to reduce what we’re putting out there and be aware of our impact. Being aware of this, we’re trying to enact all environmentally friendly measurements. We found a sustainable water source that also sells water bottles in reusable plastic bottles. We’re also asking our vendors to use banana leaves instead of plates and encouraging attendees to bring their own reusable utensils and cutlery where they can wash them onsite. We want to make sure we’re not creating waste onsite and producing this event as sustainably as possible. It’s really not so much about the festival but about awareness and what we can all do in our daily lives and during the festival.

For people who aren’t familiar with Costa Rica or destination festivals as a whole, what do you hope people get out of this experience?

This is one of the few places where we can unite as a community. Unity is one thing that is kind of lacking right now throughout the world. We’re tribal creatures and we’re meant to be in a community and live in harmony. The reason why I’ve always placed an emphasis on making events affordable and allowing kids 16 and under for free is that it’s hard being that age. You don’t necessarily have a connection or community quite yet. Fire spinning, music, art, and connection saved me when I was that age. When you expose teenagers to that sense of wonderment and that there is community and connection out there, it can make a huge difference.

[At this point, Klassen’s child, Fox Cade-Klassen chimed in from the background.]

We want people to leave with a feeling of hope for our world and a profound sense of wonder and awe. I want people to realize there is still hope if we actually work together and we can make a positive change.I think it’s important for people to experience festivals and community even if they don’t have the financial bandwidth.

[Lilith Klassen continues.]

Throwing a festival shouldn’t be about making a profit. It should be about letting the community experience an event like that and bringing people together for a good cause. There are a lot of people who would benefit from attending festivals and community-oriented events like this that get shut out due to the cost. I don’t think all the money in the world is worth not having a community. Money is worthless without a community of people.

For tickets and additional information on Jungle Dreaming Festival, click here.

Last week, social media erupted in fury when it was revealed dozens of Roald Dahl children’s books were being dramatically revised to remove some of their nastier and more problematic bits. The uproar was such that the publisher decided to make both versions available. Now something similar is happening to Ian Fleming’s oft-dicey James Bond books.

As per The Sunday Telegraph, Ian Fleming Publications, which owns the literary rights to its namesake’s work, has hired “sensitivity readers” to pore over such tomes as Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger as the character nears its 70th anniversary. Their target doesn’t appear to be as widespread as the ones for Dahl. Instead of zapping all the outdated mores, such as 007’s casual sexism, they’re specifically targeting the more racist passages.

The books, which will be republished in April, will still carry a warning. “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace,” it will read. “A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set.”

Not all of Fleming’s books are riddled with racial dodginess. That is, they’re not all at the level of 1954’s Live and Let Die, where the baddie, Mr. Big, is a Black Jamaican with ties to the American criminal underworld. The film version, which was made at the height of the Blaxploitation era, removed or toned down some of Fleming’s more outlandish passages, such as white characters complaining about how they can no longer hang in Harlem.

Will news of the Bond bowdlerization be met with the same backlash as the Roald Dahl news, which was condemned by both the right and the left? Time will tell. But some people did point out that removing racism from Fleming’s Bond books will make some of them awfully shorter.

Meanwhile, Eon Productions, which owns the rights to the Bond film franchise, are still figuring out who will replace Daniel Craig, who’s been done with the gig for over three years. For years there was talk of casting Idris Elba in the role, but some people in the industry are sure the next Bond won’t be Black.

(Via The Sunday Telegraph)

This article originally appeared on 02.09.21

At 1:30 am on Monday morning an AMBER Alert went out in southern Louisiana about a missing 10-year-old girl from New Iberia. It was believed she had been kidnapped and driven away in a 2012 silver Nissan Altima.

A few hours later at 7 am, Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine, sanitation workers for Pelican Waste, were on their daily route when they noticed a vehicle that fit the description in the alert.

The sanitation workers thought it was suspicious that a silver sedan was parked alone in a field in St. Martin Parish.

“Something told me, like just look, I said what is that car doing in that field like that? What the car doing? Guess what, that’s the dude with the little girl,” Merrick said in a Facebook Live video. “That’s God.”

The video has been seen over 1.5 million times since it was posted on Monday morning.

To prevent the possible kidnapper from escaping, they parked the large sanitation truck the wrong way on the highway to “Make sure they couldn’t get out,” Merrick said. Then, they called 911.

When police arrived they arrested Michael R. Sereal, the man whose car was mentioned in the AMBER Alert. The police were also able to safely recover the girl who appeared unharmed. She was later taken to the hospital to be evaluated by medical personnel.

The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Department’s online sex offender registry has a Michael Roy Sereal but authorities wouldn’t confirm it’s the same man.

The young girls’ family got in touch with the two men who saved her and have shown amazing gratitude. “I’m just so happy and blessed that I have actually seen the car and we actually responded like we were supposed to respond,” Merrick told KHOU.

Merrick hopes that his actions will inspire others to be proactive as well. “Don’t be scared if you see something. If you know something is wrong, report it,” Merrick said. “Call authorities because it could save someone’s life.”

The two men were applauded by the St. John Parish’s Sheriff, who offered to buy them lunch.

“I was just doing my job man. I was just doing my job and actually came across somebody who needed help,” Merrick said. “Got me tearing up.”

The AMBER Alert system was created in 1996 after nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and murdered while riding her bike in Texas. Since its inception, nearly seven in 10 AMBER alert cases have resulted in children being successfully reunited with their parents.

In 17% of the cases, the child’s recovery is a direct result of the alert.

As of December 2020, 1,029 children rescued specifically because of the system.

This article originally appeared on 01.28.21

If you’ve never seen a Maori haka performed, you’re missing out.

The Maori are the indigenous peoples of New Zealand, and their language and customs are an integral part of the island nation. One of the most recognizable Maori traditions outside of New Zealand is the haka, a ceremonial dance or challenge usually performed in a group. The haka represents the pride, strength, and unity of a tribe and is characterized by foot-stamping, body slapping, tongue protrusions, and rhythmic chanting.

Haka is performed at weddings as a sign of reverence and respect for the bride and groom and are also frequently seen before sports competitions, such as rugby matches.

The intensity of the haka is the point. It is meant to be a show of strength and elicit a strong response—which makes seeing a tiny toddler learning to do it all the more adorable.

Here’s an example of a rugby haka:

Danny Heke, who goes by @focuswithdan on TikTok, shared a video of a baby learning haka and omigosh it is seriously the most adorable thing. When you see most haka, the dancers aren’t smiling—their faces are fierce—so this wee one starting off with an infectious grin is just too much. You can see that he’s already getting the moves down, facial expressions and all, though.

@focuswithdan When you grow up learning haka! #haka #teachthemyoung #maori #māori #focuswithdan #fyp #foryou #kapahaka ♬ original sound – 𝕱𝖔𝖈𝖚𝖘𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍𝕯𝖆𝖓

As cute as this video is, it’s part of a larger effort by Heke to use his TikTok channel to share and promote Maori culture. His videos cover everything from the Te Reo Maori language to traditional practices to issues of prejudice Maori people face.

Here he briefly goes over the different body parts that make up haka:

@focuswithdan

♬ Ngati – Just2maori

This video explains the purerehua, or bullroarer, which is a Maori instrument that is sometimes used to call rains during a drought.

@focuswithdan Reply to @illumi.is.naughty Some tribes used this to call the rains during drought 🌧 ⛈ #maori #māori #focuswithdan #fyp ♬ Pūrerehua – 𝕱𝖔𝖈𝖚𝖘𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍𝕯𝖆𝖓

This one shares a demonstration and explanation of the taiaha, a traditional Maori weapon.

@focuswithdan Reply to @shauncalvert Taiaha, one of the most formidable of the Māori Weaponry #taiaha #maori #māori #focuswithdan #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – 𝕱𝖔𝖈𝖚𝖘𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍𝕯𝖆𝖓

For another taste of haka, check out this video from a school graduation:

@focuswithdan When your little cuzzy graduates and her school honours her with a haka #maori #māori #haka #focuswithdan #fyp #graduation @its_keshamarley ♬ Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Ruanui – 𝕱𝖔𝖈𝖚𝖘𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍𝕯𝖆𝖓

Heke even has some fun with the trolls and racists in the comments who try to tell him his culture is dead (what?).

@focuswithdan Credit to you all my AMAZING FOLLOWERS! #focuswithdan #maori #māori #followers #fyp #trolls ♬ original sound – sounds for slomo_bro!

Unfortunately, it’s not just ignorant commenters who spew racist bile. A radio interview clip that aired recently called Maori people “genetically predisposed to crime, alcohol, and underperformance,” among other terrible things. (The host, a former mayor of Auckland, has been let go for going along with and contributing to the caller’s racist narrative.)

@focuswithdan #newzealand radio in 2021 delivering racist commentaries 🤦🏽‍♂️ #māori #maori #focuswithdan #racism DC: @call.me.lettie2.0 ♬ original sound – luna the unicow

That clip highlights why what Heke is sharing is so important. The whole world is enriched when Indigenous people like the Maori have their voices heard and their culture celebrated. The more we learn from each other and our diverse ways of life, the more enjoyable life on Earth will be and the better we’ll get at collaborating to confront the challenges we all share.

This story originally appeared on 06.17.22

There are many traditional staples of fatherhood—love, support, protection, security, providing an example—but there is, of course, that other not-so-warm-and-fuzzy feeling that dads can provoke in their kids at any given moment … sheer, utter embarrassment.

Usually in a father’s humiliation tool belt is the infamous dad joke. These corny puns have been around since 2003, and let’s face it, they’ll never leave. Of course, no dad needs one to make your eyes roll. They can do that most of the time simply by being themselves.

For his well-known #Hashtags segment, Jimmy Fallon asked his “Tonight Show” audience to share “funny, weird, or embarrassing” stories about their dads. Fallon, a father himself, is no stranger to the cringeworthy power of a dad joke. In a 2020 interview with TODAY, Fallon admitted, “I’m starting to get the eye rolls now where Daddy’s not the funniest person in the world.”

Don’t worry Fallon! Clearly you’re not alone, because people replied with some truly hilarious comments. Dads might be silly, but we’ll gladly put up with it for the love they give us.

Enjoy 20 of the very best #DadStories. As usual, Fallon went first:

1.

“Instead of buying a smoker my dad just grills in the garage with the door closed.” – @jimmyfallon

2.

“At my aunt’s wedding reception, my dad ran out from the bathroom when he heard You Should Be Dancing by the Bee Gees play, and proceeded to do John Travolta’s routine from Saturday Night Fever.” – @MJ_Rose88

3.

“My Dad will call me sometimes when he wants me to bring him food. He refers to me as ‘GrubDash.'” – @FalPalAMF828

4.

“My dad likes to play a very morbid game called ‘guess who died’, which consists of him gossiping about someone I probably haven’t seen in 20+ years and can’t remember at all, who died recently. Bonus points for guessing the cause of death.” – @jon_jonz

5.

“My dad used to drink his morning coffee with his dentures in his hand while reading the newspaper. When we asked him why, he said his teeth also wanted to read the newspaper.” – @FallonHolic_

6.

“When my dad took my sister to her first Jr. HS dance, she asked to be dropped off a block before the school. My dad proceeded to take her all the way up to the main entrance, got out of the car and loudly announced her arrival!” – @77BroncosFan

7.

“Asked my dad if he knew who Taylor Swift was…he said, I don’t care who he is!” – @JessyKrupa

8.

“My dad whistles really loud. He sticks his head out the window and whistles back to birds. But when the lady next door heard him, she called 911. The cops told her, ‘Lady, he didn’t whistle at you. He only flirts with birds.'” – @tostianascripts

9.

“When my dad would leave a message on my answering machine, he would end the message saying, ‘This is dad signing off.'” – @RealRobFindor

10.

“We were on vacation and the gift shops selling fudge called plain fudge ‘chocolate no nuts.’ A guy walked up to my dad with some samples and offered him some saying ‘chocolate no nuts?’ And my dad said ‘what did you just call me?'” – @lauraceciliaOT

11.

“My Dad laid a new floor in my brother’s house. It was all finished so we couldn’t understand why he was taking up the boards again. Turns out he had seen a spider run underneath and was worried it would be trapped.” – @Sohnzie

12.

“Whenever my dad would try to talk us into trying something new to eat he’d state, ‘It’s so good it’ll put hair on your chest.’ He had 3 daughters.” – @Bookelew

13.

“My mom once bought a 6 ft Santa statue at a yard sale without telling dad. When he got home and parked, we heard banging, crashing and swearing. We went to look and the Santa was laying face down on the curb. Dad thought someone was trying to jump him.” – @dknessfalls

14.

“My dad couldn’t decide if he wanted to be called ‘grandpa’ or ‘papa’ so he just told all of us to call him ‘Coach.’ He’s not a coach.” – @iPopEditor

15.

“My father went to the McDonalds drive thru and asked for a whopper. When they said ‘they didn’t have whoppers’, He just drove off without placing an order.” – @Marisa_Rosie22

16.

“One day we went out to eat at Pizza Hut and sat in front of an empty table with some pizza left on it. My dad, being the penny pincher he is, grabbed some and started eating it. A few minutes later the couple comes back from the bathroom asking ‘where’s our pizza?'” – @Alex_Erickson3

17.

“My dad let a bee land on his hand and watched it closely as it stung him because he ‘wanted to see the process up close.'” – @TrippyPsycholo1

18.

“My dad once tried to tell a lady she had a Big Bug on her, but accidentally told her she had a Really Big Butt. She was not amused.” – @Sallyjo25

19.

“My dad thinks it’s funny to introduce my mom as his ‘first wife’….my parents have been married for 58 years and are in their late 80’s.” – @annMcD87

20.

“My dad entered Canada by swimming across the Niagara from the US under the cover of night.” – @albertduic

This article originally appeared on 06.04.22

A common criticism gun rights activists levy toward gun legislation advocates is that many people who push for stricter gun laws don’t know a lot about guns themselves. That’s not wholly accurate—there are plenty of gun enthusiasts who support reasonable gun laws—but it’s true that many people who are horrified by our nation’s gun culture are not well-versed on the specifications of our nation’s 393 million guns.

Not every American is an active part of American “gun culture.” Some of us have never shot a firearm, for fun or otherwise. Some of us really are ignorant about guns themselves.

That can’t be said for anyone in the military, however. And it definitely can’t be said for a former Major General of the U.S. Army.

That’s why an explanation of the difference between an AR-15 and military-style firearms from retired Major General Paul Eaton has gone viral. Major General Eaton was the commander in charge of training Iraqi soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about when it comes to weaponry.

He wrote:

“As the former Commanding General of the Infantry Center at Fort Benning and Chief of Infantry, I know a bit about weapons. Let me state unequivocally — For all intents and purposes, the AR-15 and rifles like it are weapons of war. A thread:

u201cThose opposed to assault weapon bans continue to play games with AR-15 semantics, pretending thereu2019s some meaningful differences between it and the M4 carbine that the military carries. There really arenu2019t. 2/u201d

— Major General (ret) Paul Eaton (@Major General (ret) Paul Eaton)
1654209731

Those opposed to assault weapon bans continue to play games with AR-15 semantics, pretending there’s some meaningful differences between it and the M4 carbine that the military carries. There really aren’t.

The military began a transition from the M16 to the M4, an improved M16, some years ago. The AR-15 is essentially the civilian version of the M16. The M4 is really close to the M16, and the AR-15.

So what’s the difference between the military’s M4 and the original AR-15? Barrel length and the ability to shoot three round bursts. M4s can shoot in three round bursts. AR-15s can only shoot a single shot.

But even now, you can buy AR-15s in variable barrel lengths with Weaver or Picatinny rails for better sights and aiming assists like lasers. Like the military, but w/o the bayonet.

But our troops usually use single shot, not burst fire. You’re able to fire a much more accurate (deadly) shot, that way. Note: you can buy our Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight on Amazon. So troops usually select the same fire option available on AR-15.

That is why the AR-15 is ACCURATELY CALLED a ‘weapon of war.’ It is a very deadly weapon with the same basic functionality that our troops use to kill the enemy. Don’t take the bait when anti-gun-safety folks argue about it. They know it’s true. Now you do too.”

Eaton is not the only former military leader who has spoken out in support of gun legislation. In 2019, a group of 13 influential retired military leaders wrote a letter to Congress, pushing it to pass the Bipartisan Background Check Act.

“Each of us has, at some point in our lives, made the choice to risk our lives for our fellow citizens and place ourselves in harm’s way,” they wrote. “We were trained, we were coached, and we were prepared for the dangers that we chose to face. This is not the case for most Americans, yet they continue to face danger on the sidewalk, in their homes, at school, and at work. It is in the same spirit that led us to serve in the armed forces that we ask you, our elected leaders, to help protect the American people from gun violence here at home. We urge you to support this legislation.”

Police leaders have also voiced strong support for gun legislation, which makes sense considering how much harder and more dangerous our free-for-all gun culture makes their jobs. The International Association of Chiefs of Police, the largest professional association of police leaders in the world, has a position paper that outlines the gun safety laws it supports, including firearm offender registration, waiting periods, closing the gun show loophole, banning semiautomatic assault weapons, armor-piercing ammunition, bulletproof body armor and more. The IACP states that these are “common sense policies that would assist in reducing gun violence, while upholding the second amendment.”

Yep, the largest police leader association supports banning semiautomatic assault weapons like the AR-15. Here’s what it has to say about that:

“First passed in 1994, the assault weapons ban required domestic gun manufacturers to stop production of semi-automatic assault weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than ten rounds except for military or police use. While the ban was in place, it was remarkably effective in reducing the number of crimes involving assault weapons. In the period of the ban, (1994-2004) the proportion of assault weapons traced to crimes fell by a dramatic 66 percent.”

If those who oppose gun legislation don’t want to listen to people who don’t know enough about guns to speak authoritatively on them, that’s fine. Perhaps they should listen to these military and police leaders who not only know guns inside and out, but who also have the firsthand experience on both sides of the barrel to speak authoritatively on what can help minimize America’s gun violence.