The prevalence of gun violence in the U.S., especially at its schools, has turned even some moderate legislators into staunch supporters of stricter gun control laws. Democrat Darren Soto, a representative from Florida’s 9th district, was one of them. “As a lawyer who got into the state legislature, I was always a strong advocate of our Constitutional rights,” the congressman told Cheddar on Thursday, the day after a gunman killed 17 students and teachers at a Parkland, Fla., high school. “But when Sandy Hook happened, I really got the full sense of the horror and the tragedy of these mass shootings. That was when I was in the Florida House. And from then, I really took a turn to fight for many different gun reforms.” Soto’s comments come as Nikolas Cruz was charged with 17 counts of murder for the Parkland shooting. The nineteen-year-old was reportedly part of a white supremacist group and had previously posted videos and social media messages showing him with a variety of guns and claiming he wanted to be a “professional school shooter.” President Trump addressed the shooting Thursday morning, calling for steps to address mental illness, but did not mention anything about gun control. That may not have come as a surprise to Soto, who spoke with Cheddar before the President made his statement. He said Republicans have blocked hearings on a number of measures sponsored by Democrats, from closing the gun show loophole to preventing those on the no-fly list from buying weapons to a ban on so-called bump stocks. And one of those bills might have prevented Wednesday's events. "How did this young man get guns as a troubled youth?" he asked. "I suspect it could have been this gun show loophole. It could have been a personal exchange. Therefore there is no background check and no ability to police folks who normally wouldn't get firearms getting them through this glaring loophole." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-darren-soto-d-fl-calls-for-action-after-another-unspeakable-tragedy).

Share:
More In Sports
Amazon's Bid for Regional Sports Networks is Plan to Boost Prime Members
Amazon is reportedly looking to expand its foothold in live programming, with an eye on the 22 regional sports networks that Disney must spin off as part of its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. For Amazon, it would be the extension of a grand strategy that has been both simple and consistent: drive more Prime subscriptions.
High School Esports Platform PlayVS Gets $30M Series B Funding Led by Los Angeles Dodgers
PlayVS, a start-up created to build an infrastructure for high school esports, has announced a new Series B funding round of $30.5 million, led by Elysian Park Ventures, a firm that operates on behalf of the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group. The new funding will also bring in new investments from Adidas, Samsung NEXT, and Plexo Capital, and angel investors include Sean “Diddy” Combs.
From Lazy Summer to Major League Gaming: Mike Sepso on Founding the Esports Giant
Mike Sepso is a gilded name in esports. His latest win? The senior VP of Activision Blizzard was recently appointed a strategic partner of Overwatch team league New York Excelsior. And he also happens to be the leader of Major League Gaming, which he founded with partner Sundance DiGiovanni in 2002. But before he assumed his throne, Sepso conceived MLG during a single lazy summer when he and his partner were basking in the glory of their previous company, Gotham Broadband.
Bookmaker PointsBet Goes All In on NFL Great Darrelle Revis
Super Bowl Champion Darrell Revis is now the face of online bookmaker PointsBet's digital sportsbook, launching later this month. Revis and PointsBet CEO Johnny Aitken told Cheddar how they're trying to educate consumers about legal sports betting.
Load More