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
Breaking Down Top Matchups for NFL's Week 17 Slate
Trysta Krick, Host of 'BetMGM Tonight' helps clear up a very crowded playoff picture by making selections for Week 17's top games while pointing to to an AFC West matchup for her lock of the week. Sponsored by BetMGM
Behind the National Women's Soccer League and Voyager Digital Multi-Year Crypto Deal
The National Women's Soccer League is partnering with Voyager Digital as its first-ever cryptocurrency brokerage in a multi-year deal. Marla Messing, interim CEO of the NWSL, and Steve Ehrlich, CEO of Voyager Digital, joined Cheddar to discuss benefitting the league and educating players and fans as a way of democratizing cryptocurrency. Messing explained that the players themselves will own half the assets as part of how the deal is structured. "My hope is, just in terms of the expectations of crypto over the long term, that I hope a lot of them are able to just let it sit there," she said. "And that one day this will be a nice retirement account for them."
Barstool Sports CEO on COVID-Related Growth Despite Canceled Arizona Bowl
Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini joined Cheddar's Kristen Scholer to discuss plans for the future even as COVID-19 upended Barstool's sponsorship of the Arizona Bowl featuring the Boise State Broncos and the Central Michigan Chippewas due to the spreading omicron variant. "In our case as a company, coronavirus has been a big boom for us," she noted. "We've been able to create a lot of new programming, launch a lot of different personalities, and frankly take share from traditional media, and that's what we've done the entire pandemic." While she admitted to taking a hit on the canceled Bowl game, live events aren't completely off the table for Barstool in 2022. Nardini also talked about potential sports betting expansion following its partnership with Penn National Gaming.
Load More