Sofia Coppola, who starred in third “Godfather,” Hollywood’s most violent movie series ever and directed by her father, has joined 80 other actors to fight gun violence for the Michael Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety.
The New York-based group announced Tuesday that Coppola, who played Mary Corleone in Godfather III, and the others will be part of the Everytown Creative Council, a collection of stars representing an entertainment industry that has made billions of dollars off violent shoot-em-ups.
It is sure to give the Everytown movement a huge promotional pow as the actors fan out around the country to promote gun control. Others include Alec Baldwin, Spike Lee, Kevin Bacon, Ellen DeGeneres and Kim Kardashian.
In a statement, Everytown said that the new Creative Council “will use its collective reach and cultural influence to support common-sense solutions proven to save lives from the gun violence that claims 88 American lives every day and injures hundreds more.”
Julianne Moore, who chairs the new group, said, “As American citizens, we are shocked and saddened by the loss of life, and the daily increase of gun violence in our beautiful country. We do not believe that the 2nd Amendment and gun safety are mutually exclusive ideas, and as a creative community, we will do everything we can to support the safety of our fellow Americans, and galvanize more to join us in this movement.”
Their pitch is a popular one in Democratic circles: Keep the Second Amendment, but add some “common sense” laws like universal background checks to cut gun violence.
Opponents, however, claim that the group’s aim is to end gun sales.
While some of those on the list of stars, such as Coppola, have been in movies that romanticize gun violence, the group claimed that Hollywood is not to blame.
“Despite the same levels of mental illness and exposure to the same TV, movies, music, and culture, our gun murder rate is 20 times higher than that of other developed countries. Why the difference? It’s far easier for dangerous people to get their hands on guns here in America,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. “While the gun lobby tries to distract and divide Americans on this issue, we’ve seen a new grassroots community grow to more than three million supporters and achieve gun safety victories in nearly 40 states. The talent, leadership, and cultural reach of the people on this Council will expand this national movement – and inspire even more Americans to lend their voices to the fight to save lives from gun violence.”
The complete list of actors is here.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
