Musician Sheryl Crow took aim at members of the country music industry for refusing to speak out against politicians refusing to pass reasonable gun regulations.
As the Guardian noted, October's country music festival was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
She alleged that artists weren't taking a moral stand on the issue because they were more concerned about money.
“You would think after Vegas we would see some leadership from our country community,” Crow told the Guardian in an interview. “But all I can say about that is if there’s money involved, and fear, these conversations come to a screeching halt."
She said that she doesn't know anyone in the popular country world willing to take a stand.
“That’s really unfortunate," she continued. "I hope there will be people who find a way out of their fear, who stick up for humanity as opposed to sticking with their fanbase or the money that can come along with having those large crowds.”
Crow released a new single Monday called "The Dreaming Kind," about the 20 children and six adults killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in 2012. She's also donating the proceeds of the downloads to a nonprofit founded by surviving family members.
She explained that she felt a "real sense of helplessness" following the Las Vegas shooting.
“It’s a horrible feeling for my kids to not even be able to know what happened at Sandy Hook, for fear they’ll walk into school and think they’re not in a safe place, or that mom will go to work and there’s a chance she may not come home if there’s somebody in the audience with a gun,” Crow said.
She explained that she tries to protect her children from seeing news about mass shootings. As of the release of the song, Crow said she hadn't talked her children about what happened in Newtown.
She doesn't think that they'll understand. "I’m not even able to fathom that," Crow said.
Country singer Caleb Keeter was on stage during the Las Vegas shooting. In wake of the event, he admitted that the event changed his understanding of gun regulation and gun rights. Johnny Cash's daughter has also come out in support of regulations on guns, calling it "domestic terrorism."
“We need gun control,” he wrote, “RIGHT. NOW.”
No mainstream stars have come forward, however, and Crow explained that there is no other way for it to happen.
“I think it’s fear-based, this fear of losing your audience, this fear of pissing off your audience,” she said.
She explained she wants to see America do better.
“The NRA funds domestic terrorism,” she continued.
You can watch the video of her new single below:
