During a recent interview with Lena Dunham, comedian Amy Schumer talked about increasing her personal security even as she has pushed for increased gun control measures for everyday Americans.
In the interview, published in Dunham’s “Lenny” online newsletter, the Girls star talked to Schumer about the July 23, 2015 shooting in a Lafayette movie theater, which was situated in a gun-free zone. The shooting — which occurred during a screening of Schumer’s film, Trainwreck — resulted in the deaths of Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson. The alleged gunman, John Russell Houser, acquired his gun by passing a federal background check for it at a store in Alabama.
Schumer said she avoids the stories of the most horrific shootings as a way to protect herself from becoming emotionally overwhelmed.
“Like I skipped Sandy Hook. I was like, no, no, not letting this in, I can’t,” she told Dunham. “I didn’t go too deep into Orlando. I was like, I can’t go down the rabbit hole because it really f**king kills me for at least a week.”
Twenty-six people were gunned down at Sandy Hook after Adam Lanza stole guns and went on a shooting spree. Forty-nine were killed in Orlando by Omar Mateen, who passed background checks for both of his guns — and a waiting period for the handgun — then went on a shooting spree. Schumer “skipped” one of these and “didn’t go too deep” into the other, but she dedicated her life to gun control when two people were killed during a shooting where her movie was showing.
“And then I got really angry, and I was like, this is not OK. I want to really do something,” Schumer told Dunham about her reaction to the Louisiana theater shooting. “Chuck Schumer called, and I answered and said I hope this is about preventing gun violence, and he said yes, do you want to do something? And I was like yes, let’s work together, I really want to help. So then I started going to events and meeting all these families of victims.”
Schumer said she attended Obama’s January ceremony for executive orders to expand background checks, where she met with survivors of shootings and other gun control activists. But she did not mention that the Trainwreck shooter passed a background check for his gun, nor that the Umpqua Community College gunman, both Fort Hood gunmen (April 2014 & November 2009), the Aurora theater gunman and the gunman who attacked Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2011 all passed background checks for their guns as well.
“Seeing Obama deliver that speech — like, tears just shot right out of his face when he started crying about the first graders being shot — I was just like, I am a lifer, I am in this. I really hope I don’t have to die for it, but I would,” she said.
The actress failed to note the impotence of gun control measures that was demonstrated months later in the heinous attack in Orlando. But she did point out that she’s ramped up her own security.
“Do you have increased security at your shows now because of it?” Dunham asked. “Because people are so f**king nuts.”
“Yes. Security is up,” Schumer replied. “I’m really trying to protect myself. I am not being an idiot.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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