Last night, just before intermission during his sold out show at the Birchmere Music Hall, legacy singer songwriter Graham Nash announced his support for the gun violence prevention nonprofit, Safer Country. Nash called out Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin for rejecting $5 million in federal funds allocated for our state to get guns out of dangerous hands. The funds are available due to enactment of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Nash learned about Safer Country from his fellow famed musician, Judy Collins, who’s spoken out in support of the group at her shows. Safer Country alerted Nash to Youngkin’s latest affront to gun safety so Nash– an outspoken activist–invited Executive Director Paul Friedman to have an informational table at Tuesday night’s and Wednesday night’s shows. Its flyer highlights Youngkin’s refusal. It also calls for the public to demand he accepts and uses those funds. After Nash’s announcement, Safer Country was inundated with requests for information.
In talking about Youngkin, Nash said to rousing applause, “People are what they do. It’s not what they say, it’s what they do.”
Commenting later, Friedman (transparency alert: this is my brother, doing God’s work) said that, “Having Graham Nash call out Gov. Glenn Youngkin for turning his back on protecting the lives of men, women, and children in Virginia could bring it the critical attention this issue needs.”
