"As a parent, I’m heartbroken! Gun Laws must be changed. Mental Illness is real! This is not ok" - Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts shines light on gun control and mental health following tragic incident in Texas

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts has spoken out following a shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The shooting is the deadliest school shooting in the United States since the Sandy Hook school shooting that took place in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012.

U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken out, stating that he is "sick and tired" of these sorts of events happening in his country. Regardless of the politics of gun control, baseball fans, and indeed everyone, can agree that this is a tragedy that has torn apart the lives of everyone who lost a loved one.

Mookie Betts speaks out as a parent in heartfelt plea regarding school shooting in Texas

Although it is often smart for sports stars to keep themselves at a comfortable distance from politics, Mookie Betts, an outfielder who for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has spoken up, stating his belief that gun control is the appropriate response to the tragedy that has shaken the Texas community.

Betts is in his third season with the Dodgers after playing for the Boston Red Sox for six years. He is a five-time All-Star who won the American League MVP Award in 2018 while playing for the Red Sox. This year, Betts is leading the National League in home runs with 12 on the year to accompany his 30 runs.

"I’m still trying to understand why 2 weeks ago 10 ppl were killed in a Buffalo grocery store & today 18 children and 1 adult were killed at an elementary school in Texas. As a parent, I’m heartbroken! Gun Laws must be changed. Mental Illness is real! This is not ok" - @ Mookie Betts

As the father of three-year-old Kynlee Ivory Betts, who was born in 2018, Mookie Betts feels an obligation to speak up when children are harmed, as they were in the senseless act of violence that took the lives of at least 19 in Texas yesterday.

In a tweet, Betts expressed that this act, plus the shooting that occurred at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, two weeks ago that saw 10 innocent people slaughtered, are reasons for the United States government to introduce gun control measures. Mookie reminded people that "Mental Illness is real."

Whatever side of the gun control debate you fall on, everyone can agree that it must be an unspeakably devastating experience for parents to have to go through something like this. As a parent, Mookie Betts can understand.