Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThousands of people took to the streets of New York City on Saturday to take part in the March for Our Lives rally for gun control — and Paul McCartney was one of them.
According to WABC-TV, the former Beatle was briefly interviewed by a reporter at the event not far from the Dakota building, where his old band mate John Lennon lived, and where he was shot to death by a deranged fan in December 1980. Paul talked about his very personal reason for joining the march.
“One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here, so it’s important to me,” McCartney told the reporter as they stood near Central Park.
Sir Paul, who wore a t-shirt that said “We Can End Gun Violence,” told the reporter that he came out to “support the people.”
Asked whether he thinks that the protest could motivate the federal government to enact gun-control legislation, McCartney told the reporter, “I’m like everyone, I don’t know, but [taking part in the march] is what I can do, so I’m here to do it.”
The New York march was one of more than 800 events calling for gun control organized around the world today, inspired by the mass shooting that took place in February at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The main protest, which was held in Washington, D.C., was expected to draw about 500,000 people.
