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Gun violence has touched most American households, so it’s no surprise that a governor would know the victim of a mass shooting.
But it’s not one governor, and it’s not one mass shooting.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear described “one of my closest friends,” Tommy Elliott, the senior vice president of Old National Bank who was among the five people struck down Monday during a shooting inside the Louisville bank.
“Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career. Helped me become governor. Gave me advice on being a good dad,” Beshear said at a news conference. “He’s one of the people I talked to most in the world and very rarely were we taking about my job.” Watch here.
Elliott also knew Florida’s senator and former governor, Rick Scott, who said on Twitter Monday that Elliott was his banker for many years.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was in a similar situation recently, when he shared in a video message that his wife, Maria, was a close friend of Cindy Peak and former colleague of Katherine Koonce, two women who were among the six people killed at Covenant School in Nashville in late March.
“Cindy was supposed to come over to have dinner with Maria last night after she filled in as a substitute teacher yesterday at Covenant,” Lee said the day after the shooting.
Beshear, a Democrat, and Lee, a Republican, join the majority of Americans who say their family has been touched by gun violence. In fact, most Americans – 54% – say they or a family member have personal experience with some form of gun violence, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The survey also found that:
- 21% say they have personally been threatened with a gun.
- 19%…
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