Malone decries gun availability

Nuggets coach speaks out about massacre

MILWAUKEE» The Nuggets’ Michael Malone became the latest NBA coach to speak out about gun violence after Wednesday’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead.

Malone, who has two young daughters and whose wife, Jocelyn, is a former teacher, said his first emotion upon hearing the news was sadness for those impacted. But “then that emotion turns to anger and frustration, because it keeps happening.”

“What are we doing to prevent that? What are we doing to stop it?” Malone said. “The fact that (what) appears to be a troubled (19-year-old) kid who was expelled from school is able to legally go out and buy an automatic weapon is absurd. I understand this country was founded on certain rights and the right to bear arms, but assault rifles? How many times are we going to see the same story and nothing changes?

“It is frustrating, because we’ve seen the same tragic story time and time again and you feel awful for the families affected. And then you hope, at some point, our government will step in and do something to no longer allow these purchases of these automatic weapons, these just murder machines these people are using.

“It’s a mix of emotions for all of us. Yes, we have a game to play and we get caught up in our own daily lives. But when you take a step back and see what’s going on around the world and in our country, it really brings things into perspective.”

(Note: The firearm used in Wednesday’s shooting was an AR-15, which is a semi-automatic rifle, not an assault rifle.)

Golden State coach Steve Kerr also made a strong call for action before the Warriors’ game against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, saying “it doesn’t seem to matter to our government that children are being shot to death day after day in schools.”

Earlier Thursday, Utah Jazz guard Thabo Sefolosha tweeted: “I grew up in Switzerland, where gun control legislation is very strict, and I can assure you that the system is working. People rarely die from gun wounds. Hard to understand why it is such a debate in the U.S. to change things, because the system clearly doesn’t work.”

Nuggets short-handed.

Several Denver players did not make the trip to Milwaukee for Thursday’s game against the Bucks, the Nuggets’ final contest before the allstar break. The list included reserve forwards Kenneth Faried (personal — baby birth) and Richard Jefferson (wrist soreness). Starting big man Mason Plumlee will also miss his eighth consecutive game with a strained calf. Rookie wing Torrey Craig, who was inactive for Tuesday’s win over the Spurs, also did not travel in order to preserve more of the 45 days that he is permitted to participate in team activities with the Nuggets, per his two-way contract.