Image Courtesy Big Machine RecordsTim McGraw has gotten backlash from gun rights supporters, including the National Rifle Association, over his upcoming concert to raise money for Sandy Hook Promise, an organization founded in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, whose stated purpose is to help protect children from gun violence.

When asked how he is dealing with the headlines the concert has been generating, Tim tells ABC Radio, “I don’t put a political blanket on what I’m doing. This is about helping people and leading with your heart. I think that that’s what I try to do, and we’re doing things are earmarked for a lot of good in the community.”

Tim’s fiddle player, Dean Brown, is a friend of Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son, Daniel, was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting. Meeting Mark and his wife backstage at one of his concerts a few years ago had a big impact on Tim.

He says, “When you sit across from a family who’ve gone through such a great tragedy, it’s just heartbreaking. And when you sit and have a conversation and you feel connected and they want you to help, and you feel like you can help, then you lead with your heart.”

Tim goes on to say he thinks Sandy Hook Promise is a “great organization” that falls in line with his belief in spreading the message about mental health awareness among today’s youth.

He adds, “When you talk about protecting our kids from violence and doing everything you can to protect our children, I’m all in.”

As previously reported, the Concert for Sandy Hook Promise in Hartford, Connecticut this July is part of Tim’s Shotgun Rider tour with Billy Currington and Chase Bryant, but Currington dropped out of the show last week, saying on his Facebook page he was bowing out because of the controversy, but would make a donation to a “local organization.”


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