Big Bang Theory actor Jim Parsons has shared an emotional message about Saturday’s March for Our Lives demonstrations.
Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom, shared a photo of Parkland survivor Emma Gonzalez at the rally as she stood in silence for 6 minutes and 20 seconds, the same amount of time it took Nikolas Cruz to take 17 lives and injured 17 others on Feb. 14.
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In Parsons’ caption, he aimed to unite both sides of the gun control issues by admiring the basic democratic right to assemble as demonstrated by the young activists.
“Hope everyone got the chance to watch some of the coverage of these marches today,” he wrote. “Whatever your feelings about guns, gun control or the Second Amendment, this was (as was chanted several times today) what democracy looks like. Our government is frequently slow to change, resistant to new ways of doing things — and there are both good and bad reasons for this — but this does NOT mean that our government is somehow something ‘other’ that only happens to us, that we have no influence or control over,” Parsons wrote.
Parsons, who also narrates Big Bang spinoff Young Sheldon, continued on, noting that March for Our Lives protesters inspired him to stay plugged into what’s going on in the U.S. government.
“To watch these kids spark to this notion before our very eyes, to see them actively engage in the most basic, literally ‘showing up’ way, was inspiring to me on many levels,” Parsons said. “It was a reminder to all of us of the power we have and the necessity of each and every one of us staying plugged in to what happens in our country. I thought this was an example of the very best of our country, the very best of our people.”
He added heart and American flag emojis, hashtags for “Emma Gonzalez” and “March for Our Lives,” and the Everytown for Gun Safety movement, which aims to end gun violence.
As of publication time, the note has received more than 193,000 likes and numerous comments.
Most of those comments are fans arguing over gun control, Gonzalez’s stance on issues and the U.S. government’s actions in recent years.
It was not all negativity, though. There was also the occasional birthday wish for Parsons in the comments, who turned 45 on Friday.
The Big Bang Theory airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Young Sheldon airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m ET on CBS.
