'Use your voice': Celebrities push for voting, gun reform after Pittsburgh synagogue shooting

Bette Midler,The Big Sick star Zoe Kazan, This Is Us star Mandy Moore and Ben Stiller are among those in Hollywood speaking out after a gunman opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday.

"No one should have to go through airport security to go to pray in a synagogue or church or a mosque," Meet The Parents star Ben Stiller wrote Saturday, adding the hashtag #guncontrol.

Stiller was one of many celebrities making reference to the heated debate in the U.S. over gun law reform.

"My heart goes out to all those affected by gun violence today and every day," Mandy Moore wrote on Twitter. "Feeling helpless and frustrated by this news too? Vote Nov 6th. Vote. Use your voice."

Moore wasn't the only one whose message about the mass shooting also included encouragement to vote in the upcoming American midterm elections, which could see changes to the Republican-majority Congress.

"The guns are the long arm of this racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBT administration," Kazan posted Saturday. "The laws and judges being put in place are the longest arm. Vote. Them. Out."

U.S. President Donald Trump, who told reporters Saturday following news of the shooting that an armed guard at the Tree of Life synagogue could have changed the outcome, was also criticized.

"The fact is if there was no guns at all, there wouldn't have been a shooter in the first place," Slow Hands singer Niall Horan told his nearly 40 million Twitter followers. "Get a grip."

Former House of Cards showrunner Beau Willimon attacked Republicans for a lack of action on gun laws — sentiments that have been echoed by much of left-leaning Hollywood for years.

Veteran American journalist Dan Rather said "all who excuse, abet, or stand in silence while hate is stoked for political gain" have a hand in the country's recent tragedies and TV personality Piers Morgan questioned the need for civilians to have rifles like an AR-15, one of the weapons used in the attack. The majority of American states do not have bans on assault weapons.

I Feel Pretty star Amy Schumer, who often gets political on her social media accounts, kept her post neutral as did talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Schumer said her "heart is broken" by the shooting, with DeGeneres sending a message of love, saying "We all need love. We all want comfort. Let's give it to each other."

At a hockey match in Vancouver between the Canucks and Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday evening, the teams observed a moment of silence to pay tribute to shooting victims.