A former professional clown is prepping himself to join a new circus: Congress.
Steve Lough, who was a former clown for Ringling Brothers, is now running for congressman in the South Carolina’s 5th district as a Democrat, Newsweek reports.
“They joke that the president and Congress are all clowns," Lough said when he announced he was running for Congress, according to The State. “Well, in my professional opinion, they are the worst clowns I've ever seen."
Lough told The State that he’s done clowning around and is running to help provide reform to U.S. gun laws. The former clown, who is from Camden, South Carolina, said the school shooting at Sandy Hook in 2012 affected him personally because he was working in North Carolina schools on an anti-bullying initiative.
“For the next six months, I couldn't sleep, felt depressed, and every time I worked with a 6-year-old volunteer in the show, I was reminded of the horror of that day in Newtown," Lough said. "When none of our gun laws changed, I got mad."
Lough is also campaigning to provide universal health care for all.