[ad_1]
A teacher at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — the site of a mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead — was left in disbelief when the state’s Republican governor visited the community.
Arnulfo Reyes, a teacher in Uvalde, said CNN that he believed the governor’s visit Monday was “all for show,” expressing doubt that concrete action will be taken to prevent future mass shootings.
“I felt it was just a political issue, I don’t think they cared,” Mr Reiss said. “I think it was all for show. … If he cared, he wouldn’t have held the NRA (convention) in Houston after our tragedy.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t actually attend the NRA convention on May 27, but he did appear in a recorded message played at the event.
According to Mr. Reyes, he asked Mr. Abbott why the state’s minimum gun purchase age had not been raised from 18 to 21. The alleged elementary school shooter was 18 and purchased two firearms legally around his 18th birthday. .
“I asked him about the age limit… why do we still have it at 18? Why couldn’t it be transferred to 21?” Mr. Reyes said. “He said they thought it was unconstitutional to change the age or something.”
Mr. Abbott’s spokesman said he has met with more than two dozen families in Uvalde since the attack and will continue to meet with them ahead of the next school year.
The governor said he plans to make sure all schools in the state are safe and claimed Uvalde schools will have more security than most.
This follows the latest from the Uvalde school board, which announced plans to improve safety at the school. That will include hiring additional officers for the area’s police force, which had five members on the day of the shooting.
Police waited for more than an hour outside the classroom at Robb Elementary on the day of the shooting. While they waited, the gunman killed children inside. Eventually, a Border Patrol unit ignoring police orders stormed the room and killed the gunman.
Despite the school board’s announcement, parents at Uvalde are skeptical. They questioned the board’s transparency about upcoming security changes.
Frustration still runs high among Uvalde residents, according to the local TV station KRDO. An NRA fundraiser planned for the nearby town of Hondo was forced to move when the rental agreement was revoked, largely due to angry backlash from community members and Uvalde residents.
Jazmin Cazares, who spoke at the council meeting about the rental, said the fundraiser would be a “slap in the face” for Uvalde families.
“It’s a slap in the face to all of Uvalde, especially to those who lost a loved one, some of us who are here today. What’s an even harder slap in the face is the AR-15 you get if you donate $5,000 to the NRA,” he said.
Nikki Cross, whose relative Uziyah Garcia was killed in the shooting, noted that the gun donated by the fundraiser was the same type of gun used in the shooting.
“What happened to loving your neighbor? Isn’t that kind of thing here? The particular weapon they give it, what if it falls into the hands of another angry 18-year-old?’ said Mrs. Cross. “Then it may be your children who are in danger and we will be by your side. I’m just asking you to put it off. Give us time to grieve. We’ve already been through enough.”
[ad_2]
Source link
