Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was confronted by his Democratic challenger, Beto O’Rourke, at a Wednesday information briefing, the place officers gave particulars concerning the mass taking pictures at a neighborhood elementary college in Uvalde, Texas. Three adults — together with the gunman — and 19 college students have been killed.
O’Rourke, 49, a former El Paso congressman and U.S. Senate and presidential candidate, is the Democratic nominee within the race in opposition to Abbott, 64, who’s searching for a 3rd time period as governor.
For the document:
6:17 p.m. Might 25, 2022An earlier model of this report stated the mass taking pictures on the El Paso Walmart was in 2016. It was in 2019.
Abbott took the stage on the auditorium in Uvalde Excessive College, surrounded by state and native Republican officers, together with U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. He described how the 18-year-old shooter armed himself with an AR-15-style rifle, however stated the issue wasn’t the state’s lax gun legal guidelines.
“I requested the sheriff and others an open-ended query and bought the identical reply from the sheriff in addition to from the mayor of Uvalde. The query was, what's the drawback right here? They usually have been simple and emphatic. They stated, ‘We now have an issue with psychological well being sickness on this neighborhood,’” Abbott stated, together with, “‘the necessity for extra psychological well being assist on this area.’”
Quickly after, O’Rourke — seated within the viewers — stood up and approached the stage, calling the taking pictures “completely predictable once you select to not do something.”
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin shouted again: “Sir, you’re out of line!”
Sen. Cruz — who narrowly beat O’Rourke in his final Senate race — advised him to take a seat down.
O’Rourke continued.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick referred to as O’Rourke “a humiliation.”
O’Rourke pointed his finger at Abbott.
“That is on you till you select to do one thing completely different. This can proceed to occur. Someone wants to face up for the youngsters of this state or they may proceed to be killed similar to they have been killed in Uvalde yesterday,” he stated earlier than leaving the constructing.
Abbott dismissed the interruption.
“There are relations who're crying as we communicate, there are relations whose hearts are damaged, there isn't any phrases that anyone shouting can come up right here and do something to heal these damaged hearts,” he advised the group. “… We have to focus not on ourselves and our agendas.”
O’Rourke continued talking within the college car parking zone concerning the want for tighter gun legal guidelines, shouting and railing in opposition to AR-15-style rifles as he did after a mass taking pictures at a Walmart in his native El Paso in 2019, the worst mass taking pictures concentrating on Latinos in U.S. historical past.
“The governor talks about psychological well being. It's insane that we enable an 18-year-old to go in and purchase an AR-15: What the hell did we expect he was going to do with that? This one is on us,” he stated, talking first in English, then Spanish. “Now could be the time to cease the subsequent taking pictures.”
O’Rourke cited different mass shootings within the state since El Paso: a church within the central Texas city of Sutherland Springs in 2017, Santa Fe Excessive College exterior Houston in 2018, and Midland-Odessa in 2019. He stated he talked to victims’ mother and father in Uvalde, El Paso, Santa Fe and Midland-Odessa.
“We owe these mother and father motion,” he stated. “… You desire a resolution? Cease promoting AR-15s within the state of Texas. You desire a resolution? Have common background checks. We don’t have them. You desire a resolution? Pink flag legal guidelines or excessive threat safety orders which cease a taking pictures earlier than it occurs. You desire a resolution? Protected [gun] storage legal guidelines.”
“We may get that executed if we had a governor who cared extra concerning the folks of Texas than he does his personal political profession or his fealty to the NRA,” he stated, noting that Abbott is scheduled to talk on the annual Nationwide Rifle Assn. conference in Houston on the finish of the week.
Post a Comment