Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke on Wednesday’s “MSNBC Prime” broadcast, accused Gov. Greg Abbott of badly failing the families affected by the school shooting in Uvalde by not calling for a special session of the Texas legislature to pass gun laws.
O’Rourke said, “They want changes. They want to make sure that our kids, all of our kids, are safe, going back to school. In El Paso, my hometown, our kids will be returning to school in 17 days. That is when the El Paso Independent School District begins a new school year, and nothing, nothing has changed in this state since that shooting in Uvalde or since the shooting at Santa Fe High School, or since so many other school shootings or acts of gun violence in the state of Texas.”
He continued, “All the governor has done is to make it easier for people to carry guns, publicly, without a background, check without any training, or any vetting whatsoever. What those families deserve right now is justice, and it deserves leadership.”
O’Rourke said, “When we were there on Sunday, in Uvalde, we were also there to march with these parents and with these young students who had organized a march for the community. Hundreds of people turned out, they then rally in the plaza that it serves as a memorial for those victims demanding action, demanding changes to our gun laws. Common sense stuff like universal background checks, or red flag laws, or safe storage laws, most of us can get behind that, as you pointed out. The polling indicates that, but we all feel it’s in Texas. We just have leadership right now that won’t take that action, and that is why we need change.”
He added, “Our current governor has not only badly failed these families and the community of Uvalde, but he is letting down this entire state.”
He concluded, “He has beholden to the NRA and to the gun lobby. He should instead be focused on these families and listening to them right now as they ask him to do the right thing as we enter this next school year. The governor could call a special session about legislature right now and get those laws passed. But he won’t. And we must ask ourselves why? And then we must do what it takes to change the person in that office so that we can have real leadership that looks out for all of us.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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