A press conference at Uvalde High School on Wednesday, featuring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott flanked by an army of Republicans, was thankfully interrupted by the man who may take his job, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke. The gubernatorial hopeful called out Abbott for not doing enough to prevent shootings like the tragedy at Robb Elementary School, where at least 19 students and two teachers were killed. Abbott appeared on stage with NRA-endorsed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; Speaker Dade Phelan, who holds a 92% rating from the NRA; Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who’ve collectively received more than $42,000 from the NRA in political donations; Congressman Tony Gonzalez, who refused to even engage with CBS News about gun control reform, likely for fear of tarnishing his perfect NRA record; and a host of local officials as well as law enforcement.
It’s easy to see why O’Rourke would be frustrated by who was on stage, given their resistance to gun policies and seeming willingness to turn classrooms into battlefields rather than preventing violent incidents from even occurring in the first place. Abbott earlier on Wednesday said the shooting “could’ve been worse.” And multiple Texas Republicans have spoken in favor of simply arming teachers instead of addressing the root issue. For that reason and more, O’Rourke told the lawmakers and law enforcement onstage at Uvalde High School that folks like Abbott haven’t done enough.
O’Rourke was escorted out of the meeting shortly after interrupting and was also yelled at by some of those on stage, including Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, who called O’Rourke “a sick son of a bitch” for pointing out the inherently political aspects of a Republican party more concerned with the well-being of inanimate firearms than their constituents. To make it less political and more palatable for McLaughlin, it’s worth noting that a majority of Americans—regardless of party—are in favor of stricter gun laws.
According to the Texas Tribune, O’Rourke told Abbott “this is on you” and said the shooting was “totally predictable” given the governor is “doing nothing” to prevent attacks like this.
Speaking after being thrown out of the press conference, O’Rourke continued to slam Abbott and called for everything to be done to take care of families of the victims of the Uvalde shooting, which includes providing financial support for funerals and tightening gun laws so that the same conditions are not in place for a teenager to buy assault weapons. O’Rourke also called out Abbott’s fealty toward the NRA and his and fellow Republicans’ willingness to attend and speak at an upcoming convention for the gun organization.
Understandably, O’Rourke is getting a lot of support for his willingness to push back against Abbott and call out his ineffective leadership. He’s not the only Democrat who’s had it with business as usual, either. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona has similarly called out Cruz, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and others for standing in the way of gun control reform.
Gallego is also unwilling to just act as if rampant mass shootings are not only a uniquely American problem but a ubiquitous, fixed issue that cannot be changed. It’s certainly not worth waiting around until the next mass shooting, either. Call on lawmakers to take action against gun violence immediately.
