Five years after a mass shooting at Santa Fe High in Texas, critics say lawmakers have done little
It has been five years since a boy fatally shot 10 people and injured 13 others at Santa Fe High School in Texas, and despite the continued outcry from victims and local residents, and calls for stricter gun control, lawmakers have done nothing to stop the Situation to be improved Critics say there are mass shootings in the state.
On Thursday morning — the grim fifth anniversary of the shooting — President Joe Biden commemorated the victims and appealed to Congress not to pass major gun control legislation.
“One of the enduring tragedies of the Santa Fe High School shooting — and too many other devastating school shootings — is the refusal by Republicans in Congress to enact meaningful legislation to end gun violence,” part of Biden’s statement said. “Guns are the number one killer of children in America, and we have the power to stop this epidemic.” Yet from Columbine to Newtown and Parkland to Uvalde and Nashville and so many other shootings in between, our schools are regular scenes of gun violence and not the safe places they should be.”
Biden said he was trying to “maximize the impact of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which expands background checks and introduces new criminal offenses.
Little has been done to enforce gun control since the mass shootings, particularly in Texas. Since the mass shooting in Santa Fe, Texas has been the scene of some of the most high-profile massacres in the country, including that in Uvalde, which killed 21 people a year ago, and most recently that at an outlet mall in Allen, north of Dallas, that killed nine people cost the life. Still, lawmakers took to Twitter to express condolences to the Santa Fe families but offered no gun control plans.
Republican Rep. Randy Weber, who represents Santa Fe in Congress, tweeted Thursday that the mass shooting in Santa Fe “changed the city forever.”
“Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Santa Fe High School shooting that left ten innocent people dead at the hands of evil,” Weber tweeted. “We will never forget this tragic day that forever changed Santa Fe, Texas.”
weaver spoke in plenary on ThursdayThere are steps to secure Texas schools without “violating our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” such as: B. Improving school security systems and hiring retired police officers as school resource officers.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted that he will “double the number of police officers” in schools to keep students safe.
“Five years ago today, Santa Fe was shaken to the core and changed forever,” Cruz tweeted. “Eight beautiful young lives and two dedicated educators have been taken from us and many others have been hurt in a tragic, evil act.
“I will continue to fight to improve school safety and double the number of police officers on campus to keep our children safe.”
Rhonda Hart, whose daughter Kimberly was killed in the Santa Fe shooting, tweeted Wednesday that Texas politicians don’t care about gun control.
“Since tomorrow is the five year mark, I feel like I have to say this: Cruz, Abbott, Patrick and [Weber] “I did nothing for the families of Santa Fe,” she tweeted.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made no statements. Abbott’s Twitter feed was full of tweets on the subject “ruthless open borders policy.”
Allison Anderman, pThe senior attorney for Giffords, an organization that campaigns for gun safety, told HuffPost that Texas’ population, guns per capita and its “extremely weak laws” lead to more gun violence, including one Stand Your Ground law, which says there are many mass shootings, “encourages” people to “shoot first and ask questions later.”
In Texas, gun laws have expanded the areas where people can openly carry firearms, including airport baggage claim, parking lots, and places of worship.
“The state legislature is still dominated by people who are very extreme on the gun issue, that is, until the state elects other people to represent them, people who want change on this issue and are unwilling to change the status quo “Nothing, then it’s going to be a tough fight,” Anderman said.