The killing spree in Uvlade, Texas shocked. The call for stricter laws is getting louder. But in the United States, opponents are calling for more armed personnel in schools. Former President Donald Trump is also involved in the discussion – as the guest of honor at a celebration of the gun lobby.
“Whenever murders like this happen, politicians want to make a political issue out of it,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz said after the shooting at the Texas elementary school in Uvalde. However, according to the Texan, stricter gun laws are not a solution: “Democrats and many in the media then want to limit the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens as an immediate solution. That does not work.”
19 primary school students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School were killed in an 18-year-old boy’s shooting spree. The perpetrator had legally purchased firearms shortly after his birthday. 30 minutes before the crime, he posted his murder plans on Facebook. According to reports from former classmates, he had often been bullied.
“A mentally ill person,” it said immediately on the Republican-friendly and Trump-related “Fox News” channel, where experts explained to the viewers: In order to prevent such cases in the future, one must be better guarded – and, above all, better armed.
This attitude corresponds to the mantra of the American gun lobby NRA (National Rifle Association): Only a good man with a gun can stop a bad man with a gun. So, not fewer, but more guns would lead to more security, the NRA reiterates incessantly. Its top priority: The 1791 Second Amendment to the Constitution is inviolable. The right to possess and bear arms must not be altered in any way.
Surveys show that a majority of 60 percent of all Americans advocate stronger background checks for gun buyers – especially for machine guns and automatic firearms. Yet few Republicans dare to declare war on the most powerful lobby in the country.
A day after the shooting in Texas, US stock prices of arms manufacturers shot up. Fearing possible restrictions, Americans typically buy more guns after mass shootings. According to statistics from the University of Chicago, more than two million firearms have been sold in the United States in the past two years alone. There are guns in nearly 50 percent of all US households.
After the mass shooting, President Joe Biden came out: “Why?” he asked. “Why do we keep letting this happen? When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?”
He also recalled the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School nearly ten years ago. Twenty children and six teachers died in the mass shooting in Connecticut. Since then, there have been 948 more shootings in American schools.
“Nowhere else in the world does that happen,” Biden continued. “For twenty years, gun manufacturers have been aggressively marketing their offensive weapons that bring them the greatest profits. We must find the courage in God’s name to take on the industry.”
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Immediately after the shooting, Senate Democrats announced a legislative vote for Thursday to enforce stricter controls on gun buyers. Republicans in the House of Representatives have blocked this for years.
In a speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered his condolences to the grieving families and thanked Texas emergency services. The Republican declined to comment on his Democratic colleagues’ calls for stricter gun laws. “The hearts of the entire nation are broken,” he said – there are no more words.
“Please, please, please, dammit, just put yourself in the shoes of those parents,” pleaded Democrat Chuck Schumer, asking fellow Republicans to imagine their children or grandchildren in similar shootings.
Even his appeal seemed to have little effect. Texas’ governor Greg Abbott countered the tougher gun laws in other US states: “I’m sorry to have to say this, but more people are shot in Chicago every weekend than in Texan schools.” The Republican passed a law in 2021 that would no longer require a license to carry handguns in Texas.
Tomorrow, Abbott will travel to Houston with Senator Cruz to attend a gun supporters’ celebration there. Numerous top Republican politicians are expected at the multi-day leadership summit of the NRA. Guest of Honor at the Gun Lobby Festivities: Donald Trump.
The former president is to start the celebrations of American gun advocates, according to the NRA’s website. “It is a true honor for us to welcome President Trump to our leadership forum for the sixth time,” said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. “Trump has kept his promises and installed judges who value the Constitution, thereby ensuring freedom for generations of Americans. NRA members thank him for his support to keep gun ownership in force.”
More on the Texas elementary school shooting:
US Senator Chris Murphy reacted with horror to the massacre at an elementary school in the state of Texas and addressed moving words to his Senate colleagues.
The 18-year-old Texas perpetrator wrote a complete stranger on Instagram before his massacre at an elementary school. The girl made the news public herself – and wonders if she could have done more.
