DALASUS – Amid applause at a public gym on Wednesday night, Beto O’Rourke, a former El Paso congressman and Democratic nominee for governor of Texas, has renewed his criticism of Gov. Greg Abbott for state gun laws he said allowed An 18-year-old youth in Uwalde to kill 19 students and two teachers with legally and easily acquired military-style weapons.
In front of an audience of more than 300 people, Mr O’Rourke spoke out against the governor’s decision to sign a law allowing anyone over the age of 21 to carry a gun without permission or training. “Not only has he not taken action to save our children’s lives,” Mr O’Rourke said, “he has taken action to make sure we lose our children’s lives.”
In a forum where he presented his proposals for the protection of children in Texas, Mr O’Rourke sought to make a clear distinction between himself and Mr Abbott, portraying the competition as a choice between the old leadership linked to the arms lobby, and his vision of a state with stricter gun laws and more funding for mental health services. He also criticized Mr Abbott for devoting more time to laws on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students than restricting weapons that can be used to kill children.
He promised to work with Republicans on common areas of agreement first. But he added to the applause: “I don’t think we should have AK-47s and AR-15s in our lives and in our communities.
Mr O’Rourke has become an increasingly vocal supporter of tougher gun safety laws after a self-proclaimed white supremacist opened fire on Walmart in his hometown of El Paso, killing 23 people in 2019. The issue undermined his political chances for higher service in the past, insofar as it gave him political momentum.
The Dallas event – which includes testimonies of gun violence survivors and was interrupted by a far-right television personality escorted by police – was Mr O’Rourke’s first public appearance since he interrupted Mr Abbott and a phalanx of other state leaders. and law enforcement officers at a press conference in Uwalde the day after last week’s mass shooting at Rob Elementary School. Shouting on stage from the floor, Mr O’Rourke criticized the governor at the time for refusing to expand mental health treatment in Texas.
In passionate remarks to reporters in front of Uwalde High School, Mr. O’Rourke went down the list of state gun safety laws that Mr. Abbott refused to support. It includes measures that would ban military-style assault weapons, require gun owners to keep their firearms safe, and allow police or family members to petition the court to confiscate weapons that could harm people. to yourself or to others.
The gunman in Uwalde “bought an AR-15 and shot children in the face and killed them,” Mr O’Rourke told reporters at the time. “Why do we allow this to happen in this country? Why is this happening in this state? “
In the past, Mr Abbott has expressed a willingness to tighten gun laws, but has done the opposite. In the days after the shooting, he focused on the lack of access to mental health care, although the Uwalde shooter had no known history of mental health problems. On Wednesday morning, he tweeted a letter to state leaders calling for a special session to tackle mass violence in schools. Among the list of topics was “firearms safety”.
Texas has been the site of five deadly mass shootings since 2018 as the state loosens arms restrictions. In one episode, a gunman wearing tactical gear attacked black brothers at a church in Sutherland Springs, killing 26. In another, he killed 10 people at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas.
Mr O’Rourke’s emotional outburst has angered many parents in Texas and across the nation who have watched in horror since the latest mass shooting. He also signaled Mr O’Rourke’s forcible return to the issue of arms control.
At the stage of the Democratic Party’s initial presidential debate in 2020, he defended his support for a mandatory assault weapons repurchase program that would allow gun owners to resell their weapons to the government.
“Hell, yes, we’ll take your AR-15, your AK-47,” Mr O’Rourke said. “We will not allow it to be used against our compatriots anymore.”
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