Calls for gun reform and gun legislation rang higher than usual following the Tuesday elementary school shooting that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Many on social media criticized Republican lawmakers for not allowing gun legislation to be passed.
Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, who represents the district where Uvalde is located, wrote that his "heart breaks for the city of Uvalde. Pray for our families."
"We are hurting in Uvalde," Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales says as he tears up. He represents the district where the Robb Elementary school shooting took place."Children are the most innocent thing that we have in life and we have to protect them with everything we have." pic.twitter.com/VZcs7d989T
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 24, 2022
Gonzales's response to the incident on Twitter prompted much social media backlash, with many users expressing their outrage by citing his opposition to stricter gun control measures.
"Don’t come in here with some bible verse thinking that will make everything better," one user wrote. "Your support, idolization, and normalization of heavy weapons contribute to this issue in the first place."
Actor Matthew McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, described gun violence as an "epidemic we can control," on Instagram on Wednesday. "Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.
"It's time we re-evaluate and renegotiate our wants from our needs."
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Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he's "not going to talk about basketball. Any basketball questions don't matter," only focusing on the shooting that occurred. "When are we going to do something? I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences. I'm tied of the moments of silence."
Steve Kerr on today's tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas. pic.twitter.com/lsJ8RzPcmC
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 24, 2022
Kerr's comments on the shooting went viral on social media, garnering over 20 million views in 11 hours.
The children at Robb Elementary School were two days away from their summer break when Tuesday's massacre unfolded, but the rest of the school year has since been canceled.
The nonprofit organization Gun Violence Archive stated that there have been at least 212 mass shootings in 2022 in the United States so far. Tuesday was the 144th day of the year, which means that there were almost 1.5 mass shootings per day.
"Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us."
Matthew McConaughey
Beto O'rourke called out the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, saying that "if you have any decency, you will immediately withdraw from this weekend's NRA (National Rifle Association) convention and urge them to hold it anywhere but Texas."
Uvalde has a population of approximately 16,000 people.
Sandy Hook families speak out
Families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 spoke out on the shooting in Texas, with many saying that it is "beyond time to take action on gun control."
Thoughts and prayers didn’t bring my mother back after she was gunned down in a hallway at #SandyHook - they also won’t bring the 15 murdered at #RobbElementaryschool back to life. IT IS BEYOND TIME TO TAKE ACTION. Text “ACT” to 644-33. @MomsDemand
— Erica Leslie Lafferty (@ericalaff) May 24, 2022
Nicole Hockley, whose son died during Sandy Hook, set up the lobby group Sandy Hook Promise, writing in USA Today that she "knows of the unspeakable pain that parents of children killed during Tuesday's Texas school shooting are experiencing right now. I also know what they will endure for the rest of their lives."
Neil Heslin, who lost his son, told The New York Times that “I guess it’s something in society we know will happen again, over and over. It's almost like an instant replay of Sandy Hook.”
"They f------ failed our kids again": Father of Parkland school shooting victim reacts to Texas elementary school shooting https://t.co/RdYLvfum24 pic.twitter.com/ObKFsMo41P
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 24, 2022
Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter, told MSNBC that "people failed. I’m done. They f***ing failed our kids again, OK? I’m done. I’ve had it. How many more times?”