WASHINGTON, D.C. – One year ago at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting. The shooting was one of the deadliest school shootings in America. The community and Americans were horrified and heartbroken. Since that shooting, people put pressure on congress for gun control legislation.
Crosses with the names of the 19 students and two teachers are still outside the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The crosses honor the names of the victims of one of the deadliest school shootings in America.
Law enforcement agencies have been criticized for their response. Lapel video showed some of them standing in the school hallway even with the gunman still inside the classroom, waiting for more than an hour before they stormed in and killed him.
The uncle of nine-year-old Jackie Cazares says the anniversary of this shooting is overwhelming with sadness.
“This is the day that you reflect, you think about their, their love that they shared, you know, the Children and, and what Jackie was like and all you can do at this point is basically support each other on a day like this,” said Jessie Rizo, the uncle of Cazares.
Following the shooting, people and the president urged congress to act. After weeks of negotiations, congress passed the bipartisan “Safer Communities Act”. It enhances background checks for people under 21 years old who want to buy guns, provides millions of dollars for states to implement so-called “red flag” laws that allow officials to temporarily take guns away from people the court considers to be a danger to themselves or others. The legislation also puts more money into mental health programs and security in schools.
The legislation is seen as one of the biggest gun control bills in decades.
“Guns are certainly an epidemic in this country,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “It is the number one killer of our kids in America and the president is going to continue to ask congress to take more action.”
Before the Uvalde anniversary, President Joe Biden is wanting congress to enact an assault weapons ban, but with that idea being a hard ‘no’ for many republicans in both chambers it is unlikely that will happen.
