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TEXAS DEMOCRATIC POLITICIAN Beto O’Rourke was ejected from a press conference held by the state’s Republican governor Greg Abbott last night after confronting him about the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde.
O’Rourke, who has been calling for years for gun reform, confronted Abbott and pointed in the governor’s face and accusing him of doing “nothing” to reduce gun violence.
“This is on you!” O’Rourke fumed at Abbott, who was seated at a table on the stage and surrounded by officials including Texas’s senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, two longstanding pro-gun politicians.
“This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything for the kids of this state,” O’Rourke said. “I’m standing up for the kids of this state to stop this from happening again.”
19 children and two teachers were killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, which ended when the 18-year-old assailant was killed by a Border Patrol team.
Investigators are working to track the massacre that lasted more than 40 minutes at the school.
O’Rourke’s interruption plunged the press conference – where Abbott revealed further details of the attack – into chaos and put security officials on high alert.
The governor sat stone-faced just a few feet away as O’Rourke, a 2020 US presidential candidate who is challenging Abbott for his job this year, confronted him.
“Sir, you are out of line,” someone yelled loudly from the stage at O’Rourke. As he refused to step away, police intervened and voices rose.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, a Republican, shouted at him “you’re a sick son of a bitch (to) come to a deal like this to make a political issue”.
“Why are we letting this happen in this country? Why is this happening in this state, year after year, city after city?” O’Rourke asked reporters after leaving the auditorium.
“This is on all of us if we do not do something,” he said. “We’re going to stop the next one. We’re standing up right here in Uvalde, Texas right now, that’s why I’m here.”
At the meeting, Abbott revealed night that the gunman shared his plan to attack a school on Facebook approximately 15 minutes before opening fire, and that the attack weapon was a AR-15 assault rifle.
He also said the gunman had no known criminal or mental health history. The gunman legally bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his 18th birthday, authorities said.
About a half-hour before the mass shooting, he sent the first of three online messages warning about his plans, Abbott said.
He wrote that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then that he had shot the woman. In the last note, sent about 15 minutes before he reached the school, he said he was going to shoot up an elementary school.
Facebook rapidly released a statement after Abbott’s comments, saying the posts “were private one-to-one text messages that were discovered after the terrible tragedy occurred”.
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So you can’t buy a beer until your 21 but you can buy an AR ~ 15 tactical weapon when you are 18, makes sense….
@Malachi Shanks: and then when youre 21, you can buy both as well … Boom
The exhausted mantra that its not the guns that are bad, its the people, is surely redundant now.. Even for the staunchest Gun rights supporter.
There are bad people everywhere but having easy access to assault weapons just makes it easy for bad people to do bad things with them.. Unlike most other countries.. Simples
@Nigel o’Neill: Agreed, but the sale of assault weapons impacts other countries too. I remember Kate Adie describing how local tragedies happen once the guns appear. It creates a market and then wipes out entire villages abroad. Closer to home, does anyone remember a sudden glut of cheap knives as the UK banned carrying knives? I think an Australian-style amnesty will be the best way out for Americans.
As long as the NRA are funding the men in power nothing will change. Money going around in circles and individuals are profiteering from it. The NRA run America.
@2thFairy: yes correct my friend. The numbers are huge, when you look at the donations to Republican governors and senators from the NRA… Runs into 10s of millions
@Nigel o’Neill: the NRA funds both republicans and Democrats. Its time someone brought forward legislation to prevent any elected official from accepting donations from the NRA. only then will we see sense around this madness!
@Angela McCarthy: no just NRA, all lobby groups. Between PACS and direct donations to candidates accounts for billions (3.8b in 2019 and 2020). If you are paying huge sums of money, it’s not for the good of your health, you’ll want something out of it and the politicians are more than happy to provide
Terrible stunt to pull at the press conference today. He should never have done that and really should have let the grieving parents mourn their children properly first. Current administration will do nothing about it either.
@Maurice O Neill: Abbott and Cruz should be ashamed of themselves, O’Rourke is right this is totally on these two lowlives.
@Pat Nolan: the people of texas love their guns, hardly the politicians fault. This is self serving political theatre from o’rourke.
@Maurice O Neill: while it was probably a political stunt, when is actually the best time to do it? Now, while there is attention on it, or in a few weeks when the news cycle has moved on to something else? Maybe they need a bit of shock and awe to force them into action because they keep doing the same thing over and over again and of course nothing changes.
That said, after sandy hook they’ll do nothing. They’d rather pack the kids off to school in body armour. They’ll probably set up a security service and make it a corporation, like they’ve done with the prison service such is their logic to gun control.
@Maurice O Neill: is it possible that he was genuinely enraged
@Maurice O Neill: this is exactly what is required. These vile politicians are funded by the NRA and need to be exposed in any way possible. The softly, softly approach clearly hasn’t worked. America is an utter disgrace.
@Seamus Mac: and the question does need to be asked of them….”do you love your guns or your children more”?
@Maurice O Neill: you make my stomach churn
@Pat Nolan: Yes they should be ashamed. But the people voted them in. At the next election if the people continue to vote republicans into power in Texas then the people are the biggest problem and they don’t want to change the gun laws
@Míchael Búrké: mossy is a giant t.roll, pay no attention, he has the issues. Major ones.
@Rebecca Owens: I think that question was well and truly answered after Sandy Hook. The American public are willing to accept a certain amount of dead kids to protect the status quo. And I mean ALL Americans, left right and centre. If something like this happened here or in the vast majority of western countries the government would act or the people would force them to. Even though the majority of Americans are in favour of common sense federal gun laws nothing happens because of a general malaise and apathy of their people. Its truly become a horrible country.
@Seamus Mac: your wrong he one of few who will risk his neck to speak up unlike the 50 in senate who stay quiet
@Maurice O Neill: why was it so terrible??? People need to be really angry, not just mourning and sympathetic.. Its only such anger and calling out the faux empathy that may bring about the huge change required
@Maurice O Neill: And right on cue, Maurice is there to back up his Republican idols. I just thank god he didn’t confront Trump, you probably would’ve been so angry you wouldn’t have been able to type!! Pathetic.
@Michael Byrne: maurice disappears as soon as he arrives as soon as the most basic logic comes into play.
@Maurice O Neill: it was needed as they would have put the blame on the school not having armed guards and teachers not having trained in armed defense.
He took it to them, the Mayor of the town attacked him as all good republican members should. Thats the worst part, the republicans use guns as part of their political agenda.
@Rebecca Owens: I think we know the answer, its a different culture.
@Stephen Walshe: He’s a democrat, hardly “risking his neck” by saying he’s for more gun control. He hijacked proceedings for his own ends.
@Joshua Walsh: Beto wants to get elected. Don’t forget that. He’s a politician like the rest.
@Maurice O Neill: Where are you at : an individual with real heart and standing in that.community is overcome with emotion and cant contain it .That is.somehow unacceptable it seems. Should have sent his thoughts and prayers instead . O’Rourke has achieved something
@Míchael Búrké: Why
Saw Ted Cruz being interviewed on SKY News about Gun Violence, WHAT A POS.
@Ian O’Donovan: Just watched it.. he’d turn your stomach!
@Ian O’Donovan:
Jimmy Kimmel did a piece on them before main show, excellent montage of what they say each time, and what they do.
@Ian O’Donovan: he is blaming the whole thing on an unlocked backdoor. Not that an 18 year old could buy an assault rifle no questions asked. Blaming the democrats for fillibustering some bill he tried to bring in to have armed police at every school, as if that is a perfectly normal requirement for a civilised country, or like both sides aren’t stopping bills that could help normal working people constantly. He is the most morally bankrupt, spineless and supine politician i have ever seen. Shat himself when the lad from sky news starting asking him some pertinent questions and started trotting out the usual corrupt media BS.
I think America needs to push the reset button on the country
@Shaun Gallagher: thought the original idea of Right To Bear arms was applied to Muskets not machine guns but stand to be corrected.
@Ian O’Donovan: exactly its wasn’t meant for AR-15s
@Shaun Gallagher: 100% and while doing so, stop looking to reset other autonomous countries
@Ian O’Donovan:
In 1791 the only mass produced weapons were single shot. Colt revolver was about 50 years later. And they still always skip past the first half of the sentence.
@Ian O’Donovan: Come on now, the constitution gets reinterpreted a fair bit. Unless anyone really thinks lads 200 years ago wanted it to protect gay marriage and abortion. The guns then were different as we’re the guns you’d be attacked with. The truth in this case is that guy shouldn’t have had guns under the existing laws as you aren’t supposed to have such a weapon under 21. So new laws aren’t going to be a panacea. Also most gun crime in America is gang crime or otherwise criminal activity i.e. they don’t care about the law. I’m not opposed to more gun control in the US but it’s disingenuous to pretend it would solve all issues.
@Ian O’Donovan: A one shot black powder musket that was to be kept and used for defense of the state.
@v39e84kK:
Both long guns used were bought legally at age 18.
@Ixtrix Net: You are correct, I read something the other day it must have been incorrect.
@Ian O’Donovan: You’re right, but the second amendment also mentions that the holder should be part of a ‘well regulated militia’, but strangely enough, this point is often overlooked.
O’ Rourke is absolutely right. Abbott has blood on his hands. Abbott is the same guy who is putting a bounty on women who may have had an abortion and wants to imprison them. Abbott, Cruz and the utterly corrupt GOP are all taking bribes from the NRA. Gun manufacturers stock prices will rise as a result of this so its a win win for the investors. This is the country of so called pro life religious fanatics who are quite happy to allow children get slaughtered. Sadly Biden and the do nothing Democrats will live up to their name. The corporate media continues to fail to call out the massive corruption and bribery that is endemic in US politics. They still believe the US is a Democracy. 90% of US citizens want stricter gun controls but the evil politicians who misrepresent them will continue to take the bribes to do nothing
Texas is probably the hardest state to win on a gun reduction platform. It’s quite literally a cowboy state. Guns are in their blood.
And I’ve said this before, guns are not the problem. It’s lack of checks, evaluations & soft buying laws.
Overnight, make it illegal for under 25s to own guns, for proper mental health evaluations and background checks to be done before permits are renewed & tax bullets $20 each. Offer a tax break on guns being retired. The value of the gun comes off your state taxes
The guns already out there will dwindle, new sales will dwindle and slowly it will change.
@Sequoia: Jordan Klepper did a documentary ‘Jordan Klepper Solves Guns’, which is on YouTube. The ultimate point was surprising. He interviewed members of a militia, gun advocates, etc. All these people were revealed to agree with greater regulation, background checks, you name it. They had no objections. It’s elements of the GOP and campaign financing, the right-wing media and their viewers and voters who act as a mutually re-enforcing block on political progress and legislation.
@David A. Murray: it’s mainly the NRA who are paying for the apathy. If there is any sort of additional regs brought in for guns, it undermines their POV that guns are safe etc.
Guns are safe. If they are handled correctly by people with training but there is no requirement for this.
People need lessons and a licence to drive a car yet they can rock up to Walmart and walk out with any amount of guns without any friction.
@Sequoia: Doubt you’d get far with that platform. Texans like to shoot their guns! Be it at the range or while hunting. 20 a bullet? You’d be laughed out of it!!!
@Sequoia: Yes you are absolutely right .To talk of a ban is pure pie in the sky .The only hope for now is checks ,regulation etc etc .But when Sandyhook couldn’t reach them I fear nothing can .Mad ,mad, mad country
@Sequoia: Guns don’t kill people, tis lack of checks what does. Duh!
wake up America and for once do the right thing and not what promotes the dollar
O’Rourke was called an S.O.B of course for.causing embarrassment when he invaded the press conference : we can’t have.embarrassment now can we . The crux of the.problem of course is both monetary and political .When Sandyhook couldn’t touch the stony hearts of those Republican senators nothing will .Barack Obama tried his level best and all these years later gets emotional about it .Mad mad country .A president that is.barely able to stand ,an invisible vice president and the evil orange blossom himself just biding his time .
@Joan Grennan: Did Obama not once have a majority in the house and the Senate? Fairly sure he did. Why did he not pass gun control then? Anyone know?
@v39e84kK: he tried in 2013 and several swing state democrats voted against it. Just because you have senate majority doesn’t mean you will automatically be able to push bills through, see the likes of joe manchin these days. You seem to post a lot on american politics for someone that doesn’t seem very informed on the topic Dominic.
@A$AP Ragnick: I asked a question, thanks for the answer which was that even a Democrat president, who was popular, couldn’t get it done. Somehow I can’t see Biden managing.
No need to be so nitpicky that I couldn’t recall the exact details of something Obama didn’t achieve 9 years ago.
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