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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — There is an incredible sense of numbness and hopelessness that gun violence activists and elected officials are trying to fight against. Beyond thoughts and prayers, they’re calling for action and change.
Texas has had more mass shootings at schools than any other state since 2013. Now, once again, there’s a repeated demand for legislation. On top of that, leaders said they want this weekend’s NRA convention at the George R Brown to be canceled. They said this is not the time.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee organized a vigil at the federal building downtown Tuesday night. She was joined by State Rep. Gene Wu, Fiel Houston, Mom’s Demand Action, representatives from the Houston Area Women’s Center, and relatives of local gun violence victims.
The congresswoman called for emergency sessions at the state and federal levels to put forth and vote on gun violence legislation restricting who and what types of weapons are allowed.
Speaking to the fact that Uvalde has a large migrant population, she also asked that any immigration proceedings involving families of the victims be paused.
There was a time for songs and prayer. The crowd also lit candles to honor the lives cut short in mass shootings that have taken place in New York, Southern California, and now in Uvalde.
“We have to come together and decide that we don’t want children to be murdered. That it’s not worth it,” Karin Knapp with Moms Demand Action said.
“America, wake up. This is real. This is not normal that you’re trying to make normal. Kids don’t have a chance to live their life being kids. America, what are we doing?” said George Kemp Jr., who is the father of a gun violence victim in Houston.
“There is no real answer other than where is our courage? Where is our courage? Where is our resolve that we will just say ‘I’m going to ‘let children live,” Jackson Lee added.
There are no signs that Congress has the votes to pass legislation addressing mass shootings. President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Gov. Greg Abbott are currently still set to speak at this weekend’s NRA convention according to our partners at the Houston chronicle.