Vigil at Dallas College honors victims of Uvalde and those killed by firearms

Democratic lawmakers and members of the Dallas College Mountain View campus community honored the 19 children and two teachers killed in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 and called on voters to vote November 8 to change the laws that would raise the age to buy high-powered weapons to 21.

The attendees gathered in front of the altar with the photos of the 21 victims of the shooting in Uvalde, just on November 1, the date on which Catholics celebrate the Day of All Saints Innocents and that, according to the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead, is when deceased minors return home to visit their families and consume the offering that has been placed in the offerings.

Kat Vargas, a member of the Moms Demand Action organization in Dallas, recommended that voters think about the Uvalde families who will no longer be able to have celebrations with their young children when voting.

“For those who are familiar with the Mexican tradition, today is the day that the children arrive home, and they arrive first because they are eager to return,” Vargas said, her voice cracking. “So I hope you will join me in hope for our families.”

Similar events—organized by the group Mexican American Legislators—were held in Austin, Brownsville, Houston, Pasadena, and San Antonio.

This reminder was attended by Democratic legislators and candidates, who are fighting to be able to impose more restrictive laws on gun control.

“Today in Texas, guns are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents,” said Victoria Neave Criado, representative of the 107th district in the Texas Legislature. “In Texas, an average of 372 children and adolescents are killed by firearms annually, of which 39% are from suicide and 56% are from homicide. Latinos and teens in Texas are twice as likely to die (from) guns as their white peers.”

Neave Criado commented that in 2021 there were at least 10 shooting incidents on school campuses and there were 10 deaths; in 2022, there have been nine incidents and 23 people have already been killed.

Ana María Ramos, representative of the 102nd district in the Legislature, said that the families of Uvalde who lost a loved one at Robb Elementary School could be any Hispanic family and recommended voting.

“This vote, really, is life or death,” Ramos said. “You, we, are going to vote not only for the exercise of going to vote, but for our family, our friends, our community, our children.”

The altar was placed by students and is the same one used in the Mundo Latino exhibit at the State Fair of Texas.

Next to each of the photographs of the victims of the shooting, a poster was placed with a message and a petition on their behalf. Some were about reading more about gun violence or donating to gun violence survivor groups.