There are 535 members of Congress. Each member responsible for representing the interests of this country, of people, of human beings, of kids. Not responsible for representing PACs or lobbies, corporations or special interests. Not responsible for focusing on the next election.
Remembering that, we can meet silence with action. Tragedy with common purpose. The disagreements with compromise and consensus that allow us to do better — not perfect but better than what we have today. Shouldn’t be too much to ask for the kids who died in art class, should it?
Any question, any hesitation on how to move forward has been answered by gun violence survivors, young people, high school students who are already leading us towards the difficult, important conversation that this country owes them, owes all of us.
They're at the table. They don't have a shortage of ideas: universal background checks, stop the new sale of assault weapons & high-capacity magazines, give federal help to school districts, fully support research on gun violence, improve record sharing, implement Red Flag Laws.
Texans can use our proud history of gun ownership, gun rights, gun safety, and gun responsibility as a place from which to lead. We can sit down with any person of any party in any place and at any time to figure out how we can make sure that this does not continue to happen.
The open dialogue we’ve been having across Texas is missing from Congress. The House and Senate owe this country a real discussion, debate, and vote on these issues. That's how it's supposed to work. I will continue to do my best to meet this crisis with the urgency it deserves.
