Republican Senator Ted Cruz is facing backlash following one of the worst school shootings in United States history. A teenage gunman set fire to an elementary school in Texas and killed 21 people, including 19 children, sparking a debate over much-needed gun reform. And Ted Cruz is at the center of the issue.
Speaking to reporters after the Texas shootings, Ted Cruz said, “We need to devote more law enforcement resources to stopping violent criminals.”
Ted Cruz is known for blocking all Democratic Party efforts to change gun laws in the country. On Thursday, May 26, during a community condolence event following the fatal shooting, Ted Cruz took to the stage answering questions about gun reforms.
“Why only in America?”
US Senator walks away from Ted Cruz @Stone_SkyNews After being asked if “this is a moment to reform gun laws” https://t.co/d2oBaP4KvW#ted cruz #America #texasshooting #gun law pic.twitter.com/gL4TYeg04t
— Sky News (@SkyNews) 26 May 2022
“Essentially, when some violent psychopath kills people if you want to stop violent crime, [gun law reform] Democrats have proposals? None of them would have stopped it,” Cruz said.
But when asked why there were 288 school shootings between 2009 and 2018, while Mexico reported only eight school shootings in the same time period, Cruz declined to acknowledge that guns are an “American” problem.
“Why only in America? Why is this American exceptionalism so terrible?” Asked by a Sky News reporter, Cruz replied: You know, I’m sorry you think American exceptionalism is terrible. You’ve got your political agenda.
American exceptionalism is basically the idea that the United States is inherently different from other countries.
Cruz said before getting furious, “Why is it that people come to America from all over the world? Because it’s the freest, most prosperous, safest country on earth. Stop being a preacher.”
Republican lawmakers have consistently blamed the massacre only on the mental health of an insane person, rather than taking over the ‘gun lobby’. According to Open Secret, an organization that tracks money in American politics, Cruz has received the most funding from gun rights supporters in recent years.