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Texas' Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is under fire for saying the Uvalde, Texas school massacre in which 19 children died was all part of God's "plan" and that "life is short no matter what."
Paxton is a diehard supporter of former Republican President Donald Trump who played a major role in a failed Supreme Court case to have the 2020 election results overturned.
He is also a vocal opponent of any gun-control legislation of any kind, including basic measures that would have kept the 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde from legally attaining the weapon with which he murdered 19 children and two teachers.
Paxton made his comments when asked during an interview with far-right radio host Trey Graham what he would tell the Uvalde victims' parents about the massacre.
Hear his comments below.
\u201cHere\u2019s Texas AG Ken Paxton on what he would tell Uvalde victims\u2019 families:\n\n\u201cI believe god always has a plan. Life is short, no matter what it is.\u201d\u201d— Sawyer Hackett (@Sawyer Hackett) 1655325137
Asked what he would tell parents whose child was slaughtered at school by a murderer carrying an assault weapon intended for war—not legal for civilians to own in any first world country on Earth except this one—Paxton told Graham:
"I think ... I would just have to say, if I had the opportunity to talk to the people I'd have to say, look, there's always a plan."
"I believe God always has a plan."
Paxton went on to essentially say children being "pulverized" and "decapitated" as Dr. Roy Guerrero, a Uvalde pediatrician who treated some of the victims described them, is just a part of life.
"Life is short no matter what it is. And certainly, we're not going to make sense of, you know, a young child being shot and killed way before their life expectancy."
Paxton has a long history of opposing even basic gun-control measures in the aftermath of other mass shootings in the Texas cities of El Paso and Sutherland Springs, because he claims gunmen are "not going to follow a single gun law."
The Uvalde gunman is an exception to this rule, however--he waited until after his 18th birthday to purchase the assault weapon with which he "pulverized" 19 children last month.
Nevertheless, Paxton continued to oppose recent legislation proposed in the wake of Uvalde that would raise the minimum age for gun purchases from 18 to 21, which may have prevented the Uvalde massacre.
Instead, Paxton is among the Republicans advocating for arming school staff instead, a measure that has repeatedly been shown to not only be ineffective but to make violence worse and was a total failure at Robb Elementary in Uvalde.
On Twitter, Paxton's comments left many people shocked and angry.
\u201c\u201cGod\u2019s plan was for your children to be terrorized and brutally murdered in cold blood to ensure that all mentally unstable 18 year olds could access weapons of war.\u201d - Ken Paxton\u201d— Nick Knudsen \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Nick Knudsen \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655396087
\u201cAccording to Ken Paxton, God\u2019s plan includes letting the Texas power grid fail, allowing the Uvalde massacre to unfold, and standing by while Texas runs out of water.\n\nMaybe Texas needs to pray harder.\n\nMore likely, God wants Texas to elect Democrats.\u201d— The USA Singers (@The USA Singers) 1655396977
\u201cAnyone who believes the slaughter of children is "God's plan," is either an idiot or their God is evil. I'm guessing the former.\n\nListen: Uvalde school massacre was God\u2019s plan says Texas AG Ken Paxton \u2013 \u2018life is short\u2019 https://t.co/d9e3gO4gOF\u201d— Tim Wise (@Tim Wise) 1655390731
\u201cBlew you kids head off?\nGOP: Its gods plan\n\nKid got raped?\nGOP: Its gods plan\n\nCan\u2019t afford life saving meds?\nGOP: Its gods plan\n\nI\u2019m sick and tired of this old tired excuse\n\nActively working to fix all these is God\u2019s Plan\n\nVote fatalistic GOP out!\n#ONEV1\nhttps://t.co/q56IA1fyif\u201d— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Limmer Neener Neener\ud83c\udf08\u262e\ufe0f (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6Limmer Neener Neener\ud83c\udf08\u262e\ufe0f) 1655383661
\u201cTired: Life is so precious that even miscarrying is a crime. \n\nWired: It\u2019s ok if kids are shot and killed in their classrooms because they\u2019ll get to heaven quicker. https://t.co/QSBnBLDuaC\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1655298505
\u201cSo @KenPaxtonTX says it was \u201cGod\u2019s plan\u201d re Uvalde. @GregAbbott_TX says \u201cit could\u2019ve been worse\u201d. Uvalde police/Tx govt officials aren\u2019t responding to hundreds of public records requests. TEXAS. WE ARE BROKEN. Ftlog please let\u2019s TRY voting in our best interests. Zero to lose.\u201d— HawkeyeInDallas (@HawkeyeInDallas) 1655392486
\u201cRepublicans: Justice Kavanaugh\u2019s life is so precious that we must prioritize and pass legislation that protects him from getting shot.\n\nAlso Republicans: It\u2019s a bummer when children are shot in class but life is short and, hey, they\u2019ll be in heaven sooner! https://t.co/QSBnBLlSM2\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1655342145
\u201cI hope god\u2019s plan involves Ken Paxton screaming in agony at some point.\u201d— Elden Monkey (@Elden Monkey) 1655394134
\u201c@fred_guttenberg @KenPaxtonTX I am certain God\u2019s plan doesn\u2019t include decapitated ten year olds in their classroom.\u201d— Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg) 1655378713
\u201cPer Paxton: God\u2019s plan is for some of the most heavily armed, well-funded and well-trained people on the planet to wait in a hall while 4th-graders have their heads blown from their bodies.\u201d— Dallas Gal \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea\ud83e\udd18\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udd96\ud83c\udf31 (@Dallas Gal \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddea\ud83e\udd18\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udd96\ud83c\udf31) 1655394701
Paxton is barred from buying a gun under federal law due to a raft of felony fraud indictments filed against him in 2015, funnily enough.