Republican Senator Ted Cruz is one of the most pro-gun members of Congress, and the aftermath of the horrific Uvalde school shooting in his state back in May seems to have only deepened his dedication to the gun lobby.
And if the crowd at a recent panel discussion he joined is any indication, people in his state have had it with him.
During a recent talk at The Texas Tribune Festival, Cruz as always touted the usual Republican boilerplate about solving school shootings by adding more armed police officers in schools.
He was immediately booed by the crowd and abruptly shut down by a heckler he tangled with.
See their argument below.
\u201cTexas crowd boos Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for proposing more police officers in schools to stop mass shootings.\n\nCruz: \u201cYou guys can instead sing kumbaya with them and hope they\u2019ll just stop.\u201d\n\nAudience member: \u201c18-year-old boys don\u2019t need an AR-15!\u201d\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1664375708
Cruz's comments came during a discussion of gun violence and the Uvalde shooting, during which he touted legislation he recently tried to pass that would double the number of armed police in schools.
Of course, the school in Uvalde infamously had its own dedicated police officers on staff who failed to stop the shooting, as did the swarms of additional law enforcement who first responded to the massacre. Accordingly, Cruz's tooting of his own horn was immediately met with boos.
Cruz immediately became defensive and condescending, telling the crowd:
"Look, if you have a solution to stop the deranged evil murderers, I'd love to hear it. My solution is to throw them in jail. Stop them before they commit these crimes."
"There are some we won't know about beforehand, and the single best step to stop them is to have armed officers on campus that can stop them before they kill our kids."
As the crowd became more incensed, Cruz turned to outright mockery, telling the crowd:
"Instead you guys can sing 'Kumbaya' with them and hope they'll just stop, but what you're proposing doesn't work."
That of course isn't true, as proven by statistical data on mass shootings worldwide.
More importantly, Cruz and other Republicans' proposal that more armed law enforcement be added to schools has been proven ineffective in multiple studies and has even been shown to make violence *worse* because of the well-documented "weapons effect."
Whether it was Cruz's total disregard for the facts or his arrogance—or both—his comments brought one audience member to the end of her patience.
She interrupted him to shout:
"Eighteen-year-old boys don't need an AR-15!"
The thunderous applause she received should be instructive to Cruz and the GOP.
On Twitter, Cruz's hecklers became heroes to many.
\u201cAbout time hecklers started showing up to demonstrate the truth about tighter gun control: most Americans support it.\u201d— The Hoarse Whisperer (@The Hoarse Whisperer) 1664384301
\u201cFrankly @tedcruz should get booed anywhere, everywhere, all the time. If ever there was a man created to simply get booed, it's him.\u201d— are we having fun yet? (@are we having fun yet?) 1664387291
\u201cTed Cruz daily dunked on heals my soul.\u201d— V4E Mac (@V4E Mac) 1664381028
And Cruz's sneering mendacity and absurd proposals left many others disgusted.
\u201c@therecount @atrupar I suppose you can pace sand bags at all of the entrances, put steel covers over the windows. Also, why not add barbwire around the perimeter of the schools. But do you really want your kids in this environment. Would the GOP elites want their kids to learn in this setting?\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1664375708
\u201c@therecount @SenTedCruz @tedcruz how's it feel to be one of the most hated politician in Texas?\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1664375708
\u201cWho wants to tell him how much help all the armed officers in Uvalde were?\u201d— Philippe (@Philippe) 1664387460
\u201c@therecount Cruz doesn't seem to get the concept of being a public servant. If even your most loyal constituents are loudly and fervently disagreeing with your proposed policy, maybe you need to rethink your position. Then again, they keep voting him into office so what do I know.\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1664375708
\u201c@therecount Actually, what we're proposing works and has been proven over and over again around the world. \n\nYou can't have gun related crimes if you take the guns out of the equation.\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1664375708
\u201cMore of this please, more often.\n\n\u201d— 1_Tru_Me (@1_Tru_Me) 1664384530
\u201c@therecount Cops literally stood outside and sang kumbaya while watching kids get murdered @tedcruz\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1664375708
So far, seven law enforcement officers are under investigation in the state of Texas for their failures to stop the Uvalde shooting.
