An activist confronted Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at a Houston restaurant Friday night in a difficult exchange after lawmaker delivered a speech at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention blaming video games violent, social media and other factors in addition to weapons. for mass shootings in the US
At first, the activist appears to be entering into a civil debate with Cruz over expanding background checks and reducing the number of firearms in the United States, according to a video shared by Houston Indivisible, a liberal organization of political defense.
After the activist, later identified as a member of the board of Indivisible Houston, Benjamin Hernandez, becomes stronger as he addresses his points, a security guard intervenes and separates the man from Cruz.
“It’s harder when there are more weapons to stop armed violence,” Hernandez says from behind the guard’s arms. “It simply came to our notice then. We’re in this country and there are guns everywhere … why is it so difficult? “
More security comes as the man shouts “19 kids are dead!” and “that’s in your hands, Ted Cruz!”
The incident comes days after a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where authorities say a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School with a semi-automatic rifle similar to an AR- 15.
Republicans, including Cruz, have denounced the shooting, but have largely remained in the spotlight on mental health and other social factors rather than reducing the number of weapons in the nation, which exceeds the number of people living in the country.
On Friday, Cruz appeared at the NRA rally in Houston, just 300 miles from Uvalde, and said that “what stops the bad guys is the good guys.”
Hundreds rallied at the NRA convention, and many gun control activists called for the weekend’s events, which also included a speech by former President Trump, to be canceled after the Texas shooting. .
Gun control activists say they want what they describe as common-sense reform, such as universal background checks, extended red-flag laws and limits or bans on assault and semi-automatic rifles.
Another video on Youtube shows that Hernandez had initially approached Cruz to take a picture with the senator before engaging him in a debate, starting with a request to check the background.
Texas GOP lawmaker will not support stricter gun laws following the Murphy School shooting: Florida gun law passed after Parkland fired a “signal of what is possible.”
“What about background checks?” he asks.
“You don’t want to listen,” Cruz says before explaining that laws proposed by Democrats would not stop the shootings.
“We can make it harder for people to get weapons,” Hernandez said.