Sen. Mark Kelly delivers profane assessment of 'nuts' US gun policy following horrific mass shooting in Texas
The United States suffered yet another horrific mass shooting on Tuesday, May 24, when an 18-year-old gunman attacked Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — killing at least 19 children along with two adults, one of whom was 4th Grade teacher Eva Mireles. And Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona expressed his frustration the following day when he told reporters it was “fucking nuts” that the shooter had easy access to firearms.
“It’s fucking nuts to do nothing about this," Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly tells reporters.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 25, 2022
The gunman, identified as Salvador Ramos by law enforcement, was also killed. Ramos’ motivation for the attack remains unclear.
The attack in Uvalde, which is about 80 miles west of San Antonio in Southern Texas, came less than two weeks after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where a gunman attacked a supermarket in a heavily Black section of the city and killed ten people. According to law enforcement, the suspect in that attack was a white nationalist who targeted his victims simply because they were Black.
Kelly’s frustration over all the mass shootings in the U.S. was obvious on May 25, when he told reporters, “It’s fucking nuts to do nothing about this.”
Kelly has first-hand experience with gun violence. He is married to fellow Democrat and former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head during a mass shooting outside a grocery store in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, 2011. Giffords suffered major injuries but survived, while six others were killed. The shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, pled guilty to 19 counts and is presently serving a life sentence in federal prison.
Kelly is up for reelection in 2022, and Arizona’s GOP and Democratic U.S. Senate primaries are set for August 2. Once a deep red state, Arizona now has two Democratic U.S. senators: Kelly and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who isn’t up for reelection until 2024.
On May 24, Kelly posted a Twitter thread in response to the Uvalde shooting. The Arizona senator tweeted:
Gabby and I are heartbroken for the Texas families who just had their lives forever devastated by gun violence. I know how helpless a person can feel when their family is impacted in this way. I know that every parent whose kid came home from school today is hugging them tighter.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) May 24, 2022
It infuriates me that Americans have come to expect that their federal government will once again react to the murder of schoolchildren by doing nothing.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) May 24, 2022
Politicians in Washington spend countless hours fighting about nothing, but when it comes time to act on an issue that is unique to the United States and demands a response, they find a million reasons not to.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) May 24, 2022
There are commonsense reforms we can pass to reduce gun violence that align with our rights and are supported across the political spectrum. After witnessing yet another tragedy, Arizonans are right to expect action from Washington.
They should demand it.
I know I will.
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) May 24, 2022
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