Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) opted to appear at the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) convention in Houston, Texas on Friday after multiple Republican lawmakers backed out of making public appearances in wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
Now, Cruz is facing deep scrutiny not only for attending the conference but also for his remarks praising firearms. During the convention, Cruz also offered a number of reasons he believes are to blame for the shooting other than guns.
“It’s a lot easier to moralize about guns and to shriek about those you disagree with politically. But it’s never been about guns,” Cruz said on Friday, after naming tons of excuses for mass shootings, such as “broken families, absent fathers, declining church attendance, social media bullying, violent online content ... chronic isolation, prescription drug, and opioid abuse.”
Speaking of the shooting, Cruz said, “The entire state ― the entire country ― is horrified and grieving." He added, “And it is an evil that has happened too many damn times.”
The lawmaker's remarks have been deeply criticized as many Twitter users have weighed in with their reactions. Some users also pushed back to refute Cruz's claims.
Cruz's remarks at the convention come just days after his previous attempt to blame other factors for the mass shooting. Distancing from the discussions and calls for stricter legislation on gun control, the Texas lawmaker claimed suggested that one solution might be to have fewer doors at education facilities.
“One of the things that everyone agreed is, don’t have all of these unlocked back doors,” he told Fox News Wednesday. “Have one door into and out of the school and have ... armed police officers at that door.”
During his speech on Friday, Cruz also echoed his previous call for more armed law enforcement agents. Those remarks came amid reports criticizing the Uvalde Police Department and its officers' delayed actions to confront and subdue the shooter.
“Ultimately, as we all know, what stops armed bad guys is armed good guys,” Cruz told the NRA. A bipartisan group of lawmakers are reportedly working to craft a proposed piece of legislation that, according to HuffPost, will include: "more stringent background checks, proposals to bolster school safety, and 'red flag' laws that allow authorities to temporarily seize firearms from people who have been determined to be a danger to themselves or others."