Beto O'Rourke

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke has blamed Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for inaction on gun control.

He and other GOP officials said the proper place to focus is on mental health and “hardening schools,” or making them more secure, rather than on restricting guns. He should not be old enough to purchase a gun.” But for many — including those in the high school auditorium — the partisanship and the politics are inescapable. Ariana Diaz, 17, said she has friends in the close-knit community who lost siblings and mothers. Sen. Ted Cruz, standing behind Abbott, shook his head and said “sit down!” while one woman in the crowd chanted, “Let him speak.” Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin yelled that O'Rourke was a “sick son of a bitch.” Some people cried. “Gov. Abbott, I have something to say," the Democrat challenging Abbott for governor this fall said Wednesday, pointing a finger at his rival.

O'Rourke once famously said "we're going to take your AR-15" during a Democratic presidential debate in 2019.

Another poll in October showed that 32 percent of Texans strongly disapproved of how state leaders and the legislature had handled gun violence, while 9 percent disapproved somewhat. "You want a solution? "You want a solution? "You want a solution? However, other polling from the Texas Politics Project may indicate that there's room for O'Rourke to focus on guns. Stop selling AR-15s in the state of Texas. You want a solution?

After being removed from the press conference, O'Rourke spent the day with the victims' families, like the family of Alithia Ramirez.

"Abbott came here today to say he was gonna do something, but he's not going to doing anything." "This is on you until you choose to do something different," said O'Rourke, a Democrat who is challenging Abbott in the November election. "This is the most predictable event in Texas. I can predict this will continue to happen. "The governor today said that this was totally unpredictable," O'Rourke said. After Abbott paused at the end of his 19-minute update, O'Rourke stood up and walked to the stage. "She just barely turned 10 years old," O'Rourke said. Over 90 Texans, including school children, those shopping at the grocery store or attending Sunday service, have been killed in mass shootings. "Her birthday balloons were still in the kitchen with enough helium in them that they were on the ceiling. "Abbott promised to do something after El Paso, he promised to do something after Midland Odessa and he promised to do something after Santa Fe High School," O'Rourke said. Scores have been wounded in the attacks. He said he spoke with teachers who survived the mass shooting as well as a doctor, who in 2019, was in O'Rourke's hometown El Paso and tended to patients during the Walmart mass shooting that left 23 people dead. "You said this is not predictable," O'Rourke said, "this is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything ... I'm standing up for the people of the state to stop this from happening again."