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Sen. Ted Cruz Friday called for significantly increased security in schools, including single entrances, armed guards, and more, as he railed against Democrats for pushing gun control after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Cruz, R-Texas, also lamented the “evil” behind the shooting that killed 21 in Robb Elementary School Tuesday as he spoke during an address at the annual National Rifle Association conference in Houston. He further called for increased law enforcement efforts to prosecute people who buy guns illegally.
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“There are best practices at federal buildings and courthouses where for security reasons they limit the means of entry to one entrance,” Cruz said, as he detailed a different school shooting where a shooter entered a back door. “Schools, likewise, should have a single point of entry.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP) (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)
“Fire exits should only open out. At that single point of entry, we should have multiple armed police officers or, if need be, military veterans trained to provide security and keep our children safe,” Cruz continued.
Cruz said that legislation he previously introduced with Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, could help prevent some future shootings by providing funding to secure schools. The bill also would create a federal task force to go after people who buy guns illegally, and it would ensure all federal felony databases are updated.
Cruz also railed against changes in U.S. culture, including violent media and isolation in “virtual life in the absence of community and faith and love” as fundamental problems that cause shootings like the one in Uvalde.
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The senator further attacked Democrats for suggesting more gun laws, when some places in the U.S. that have strict gun laws have high crime.
People leave the Uvalde Civic Center following a shooting earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Democrats, meanwhile, counter that point by alleging that many of the guns that contribute to crime in big cities like Chicago are bought elsewhere where there are more lax gun laws and taken to cities.
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Cruz was just one of several speakers at the NRA convention, which also featured NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott via a recorded address and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Noem argued that the value of the Second Amendment isn’t just about personal defense or hunting. She said it’s about freedom, and protecting citizens from the government.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (AP Photo/John Raoux)
“The Second Amendment is about deterrence, it’s about ensuring the government respects the rights and liberty of citizens,” Noem said, before reading the text of the Second Amendment. “The founders understood deeply that without an armed citizenry authentic freedom would not and could not survive… They were drawing on their own experience.”
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