In the days since a gunman massacred 19 children and two schoolteachers in Uvalde, two of Texas’ most prominent figures stepped into the national spotlight to help us make sense of this heinous act. One seemed to sense political opportunity and defended the deadly status quo. The other channeled our collective outrage at the broken politics that blocks even the smallest steps to protect our communities from more gun violence.
The responses of actor Matthew McConaughey and Gov. Greg Abbott were not only widely divergent, they mirrored a broader disconnect between the reaction of most Americans to the endless barrage of mass murders in our cities and towns and the refusal by partisan politicians to do anything about them.
First, in an extraordinary op-ed in the American-Statesman last week and later, in a stirring speech at the White House, McConaughey reflected the utter desperation and anger so many of us feel in the wake of Uvalde. At the White House, McConaughey fought back tears and slammed his fist on the podium, his pain, like ours, raw. He said we can’t waste any more time; we need immediate action to address the gun violence that’s become common in Anytown, USA and now Uvalde.
On the day after the gunman used an AR-15 rifle to pulverize his 21 victims, leaving some little bodies so horrifically damaged they were difficult to identify, Abbott spoke at a press conference at the Uvalde Civic Center, flanked by politicians and police. The governor lamented evil and called the shooting intolerable. But then Abbott said “it could have been worse” — a comment woefully lacking in empathy — and he praised a police response that now appears disastrously inept. The following day, Abbott said he was “livid,” not because yet another Texas school had become a killing field but because he “was misled” about the police response. With Uvalde and Americans reeling in their grief, the comment was grossly inept because it seemed to focus on him, not America’s collective anguish.
A gun owner himself, McConaughey called for universal background checks, raising the age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21 and red flag laws that allow courts to keep guns away from people deemed too dangerous to own them. Polls show most Americans support these changes. Our editorial board has called on lawmakers to adopt them and others and we do so again today.
Abbott blamed mental health and said any attempt to limit access to guns “was not a real solution.” The governor refuses calls for a special legislative session to deal with gun violence; instead he wants to appoint committees to study school security. That’s not nearly enough. Texas – which leads the nation in school and other mass shootings – needs legislative action on guns now. Abbott should lead and respond to the demands of the majority of Texans who want meaningful, substantive change. He should call lawmakers back to Austin to address this deadly crisis immediately.
We saw a similar disconnect at a Capitol Hill hearing last week. After listening to 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo describe how she smeared herself with a classmate’s blood and feigned death to avoid being killed in her Uvalde classroom, Republicans defended the status quo. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he would fight efforts to restrict access to guns, declaring them “knee-jerk reactions.” In an appalling display of insensitivity, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, left the hearing room; he couldn’t be bothered to at least hear the victims’ emotional testimony.
Meanwhile, Democrats pushed hard for reform. The Democratic-controlled House last Wednesday approved a package of proposals; only five Republicans voted in support and the bill is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Senate. We implore Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn to support at least some attempts at reform, like red flag laws and universal background checks. Cornyn, who is leading Republicans in the Senate talks, should act with courage in the face of opposition from his party.
While Abbott projected cool political hubris at that May 25 press conference, McConaughey last week channeled Americans’ collective anguish and the desperation we feel when children are being slaughtered and politicians won’t do anything meaningful to stop it. They refuse to act even as a majority of Americans want and demand change.
Empathy is not a prerequisite for elected office, but the apparent inability of Abbott and Republican lawmakers to feel or demonstrate it has become a frustrating obstacle to bold and urgently needed action. Gov. Abbott, Sens. Cruz and Cornyn, Texas Republican lawmakers, it is long past time to recognize what is obvious to to many: doing nothing isn’t working. We cannot in good conscience let these slaughters continue. Do something.
Austin American-Statesman
