Cheney, Barrasso, and Others Respond to Tragic Texas Elementary School Shooting
And these are the moments in which we don't know what to do. We don't know what to say. We don't know where to look.
Today in Uvalde, Texas, 18 children and one teacher were killed by a lone gunman.
Today, 18 children woke up, brushed their teeth, and put on their favorite superhero t-shirt.
Today, 18 children looked for the prize at the bottom of the cereal box.
Today, 18 children annoyed their brothers or their sisters, but kissed them goodbye on their way out the door.
Today, 18 children looked at their parents one final time and told them they loved them.
They got on the bus, or their bikes, and they went to school.
And they never came home.
Today, a teacher, Eva Mireles, kissed her husband and her child goodbye. She walked out the door and, for reasons she didn't know just then, she looked over her shoulder one last time.
Today, these children sat huddled in a corner, scared. Mireles did her best to protect her babies. But her best was no match for an angry young man with a gun.
The gunman, named Salvador Ramos, was 18 years old.
He killed 19 people.
19 people.
18 children.
One teacher.
And we don't know what to do. We're angry. We're sad. We want to blame somebody, or something. We don't know what to say. We don't know where to look. So, we look to our leaders.
"I'm heartbroken by the horrific tragedy in Uvalde," Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney stated. "As a mother, I cannot imagine the pain and devastation being felt by the victims' families as a result of this senseless violence. May God be with them and comfort them during this time of unthinkable sadness."
Wyoming's Senator, John Barrasso, also took to Twitter to express his condolences.
"What happened in Uvalde, Texas is absolutely horrific," Senator Barrasso wrote. "Only a truly evil individual would go into a school to murder innocent children. Our focus right now must be on the families of the victims, the survivors, and the first responders."
The Times reported that Senator Barrasso was asked whether a compromise on gun safety legislation, or something similar, would be possible in the upcoming election year. Barrasso said that "People have to make that decision for themselves."
But, maybe now isn't the time to talk about laws and rights and all of the discourse that goes along with that. Maybe right now, tonight, we can just come together as a country, and mourn. Maybe we can come together as human beings first, Republicans or Democrats or something else, second. Maybe we can just be sad. Maybe we can wrap our arms around the victims and their families and hold them as they cry.
And then, we can go to our own children. We can look them in eyes and know that they are safe and we are lucky. We can grab them, squeeze them, hold them and not let go for a very, very long time. Because, fortunately, we still can.
A lot of people can't tonight.
These are the moments in which we don't know what to do. So, we do the only things we can think of. We cry. We yell. We hold our loved ones close and we pray that this never, ever happens to them.
That's tonight. That's right now. And maybe tomorrow, we can figure out how to work together to stop things like this from happening again.