Public Comment

Are we insane? Has America fallen into a downward spiral of moral decay? Has excessive greed and lust for power replaced our basic sense of decency? Do we need terrifying assault weapons swung over our shoulders to bolster our collective insecurity? I write this letter with my hands shaking with anger and tears running down my face.

I write this scathing attack on lawmakers who remain unmoved while 10 beautiful African-American kids were gunned down in Buffalo New York? And an additional 19 beautiful children and two of their teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas by a teenager filled with uncontrollable rage. Why did the social media company that witnessed the gunman’s death threats not alert law enforcement?

Why did law enforcement officers who were fully trained for a hostage situation not take immediate action but waited 78 minutes before a police officer defied orders, entered the classroom and shot the killer? Law enforcement had all the equipment to neutralize the assassin much sooner.

Did they really have to wait for a janitor to open the door of the classroom? Why were they paralyzed with fear? Many of the trapped 10-year-olds were feverishly calling 911 for help but were greeted by the police dispatcher who dismissed the grave urgency. Precious seconds passed while the gunman satisfied his insatiable lust for killing and another beautiful child breathed no more.

There is a special place in hell for manufacturers of weapons of war and their enablers in state legislators and Congress who put their careers and NRA profits over the lives of America’s most vulnerable school children.

What happened to local swat teams who are fully trained to rapidly neutralize such threats? There must be full accountability for this gross dereliction of duty. The police chief should be fired and the people of Texas must demand the immediate resignation of Governor Greg Abbot. He is an absolute disgrace to society.

The only hero in this horrific saga was a Border Patrol Tactical Unit officer who disregarded orders from local police not to engage, entered the classroom, and shot the gunman.

Colonel Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, must resign. 50-plus extra state troopers waited in vain to engage but were ordered to desist.

Governor Greg Abbott, who’s undergone seven or eight mass shootings in his tenure, has done nothing but give greater access to militarized weaponry. His seminal attempt to fix things in 2019 was to provide greater access to AR-15’s in Texas than it is to buy baby formula.