By Glenn Melancon
Texas Republicans want you to prepare for the next schools shooting. Greg Abbott is sending school children home with fingerprint and DNA kits. Abbott wants to make it easier for you to identify your child’s dead body.
Republicans have controlled Texas Government for the past two decades. They have cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. They have made it easier for criminals and children to get their hands on guns. Republicans have defunded public education.
Conservatives have the power to pass any legislation they want. They even passed a law outlawing abortion at all stages of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape, incest or health of the woman. These laws mean that women have to face a death sentence before they can access lifesaving care.
Pregnancy is the most dangerous time of woman’s life, and Texas Republicans tied the hands of OB-GYNs. Why haven’t Texas Republican used this power to save the lives of our children? Is spending tax dollars on home DNA tests the best they can do?
Republicans love to scapegoat mental illness for gun deaths in Texas. But what have they done to improve mental health? Not much. Mental Health America, a non-profit dedicated to mental health wellness, ranks Texas dead last in care access.
If mental health did increase gun violence, why aren’t Republicans doing more? Wouldn’t improving mental health services be a priority? Not only would it improve people’s lives, it would also reduce violence and self-harm.
If conservatives can’t be trusted to take these easy steps, how can we trust them to take stronger measures? Why can’t we have what the Constitution promises: a well-regulated militia?
Texans agree on meaningful gun safety regulations to save lives. Common sense tells us that eighteen year old shouldn’t be allowed to buy a weapon designed for war. Texas should raise the age to buy an assault weapon from 18 to 21.
These weapons are the reason for the DNA kits. Assault weapons often leave their victims unrecognizable. They ripe apart flesh and shatter bones. After the school shooting in Uvalde, one parent identified their child by their distinct green shoes. If Texas conservatives valued human life, they would join the rest of us and demand better. We should have red flag laws remove temporarily firearms from homes experiencing domestic violence. We should close the private sales loophole that allows buyers to avoid federal background checks.
Once the horse is out of the barn, it is too late to close the door. Once your child is killed at school, a DNA test will never bring them back to life. We need solutions that save lives.