Robert Francis “Beto” O'Rourke, the Texas Democrats’ perennial candidate caused a
dramatic scene on Wednesday when he angrily confronted Gov. Greg Abbott at his Uvalde news conference about the school shooting, yelling, "This is on you."
According to reporting by The Texas Tribune, after Abbott was done giving his initial remarks, O'Rourke charged toward the stage.
“You are doing nothing," O'Rourke shouted. "You are offering up nothing. You said this was not predictable. This was totally predictable when you choose not to do anything."
What the “something” and “anything” O’Rourke wanted done and how that would have prevented the killings at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School is somewhat obscure.
As Phil Shiver reported for The Blaze, an all-too-familiar portrait of the killer has begun to emerge.
Mr. Shiver reported those who knew Ramos described him as a loner who endured a rough home life with a drug-abusing mother. He was reportedly the frequent target of bullying as a teenager due to his lisp and stutter and social awkwardness. But, they said, Ramos responded to his circumstances by violently lashing out at "peers and strangers" and engaging in lawless behavior, often leading to run-ins with local law enforcement.
Speaking with the Washington Post, a childhood friend of Ramos who used to play video games and sports with him said he would often exhibit strange behavior, even cutting up his own face for "fun" on one occasion. That same friend said Ramos would often drive around town with another friend at night, shooting random people with a BB gun and egging people's cars.
Shiver reported another former friend told the Post that Ramos was bullied incessantly in middle school and junior high before he eventually stopped going to school. One time, he posted a picture on social media wearing black eyeliner. (CHQ Note: This could be the source of the internet rumor Ramos was transgender of part of some other segment of the alphabet people.) The post reportedly garnered a slew of negative comments.
So, Ramos fits the profile of other “known wolf” school killers, such as Florida’s Nicholas Cruz, who exhibited signs of mental illness, were bullied and abused as children and had engaged in a pattern of escalating violence toward family members and others.
How Beto’s magazine capacity caps, gun bans and other ideas to make what Ramos did somehow even more illegal would have stopped him is lost in Beto’s publicity stunt.
And, as The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek reported, the elected officials in the room – who are dealing responsibly with the tragedy – were underwhelmed by Beto’s publicity-seeking outburst:
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz told him, "Sit down and don't play this stunt." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told O'Rourke he was "out of line and an embarrassment." And Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin gave the most colorful response.
“I can’t believe that you’re a sick son of a bitch that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue," McLaughlin said.
The bottom line is just as eliminating cars would end traffic deaths, confiscating all guns would surely end what Leftists call “gun violence,” but it would also be a clear violation of the Constitution and the natural right to self-defense the Constitution protects.
Gun control proponents are shooting themselves in the foot when they demand the government do “something” or “anything” to attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners instead of trying to figure out and plug the holes in the mental health and criminal justice systems that let Salvador Ramos continue to escalate his violent outbursts without law enforcement or medical intervention.
Texas school shooting
Beto O'Rourke
Gov. Gregg Abbott
Uvalde news conference
Robb Elementary School
bullying
Nicholas Cruz
magazine capacity caps
gun bans
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin
Second Amendment
Salvador Ramos