National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman's Poem:
Schools scared to death.
The truth is, one education under desks,
Stooped low from bullets;
That plunge when we ask
Where our children
Shall live
& how
& if
To read more of her poem, click here
Adalynn Ruiz (daughter of slain teacher Eva Mireles)
"My sweet mommy , I will miss you forever. 🤍🕊
“You are so known by many now and I’m so happy that people know your name and that beautiful face of yours and they know what a hero looks like. I don’t know how to do this life without you, but I will take care of dad. I will take care of our dogs and I will forever say your name so you are always remembered, Eva Mireles, 4th grade teacher at Robb Elementary who selflessly jumped in front of her students to save their lives. My heart will forever be broken. My best friend, my twin was taken from me. Thank you for loving me in the best ways and for raising me to become so strong.”
— Adalynn ✞💛 (@addy_celeste) May 25, 2022Read more here: pic.twitter.com/SIxKrgX6Xi
John Martinez (nephew of slain teacher Irma Garcia):
"My tia did not make it, she sacrificed herself protecting the kids in her classroom, i beg of you to keep my family including all of her family in y’all’s prayers , IRMA GARCIA IS HER NAME and she died a HERO. she was loved by many and will truly be missed.
— john martinez ❤️‍🔥 (@fuhknjo) May 25, 2022 Read more here: pic.twitter.com/2XpdJA0q8x
President Joe Biden:
I’m addressing the nation on the horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. https://t.co/8WI1nWHu6R
“Why are we willing to live with carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it and stand up to the lobbies? It’s time to turn this pain into action.”— President Biden (@POTUS) May 25, 2022
Click to read a transcript of President Biden’s remarks
Archbishop Gustavo GarcĂa-Siller of San Antonio:
“People are dying! We have made guns our idols, they are sacred to the point that we don’t take measures to help avoid these situations.
It’s horrible. It’s a systemic problem. So, when we say that we are respecting life, how are we going to
do it in this field?”
Rabbi David Lyon of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston:
In response to the Uvalde massacre, Rabbi Lyon quoted the scriptural mandate: “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds. It is our higher calling to be responsible for one another.”
U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, (D) of San Antonio:
“I’ve been dropping [my kids] off at school every morning and picking them up. I just thought about how many of those parents of the victims dropped their kids off this morning and that was the last time they would see them. This should be a wakeup call for national and state legislators to finally come together and do something. I don’t know if it will be, but it should be.”
Click here to listen to his full interview about the Uvalde masssacre with the BBC World News
Texas Senator José Menéndez, (D) of San Antonio:
“My sincerest condolences to the families of the lives lost in Uvalde, Texas. Yesterday morning, children, parents, teachers and school personnel woke up to what they thought would be another day at school. As I learned of the lives lost, I became increasingly angry, frustrated and heartbroken.
“Through several legislative sessions, Texas has chosen to rollback provisions and enforce laws that would make it easier to purchase dangerous weapons. This is not responsible.”
(🧵)#Uvalde #txlege #txed Read more here: pic.twitter.com/ZGouhtFSfK
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff:
"It is with profound grief and broken hearts that we learn about the news coming our way this afternoon. We stand united with the community in Uvalde and offer our assistance. We also mourn with them over the lives of those children and adults lost to violence.”
San Antonio District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry:
“We cannot tolerate this type of violence against children and teachers in our schools. All children deserve to learn in schools free of violence and fear, and parents should not worry that their children could be harmed at school. Our hope is that during this time of immense sadness and grieving, we remember these children and their families as well as the adult victims and their families and provide whatever assistance we can to our neighbors in Uvalde. This action was just pure evil.”
San Antonio District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello:
“Our hearts are broken, lives have been shattered. Today’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde is shocking proof that the unthinkable is not impossible. The people of San Antonio stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Uvalde. We mourn, deeply, the loss of so many innocent children’s lives, and ask - what will it take to keep our children safe?
"Such an unmeasurable loss must bring communities together to find solutions so that tragedies like this never happen again.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, (D) Connecticut:
"Listen, I'm full of sadness and fury right now. That's what you're seeing here.
"But I'm also determined. And pragmatic. If there is a single of my GOP colleagues who is moved to action by what happened today, I am ready to work with you. I am ready to compromise. To save lives.“What are we doing? Why are you here? If not to solve a problem as existential as this? This isn’t inevitable, these kids weren’t unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day.”
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) May 25, 2022
Read more here: https://t.co/vFnFaNHiPA
Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr:
“I ask all you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence, school shootings and supermarket shootings. I ask you, are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children? And our elderly? And our churchgoers? Because that's what it looks like.”
— Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr (@warriors) May 24, 2022
Watch video of his statement here: pic.twitter.com/lsJ8RzPcmC
Matthew McConaughey:
“This is an epidemic we can control, and whichever side of the aisle we may stand on, we all know we can do better. We must do better.”
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) May 25, 2022
Read more here: pic.twitter.com/0iULRGtREm