May 27, 2022
A Statement from Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
Despite the public’s outcries–including NHMCs–Texas Governor Gregg Abbott and Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn will speak at today’s National Rifle Association’s Annual Convention, which is moving ahead as scheduled in Houston just days after 19 children and two teachers were murdered at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. NHMC is beyond appalled at these Texas politicians’ deplorable actions and denounces their blatant disrespect for the victims of Tuesday’s horrific massacre.
Echoing President Biden’s call to our nation, we urge our community and government to stand up to the gun lobby. In the wake of some Republican calls for “arming teachers” and more guns instead of less, we must expose organizations, like the NRA, for what they are: manipulative lobbyists willing to trade campaign finance donations for our lives. In Texas alone, the gun lobby has funneled over $3M from 2015-to 2021, ensuring that it’s easier to buy a gun in the Lone Star State than it is to vote.
It’s no wonder that Governor Abbott (who has received over $20,000 in gun-lobby dollars) and Senator Ted Cruz (who has received $749,000 in gun-lobby dollars) are poised to take no action at all; they are at the helm of whatever the NRA wants. The NRA has and continues to oppose reasonable reforms such as background checks on gun sales, red flag laws to keep militarized weapons off the hands of unfit individuals, closing the gun-show loophole, and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. All solutions the majority of Americans support.
This all comes as more and more truth surfaces about the inadequate response from armed school resource officers and armed local police–something that directly contradicts the gun lobby’s argument of arming teachers and solving gun violence with more guns. We cannot continue to sit idly by as our communities are murdered due to preventable tragedies. NHMC urges you to contact your federal elected officials to demand common-sense gun reforms and call on Texas Gov. Abbot to withdraw his NRA speaking engagement at (512) 463-1800 or here. Only together can we make these feckless politicians take action and protect all vulnerable communities.
Yours in the Movement,
Brenda Victoria Castillo
President & CEO
National Hispanic Media Coalition
