| AUSTIN, TEXAS – Following the Texas Senate’s passage of House Bill 33, known as the Uvalde Strong Act, Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) issued a response praising the bill’s intent but warning that it fails to address the root causes of the Robb Elementary School shooting and many of the systemic failures that followed.
“All of those cops failed to act for an hour and 17 minutes,” said Gutierrez. “I think this is a fine piece of legislation but under no certain terms should we have some Heroes Day story about law enforcement. I’ve seen hundreds of hours of those videos. Kids dragged in the hallway. Cops throwing up. Survivors crying for their mommies and daddies.”
The bill, passed Monday with unanimous support, seeks to increase coordination among law enforcement agencies during mass casualty events. Gutierrez, who has been a vocal advocate for Uvalde families, criticized the law enforcement response to the mass shooting and lack of accountability.
In the aftermath of the May 2022 massacre, the Texas Department of Public Safety under then-Director Steve McCraw repeatedly misrepresented key facts and have resisted full transparency about their role in the failed response to this day.
“Steve McCraw came into this room 30 days afterwards and told us the door didn’t work. That wasn’t true,” stated Gutierrez, recounting the story of a teacher who was initially blamed by the department for an unlocked door, which was later debunked.
The Senator also criticized the state’s reaction to the tragedy, noting that Republican leadership has failed in its care for Uvalde victims’ families.
“We need to do better on common sense gun safety solutions. We need to do better on how we treat people after these tragedies. We need to do better on victim’s compensation funds,” said Gutierrez, “These families got $1000 from the attorney general’s office. The lowest of any mass shooting in this state.”
Senator Gutierrez has introduced multiple bills to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons, establish red flag laws, and mandate transparency from law enforcement agencies—none of which have received a hearing in the GOP-controlled legislature.
“Let’s not kid ourselves,” stated Senator Gutierrez, “Until we get guns out of the hands of 18-year-olds, these semiautomatic assault rifles, this is going to happen again. Until we start holding law enforcement accountable in a real way, this is going to happen again.”
Roland Gutierrez has served as the Texas State Senator for District 19 since 2021, previously serving six terms as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and two terms as a San Antonio City Councilman. |
