Congressman Ted Cruz blames mass shootings on "backdoors"

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English
26 May 2022 15:55
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The Harvard Law School graduate, instead of attributing gun deaths to the near-absence of gun control measures, blamed the national crisis on “unlocked backdoors.”

Senator Ted Cruz, who has blamed mass shooting in the US on doors.

As families mourn over the deaths of 19 children and two teachers who were killed in the Uvalde school shooting, US Senator Ted Cruz makes what might be considered the most tone-deaf remark over the tragedy.

The Harvard Law School graduate, instead of attributing gun deaths to the near-absence of gun control measures, blamed the national crisis on “unlocked backdoors.” He went on to politicize the tragedy, pointing his finger at Democrats, who he blamed to use the shootings to demonize “law-abiding gun owners” and the NRA.

Read more: A gun is worth a thousand Nazi words

In the video which has aggravated many, Cruz, in all confidence there could be, says “You want to talk about how the horror played out across the street? Look, the killer entered here the same way the killer entered in Santa Fe, through a backdoor. An unlocked back door.”

senator Ted Cruz comes out bravely against doors.

pic.twitter.com/jI00KsURaT
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) May 26, 2022

He went on to say he “sat down at round tables with the families from Santa Fe,” and that with them, he spoke about what needed to be done to “harden schools.” Mind you, the US educational system is one of the most underfunded and lacking in the world.

“I sat down at round tables with the families from Santa Fe. We talked about what we need to do to harden schools, including not having unlocked back doors, including not having unlocked doors to classroom, having one door that goes in and out of the school, having armed police officers at that one door.”

Then, the demonization: “Look, what Democrats and the press try to do in the wake of every mass shooting is they try to demonize law-abiding gun owners, they try to demonize the NRA. I’ll tell you what the NRA does. Stands up for your rights. Stands up for my rights. It stands up for the rights of every American. Their solution is to try to take away the firearms of law abiding citizens – it doesn’t work if you want to stop crimes.”

Many Americans were simply not having it. The statement, drenched in logical fallacy, was met with reactions that felt a mixture of sarcasm and frustration.

Ted Cruz is right, it’s the doors, a uniquely American phenomenon. Other countries don’t have mass shooting because they must not have doors.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 26, 2022