Texas Senator Ted Cruz is getting dragged on social media for what many consider more empty words after another mass shooting took place in Texas on Saturday (May 6). A lone gunman, who has been identified as a neo-Nazi sympathizer, used an AR-15 style-assault weapon to kill eight people, including children, at a shopping mall in Allen, a town north of Dallas.
As usual, when a mass shooting happens in the U.S., Cruz tweeted that he and his wife were praying for the families of the tragedy.
The tweet was met with extreme criticism from people who are tired of hearing about “thoughts and prayers” from Republican politicians like Cruz who refuse to enact any changes to gun laws that gun safety advocates say would help prevent mass shootings.
He did the same thing after the mass shooting in Uvalde.
And after Midland-Odessa.
And after Greenville.
And after El Paso.
You get the idea. And people have had enough, with many dragging him under his most recent “thoughts and prayers” tweet.
Some even suggested that he must have a “thoughts and prayers” tweet draft saved for occasions like this.
Others urged for voters in Texas to vote for opponent Colin Allred for Senate during the next election.
Even George Takei, famously from Star Trek and who uses his platform to call out issues important to him, got into it.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been nearly 200 mass shootings in 2023. The mass shooting in Allen was the second deadliest in the U.S. this year.
For many, it all comes down to solutions to stop these mass shootings from happening at such an alarming rate. When are Republicans going to at least try something to keep Americans safe from gun violence?
Gun safety advocate Shannon Watts pointed out that after 16 people were killed in a hot air balloon accident in Lockhart, Cruz passed legislation improving safety rules for hot air balloons.
When will enough be enough?