When thoughts and prayers seem inadequate in the wake of a tragedy, you can always blame God for what happened.
That would seem to be how Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sees it after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., took the lives of 19 children and two of their teachers. The carnage came just 10 days after a gunman with allegedly racist motives mowed down 10 shoppers and employees — all of them Black — in a Buffalo supermarket.
It was all in God’s plan. Those words sound more like a shrug when an elected leader — and in this case, one who is his state’s top law enforcement officer — offers that as an explanation for a horror that was preventable and exacerbated by human error. Worse, it is a dereliction of responsibility and of the imperative to do something to prevent something like this from happening again, as it has happened over and over.
In an interview with right-wing radio host Trey Graham, Paxton acknowledged that it is “difficult to give comfort” to families who lost their kids. “If I lost one of my children I’d be pretty devastated, especially in a way that is so senseless and seemingly has no purpose,” he continued. “I think … I would just have to say, if I had the opportunity to talk to the people I’d have to say, look, there’s always a plan. I believe God always has a plan. Life is short no matter what it is. And certainly, we’re not going to make sense of, you know, a young child being shot and killed way before their life expectancy.”
“We can’t stop bad people from doing bad things. We can potentially arm and prepare and train teachers and other administrators to respond quickly. That, in my opinion, is the best answer,” Paxton said following the shooting.
Other Texas Republicans have also tried to blame anything but widespread easy access to guns. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for “door control” in schools and Gov. Greg Abbott pushed an emphasis on mental health — despite slashing funds for mental health treatment.
◾️Louie Gohmert, R-Texas says the answer is more prayer.
“Look, maybe if we heard more prayers from leaders of this country instead of taking God’s name in vain, we wouldn’t have the mass killings like we didn’t have before prayer was eliminated from school.”
◾️The NRA, the Texas State Rifle Association and the Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund have all contributed to Paxton’s political campaigns.
◾️After the Sutherland Springs church shooting, where 26 were killed, Paxton said more guns were needed.
◾️After 23 were shot at a El Paso Walmart, Paxton said the same.
