SAN ANTONIO — After listening to that 19 kids and two lecturers had been shot useless at a Uvalde elementary college final week, 69-year-old Sovia Lauriano cried so arduous her coronary heart felt like it will burst from her chest.
She’s already had eight coronary heart assaults. Her physician informed her she might have a ninth if she didn’t settle down.
Lauriano felt her coronary heart beating once more like that on Saturday, as she harnassed her grief and anger to protest gun violence at a San Antonio rally. She was one in a crowd of a whole bunch who’d gathered to name for gun control in Texas, the place GOP leaders have repeatedly blocked efforts to limit firearm entry.
“There’s a lot of evil wandering around nowadays,” stated Lauriano, a retired instructor from San Antonio. “There needs to be laws to stop these people from getting control of guns.”
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich speaks throughout a “Stand with Uvalde” name to motion rally Saturday morning in Travis Park.
Robin Jerstad, San Antonio Express-NewsIt was a shared sentiment at Travis Park, the place about two dozen audio system advocated for common background checks, a ban on assault rifles and the so-called “red flag” legal guidelines that enable courts to quickly take away firearms from people deemed a hazard to themselves or others.
“We need to lead the revolution to end the unfettered access to guns that we have in our nation,” stated Ingrid Alvarez, the vice chairman for coverage and strategic engagement on the Hispanic Federation. “If we don’t do it, it won’t ever get done. And the best way for us to do that is by organizing, mobilizing and making sure we lead our communities to vote around a clear message: Ni uno más. Not one more.”
The lineup included U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, each San Antonio Democrats, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic candidate for governor. O’Rourke additionally held a city corridor later Saturday on “protecting Texas kids.”
“If somebody can come around here and pop off 15, 20 bullets before any of us have a chance to turn around, we have to do something to stop that from happening,” Castro stated. “That’s why you have to either ban assault weapons, or you have to limit high-capacity magazines. One or the other.”
“Both! Both!” the group shouted again.
Congressman Joaquin Castro and his brother Julian, former San Antonio Mayor and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development communicate to the group throughout a “Stand with Uvalde” name to motion rally Saturday morning in Travis Park.
Robin Jerstad, San Antonio Express-NewsSan Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich took the stage, too, alongside gun violence prevention advocates and mass taking pictures survivors.
“The majority of us want (politicians) to do something about gun laws,” Popovich stated. “And they don’t do it because they care more about their power and their position and their money than they do our children.”
In the almost two weeks because the taking pictures at Robb Elementary School, Texas’s Republican leaders have shut down calls for gun control, as a substitute specializing in bolstering psychological well being assets and fortifying college buildings. But Democrats and gun control activists plan to proceed advocating for firearm reform.
In Uvalde, the teenage gunman bought two AR-style rifles within the days following his 18th birthday. He stormed into the college by way of an unlocked door on May 24, utilizing his new gun to kill or injure dozens of individuals inside minutes.
The shooter was inside the college for greater than an hour earlier than cops confronted him, as folks contained in the classroom repeatedly referred to as 911 and family members for assist.
The incident, in a city that’s overwhelmingly Latino, has renewed nationwide calls for gun reform. Next weekend, hundreds of Americans plan to take part in “March for Our Lives” protests throughout the nation.
Saturday’s greater than two-hour occasion was organized by Voto Latino, a nonprofit political group. María Teresa Kumar, the group’s president and CEO, stated she hoped the rally would elevate each consciousness and funds for the households grieving in Uvalde.
“This has to stop,” she stated. “And the way it stops is through the Latino community, and it’s working together and recognizing that we do have incredible power. Because if not this, what?”
Kathryn Jimenez, a fourth-grade instructor from San Antonio, got here to the rally holding an indication: “Teachers stand with Uvalde. We are Irma Garcia. We are Eva Mireles. It was our classroom. They were our students.”
Jimenez was in school when she first came upon in regards to the taking pictures, and “the pain got worse and worse” as she discovered extra. She later visited the memorial exterior Robb Elementary School, the place she discovered new resolve to talk out towards gun violence.
“I’m angry because I’m here and they’re not,” Jimenez stated. “And someone’s got to fight.”
A number of ft away, Lauriano stood instantly in entrance of the stage, the place the audio system might see her. Lauriano is often referred to as the “Spurs Lady” who attire in eccentric, Spurs-themed costumes of her personal design — however she used these abilities on Saturday to honor those that misplaced their lives in Uvalde.
She wore an outsized black t-shirt, adorned on the entrance with a large cross, the names of each sufferer and 21 tiny purple hearts with angel wings. On the again was an identical cross, adorned with roses and pictures of those that died. Her black ball cap bore the identical footage.
“It’s time to stand up and say enough is enough,” Lauriano stated. “All of these politicians that don’t care, they need to be voted out. They’re in there too long. They think they own Texas. But it’s time for the people to say, ‘You’re out of here,’ and we’re going to get people to care about the citizens, about the children, about everybody.”