“It’s not a matter of if it’ll happen to your kids, it’s when”: Families of mass shooting victims push for assault weapons ban

Brett Cross by no means imagined he’d be talking out on behalf of a youngster gunned down in school. But on Wednesday, he was in Washington, D.C., the place he joined households and survivors from Uvalde, Texas, and different mass shootings, to demand a ban on assault weapons. 

Cross’ nephew, 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia – who lived with him and who he thought-about a son – was among the many 19 youngsters killed within the Uvalde bloodbath.

“He was energetic, just always full of love,” Cross advised CBS News. “I just want what’s best for my kids. One’s not ever going to turn 11. I have other ones that are emotionally distraught because they lost their brother.” 

The organizers of the “March Fourth” gun management rally mentioned they need Highland Park, Illinois, the place a gunman killed seven folks throughout a 4th of July parade, to be the final group affected by a mass shooting. 

But Cross warned that each city needs to be ready for a comparable tragedy. 

“It’s not a matter of if it’ll happen to your kids, it’s when,” Cross mentioned. “Because I never thought that this would happen to me.” 

President Biden signed a bipartisan gun management invoice into regulation final month — the primary in three a long time. Cross mentioned it does not go far sufficient. 

“We need to ban the assault rifles. I’m sure everybody has already seen video from last night,” Cross mentioned, referring to the surveillance video which confirmed the Uvalde gunman arriving at Robb Elementary School and the law enforcement officials’ delayed response. “The amount of rounds that happened as quickly as they did would not have happened with another weapon.” 

“That was my son’s final moments,” Cross went on. “It’s that he walked in so nonchalantly. And then to see the police, who we tell our kids to trust and to put their faith in and everything, just stand by and do nothing. The cops there in Uvalde were cowards. It was a massacre. My son didn’t have an abdomen after this. It’s not left or right, Republican, Democratic, red or blue. Is my son’s life not worth that gun?”