Senator Ted Cruz. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was confronted by a man at a restaurant on Friday for opposing gun-control legislation, days after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas left 19 children and two adults dead.
The big picture: The man, who was identified by the Washington Post as Benjamin Hernandez, asked the senator why he came to the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in light of the massacre.
What they're saying: “Why? When 19 children died,” Hernandez asked Cruz.
- “That’s on your hands! That’s on your hands, Ted Cruz! That’s on your hands," he shouted as security led him away.
Why it matters: In the wake of the shooting, there have been renewed calls for legislators to enact gun-control laws.
- On Thursday, students across the U.S. staged walkouts to demand stricter gun control laws. The walkouts come after March For Our Lives organizers announced a mass protest in Washington, D.C., on June 11, four years after the Parkland shooting inspired the group to hold one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history.
- Protestors lined up across the NRA's convention in Houston on Friday with a child-sized casket and pictures of the children who died at the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Flashback: Cruz spoke at the NRA's convention on Friday. He echoed former President Trump's call for increased school security and criticized calls for gun control.
- “The elites who dominate our culture tell us that firearms lie at the root of the problem,” Cruz said.
- “It’s far easier to slander one’s political adversaries and to demand that responsible citizens forfeit their constitutional rights than it is to examine the cultural sickness, giving birth to unspeakable acts of evil.”
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) both canceled their appearances at the convention, although Abbott did deliver pre-recorded video remarks at the event.