After showing up and heckling the governor during an update on the shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke was escorted out of Gov. Greg Abbott’s press conference Wednesday.
As Abbott was closing his remarks to the press, O’Rourke, who’s running for governor, got up and began speaking about gun control.
“Pardon me,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick complained as O’Rourke ignored him and continued talking about how “now is the time to put a stop” to gun violence. O’Rourke didn’t have a mic, and most of his comments couldn’t be heard because he was shouting over someone else’s voice.
“Sit down!” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) yelled at the Democrat, who was still speaking. “You are out of line and a disgrace!” Patrick told O’Rourke as others began shouting.
“You are doing nothing!” O’Rourke exclaimed at Abbott as cops began to escort him out of the room.
“You need to push his a** out of this building, this is not the place to talk about this,” said Uvalde Mayor Don Mclaughlin, calling Beto O’Rourke a “sick son of a b****.”
VIDEO: Beto O'Rourke CRASHES Greg Abbott's press conference providing an update on yesterday's shooting. pic.twitter.com/3DD5pB5yxa
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 25, 2022
Beto O’Rourke, a former representative from El Paso, Texas, where a shooter killed 23 people and wounded 23 others in 2019, has been an outspoken advocate for strict gun control measures for many years. “Common sense gun legislation” is how he described it during his unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign when he proposed a statewide gun buyback program.
“Hell, yes! We’ll take your AR-15 or AK-47,” he promised during a 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate.
On Tuesday, the Democratic Party called for stricter gun control measures following a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where at least 19 children and two adults were killed. Republicans have been accused of being involved in the murder of kids through inaction by Democrats following the previous day’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
“Evil blazed across Uvalde yesterday,” Abbot declared during the press conference on Wednesday. “Anyone who shoots their grandmother in the face must have evil in his heart, but it is far worse to kill small children. It is completely and totally wrong for us to have any individuals like this in our state.”
Previously, O’Rourke had urged Abbott to cancel his appearance at the National Rifle Association’s leadership summit in Houston on account of Tuesday’s shooting.
The National Rifle Association’s annual gathering will be attended by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, as well as notable right-wingers like former President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“Governor Abbott, if you have any decency, you should withdraw from the NRA’s conference this weekend and urge them to have it anywhere but Texas,” O’Rourke tweeted at 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
