December 22, 2024
Texas state officials held a 12-hour long hearing on Tuesday where they discussed public safety, followed by comments and questions from community members.

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A Texas resident criticized state lawmakers during a public hearing Tuesday night for what he claimed what a lack of a response in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Uvalde.

Bradley Hodges scolded the lawmakers after the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans had convened for 12 hours, in which they discussed strategies for making schools safer.

“Is there any institutional bias in the Texas school system against implementing objectively reasonable protective measures?” the resident asked the officials during a section open for public comments.

A Texas resident speaks to the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans during a public comments section of a 12-hour hearing.

A Texas resident speaks to the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans during a public comments section of a 12-hour hearing. (KVUE)

“Why are school admins [administrators] refusing to take protecting kids seriously?” he added.

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Hodges pointed out that state lawmakers were swift to implement lockdown restrictions for the COVID-19 pandemic but said they were sluggish to act on gun violence in schools. “But they can’t be bothered with locking a door?” he asked, shaking his head in visible frustration.

“That’s the opposite of school safety,” he said. “That is child endangerment on an institutional level.”

A Texas resident speaks to the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans during a public comments section of a 12-hour hearing.

A Texas resident speaks to the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans during a public comments section of a 12-hour hearing. (KVUE)

The resident went on to say the problem “has been allowed to fester for way too long.”

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Hodges said the result of inaction, he theorized, was “more violence, escalated violence, and repeat mass casualty incidents.”

The resident also accused “radical Democrats” of utilizing “woke ideologies” in school curriculums to “sow more division, hate, and mental illness.”

“Woke is in complete control of this school system,” he chided, “and it is producing violent, deadly results.”

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Texas residents were encouraged to address comments and questions towards the lawmakers following a public hearing that spanned most of the day Tuesday.

Outside the Texas State Capitol building in Austin.

Outside the Texas State Capitol building in Austin. (Fox News Digital)

When the hearing lasted more than 12 hours, many of the public residents left.