Uvalde school may be torn down and rebuilt

• Robb Elementary School could be torn down and rebuilt into a new campus, according to Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez.
• The state senator said that there’s a federal grant that provides the funds needed to rebuild.
• Gutierrez joined other Democrats in the call for stricter restrictions on access to such firearms.

Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) said on Sunday that Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, may be torn down and replaced with a new campus with the help of the federal government.

Gutierrez said that he was working with the White House to rebuild the school after President Joe Biden told him they were “going to look to raze that school, build a new one.”

The president visited Uvalde on Sunday with first lady Jill Biden to grieve with the community impacted by a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.

Gutierre told local TV station KSAT on Sunday that there’s “a federal grant process” that gives schools like Robb Elementary the funds they need to rebuild. He remarked, “That’s the sad part… What kind of world are we living in that legislation was created for razing these schools. It makes no sense.”

Some schools that were impacted by mass shootings have been torn down and rebuilt, including Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. Others, however, have resisted calls to do so, such as Columbine High School in Colorado.

The state senator also hopes to secure funding for mental health facilities. He said, “This is a community that is going to need therapy. There’s one psychiatrist in Uvalde, very few mental health therapists. We’re going to change that. It is a must.” He added that he “can’t tell you how many little children I’ve talked to that don’t want to go back into that building.”

Several Democrats, including Gutierrez, have called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to consider calling a special legislative session to discuss new gun control measures. Such measures include universal background checks and raising the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21.

Abbott’s press conference on the shooting was interrupted by Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who accused Texas officials of “doing nothing.” On Friday, Gutierrez also interrupted Abbott’s conference and said, “We have to do something, man. Just call us back.”

But Abbott, like several Republicans, has dismissed calls for common-sense gun control measures.

“There’s not a hunter in Texas that utilizes these kinds of weapons,” Gutierrez pointed out.

The state senator clarified with The Texas Tribune that he’s not calling for lawmakers to completely “take those kinds of weapons away,” but simply place “some greater accessibility restrictions.” He argued, “When you’ve got an 18-year-old kid getting his hands on this kind of weaponry, it just makes no sense to me.”

Source: HuffPost