Democratic Challenger Valdez Responds To Abbott's School Safety Policy
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Earlier this week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced his new policy to address school safety in the wake of last month's shooting massacre at Santa Fe High School, located outside of Houston. Speaking in Dallas, he stated that he wants to arm teachers and put requirements on parents to keep guns away from children.
Abbott was quick to remind the state that his stance on the Second Amendment was unwavering.
Meanwhile, there is a gubernatorial race this year, and Abbott's opponent has her own opinions on school safety, which she shared on Friday morning. Democratic nominee Lupe Valdez, formerly the sheriff of Dallas County, wrote an article for the Houston Chronicle, outlining her thoughts.
"If the goal here is keeping kids safe, we need to go much further to address the gun violence," Valdez explained in Friday's article. "Governor Abbott's band-aids force us to believe that this violence is inevitable -- I don't accept that and no parent should either."
Valdez said that Abbott and other elected officials "are still not serious about addressing the larger issue at hand."
Some of the suggestions that Valdez puts forth include universal background checks, a ban on bump stocks, closing what she refers to as "foolish loopholes in our gun laws," new safety requirements, new or altered laws, and investments in local and statewide violence prevention programs.
"Our children are calling on us," concluded Valdez. "It's time we listen. It's time we act."
A poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University showed that Texas voters are divided on the issue of stricter gun laws in the United States, with 49 percent of Texans in support of new laws and 45 percent opposed. However, as Valdez notes in her article, an overwhelming 93 percent of Texans support universal background checks.
The poll said that 51 percent of Texans support arming teachers or school officials.
