tougher regulations, Mr Cornyn insisted there was no simple answer to the problem.
To a question from The Independent as to why the country was unable to halt the scourge of mass shootings,
he said: “The United States is not like the rest of the world. We have a bill of rights and the 2nd
Amendment. The problem is not law abiding citizens, it’s people with mental health problems or some
other hate that causes them to act.”
Mr Cornyn, whose website boasts of his “perfect A+ rating” from the National Rifle Association because of
his defence of the right to bear arms, last year opposed moves to restrict access to the sort of semi-
automatic weapons used in the weekend’s shootings, although he did support a move to improve
background checks after a mass shooting at a church at Sutherland Springs in 2017 killed 26 people.
Asked why there was no ban on semi-automatic weapons, he said: ‘In congress we been trying to find the
answer. Each one of these incidents has their own unique characteristics. I don’t think it’s fair to say there is
one cause or one solution.” By contrast, Democrats and many others said it was time for action. Beto
O’Rourke, who is from El Paso, said it was heartbreaking to see so many people suffering.
Hate is taught and fuelled through rhetoric we witness far too often in this country, often from president
Trump.
Speaking to reporters, he called for laws that made it harder for people to get a gun who should not have
one in the first place. He also called for universal background checks to end the sale of assault-style
weapons. “We also have to acknowledge the open racism and intolerance and hatred that we are seeing
throughout this country, being echoed and trafficked in by the president of the United States who
encourages this kind of hatred,” he said.
Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted: “We’re waking up to the second mass shooting in as many days. I’m
heartsick for the 29 people killed this weekend in El Paso and Dayton – and all the other lives we lose every
day due to senseless gun violence. We need to take urgent action to end the gun violence epidemic.”
Ohio congressman Tim Ryan issued a statement saying: “I’m calling on congress to immediately end its
August recess and reconvene in Washington to take up a package of legislation meant to stop these acts of
horror and other acts of gun violence that affect every single American.”
On Saturday night, Republican Texas governor Gregg Abbott, who also has an A+ rating from the NRA,
claimed America’s crisis with gun violence was the result of mental health issues. Activists said that was
false, and that only 4 per cent of all violent acts were attributable to mental illness.
“There is no evidence that this shooting stemmed from mental illness, but there is evidence that this
shooter was a hate filled racist. Hate is not a mental illness,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady
campaign to end gun violence. “Hate is taught and fuelled through rhetoric we witness far too often in this
country, often from president Trump.”