Ted Cruz gets booed by Texas audience for saying schools need armed cops

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said more armed police officers in schools would help combat school shootings at an event in Texas - and people booed him.

On Saturday (24 September), Cruz spoke about guns and other contentious topics at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, where he faced an audience that wasn't afraid to argue back.

The Texas lawmaker argued that gun control measures punish "law-abiding citizens" instead of criminals.

However, the audience seemed to disagree with him at points.

The politician said that to prevent crime, the "bad guys" have to be targeted.

"You target the criminals, the felons, the fugitives. You prosecute them, you put them in jail, you get them off the streets, and you also enhance security at vulnerable targets," he said.

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Cruz had made similar comments before in defense of the National Rifle Association (NRA), which he claimed "stands up for the rights of every American," Business Insider reported in May.

He continued reiterating that he desperately wants to keep children in schools safe, but the "effective" way to do so is "to have police officers there to protect them who can intercept a mass murderer before he gets into the school and stop them."

At this point, Cruz faced more yells from the audience, specifically about the May school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, leaving 19 elementary students and two teachers dead.

Cruz said that the Uvalde shooter was successful because he could enter the school through an unlocked door.

Still, the audience wasn't fond of the response and continued to yell at him, which prompted Cruz to say that murderers should be stopped "before they commit these crimes."

"There are some we won't know about beforehand, and the single best step to stop them is to have armed officers on campus that can stop them before they kill our kids," he said.

Cruz continued: "But look, instead, you guys can instead sing kumbaya with them and hope they'll just stop, but what you're proposing doesn't work," Cruz added.

Someone from the audience swiftly shouted: "Eighteen-year-old boys don't need an AR-15," which provoked a round of applause.

Other people on social media spoke about Cruz wanting armed police officers in schools for safety, specifically noting how AR-15s shouldn't be "legal."

One person on Twitter wrote: "They shouldn't be legal anyway. They are war weapons. That's what the Military & The National Guard are for."

"Love how this guy thinks he's qualified to tell people what will and won't work in terms of keeping their kids safe. Also, that person DUNKED on him at the end, and she's absolutely right. He's scared to do what's right," another added.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) also took to their official Twitter and wrote: "Ted Cruz refuses to acknowledge the central reason for mass shootings and gun violence in America: GUNS.

"Until we can get weapons of war off our streets, nothing will change. Congress must reauthorize the assault weapons ban."

Elsewhere, in a May report from Axios, Cruz has received the most donations from gun rights groups among other Texas politicians.

Indy100 reached out to the office for Cruz for comment.

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