Yesterday marked the beginning of the funerals for the victims of last week's assault rifle massacre in Uvalde, TX. Amerie Jo Garza, 10, and Maite Rodriguez, 10, had visitations at local Uvalde funeral homes, with Amerie's held directly across the street from where she and 20 others were murdered. From AP's heartbreaking report:
"On Monday, some mourners at Amerie’s visitation wore lilac or lavender shades of purple — Amerie’s favorites — at the request of her father, Angel Garza. Many carried in flowers, including purple ones.
The little girl who loved to draw had just received a cellphone for her 10th birthday. One of her friends told Angel Garza that Amerie tried to use the phone to call police during the assault on her fourth-grade classroom.
Among the mourners at Amerie’s visitation were some of Maite’s relatives. Like many people, they were attending both."
Meanwhile, a "bipartisan" group of Senators are said to be talking in a working group to "try to see if we can agree on a basic framework about how we go forward," according to Sen. "Moscow Mitch" McConnell's point person Texas Sen. John Cornyn. We know from history that there's no good faith on the part of the Republican / Shooters Party on the topic of gun safety legislation. Indeed, the "working group" is most likely to be used by Republicans as a stall tactic, one that they've used after every mass shooting comes and goes. We're on to them and their National Rifle Rampage Association benefactor. As we noted below ("The Bad"), McConnell's pattern has been established (more documentation here), and shame on anyone who believes they'll ever act in good faith when it comes to saving children -- or anyone else -- from assault rifle attacks.
(photo: A field of flowers outside of Robb Elementary School. Jae C. Hong / AP)
