WASHINGTON D.C. – The conversation around gun reform and safety is ramping up after 19 students and two teachers were killed in a school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde last month and several other mass shootings across the U.S.
On Wednesday morning, a congressional committee hearing is happening in Washington, D.C.
Survivors and families of victims killed inside Robb Elementary School will be testifying in front of the bipartisan committee.
To date, in 2022, there have been more than 200 mass shootings.
Families who had to bury their children are saying enough is enough.
“There needs to be a change. There’s no doubt about it. They know,” said Alfred Garza, the father of Amerie Jo Garza, who was killed inside her classroom at Robb Elementary two weeks ago.
Alfred Garza is demanding change by elected officials.
“It’s about people right now. That’s what it’s about, and there’s no gun out there that’s worth more than my daughter’s life,” Garza said.
While Gatza won’t be present at the hearing inside the Rayburn Office Building on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, fourth-grader Miah Cerrillo will be on the first panel.
We are in DC now outside of the Rayburn House Office Building. It’s on Capitol Hill. This is where tomorrows hearing on the gun violence epidemic is happening. Survivors and families of victims killed inside Robb Elementary will be among those testifying. @ksatnews pic.twitter.com/ZFWF9p5nkR
— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) June 7, 2022
Miah has previously described covering herself in her friend’s blood and pretending to be dead so she wouldn’t be shot.
Dr. Roy Guerrero, Uvalde’s only pediatrician, will also be in Washington. He told ABC News it’s his duty to the children to testify.
“As we say in the Hippocratic Oath, ‘to do no harm,’ right? And I feel doing nothing is being neglectful to that oath,” Guerrero said.
The parents of 10-year-old Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio will testify virtually.
The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform has Democratic and Republican members.
The Texas members have all shared their condolences for the families on social media outlets but have not shied from sharing what they believe the issue is.
North Texas Rep. Pat Fallon wrote, in part, “We must harden our classrooms. Children should feel safe when they go to school, but taking everyone’s guns is not the answer.”
Texas Sen. John Cornyn is not on the committee, but when asked about raising the age limit on assault-style weapons, he says several discussions are in the works.
“I think a focus on mental health and criminal background history is probably going to be the most productive,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn is a part of a bipartisan group in the Senate working on a gun reform proposal. They hope to have that by the end of this week.
Wednesday’s House committee hearing will feature 5-minute testimonies from each witness. Committee members won’t be asking questions out of respect for their time and the trauma they’ve experienced.
Click here for the latest Uvalde coverage from KSAT.com.