HONDO, Texas – South Texans are still grieving the loss felt by the Uvalde community after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that claimed 21 lives.
So, many turned their emotional hardship into action on Sunday by having a benefit concert in Hondo and another in Adkins, Texas.
While the goal was to raise money for impacted families, the topic of change came up.
One topic on people’s minds is mental health accessibility.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to seek counseling, talk to a therapist. That is something that should be offered to everyone,” one woman said.
This comes after legislators proposed to increase mental health funding in schools.
However, some parents believe there should be stronger security and communication on school grounds.
“There needs to be a better point of security. A better point of contact. Unfortunately, a response can be a little too long in tragedies,” Kasey Thorton said.
The discussion of raising the age limit to purchase certain guns was also a topic of discussion. One woman said changing the age limit will not make a difference. She said it’s the weapons available.
“Okay, so what? That’s just going to be an older shooter. Get rid of those guns. Those are military guns. I am a gun owner. It’s in a case. It’s locked. I need it for protection,” Cynthia Garcia said.
The most frustrating part for one voter is the lack of change from our representatives.
“That is just really due to division in our political system. People aren’t really working together. If people would put their differences aside and work together as a team instead of individuals I feel like we could get a lot done,” Rolando Pena said.