Iowa lawmakers, Johnson County leaders react, call for change after school shooting in Texas

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, other Iowa lawmakers, and Johnson County public leaders expressed despair and outrage following the school shooting in Texas on Tuesday.

May+24%2C+2022%3B+Uvalde%2C+TX%2C+USA%3B+Law+enforcement+investigates+the+shooting+at+Robb+Elementary+School+in+Uvalde%2C+Texas+on+Tuesday%2C+May+24%2C+2022.+The+shooting+killed+18+children+and+2+adults.+

Mikala Compton-USA TODAY NETWORK

May 24, 2022; Uvalde, TX, USA; Law enforcement investigates the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. The shooting killed 18 children and 2 adults.

Grace Smith, Managing Editor


Iowa lawmakers and Johnson County leaders expressed heartache, offered condolences, and demanded change in Iowa following the elementary school shooting in Texas on Tuesday. 

An 18-year-old shooter killed 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. Law enforcement killed the gunman, who carried multiple weapons to the scene.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds released a statement on Twitter with her husband, Kevin, and called for flags in Iowa to be flown at half-staff on Saturday to honor the victims.

“My heart breaks for all those affected by the tragic and senseless shooting in Uvalde, Texas,” Reynolds said. “Kevin and I join with Iowans in praying for all the parents, families, students, and staff involved. No parent or child should ever have to face this unimaginable tragedy.” 

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, also expressed heartbreak and anger. 

“How many more must die before we address the scourge of gun violence in this country?” Wahls said. “Thoughts and prayers will not solve America’s gun violence problem. They will not bring back any of the lives we lost today, and they will not prevent the next massacre.”

The shooting that occurred in Uvalde is the deadliest American school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre 10 years ago when gunman Adam Lanza shot 20 children and six adults. 

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he will keep pushing for Congress to pass his EAGLES Act, which would give more resources to schools and law enforcement to prevent gun violence. 

Johnson County public officials and leaders are also going to social media to express outrage and sadness. 

“Our lottery of death is inevitable and will remain so until we break the gun cultism in America,” Johnson County Supervisor Jon Green wrote in a tweet. “As much as I wish I could agree with those saying it is untenable, I dissent.”

Janice Weiner, a Democratic candidate for Iowa State Senate District 45, created a list of statements and demands calling for change.

“Show me universal registration, mandatory insurance, red flag laws, gun safety classes,” Weiner said. “This is not/not a 2nd Amendment ‘well regulated militia.’ THIS is failing our children.”

President Joe Biden gave his remarks Tuesday night after arriving back in Washington D.C., from a trip to Asia on Thursday. 

“What struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?” Biden said. “They have mental health problems. They have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost. But these kinds of mass shootings never happen with the kind of frequency they happen in America. Why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?”