- Roland Gutierrez recalled hearing parents sobbing following yesterday's school shooting.
- "People elect me to solve problems. And in this space, I just feel so powerless," Gutierrez said.
- "What am I doing in Austin if I can't get Republican colleagues to learn from this?" he added.
Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez recounted the harrowing experience of hearing the "uncontrollable crying" of the parents of shooting victims waiting at the reunification center in Uvalde to find out if their children were still alive.
"I went to the reunification center, and I saw families that were waiting to hear whether their child was dead or alive," Gutierrez told MSNBC on Wednesday. "As people were informed that their child was deceased, you heard uncontrollable crying."
"They were sitting there huddled with their families praying. I cannot believe that we're living in this nightmare right now," Gutierrez said.
In a separate interview with the CBC, Gutierrez described the moment each family was told that their child had passed, saying: "You saw horror, just guttural cries. I can't imagine that kind of pain. As the father of two girls. It really just struck me."
At least 21 people were killed, and several were injured in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. Families of those involved in the school shooting gathered at the Civic Center in Uvalde, where some were asked to provide DNA swabs to help identify the bodies of unrecognizable victims.
"I don't wish that people in America could have solved what I saw last night. But I wish that people that advocate for these types of weapons knew what I now know," he said to MSNBC.
Gutierrez also expressed his frustration at his GOP colleagues.
"People elect me to solve problems. And in this space, I just feel so powerless," he continued. "Because after we try and we try, we can't get a modicum of common sense."
"That's all I'm asking for into the future — because if we don't learn from this, then what are we? What am I doing in Austin if I can't get Republican colleagues to learn from this?" Gutierrez said.
Democratic lawmakers like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez have called out members of the GOP like Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Lauren Boebert for their inaction on gun control even after the devastating shooting in Uvalde.
Many Republican lawmakers continue to stand firm in support of gun rights. On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene advocated that the US did not need more gun control, but instead should "return to god." Meanwhile, Cruz rejected calls for gun control, and instead suggested that more armed officers be stationed at schools.