'We Can Do Better': Illinois Teachers Unions Respond To Texas School Shooting

ILLINOIS — In the wake of the fatal shooting of more than a dozen students and a pair of teachers at a Texas elementary school, unions representing teachers in Illinois called for collective action to end gun violence in schools.

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery noted in a statement that it has been just 10 days since the nation grieved another mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

"There are no words to help the families through this tragedy. The unimaginable continues to happen in our schools where teachers, students, and parents should feel safe," Montgomery said.

“We feel, too, for the educators and school staff who must cope with their own shock, grief, and fear to help their students, parents, and community heal," he added. "We understand how overwhelming that task must be and wish you strength and courage at this difficult time."

Authorities said an 18-year-old resident of Uvalde, Texas, a town of about 15,000 located 85 miles west of San Antonio, recently legally purchased two rifles and 375 rounds of ammunition before shooting his grandmother, driving to Robb Elementary School and fatally shooting 19 children and two teachers in a single classroom.

The Illinois Education Association, which has about 135,000 members and is the largest union in the state, issued a statement on social media Tuesday evening.

"We remain committed to creating safe schools for all, which means ending gun violence in our schools," union representatives said.

"Our schools should be safe havens for our students and a place our educators can work without fear," the statement continued. "We can do better. Our hearts go out to the Uvalde community."

SEE ALSO

• Texas School Shooting: Gunman Killed 19 Kids, 2 Teachers In Same Class
• What We Know About Uvalde School Shooting Victims

The Uvalde school shooting was the nation's deadliest since the December 2012 killing of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

An account linked to the gunman made multiple social media posts hinting at gun violence in the days prior to the shooting, according to the Associated Press. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the shooter made Facebook posts shortly before the attack describing how he had shot his grandmother and planned to shoot up a school, although Facebook's parent described the messages as private. CNN reported a teenage girl in Germany provided copies of messages from the gunman on the morning of the shooting.

Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin, IEA Vice President Al Llorens and IEA Secretary/Treasurer Tom Tully issued a statement Wednesday afternoon.

“It should raise red flags for us as a country that in the cases of Robb Elementary School, of the Tops grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. and Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., among others, the shooters were so young," they said.

“The web of mental health services that is meant to catch these kids, cradle them and help heal them has giant tears in it. The signs they give get ignored instead of treated. We have to do better, especially in the shadow of a pandemic that caused more-than-normal stress and isolation," the statement continued.

Griffin, Llorens and Tully called for new laws to prevent guns from getting into the hands of "those too sick to handle them" and to increase mental health services inside and outside schools.

“It’s time to stop watching these tragedies and start doing something. We ask for our leaders to come together," the union leaders said. "This is not a partisan issue. This is not a gun rights issue. This is an issue of children being able to attend school and be safe, of families of color being able to go to the grocery store in the middle of the day and not be targeted by violence, and of helping all of America not live in fear."

Montgomery, the Illinois Federation of Teachers chief, said people must not become numb to mass shootings and that senseless death and brutality should not be normalized.

“It is long past time for us all to come together — in our schools, our workplaces, and our communities — to end this deadly epidemic that is killing our children and devastating our communities," he said. "To do anything less is simply unthinkable.”