‘We Demand Action’: Mother of Uvalde Shooting Victim Calls For Gun Reform in Gutwrenching Testimony

The mother of one of the children who died in the Uvalde school shooting spoke through tears as she testified before Congress with a demand for gun reform.

Kimberly Rubio appeared virtually before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday for a hearing on gun violence in the aftermath of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Texas. Ten-year-old Lexi Rubio was among the 19 children and 2 adults killed in the attack, and her mother was crying as she gave a heartbreaking recollection of the last time she saw her daughter alive.

We promised to get her ice cream that evening, we told her we loved her, and we would pick her up after school. I can still see her walking with us toward the exit. In the reel that keeps scrolling across my memories, she turns her head and smiles back us at us to acknowledge my promise, and then we left. I left my daughter at that school, and that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Rubio continued to voice her anguish while describing the mass confusion in Uvalde as she and other parents desperately searched for their kids. Lexi’s brother, Julian, survived the massacre, but her mother spoke about how her family ran across town looking for answers before learning Lexi was among the casualties.

We don’t want you to think of Lexi as just a number. She was intelligent, compassionate, athletic. She was quiet, shy unless she had a point to make. When she was right — she so often was — she stood her ground. She was firm, direct, voice unwavering. So today, we stand for Lexi, and as her voice, we demand action. We seek a ban on high-capacity magazines and assault rifles. We understand that for some reason, to some people, people with money, people who fund political campaigns, that guns are more important than children. At this moment, we ask for progress. We seek to raise the age to purchase these weapons from 18 to 21 years of age. We seek red flag laws, stronger background checks. We also want to repeal gun manufacturers’ liability and immunity. You’ve all seen glimpses of who Lexi was, but I also want to tell you about who she would have been. If given the opportunity, Lexi would have made a positive change in this world. She wanted to attend St. Mary’s San Antonio, Texas on a softball scholarship. She wanted to major in math and go on to law school. That opportunity was taken from her. She was taken from us.

Rubio concluded by warning that there could be another mother in America who will lose their child in a future school shooting “unless we act now.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.