Fleet of 52 school buses travels to Sen. Ted Cruz's home in youth gun violence protest
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The residence of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, received a visit Thursday morning from a fleet of 52 yellow school buses in a mobile procession protesting gun violence.
Gun control advocacy organization Change the Ref led the mile-long convoy to Cruz's office, stopping first at Cruz's Houston home in the protest dubbed, "The NRA Children's Museum."
The buses contained 4,368 empty seats, according to a press release from Change the Ref, a reference to the number of children who were killed by gun violence in 2020.
Supporters of Change the Ref said they want Cruz to implement universal background check legislation for those who want to buy a gun, the release states.
Some of the buses featured an exhibit of artifacts, photos, videos, audio recordings, and personal memories of these children who have lost their lives to guns.
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Since 2020, firearms have overtaken car accidents to become the leading cause of death in children, taking over 4368 lives. This convoy of 52 school buses is confronting Ted Cruz today. Take action NOW. https://t.co/FP9bjFU00S pic.twitter.com/6cd2ACPp8n
— Change the Ref (@ChangeTheRef) July 14, 2022
Video from the convoy shows some of the buses rolling down an interstate decorated with memorabilia including a jersey that belonged to Joaquin Oliver, who died in the 2018 Parkland mass school shooting.
The boy's parents, Manuel and Patricia Oliver co-founded Change the Ref.
"This morning we left you a letter that our son Joaquin wrote nine years ago," Manuel Oliver tweeted Thursday. "I wonder if you had chance to read it? I think it’s time for you to listen to our son and start prioritizing kids over the NRA’s money."
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.@SenTedCruz This morning we left you a letter that our son Joaquin wrote nine years ago. I wonder if you had chance to read it? I think it’s time for you to listen to our son and start prioritizing kids over the NRA’s money. pic.twitter.com/ysrhudg7NN
— Manuel Oliver (@manueloliver00) July 14, 2022
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“To commemorate this horrific historic moment, we are showing American voters the toll these politicians have taken on our children's lives with this all-too-real archive," Oliver said in the release.
A spokesperson for Cruz said in a statement to USA TODAY he the Senator is "committed" to enact policies to stop school shootings from happening.
"He introduced legislation to double the number of school resource officers, hire 15,000 school-based mental health professionals to ensure there is early intervention to identify and help at-risk kids, to provide significant resources for enhanced school safety, and to improve the gun background system and prosecute persons who try to illegally buy guns," the statement read.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ted Cruz home visited by youth gun violence protest: 52 buses travel
