17-year-old sister of Uvalde shooting victim begs Texas Republicans to pass gun safety laws

Jazmin Cazares sat on her little sister’s empty bed this morning and cried. Nine-year-old Jackie should have been sleeping there peacefully. She should have woken up Thursday to watch a movie with her family or enjoy the summer vacation that had just begun. But Jackie’s life was stolen from her on May 24, when a teenage gunman wielding an assault-style rifle killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

“She was one of the sweetest souls anyone would ever meet,” Jazmin Cazares, 17, told lawmakers Thursday in Austin. “She would bring a smile to anyone’s faces. We were all in shock when we received the news of her passing, and we’re still in shock, especially as we continue to receive new information that shows a lot of things that happened that day could have been prevented.” Cazares made the four-hour trip to the state Capitol early Thursday to testify before a House panel debating legislative solutions to the Uvalde massacre. Through tears, she begged for lawmakers to “do something” — to expand background checks, to require repeated active shooter training for all police officers and to pass “red flag” laws that would allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. “There should be absolutely no reason this murderer could have access to a firearm,” Cazares said. “Days after turning 18, he bought an AR-15, hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Background checks are needed to protect innocent communities like mine from being endangered by people who are unstable and signal that they are threats.”