The school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, this week was the "most heinous, horrific act," but must not be used to coalesce power to a central federal authority, Rep. Michael Cloud said on Newsmax Saturday.
"Our first priority, from a federal government's perspective, is to keep people free," the Texas Republican said on Newsmax's "America Right Now."
"Throughout history, we've seen tragedies like this used to coalesce power to a central federal authority. I am always going to be cautious."
During the COVID pandemic for example, and in other extreme instances, "there's a tendency to look at the Constitution as expendable in times of crisis or tragedy when actually the Constitution was written specifically to place limits on a federal government during times of crisis and tragedy."
And even though the school shootings are horrifying much of the nation, there are acts of extreme violence happening around the country every day, said Cloud.
"We're seeing people murdered in the streets," the congressman said. "We're seeing a lot of things happen in our society that shouldn't be happening … we need a moral awakening in our country once again."
Meanwhile, it has been "troubling, certainly heartbreaking and heart-wrenching" to watch the details of the Uvalde elementary school shootings, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers and injured several others, unfolding as they have, Cloud added.
"The information has been changing every day," he said.
"It reminds us why we need to watch these investigations unfold, as we work to find answers. Really at some level, I don't think we're supposed to get to a point of understanding on this. I don't think we're supposed to understand why people would senselessly murder children."
But still, "we've got to get to the bottom of the details and see what we can do when it comes to security and to avoid situations like this and have a society where this kind of thing is happening," Cloud said. "We're a nation in decline morally and it's troubling."
The congressman Saturday also said there is a "lot to look at" when it comes to setting age limits on gun purchases. The school shooter, Salvador Ramos, bought the two semi-automatic rifles and a large amount of ammunition just days after his 18th birthday.
"We still have a lot to know about this particular individual and what had happened," he said. "You know, we do send our 18-year-olds off into combat."
Cloud also cautioned against jumping to conclusions in the case, as the information on it is changing daily.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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