A mile-long school bus convoy made its way to Senator Ted Cruz’s home Thursday morning. The convoy is the project of a gun control and anti-gun violence advocacy organization called Change the Ref. The convoy includes what is called the NRA Children’s Museum as the lead bus. In Houston, the mobile fleet to first stopped at Cruz’s home residence and then it went on to his office.

The school bus convoy is 52 buses long. They are filled with mementos of children who have lost their lives to shootings since 2020. Guns became the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020. The mission of Change the Ref is “To raise awareness about mass shootings through strategic interventions that will reduce the influence of the NRA on the Federal level.” Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin Oliver was one of the 17 victims in the 2018 Parkland, Florida school shooting, started Change the Ref. If the name Manuel Oliver sounds familiar, it is because on Monday he made news by interrupting and heckling the president as he spoke about the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act at the White House.

Manuel started Change the Ref in his son’s honor dedicated to empowering the next generation of gun law activists.

They are now asking Cruz to renounce future political funding from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and enact legislation for universal background checks. It’s all part of the Yellow Bus Project, which is raising awareness around politicians who receive gun lobbying money.

The NRA convention was held in Houston back in May, which drew protestors calling for greater gun reform following the mass shooting in Uvalde just hours away, claiming the lives of 19 innocent children and two teachers.

“We want voters to remember which politicians are in the pocket of the NRA when they visit the polls in November,” said Patricia.

Manuel and Patricia planned to give Senator Cruz a gift while they were parked outside his house. It was a letter written five years ago by their son, Joaquin. He was 12 years old and he asked for background checks on gun sales.

The NRA Children’s Museum bus is filled with belongings from victims of gun shootings, including a Nickelodeon backpack and a girl scout sash. “We will not stop with Sen. Ted Cruz. To every politician who has stood by, taken NRA money, and refused to listen to the people they represent: the museum is on the way to honor you next,” said Manuel.

Senator Cruz’s office released a statement Thursday afternoon.

“Senator Cruz is committed to enacting policies that would stop school shootings. To that end, 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.”

Politicians always receive criticism as soon as a tragic shooting event happens. There is only so much that laws can do, though, to change human behavior, especially if the shooter is in need of mental health care. I understand grieving parents needing to blame someone for the senseless death of their child. It is the fault of the shooter and no one else. Gun control advocates blame the gun and demand some weapons be confiscated and banned. Laws have to work in conjunction with the Second Amendment. Some places with the strictest gun laws have the highest death rates from gun violence, like Chicago. Also, gun death numbers often don’t separate out the number of suicides from handguns. For example, in 2019, 23,941 Americans died by firearm suicide. That number has likely risen in the following years, given the rise in mental health issues.

Most shooters in recent shootings have purchased their weapons legally. Politicians can work to change the age of purchase for guns but that’s not likely to happen. States have different laws and they vary for long rifles, for example. There is a federal minimum age to purchase and possess handguns. Currently, that age is 21. That requirement has been the subject of lawsuits.

A federal appeals court ruled on July 13, 2021, that the existing minimum age requirement (21 years old) for purchases from federally licensed gun dealers restricts the rights of law-abiding citizens and draws an arbitrary, unjustified line.The decision, which probably will be appealed to the full court, finds that 18-year-olds possess a Second Amendment right to gun ownership.The ruling does not mean that 18-to-20-year-olds can immediately buy handguns from federal dealers. The court’s order sends the case back to District Court in Charlottesville and gives the government an opportunity to ask the full 4th Circuit to rehear the case.

In the meantime, I don’t think a line of 52 school buses outside Ted Cruz’s home and office will do much to sway him against receiving campaign donations from the NRA, do you? There is no indication that he was either at home or at his Houston office Thursday.