Teachers for gun legislation will march to Ted Cruz's office in Austin

A teachers union will march Tuesday in an effort to get U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's attention.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A teachers union will march Tuesday in an effort to get U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's attention.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers called the Republican senator's response to the Uvalde school shooting "abominable."

Exactly one week ago on May 24, 19 students and two teachers were shot and killed by an 18 year old with a rifle at Robb Elementary School.

Cruz went on Fox News after the shooting, saying he supports billions in funding to heighten school security. He blamed Democrats for stopping those efforts.

"I've introduced legislation to save schools like this elementary school behind me can get federal grants to harden their security to put in bulletproof doors, to put in bulletproof glass, to put in armed police officers to protect kids," Cruz said.

He also suggested school buildings have a single door for people to enter and exit staged with armed police officers.

However, Texas AFT said it's opposed to having armed school staff, calling it "an illogical idea." The group instead wants Cruz to lead other senators toward "sensible gun regulation."

Data shows five of the 10 deadliest shootings in U.S. history were in Texas, with three being within the past five years. 

The teachers march will begin at noon on Tuesday at the Texas AFL-CIO building (1106 Lavaca St.) in downtown Austin and end at Cruz's office at the J.J. Pickle Federal Building (300 E. Eighth St.).