The Most Decent Public Figure in Texas

Absolutely horrific.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 18, 2018

is a football player:

Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt told officials at Santa Fe High School that he will pay funeral costs for the victims of Friday’s mass shooting, according to multiple reports.

Over 75% of school shootings start with kids having access to unsecured and/or unsupervised guns at home. Gun owners have a responsibility to store their firearms securely. We must do more to #EndFamilyFire #SantaFeHighSchool

— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerr) May 19, 2018

Funny thing, I'm old enough to remember when we had a national organization dedicated to gun safety and the safe storage of guns so they wouldn't be used to harm others.  Wonder whatever happened to them.....?

As for all the Texas politicians in front of microphones yesterday, why is it Texas sports figures are more eloquent on this subject?

Following Friday morning’s shooting at Santa Fe High School, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said he “doesn’t want to offer any more condolences.”

“I want to find answers,” Hinch said, ending an impassioned, two-minute discourse about the day’s events.

The father of two teenage daughters, Hinch spoke uninterrupted for nearly a minute before he was asked if his anger stems from the frequency with which school shootings are occuring.

“Lives are being lost for no real, good reason,” Hinch said. “There’s never a good reason. My anger is because I have kids and I can appreciate how terrible everyone has to feel … I don’t have the words. I’m here in front of a bunch of cameras trying to make people feel better when I don’t think the situation should ever happen.

“There’s no reason for our schools to be combat zones. And it’s turning that way.”

"It makes me angry," Hinch said. "I'm tired of talking about these situations. I know you guys have to ask and we have to respond, but it's heartbreaking."

“You can copy and paste this answer for the next time it happens because we feel like there’s something happening on a routine basis that’s idiotic and terrible and miserable,” he added. “I hope we can somehow find a way to get past it, for one, offer our condolences to the people affected and, more importantly, figure out a way to stop this madness. I don’t have any words, anything I say is hollow when it comes to the parents that took their kids to school or watched their kids get in their cars to their high school and they’re not coming home. It makes me sick”