The residence of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, received a visit Thursday morning from a fleet of 52 yellow school buses in a mobile procession protesting gun violence.
Gun control advocacy organization Change the Ref led the mile-long convoy to Cruz’s office, stopping first at Cruz’s Houston home in the protest dubbed, “The NRA Children’s Museum.”
The buses contained 4,368 empty seats, according to a press release from Change the Ref, a reference to the number of children who were killed by gun violence in 2020.
Supporters of Change the Ref said they want Cruz to implement universal background check legislation for those who want to buy a gun, the release states.
Some of the buses featured an exhibit of artifacts, photos, videos, audio recordings, and personal memories of these children who have lost their lives to guns.
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Video from the convoy shows some of the buses rolling down an interstate decorated with memorabilia including a jersey that belonged to Joaquin Oliver, who died in the 2018 Parkland mass school shooting.
The boy’s parents, Manuel and Patricia Oliver co-founded Change the Ref.
“This morning we left you a letter that our son Joaquin wrote nine years ago,” Manuel Oliver tweeted Thursday. “I wonder if you had chance to read it? I think it’s time for you to listen to our son and start prioritizing kids over the NRA’s money.”
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“To commemorate this horrific historic moment, we are showing American voters the toll these politicians have taken on our children’s lives with this all-too-real archive,” Oliver said in the release.
USA TODAY reached out to Cruz’s office for comment.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.