T E X A S
MetroNews DELIVERING NEWS YOU NEED
• Vol. 10 • May 11 - May 17, 2023
MY TRUTH By Cheryl Smith PUBLISHER
Mama, oh Mama I have heard men talk about when their attitudes about women changed and usually this revealing moment comes when they found themselves looking into the eyes of their firstborn daughter. It’s like the moment the Grinch has in the Christmas movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch was a “mean one!” He was miserable and he wanted everyone else to be miserable also. You know, “misery loves company.” Well, I believe happiness loves company too and while I want to spread love and happiness; in the midst of the societal ills we are dealing with, I also want to spread justice, equality, consequences and repercussions. It would help if the Grinches of this world would have an attitude adjustment, a change of heart. All I can say is,”WOW!” Which brings me to my truth. Parenting is hard. There’s no play book or guide. When you’re in school there are so many things that you can’t be taught and so you spend a significant portion of your life in a trial and error mode. Fortunately for me, my mother lived long enough for me to “get it,” to have an understanding of many of the “whys” we lived through and that I questioned. The Fresh Prince rapped, “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” I submit that children don’t understand either! See MY TRUTH, page 11
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ANOTHER SHOOTING
Texas Democrats Demand Gun Dealing with Gun Violence and Trauma Safety Reforms
By Ayesha Hana Shaji Texas Metro News
Six-year-old William Cho is the lone survivor of his immediate family following a shooter’s rampage at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, over the weekend. According to a GoFundMe post by the family’s friends, William had just celebrated his sixth birthday four days prior and what was supposed to be a joyful family outing immediately turned into a nightmare. In addition to Cho’s father, mother and three-year-old brother; there were five other fatalities before the shooter, Mauricio Garcia, 33, was fatally shot by police. William was one of seven taken to the hospital after suffering injuries from the attack. The shooting incident at Allen mall became the 17th mass shooting recorded in Texas, ranking the state as the second-highest in mass shootings occurring this year, behind California. In the last 130 days, America has reported 208 mass shootings, where four or more individuals are shot or killed,
People place flowers and pay their respects at a memorial for victims of the Allen Premium Outlets mass shooting, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, in Allen, Texas. Photo: Elías Valverde II / Dallas Morning News Staff Photographer
excluding the shooter(s), according to Gun Violence Archive; an online database that collects and tracks data related to gun violence incidents in the United States. Licensed Professional Counselor Ardenna Downing said the United States is a “numbed-out” nation because of the number of gun violence that is experienced. “We are becoming numb and that's a natural response,” Downing said. “Our brains are only able to process so much before it says, ‘no, I don't want to address that. We're gonna put that to the side,’ so we become numb.” But she said it’s important to
be self-aware and process the emotions one feels – it’s the first step to healing. “Sometimes we experience trauma and don't know that it majorly impacts an area of our life,” Downing said. “Just because a person has experienced a traumatic event doesn't mean that they're automatically going to develop symptoms.” It is important to acknowledge that experiencing a traumatic event is not okay, Downing said failure to do so leads to people becoming desensitized to the trauma. “Despite telling ourselves that everything is okay, our bodies are unable to See GUN VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA, page 14
Dallas County receives more than $17 million for HIV/AIDS relief By Ayesha Hana Shaji Texas Metro News Team
In 2020, Dallas County had one of the highest rates of people living with HIV in the country, with over 19,400 residents, according to AIDSVu. Today the county received additional resources in the form of a $17,085,614 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services presented by Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). “Dallas County's Health and Human See DALLAS COUNTY, page 11
Dr. Phillip Huang, Director of Dallas County’s Health and Human Services Department, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins Photo: Ayesha Hana Shaji/TMN
AUSTIN, Texas -- Following Saturday’s horrific mass shooting in Allen, and another just days ago in San Jacinto County, the Texas Democratic Party is again calling on Texas Republicans to allow for common sense gun safety measures to be implemented in Texas. We support the Second Amendment – and we also believe that the best way to uphold Texas’ strong heritage of responsible gun ownership for self defense, hunting, and recreation is to make sure we’re keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals and others deemed dangerous to themselves and others. It’s long past time to implement these life-saving, science-backed tactics – small differences in the law that would make enormous strides toward preventing suicides, mass shootings, tragic accidents, and other gun violence. The policies we are asking to be implemented would in no way infringe upon the Second Amendment – they would have no bearing on the ability of any law-abiding Texan of sound mind to purchase or own any federally-legal firearm. But they do have the potential to save countless lives of our fellow Texans. Specifically, the Texas Democratic Party is demanding the following five measures are passed before the end of the 88th Legislative Session: 1. Universal, stringent, thorough background checks with no private sale – or “gun show” – loopholes. In what is arguably the most common sense safety measure that has still to be implemented in Texas, Read more at www.texasmetronews.com