Controversial billboards are popping up in California that seem to be using the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde to warn Californians against moving to Texas.
“The Texas miracle died in Uvalde. Don’t move to Texas,” the billboard reads.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that one of the billboards popped up this week and was leased to an unnamed advertiser by billboard ad agency FoxPoint Media. The newspaper allowed KSAT to use a photo of the billboard for this article.
The billboard has an image of a young man wearing a hood and sunglasses with children’s faces in the mirrored reflection. The words “Don’t Mess with Texas” are crossed out with a red x.
The ad appears to be referencing the massacre on May 24 when nineteen students and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle who gained access to Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School.
“The Texas Miracle” is a phrase often used by Republican politicians to tout the state’s resilient economy and for decades, Texas has enticed California companies to relocate to the state with property tax breaks. Former Gov. Rick Perry popularized the term.
According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center, California ranks Texas as the top move-to-state, making up more than 10% of Texas transplants.
There’s no love lost between political leaders of the nation’s two most-populous states.
