‘Don’t move to Texas’: Billboards pop up in Los Angeles with reference to Uvalde shooting

Mysterious billboards warning residents to not ‘move to Texas‘ have popped up in major California cities in reference to the Uvalde school shooting.

One billboard in the San Francisco was seen at the corner of Folsom and 7th Street leased to FoxPoint Media advertisers, while more were seen in Los Angeles. The ad referenced the Uvalde school massacre that killed two teachers and 19 children in May, and featured a reserved man with a hoodie and sunglasses. 

‘The Texas Miracle Died in Uvalde. Don’t move to Texas,’ the eerie billboard read. 

The slogan, ‘The Texas Miracle,’ highlights the former Lone Star state governor, Rick Perry, who managed to ‘boom’ the state’s economy during the Great Recession in 2008.

Meanwhile, the prideful motto, ‘Don’t mess with Texas,’ stemming from an anti-littering campaign in 1986, was seen crossed out on the billboard.

‘Are these people happy that Uvalde happened?’ an angered social media critic said as some called the message ‘disgusting use of political propaganda’ for ‘using the tragedy to their advantage.’

Others demanded to know who put up the sinister postings.

The anonymously posted billboards are the latest in the rival against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, as the exodus out of the Golden State continues.

About 280,000 more people left California for other states than moved here in 2021, continuing a decades-long trend. 

Between 2018 and 2019, about 50,000 Californians moved to Texas per year, according to US Census Bureau data. Meanwhile, the number of people moving to California from Texas in those two years was about 35,000 per year. 

With an estimated 39,185,605 residents at the end of the year, California is still the most populous US state, putting it far ahead of second-place Texas and its 29.5 million residents.

But after years of strong growth brought California tantalizingly close to the 40 million milestones, the state’s population is now roughly back to where it was in 2016 after declining by 117,552 people this year.

More companies have hopped on the bandwagon to also move to Texas as the state boasts low corporate taxes at around 20 percent – one of the lowest in the country. 

Texas is in the middle of the country, making it an attractive central hub for travel and communication. Corporate rent is also low in comparison to major US cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.

About 250 companies have moved to the Lone Star state since Gov. Abbott took office, including Tesla, Oracle, and Joe Rogan’s production company. 

 As the number of Californians fleeing the state amid a higher cost of living proceeds, Newsom has ramped up 2024 campaign by slamming the Republican states of Texas and Florida and their laws on abortion and guns. 

Newsom took an aim at Abbott in July by running ads in major Texas newspapers with the message that gun violence is responsible for killing children in California. 

 ‘If Texas can ban abortion and endanger lives, California can ban deadly weapons of war and save lives. If Governor Abbott truly wants to protect the right to life, we urge him to follow California’s lead,’ the ad reads.

The democratic governor’s ad came after another in Florida begging people to move to the Golden State. 

‘I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight – or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom,’ the ad read.