Report on Uvalde shooting urges gun control measures, youth resources
A day shy of the one-year anniversary of Texas’ deadliest school shooting, a comprehensive report outlined numerous ways local, state and federal leaders can assist the Uvalde community in efforts to not only heal and rebuild, but also honor their lost loved ones with action.
Following multiple visits with community leaders and families of the victims in the months after the May 24, 2022, massacre, the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence made six major recommendations. The intention of the report, it said, was to offer solutions to facilitate healing for the city’s residents, identify unmet needs and prevent similar tragedies.
The report, reviewed Monday by The Dallas Morning News, was dedicated to the 21 people killed.
“An unwillingness to address guns directly is not a valid excuse for inaction on this issue,” the report said, noting that other Texas communities — most recently Allen and Cleveland — have also lost children to mass shootings.
“The lives that were lost on this day can never be replaced. But we can honor them with action, by fighting for the kinds of deep, systemic changes that will bring healing, protect others, and ensure that these young lives were not lost in vain.”
The report called for a range of gun control measures, noting one of the direct causes of the school shooting was the ease with which the gunman was able to legally obtain an AR-15 and large-capacity ammunition magazines.
Some calls to action included raising the minimum age of buying a gun from 18 to 21 years old, implementing a background check for all gun sales, and passing an extreme risk protection order law that would suspend a person’s access to firearms if they show clear warning signs of violence.
One of the most common needs expressed by Uvalde residents was the lack of programming, services and safe spaces for youths.
When there are more resources and spaces for children, like Boys & Girls Clubs and recreation centers, a young person can still receive support outside the school system to address underlying risk factors for violence, the report said.
Although improved access to mental health services is not the sole solution to decreasing gun violence, the report said, improving services will help address a portion of it.