Debate on guns missing from hearings on Uvalde shooting
The first AUSTIN, TEXAS — public hearings in Texas looking into the Uvalde school massacre have focused on a cascade of law enforcement blunders, school building safety and mental health care with only scant mentions of the shooter’s AR-15style semi-automatic rifle and gun reform.
A day after the head of the Texas state police called the law enforcement response to the May 24 slaughter an “abject failure,” Texas senators on Wednesday turned their attention to mental health funding for schools and a shortage of counselors and mental health providers.
Lawmakers and witnesses at the hearings have barely mentioned the gun debate. During one of the few times it did come up, Democratic Sen. Jose Menendez asked Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, whether the attacker could have done as much damage with a bat, knife or revolver.
“No,” McCraw said.
The bungled response to the attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead at Robb Elementary has infuriated the nation, and a recent wave of deadly mass shootings has renewed a push for more gun laws.
By week’s end, the U.S. Senate could pass new legislation that would toughen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers and require more sellers to conduct background checks.
The hearing Wednesday in Texas had barely started when lawmakers not on the committee sparred over what kind of guns should even be allowed in the state Capitol, where handguns are, and rifles are not. Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, tweeted that lawmakers should “be real about our ability to keep public safe from AR-15s.” Briscoe Cain, one of the most conservative members of the House, replied that long rifles “should not be banned at the Capitol.”
Outside the Texas Senate chamber, nearly two dozen members of the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America gun control group lined the entry way, holding signs critical of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and urging lawmakers to consider new restrictions on gun sales and ownership.
“We are tired of these do-nothing committees and roundtables that have been happening after every mass shooting in Texas,” said Melanie Greene of Austin. “They talk about what went wrong and its usually everything but guns. We’re tired of all the talk and we want some action.”
The group wants lawmakers to consider raising the age of gun ownership from 18 to 21 years old, background checks on all gun sales and a ‘red flag’ law in Texas to allow authorities to take weapons from those deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. The gunman at Robb Elementary was an 18-yearold former student, Salvador Ramos.