Texans advocate for gun safety bills
State Democrats push some restrictions, but Republicans so far rejecting any action
On the fifth anniversary of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting — and a day after a gunman killed at least three people at Michigan State University — Texans impacted by gun violence gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday to again advocate for firearm restrictions.
Dozens of relatives of those killed in school shootings in Uvalde in 2022 and Santa Fe in 2018 joined state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, as he unveiled a package of four new bills aiming to reduce gun deaths.
Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, has been hosting weekly press conferences at the Capitol in the hopes of drawing more attention to school safety measures as the legislative session continues in Austin.
“In five years, what has changed?” said Jazmin Cazares, who lost her 9-year-old sister, Jackie, in the Uvalde massacre. “The violence Americans are experiencing, nobody should experience — especially children.”
The bills include the creation of a bulk ammunition database, which would mandate that anyone selling more than 200 rounds of ammunition would register the purchase with the state. Another measure would make it a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly sell ammunition to anyone younger than 18 years old.
The third bill would bolster safe storage laws and increase the penalty for those who violate them. The final proposal would require every gun owner to have liability insurance for damage inflicted with their weapon, with exceptions for on-duty soldiers and peace officers.
“It is important that the governor, the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House understand that we have to do the minimum here,” Gutierrez said. “It is important that the Republicans in this building understand that we have to do something to make it harder for this to happen.”
Gutierrez and other Democrats have also pushed a number of other gun restrictions, including their top priority: Raising the age to purchase an assault-style weapon from 18 to 21.
State Sen. José Menéndez, DSan Antonio, also discussed his own bill on Tuesday to introduce a 30-day waiting period for gun buyers under age 21.
Texas Republicans, who hold deciding majorities in both the House and Senate, have so far rejected any action to roll back gun access, saying it would be unconstitutional and wrongfully infringe upon law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
It has not yet been a year since 19 children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Before that, a pair of mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa killed more than 30 people in 2019. In
May of 2018, eight students and two teachers died in the massacre at Santa Fe High School.
“They promised us Uvalde would not happen,” said Scot Rice, whose wife, Flo, was shot six times in Santa Fe. “They said they fixed the problem. And when Uvalde happened, it broke us.”
Meanwhile, Republicans have focused on expanding mental health resources and bolstering security on campus. GOP lawmakers will consider a host of those bills this legislative session, especially as the state debates how to spend a nearly $33 billion surplus.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have floated some changes to gun laws after past mass shootings, but they have opposed any major reform this year. Abbott, for his part, contends that the raise-the-age proposal for assault-style rifle purchases has already been ruled unconstitutional, though legal experts disagree.
At the Tuesday press conference, family members held up photos of their loved ones and others who have died in mass shootings across the country. Faith Mata, who lost her 10-year-old sister, Tess, in the Uvalde shooting, held up a photo of Jaime Guttenberg, a 14-year-old girl who died in the Parkland shooting.
And Kim Rubio, who lost her 10-year-old daughter, Lexi, in Uvalde, held up a picture of Joaquin Oliver, a 17-year-old Parkland victim.
“Nobody should endure the life altering grief of losing a family member to gun violence, especially not their child or grandchild,” said Berlinda Arreola, the step-grandmother of Amerie Jo Garza, a 10year-old Uvalde victim. “Stop thinking like a politician and start thinking like a parent.”