Gun control advocates, lawmakers call for reform after mass shootings

AUSTIN, Texas - This month two mass shootings devastated the United States, killing 18 people in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia.

In the wake of these killings, Texas gun control advocates and lawmakers are amplifying their calls for legislative reform. 

"As we continue to get back to normal from the pandemic, mass shootings just cannot once again become something that we live with," said state Sen. César J. Blanco (D-El Paso) in a virtual press conference with other state senators and representatives, Texas Gun Sense, and Gun Owners for Safety.

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"These tragedies are horrific and as legislators, we do have a duty to work on the policies that will make our community safer." said state Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin).

Multiple bills were discussed by conference participants. Most fell under the legislative umbrella Texas Gun Sense laid out: expanding background check, red flag, gun and ammunition storage laws. 

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Felisha Bull, Texas deputy director for Gun Owners of America, a gun rights group, told FOX 7 Austin "It’s time that we stop punishing law-abiding citizens for the acts of criminals who are going to commit acts of violence or crime regardless," 

The groups disagree on how mass shootings can and could have been prevented. 

For example, Bull said the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting "...could have 100 percent been avoided if that Walmart had not been a gun-free zone."

Whereas John Brandt, board president of Texas Gun Sense, said, "the shooter’s mother notified police weeks before the shooting that she was worried about her son. If we had red flag laws in Texas we could have saved those lives in El Paso."