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Gun control advocates, lawmakers call for reform after mass shootings
In the wake of two mass shootings in Colorado and Georgia, Texas gun control advocates and lawmakers are amplifying their calls for legislative reform.
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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Texas gun control advocates ask for stricter state firearms laws
Elected officials are joining Texas Gun Sense and Giffords Gun Owners for Safety, Texas to address gun violence prevention and related common sense, evidence-based bills under consideration by Texas Legislature.
"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,"
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Advocates for stricter gun laws in Texas urge reform
Texas gun control advocates plan to put a spotlight on bills that would create stricter state laws surrounding firearms. FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak has details.
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."