Parents of Uvalde school shooting victims advocate for 'common sense gun laws'
AUSTIN, Texas - It's been nearly a year since the deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, and nearly five years since the shooting at Santa Fe High School. Parents are still advocating for what they call "common sense gun laws."
"No parent, no person is ever supposed to see children with gunshot wounds exiting and running from a high school campus," said Christina Delgado, southwest regional advocacy associate for Community Justice Action Fund.
"We're here, and we're going to continue to be here, until the end of the session," said Brett Cross, father of Uvalde victim, Uziyah Garcia. "And if they don't do what is right, we will be here next session."
The Community Safety Committee adjourned on April 27 without voting on House Bill 2744, a bill that would raise the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21.
"It's truly dehumanizing to see the behavior of these lawmakers, to not allow the process of just allowing the bill to come up for a vote after having these families come up here in their most vulnerable moments," said Delgado.
Parents stayed late at the April 27 committee meeting sharing their stories. The parents of Uziyah Garcia even brought Uzi's math journal that a bullet went through.
"We need to bump it up because there are still 18-year-olds still in school, and they're able to go out and purchase these assault rifles that were made to do the most amount of damage in the smallest amount of time," said Cross.
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Democratic State Representative Ana Maria Ramos team attended Friday's press conference. They shared their concerns about the Community Safety Committee not voting on HB 2744.
"Even with the heart-wrenching stories that they gave and the fact that they were able to convince some republicans to vote yes, the fact that they are just too scared to even put it up for a vote is just so disappointing," said Patricia Meza, Democratic state representative Ana Maria Ramos' communication specialist.