AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas House panel is debating several gun-related bills, including ones that limit access. The hearing brought families of victims of the school shootings in Uvalde and Santa Fe to the Capitol once again, but they’re still waiting to testify after hours of delay.
The senator who represents Uvalde joined them Tuesday morning to call for action.
“There is no other important issue that matters to me, or that should matter to anybody at home, than your child,” said Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio.
While the bills are getting a hearing, many families fear that’s where it ends.
“I shouldn’t have even had to wait this long. Our governor should have called a special session right after Uvalde,” said Brett Cross.
Cross lost his son Uzi almost a year ago, when a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. He has been coming to the Capitol every Tuesday for months. Just now are the bills he supports scheduled to be heard. They would raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21, require reporting multiple firearms sales to law enforcement, require background checks for private firearm sales, and provide resources to schools for safe gun storage.
“My wife’s birthday was three days after the shooting. My birthday, my kids’ birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas. We have to go through all of those, and there’s an empty plate. There’s an empty spot at the table. There’s an empty place on the couch. There’s one less laughter to be heard,” Cross said. “There’s a lot of people in this building that just don’t care. It infuriates me.”
Democrats support these bills, but Republicans likely won’t go for any of them.
“We live in a time when the sanctity of the Second Amendment is given higher priority than the lives of our community members,” said Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin.
Gov. Greg Abbott said raising the age to purchase an assault-style gun is unconstitutional. Wes Virdell with Gun Owners of America agrees.
“Even if we did everything we could, all these laws that they’re wanting to pass, people are still gonna find a way to cause harm to people if they’re mentally disturbed, they want to injure people, they want to get attention. They’re gonna find ways to do it,” Virdell said.
Still, gun control advocates are happy that the bills are getting a hearing in the House, even if they don’t make it to the governor’s desk this session.
“We know that a lot of these bills will have an uphill climb, especially if they get to the Senate,” said Nicole Golden, the executive director of Texas Gun Sense. “Today’s one step. And if they make it a step further, we will be there and be excited. If they make it a step further, we will be even more excited.”
Cross said he’s here to make sure no other parent has to go through what he’s been through. And even if nothing significant happens this legislative session, Cross said he’ll keep coming back to demand change from lawmakers.
“We’re too damn stubborn, you know?” Cross said. “We’re going to make sure that there’s change for our children, so that no other children have to go through this. Because no matter what we say or do, our children aren’t coming back. What we’re doing is trying to fight so that everybody else’s children make it home from school that day.”
As of publishing, families from Uvalde have waited 11 hours to testify.