Uvalde school shooting quickly renews gun laws debate in Texas

AUSTIN — In the immediate aftermath of the deadly school shooting in Uvalde on Tuesday, some Texas Republicans pushed back against renewed calls for more restrictive gun laws.

Speaking on Newsmax, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said it was “somewhat ridiculous” to think that someone who commits murder would follow any other law.

“People that are shooting people, that are killing kids, they’re not following murder laws. They’re not going to follow gun laws,” said Paxton, in a blue campaign T-shirt the night of his runoff election against George P. Bush. “I’d much rather have law-abiding citizens armed, trained so they can respond when something like this happens because it’s not going to be the last time.”

On Fox News, he later added: “We can’t stop bad people from doing bad things. ... We can potentially arm and prepare and train teachers and other administrators to respond quickly. That, in my opinion, is the best answer.”

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz accused some lawmakers of trying to politicize the tragedy.

“You see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens. That doesn’t work. It’s not effective,” Cruz told a CNN reporter. “We know what does prevent crime, which is going after felons and fugitives and those with serious mental illness.”

The remarks prompted an immediate reaction from some Democrats, including state Rep. Donna Howard.

“This is not about denying guns to law-abiding people. It’s about irresponsible policies that make guns easily and readily accessible to those who would do harm—including to our children, for god’s sake,” Howard, D-Austin, tweeted. “A fact of life? WTF!”

Neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor U.S. Sen. John Cornyn mentioned gun laws in their immediate reactions to the Uvalde shooting, which left at least 21 dead at an elementary school. An 18-year-old suspect was killed at the scene.

The violent event marked at least the seventh major shooting in Texas since Abbott took office in 2015. After each tragedy, Texas politicians renewed debates over the state’s permissive gun laws. In a statement Tuesday, the governor said he mobilized state resources to help in the aftermath of the tragedy.

“Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde. Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering,” Abbott said.

Speaking to Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made the case Tuesday for adding more security to Texas schools.

“Obviously we have to do more. We have to harden these targets so no one can get in ever except through one entrance. Maybe that would help. Maybe that would stop someone,” he said. “But it’s really bigger than that, Tucker. We’re a coarse society. We’re a society that’s just at each other’s throats all the time. And we’re better than this as a nation.”

Texas loosens gun restrictions

Republicans who control the Texas Legislature have steadily chipped away at gun restrictions in recent years.

In 2021, Texas became the biggest state in the country to let people carry handguns in public without a license, or the mandated training that goes with it.

In response to past mass shootings, Abbott has convened roundtables and issued lengthy lists of policy recommendations. But many failed to pass the GOP-led Legislature amid pushback from gun rights groups.

After a gunman killed 23 people during a racist rampage in El Paso in 2019, Patrick said he would defy the NRA to push for expanding background checks to gun sales between strangers.

But he stopped talking about the idea once last year’s legislative session began, and instead prioritized gun bills that expanded protections for owners and sellers.

The day after a shooting in Odessa that left eight dead that same year, Abbott signed several new gun bills into law, including allowing anyone who can legally own a handgun to carry it on their person for a full week after a natural disaster is declared.

In the wake of the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School outside Houston, the Legislature budgeted $100 million for districts to beef up security with metal detectors, fencing and other measures. In the weeks after the tragedy Abbott suggested lawmakers consider so-called red flag laws, but backed away from the idea after fellow Republicans pushed back.

There have been several other major shootings in recent years, including the targeting of a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs that left 26 dead and an attack on Dallas police in which 5 officers died.

In response to the church shooting, state lawmakers made it legal to carry a gun into any house of worship unless expressly forbidden by faith leaders.

Texas Democrats respond to Uvalde

In its first statement after the shooting, the Texas Democratic Party demanded action without explicitly mentioning restricting firearms access.

“Today, we grieve and renew our demand for meaningful action now to end gun violence. Texas families can’t wait any longer,” Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said.

The chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus went a step further in calling for a legislative response and saying Texas cannot continue down this path.

“It should be safe for teachers and kids to go to school. Every day that we do not address the epidemic of gun violence is one too many,” Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, said in a written statement. “Without gun safety protections, the slaughtering of innocent lives will continue.”

Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Abbott, criticized the governor after the shooting.

“The moment to stop Uvalde was right after Sandy Hook. After Santa Fe High. After El Paso. Instead, Abbott made it easier to carry guns in public. The moment to stop the next slaughter is right now,” he wrote on Facebook.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, released a statement imploring the Senate to act.

“The House has passed, with a bipartisan vote, common sense legislation to begin to address this crisis, without violating the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” he said. “The Senate should take up this legislation tomorrow and send it to President Biden’s desk. The time for excuses and politics is over.”

NRA annual meeting in Houston

Sylvester Turner, the Democratic mayor of Houston and a former legislator, also called on Congress, governors and state lawmakers to “pass reasonable gun control legislation.”

“How many more children must lose their lives from senseless gun violence?” he asked.

The shooting comes days before the National Rifle Association holds its annual meeting in Houston, where prominent politicians including Abbott, Cruz and former President Donald Trump are set to speak.

A spokesman for John Cornyn previously said the senior Texas senator would not be able to attend the NRA meeting due to a scheduling conflict. Like Abbott, he too did not address gun laws in his immediate reactions.

“My heart goes out to those in the hospital receiving care and to the loved ones of those who lost their lives,” Cornyn, also a Republican, tweeted. “As a parent, I cannot imagine the pain they must be feeling.”

State Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said the Uvalde tragedy “does not NEED to be politicized.”

“We need to stop talking at each other and develop solutions,” he tweeted.

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, offered prayers to the families.