Texas was again the scene of one of America’s most horrific mass shootings.
In the past, shootings have targeted worshippers at Sunday services, Walmart shoppers, high school students, drivers on the highway, and others. The latest victims included 19 children from Uvalde, west San Antonio. On Tuesday, a gunman opened fire at an elementary school, in what was the deadliest school shooting in almost a decade.
All of these tragedies, which left more than 85 people dead in Texas, occurred within the past five years.
But as the horror in Uvalde plunges the U.S. into another debate over gun violence, Texas and the state’s Republican-controlled government have by now demonstrated what is likely to happen next: virtually nothing that would restrict gun access.
It is unlikely that lawmakers will adopt any new restrictions on guns. Gun laws were relaxed last year after a gunman attacked a Walmart in El Paso and killed 23 people.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (Democrat), said, “I can’t get my head around it.” Uvalde is in Gutierrez’s district. “It is disturbing that I as a policymaker, we have been able only to create greater access to these military weapons to just about everyone who would like them.”
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott identified the gunman to be 18-year old Salvador Ramos. The attack also claimed the lives of two other adults. Authorities killed the gunman.
Texas’s cycle of mass shootings followed by few, if any, new gun restrictions mirrors GOP efforts in Congress to block stricter laws and the outrage shown by Democrats and supporters for tougher gun control.
After the Uvalde tragedy, President Joe Biden made an angry push for a new push Tuesday evening. In an address to the White House, he asked: “When in God’s name are you going to stand up against the gun lobby?”
The Texas shooting occurred just days before the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Houston. Abbott and other Republican leaders were scheduled to speak.
Despite Biden’s party having a slim control over Congress, gun violence legislation have been stalled due to Republican opposition in Senate. Two bills were passed by the House last year to expand background checks for firearm purchases. However, both stalled in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats must have at least 10 Republican votes to defeat objections from a filibuster.
“It kind of centers around mental health. “It seems like there is consensus in this area,” No. John Thune, the leader of the Senate GOP, spoke about how Congress should react to Uvalde’s shooting. He didn’t specify what it would be.
Texas lawmakers will not be returning to the Capitol until 2023 to make any changes in gun access. The calls for action in the past have waned.
Abbott, who is running for reelection in November said that the Uvalde shooting was done “horrifically and incomprehensibly” to children. Although he did not immediately address how Texas would react to the latest mass shooting, he said that Texas has become more relaxed about gun laws since his election as governor in 2015.
Just one year prior to the Uvalde shootings, the GOP-controlled Legislature passed a bill that removed one of Texas’ last major gun restrictions: the requirement for licenses, background checks, and training for nearly 1.6million handgun owners.
Abbott signed the measure at the end, the Texas Legislature’s first opportunity to act following the Walmart attack.
One year later, a man began a shooting rampage on the West Texas oil field highways. He shot bullets into cars and shopping malls, and killed a U.S. citizen. Postal Service worker was hijacked while she was driving her mail truck.
Abbott supported red flag laws which limit gun access to people who are considered dangerous or dangerous. This was after a Santa Fe High School shooting in 2018, that left 10 dead. He later withdrew amid opposition from gun-rights advocates.
After the Uvalde shooting, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News that the best way to respond would be to train teachers and “harden” schools.
