Two days after a horrific shooting at an outdoor mall in Dallas, a Texas measure raising the purchase age for AR-style firearms has accelerated. After two more mass shootings in Texas, Republicans unexpectedly allowed a bill to advance out of a House committee on Monday that would raise the purchase age for semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 — despite the fact that the proposal has almost no chance of becoming law.
The unexpected decision revealed a sliver of momentum for gun control proponents following a weekend mass shooting at an outdoor mall near Dallas, but it also demonstrated how Texas Republicans are so opposed to gun control that even passing a minor legislative obstacle caused supporters to rejoice.
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Two Republicans joined Democrats on the House Select Committee on Community Safety in an 8-5 vote to move the bill, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has previously opposed. With only a few weeks remaining to approve any new legislation, it is unclear when or if the idea will receive a full vote in the Texas House.
"It doesn't have the support of the Legislature," said Republican state Rep. Ryan Guillen, leader of the committee and a no vote on the bill.
After two horrific shootings in a week, Abbott has showed little desire to review gun limits. The first occurred in Cleveland, northeast of Houston, when a man used an AR-style weapon to murder five of his neighbors after they questioned him about shooting rounds in his yard.The law that was passed on Monday had been stalled for weeks previous to Saturday's shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, a vast outdoor shopping mall.
Protesters' screams of "Do Something!" rang through the corridors of the Capitol in the country's largest red state before the vote. Protesters finally set up camp outside the House chamber, chanting at politicians as they arrived.
They included numerous families of victims of a horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde a year ago. Some stood carrying images of their murdered children, while others sobbed after the vote.
State Rep. Sam Harless, a Republican who voted in support of the measure, declined to be interviewed via his office. "It is not his intention to capitalize with media coverage on the misery and suffering of those who have lost loved ones in these tragedies for simply voting his heart, conscience, and district," Harless' chief of staff Ron Hickman stated in an email.
For months, relatives of the 19 students and two teachers slain in Uvalde when an 18-year-old shooter with an AR-style weapon opened fire in a fourth-grade classroom led the charge in the Capitol.
The unexpected decision revealed a sliver of momentum for gun control proponents following a weekend mass shooting at an outdoor mall near Dallas, but it also demonstrated how Texas Republicans are so opposed to gun control that even passing a minor legislative obstacle caused supporters to rejoice.
...
"It doesn't have the support of the Legislature," said Republican state Rep. Ryan Guillen, leader of the committee and a no vote on the bill.
After two horrific shootings in a week, Abbott has showed little desire to review gun limits. The first occurred in Cleveland, northeast of Houston, when a man used an AR-style weapon to murder five of his neighbors after they questioned him about shooting rounds in his yard.The law that was passed on Monday had been stalled for weeks previous to Saturday's shooting at Allen Premium Outlets, a vast outdoor shopping mall.
Protesters' screams of "Do Something!" rang through the corridors of the Capitol in the country's largest red state before the vote. Protesters finally set up camp outside the House chamber, chanting at politicians as they arrived.
They included numerous families of victims of a horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde a year ago. Some stood carrying images of their murdered children, while others sobbed after the vote.
State Rep. Sam Harless, a Republican who voted in support of the measure, declined to be interviewed via his office. "It is not his intention to capitalize with media coverage on the misery and suffering of those who have lost loved ones in these tragedies for simply voting his heart, conscience, and district," Harless' chief of staff Ron Hickman stated in an email.
For months, relatives of the 19 students and two teachers slain in Uvalde when an 18-year-old shooter with an AR-style weapon opened fire in a fourth-grade classroom led the charge in the Capitol.
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