As mass shootings and gun violence continue to wreck the US, state and federal legislatures are forced to reckon with our current gun culture. Texas, having just had another mass shooting in Allen, TX, is no different and has had gun laws at the forefront this session. But with Sine Die, the last day of session, approaching in less than two weeks the fate of most legislation has already been decided. So what has the 88th Texas Legislative Session actually done around gun reform?
Fueled in large part by the Uvalde massacre, there has been significantly more legislation filed and passed around gun reform than previous sessions. Speaker Phelan made school safety one of the House’s priorities, leading to the passage of several gun hardening bills like House Bill (HB) 3, which requires schools to have some form of armed security on each campus, increases security measures and encourages safe storage practices. Several other bills have passed that very narrowly restrict gun purchases such as prohibiting certain gun adapters that increase firing speed, prohibit straw purchases (the purchase of a firearm for someone who is prohibited from owning one), and increasing punishments for purchasing or owning firearms by those prohibited from possessing firearms. Several gun reform advocate groups, such as Texas Gun Sense, have been able to attach amendments and affect legislation in other ways, a feat not normally seen in this issue area in Texas.
Despite the moderate increase in amenability, most gun reform advocates have been disappointed by the legislature’s inaction, feeling that the body has placated the issue with none more frustrated than the families of the victims from the Uvalde mass shooting almost a year ago. Advocating at the capitol weekly, the Uvalde families threw all of their support and action behind HB 2744, a bill by Rep. King of Uvalde that would increase the legal age to purchase certain automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The bill was filed in direct response to the Uvalde shooting, which was committed by an 18 year old resident. HB 2744 became the focal point for most gun reform. Through much trial and tribulation, the bill was sent to the Select Committee for Community Safety and eventually was voted out at the last minute with two republicans, Rep Harless and Rep Holland supporting it. The bill however, would never get out of the Calendars Committee and would die along with a slew of other gun reform bills on the calendars deadline last week.
While there was little belief that the bill would be passed into law, the Uvalde families and other advocates were hoping that it would at least be brought to the House floor for a vote. In lieu of the bill itself, several representatives attempted to attach the bill as an amendment to other bills in the House of Representatives. Rep Johnson, Rep Moody and Rep Goodwin all made attempts in the house to attach versions of the bill on the house floor. Rep Johnson’s amendment was able to get a vote, though it was a bit different from the original bill, while both Moody’s and Goodwin’s amendments, which were on the same piece of legislation, were struck down without getting voted on. Both instances gave the representatives a chance to talk about the Uvalde shooting, gun violence in Texas and their general frustration and anger with the Texas body for doing so little on the issue.
More recently on Thursday May 19th, Sen Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde in the senate, attempted to bring the HB 2744 up as an amendment onto HB 2454 when it reached the senate chamber. However, Sen Gutierrez’s amendment was struck down by the Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick, and when Gutierrez attempted to appeal his decision the Lt. Governor shut him down. This was not the first time Sen Gutierrez and Lt. Governor Patrick have quarreled on the senate floor. Several other times Gutierrez attempted to talk about gun violence on other pieces of legislation or discuss the Uvalde shooting, but Patrick has continuously cracked down on Gutierrez going so far as to mute his mic on the floor.
After being prevented from appealing Lt. Governor Patrick’s decision, Gutierrez spoke one last time on HB 2454 before it was voted on and passed in the senate. Sen Gutierrez spent 15 minutes describing the horrors of Uvalde and how it has affected and changed him forever. He described the 2 terabytes of data the Department of Public Safety gave to him with photos of the event and how those images are all he can think about. Sen Gutierrez shamed his chamber and the Texas legislature for not doing enough on gun reform. He called on his Republican colleagues to be brave and stand up to fringe right politics in order to actually address gun violence. It was a somber moment in the senate chamber and felt like the culmination of all of the frustration of not just Sen Gutierrez, but of all the advocates and citizens sick of the current state of gun violence in our society.
I don’t think there is a better way to sum up how the Texas legislature has handled legislation around guns other than what Sen Gutierrez said on that night. So I will encourage you to watch the recording on our youtube channel linked here and at the top of this post.
Yes, there has been some work progress on gun reform this session. But nowhere near enough.