Though the regular legislative session has ended, advocacy for common-sense gun reform has not. On Monday, July 10th Texas Impact joined Change the Ref as well as other advocates and survivors of gun violence for a press conference at the Texas Capitol. Change the Ref is an advocacy group founded by Patricia and Manuel Oliver in memory of their son, Joaquin, who was a victim of the Parkland, FL school shooting.
The press conference is part of Change the Ref’s cross-country bus tour to 23 plus cities affected by mass shootings. Change the Ref is dedicated to “[raising] awareness about mass shootings and works to reduce the influence of the NRA and gun manufacturers through strategic interventions and by using art as a form of communication.”
On this tour, Change the Ref is focusing on the grief and frustration of gun violence survivors with the overwhelming lack of gun reform across the country. While in Texas, Change the Ref was joined by families of victims from the mass shootings in Uvalde, TX and Santa Fe, TX.
Rep. Vikki Goodwin and Rep. Terry Meza also joined the press conference in solidarity with the cause, however, legislators and advocates chose not to speak in order to keep the focus on the survivors. Survivors talked about how difficult it is to be an advocate for gun reform, a path none of them intended to choose. Rhonda Hart, whose daughter, Kimberley Vaughan was murdered in Santa Fe, warned that their community of survivors is destined to grow. “This capitol building is only so big. The parking garage can only fit so many cars. There is only so many elevators and bathrooms. They are going to run out of room for gun violence suvivors.” Rhonda talked about how despite the challenges this past legislative session in Texas, the Uvalde families did move the needle and one day they will get the justice they deserve.
Manuel Oliver commented on how Change the Ref’s bus tour through cities affected by mass shootings “could only be possible in the United States of America.” He lamented over immigrating to the US, where he assumed his son would be safe. “I decided to move to this country because I thought, and they told me that this promised land will give my son a better future. Look at his future now!” The grief of the survivors was matched only by their collective resolve to work towards a safer future. It was a heavy and important event. The full press conference is attached at the bottom of this post. Take the time to watch the whole thing.
The US continues to be the global leader in mass shootings. Studies show that from 1966 to 2012 a third of all mass shootings occurred in the US, which doesn’t account for the peak years of 2017, 2018, and 2019 when the US saw record-breaking numbers of mass shootings. Since 1966, the US has had 191 shootings in total, which is more than Africa, South America, Oceania, or Europe. Asia is the only continent with more mass shootings than the US as a singular country.
Yet, despite these staggering statistics many states, including Texas, have neglected to pursue meaningful legislation outside of school hardening tactics, of which there is little concrete evidence of its effectiveness in stopping mass shootings. In fact, many states like Texas have expanded access to firearms under the presumption that a “good guy with a gun” is the best tool against mass shootings.
In the 88th legislative session, Texas passed House Bill 3 a massive expansion of school hardening tactics statewide that includes requiring every school campus to have armed personnel on sight and for every school to have an emergency plan in the event of a shooter. Texas also passed several programs that gave more options for teachers and other school staff to carry weapons on campuses.
Armed personnel have the potential to stop a shooter and emergency plans are needed to help prepare schools as best they can. However, these tactics as well as other security measures like fencing and automatic locking doors are all retroactive. They function with the assumption that a school shooter will show up at some point. Simply put, these measures do not stop us from having mass shooters in the first place.
Current research indicates that preventative measures are the most effective means of stopping a mass shooting such as making mental health resources more available or reducing access to firearms by vulnerable individuals. The more time a potential mass shooter has before being able to commit their crime provides more opportunities for intervention. A bill that failed this past session, House Bill 2744, was one such measure that raised the age limit to buy certain types of semi-automatic rifles to 21 years old. This bill was authored by Rep. Tracy King of Uvalde and was supported by the families of the victims from Uvalde. It never made it to the House floor. The survivors from Uvalde were ignored.
Despite this, the survivors from Uvalde, the survivors from Santa Fe, Parkland, and, unfortunately, from many other cities continue to work for change. Because, according to them, they can’t stop. Their lives have been destroyed, but they must work to prevent more communities from joining their “club,” even if that means talking about the worst day of their lives over and over again to legislators who have decided that the only solution even worth considering is turning schools into fortresses. If they can continue to work for safer communities despite everything, surely we can too.
Change the Ref is still continuing its campaign to raise awareness of mass shootings across the country. You can donate to their cause here. If you want to work towards change here in Texas, you can find the link to join Texas Impact’s Ending Gun Violence Issue Team here.