Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez joined other lawmakers and victim’s families Tuesday afternoon to call for action with new gun safety bill.
AUSTIN, Texas — Protestors marched to the steps of the state capitol Tuesday afternoon in an effort to spur lawmakers to action on gun legislation.
With chants of “don’t be silent, end gun violence” the protestors marched to a podium where Texas Senator Sarah Eckhardt, Senator Roland Gutierrez, and others outlined new legislation to address gun safety.
The speakers simultaneously attacked the Texas Governor for inaction while also calling for lawmakers to support what they called “the bare minimum” to reduce gun violence.
“Our children know what’s happening here. Our children know how this building and the people in it are failing them, ” Eckhardt said referencing the capitol. “We need to do our job in this building.”
On Monday Texas Senate Democrat’s filed a new gun safety “omnibus bill” with SB 1274.
The bill would raise the age to buy or possess an assault weapon to 21. It would require universal background checks by requiring a citizen to sell or transfers a firearm to a “licensed firearms dealer” before it goes to the new owner so a background check could take place. It would require a person purchasing a fire arm to wait three business days before receiving their weapon and it would create a judicial process where judges could remove guns from people who are believed to be a danger to themselves or other.
Additionally, the bill spends more than two pages providing a definition for the term “assault weapon”. Currently the term “assault weapon” is not an actual legal term in Texas.
Lawmaker repeatedly called on the governor and Republican lawmakers for action .
“We are here to tell this governor, beg this governor, to do something. Do something to avoid the killing of our children. Do something to make it harder for an 18-year-old to access an AR15 just as easy as he can access a Slurpee at 7-Eleven,” Gutierrez said. “Santa Fe happened and he did nothing.”
At the same time, Gutierrez claimed that “75 percent of republican voters are in agreement that we should have what the Democrats are supporting and what these people are supporting.”
The Senator’s staff said the figures came from this survey on gun safety trends by The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston and by Texas Southern University.
The survey of 2,140 respondents shows Republican voter support ranges between 74 percent and 52 percent depending which of the the above issues are referenced.
Speakers said the march included 21 families representing victims at Robb Elementary School and Santa Fe High School.
Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez was joined by Senator Eckhardt, Rep. Goodwin, the Community Justice Action Fund, Uvalde survivors, Moms Demand Action and Texas Gun Sense.
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