Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called raising the minimum age “unconstitutional” just months after the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde in which the shooter was 18.
Topline
With mounting pressure from families of victims from last year’s Uvalde school shooting and just two days after a mass shooting that killed eight near Dallas, a bill to raise the minimum purchase age of a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21 passed a Texas House committee in a surprise vote Monday.Key Facts
Amid a surge in violence in Texas in recent months, the Republican-led committee voted to advance the bill to the state House, in an 8-5 vote, with two Republicans crossing party lines to support the bill.
The passing of the bill–even though it’s unlikely to become law in the GOP-dominated legislature–indicates a surprising move toward tightening gun laws in Texas, a state that has loosened gun restrictions, like allowing permitless carry, and fallen victim to mass shootings.
Democratic Rep. Tracy King, who represents constituents in Uvalde–where 21 people were killed in a mass shooting almost a year ago–introduced the bill in the Community Safety Committee and originally thought it “was dead on arrival;” he teared up after the vote in favor of advancing it, Houston Public Media reported.
