Uvalde City Council to vote on resolution on assault rifles; would join UCISD, county leaders in plea to Gov. Abbott

Resolution calls for special legislative session to consider raising the legal age to purchase assault-style rifles to 21

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, Jr., second from left, speaks to residents during a city council meeting, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

UVALDE, Texas – Uvalde City Council members are expected to vote Tuesday on a resolution urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session of the legislature to consider raising the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic assault rifles.

If approved, the council’s resolution directed at Abbott will join similar ones passed by Uvalde CISD board members Monday night and Uvalde County Commissioners earlier this month.

All of the resolutions are similarly worded, urging a change in state law to raise the legal age to purchase assault-style rifles from 18 to 21.

Monday’s Uvalde City Council meeting is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.

You can watch a livestream of the meeting in this article.

In Texas, you must be 21 to purchase a pistol but only 18 to buy a long gun, which includes rifles and shotguns.

The Texas Legislature is set to reconvene in Austin in January, but many want the law changed sooner.

More than a dozen Texas mayors have sent resolutions urging a special session and Texas Democrats are pushing for it, but the governor is the only Texas official with the power to call for one.

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About the Authors:

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

Leigh Waldman is a news reporter at KSAT 12. She joined the station in 2021. Leigh comes to San Antonio from the Midwest after spending time at a station in Omaha, NE. After two winters there, she knew it was time to come home to Texas. When Leigh is not at work, she enjoys eating, playing with her dogs and spending time with family.