BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Decades of research show the clear connection between guns and domestic violence deaths, a fact that has recently gained higher priority with legislators.
During the March 3 primary, Democrats polled 97% in favor of “red flag” laws to prevent people with a history of domestic violence from purchasing firearms.
“What I hope that it sends is a really loud, resounding message that we as a party are strongly unified on this,” said Kendall Scudder, chair of the Texas Democratic Party. “It’s hard to get 97% of anybody to do anything.”
During fiscal year 2024, 161 people were murdered by their partners, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence. Nearly 60% of the murders were committed using firearms.
Another life was lost Sunday night, after Jennifer Rodriguez was shot and killed in what is being labeled as a murder-suicide, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said.
State and federal laws already prevent people who have been convicted of family violence misdemeanors or those subject to protective orders from possessing firearms.
However, Texas law allows those with a conviction to possess a firearm five years after completing their sentence.
Advocates have called for the law to be scrapped, as well as better enforcement of the laws already in place.
“Less than 10 of Texas’ 254 counties have any protocol in place to enforce it and implement these laws,” the Texas Council on Family Violence said in a statement to KSAT. “Every year, (the council) sees cases where a victim is killed by an offender who was not legally allowed to own a firearm due to a prior conviction or protective order.”
To assist with this, Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans created and appointed the state’s first-ever Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force.
Abbott asked the 21-person panel to make recommendations on how the state can work to prevent these deaths, KSAT reported last month.
“The goal is to examine the top three lethality factors: stalking, strangulation, and firearms,” said council CEO Gloria Aguilar Terry, who is one of those task force members.
Terry plans to look deeply into the firearm connection and make realistic recommendations, with the hope that the legislators in both parties take action.
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