GUN RIGHTS

Giffords, a former U.S. representative, and Kelly, a U.S. senator, spoke to Katie Couric about combating the epidemic of gun violence.

The activist known for shooting Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 has created the Rittenhouse Foundation, which promises to fight for gun rights and includes leaders who have close ties to ultraconservative megadonors from West Texas.

Since the permitless carry law passed in 2021, Texans have not needed a license to carry a gun. But gun instructors and some gun owners still see the benefits in taking the classes necessary to obtain a license.

Heading into the primary, the U.S. House member and state senator answer questions on guns, the border, abortion and other parts of their platforms.

A Texas lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have revived a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 before it was ultimately withdrawn.

The rate of firearm-related deaths in Texas has reached a level not seen since the 1990s. Texas lawmakers have approved more than 100 bills that loosened gun restrictions since 2000.

Texas has seen nine mass shootings over the last 14 years while lawmakers have steadily loosened restrictions on carrying firearms.

The University of Texas survey also found stronger support for Sen. Ted Cruz, while Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis remain popular among Republicans.

During a Texas Tribune event marking one year since the shooting at Robb Elementary School, parents, mental health experts and faith leaders talked about how the path to recovery isn’t the same for everybody.

The families of Uvalde shooting victims waited hours to testify at a House committee hearing in support of House Bill 2744, which would raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21.

The House Select Committee on Community Safety is scheduled to hear testimony on bills that would change how people buy firearms and how authorities report those purchases. One of these bills would raise the minimum age to 21 years old to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the weapon used by the school shooter in Uvalde and new details that highlight how fear of the gun contributed to the botched police response.

In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage him, which took more than an hour.

In its first bill passed this session, the Texas Senate sought to ensure juvenile mental health hospitalizations are reported to the federal firearm background check system.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives amended a rule that classifies guns with “stabilized braces” as rifles, which are subject to different regulations, triggering the objection of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gun Owners of America.

The CEO of Southern Star Brewery said the cancellation was prompted primarily by concerns from local patrons rather than pressure from a “woke mob” or distributors such as H-E-B.

U.S. District Judge David Counts signed another opinion Thursday that cited a lack of historical record on laws relating to domestic violence to justify disarming abusers. Advocates fear the ruling will put more victims in harm’s way.

These proposed requirements could take effect this school year after the Texas Education Agency takes public comment into consideration.

The ad drew swift pushback from Republicans criticizing its use of the gunman’s image.

At the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, the Texas House speaker also signaled willingness to consider exceptions to the state’s abortion ban.

A judge appointed by former President Donald Trump based his decision on a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down New York’s concealed carry law.

Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke hope to define the election on issues viewed as favorable to their own parties.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who cited the Second Amendment in his decision, stayed the ruling pending appeal.

The Republican U.S. senator shepherded landmark gun legislation through the Senate last month. Between April and June, his disapproval rating went from 39% to 50%, according to a Texas Politics Project poll.

Four senators, including Cornyn, used a distinctive combination of policy expertise, legislative experience and political courage to push past obstacles that had repeatedly stymied previous attempts at compromise.

The U.S. House passed the legislation Friday afternoon. Nearly all Texas Republicans voted against it. The bill is widely viewed as a series of modest changes to current gun regulations, falling far short of proposals pushed by House Democrats and President Joe Biden.

The senators said they would support proposals like raising the age to legally own an assault weapon from 18 to 21, creating red flag laws and regulating private gun sales.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was one of the lead negotiators for the proposal, which would expand background checks for people under 21 and encourage states to enact “red flag” laws. President Joe Biden and House Democrats had wanted to go further.

Outside the Capitol in Austin, relatives of Jackie Cazares, 9, and Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10, two of the 19 students killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, tearfully addressed a crowd.

Since Texas launched the school marshal program in 2013, just 84 school districts out of more than 1,200 have armed school staff. Educators say the program’s lack of popularity shows that teachers don’t want to be the ones to defend schools from mass shootings.

In arguing over causes of the latest mass shooting, political debate often overlooks the range of incremental steps that could lessen the chances of mass killing and help address the nation’s persistent gun violence.

More than 250 self-declared gun enthusiasts, including donors who have contributed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaigns, have signed on to an open letter supporting Sen. John Cornyn’s efforts at bipartisan gun reform legislation.

House Democrats are combining several gun policy bills into one large package known as the Protecting our Kids Act. Among the measures in the bill: raising the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons to 21; outlawing the sale, manufacture, transfer or possession of a large-capacity magazine; and creating tax breaks for purchasing proper gun storage equipment.

Gutierrez, a Democrat who has been critical of the state’s response to past shootings, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also snubbed state senators whose districts were affected by shootings in El Paso and Santa Fe.

Longtime Uvalde residents say the city is a hunting mecca and the love for guns goes right along with it. But some would now support measures like raising the age limit to buy AR-style weapons or monitoring high-volume ammunition purchases.

O’Rourke became known on the presidential campaign trail for his “Hell yes” promise to ban assault weapons. He’s been less vocal about the policy in his run for governor but this week, after the school shooting in Uvalde, he’s been newly assertive about the issue.

The question moving forward is whether Democrats, outnumbered in the Texas Legislature for two decades, will be able to put enough pressure on lawmakers to move on a previously intractable issue in gun-friendly Texas and that Republicans, who support looser gun laws, will fight tooth and nail.

The “God-given right” to self-defense has become a rallying cry in Texas politics, further cementing gun ownership as a holy cause and political identity. The state’s Republican leadership has spent decades carrying the banner.

Trump spoke at the Houston event three days after the Uvalde school shooting.

He brought only one of the rifles with him into the elementary school, according to the briefing. The other was left in a truck he crashed nearby.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders signaled an openness to some gun restrictions after recent mass shootings. But in the last several years, lawmakers have eased gun laws, most notably by passing a permitless carry bill last year.

Most voters approve of using state money to add border barriers between Texas and Mexico. But 57% disapprove of a new abortion law’s provision allowing lawsuits against people who help someone get the procedure.

A gun rights group filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to Texas’ abortion law, fearful that similar statutes could be crafted in other states to target gun ownership.

The law that went into effect Sept. 1 allows anyone 21 years or older to carry a handgun in public without need for a permit or training.

Texas’ new near-total abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the nation, punctuated a week that brought into stunning relief just how far the state’s political pendulum has swung to the right since the 2020 election.

The agreement advances the legislation even closer to becoming law. Abbott has said he will sign such a proposal.