An anguished soul-searching over Texas’ gun culture and permissive gun laws is unfolding across the latest community to be shattered by a shooter’s rampage.
Uvalde, a largely Mexican American city of 15,200 near the southern border, is a far different place from Parkland, Florida, or Newtown, Connecticut, which became centers of grassroots gun control activism in the aftermath of the school shootings there.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed a law last year making Texas a “Second Amendment sanctuary” from federal gun laws, and other Republicans have dismissed calls for tightening access to guns in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. They have instead called for improving school security and mental health counseling.
Public support for some gun control measures has held steady throughout recent years of opinion polls as Texas was rocked by deadly mass shootings at a Walmart in El Paso and in the streets of Odessa. The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Antonio, whose territory includes Uvalde, said the NRA should have canceled its meeting in Houston. “The country is in mourning, but they are not,” Gustavo García-Siller, the archbishop, said in an interview, calling the embrace of guns “a culture of death in our midst.”
Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn was killed inside Robb Elementary, carries a gun and fully supports the Second Amendment, having learned how to fire semi-automatic rifles at 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. But he said the killing of Jacklyn and so many of her fourth-grade friends should force politicians into tightening gun measures.Even as many in Uvalde have said they want to focus their attention on the victims, the conversation about guns has been reverberating through town.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bidens to visit Uvalde, Texas on SundayPresident Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas on Sunday.
Read more »
Uvalde Elementary Massacre Is Among the Deadliest Mass Shootings in Texas HistoryTuesday's massacre at an Uvalde elementary school is one of Texas' deadliest mass shootings.
Read more »
Uvalde, Texas student who covered herself in classmates' blood to survive is still shaken, dad saysThe father of an 11-year-old Robb Elementary School student in Uvalde, Texas, says his daughter is still shaken after watching her teacher and classmates get killed in front of her.
Read more »
Texas School Shooting: How To Help Victims, Families in UvaldeAs a community in south Texas and the nation grapple with another mass shooting, here are some ways Americans can help those affected by the tragedy.
Read more »