Biden tackles gun violence while Texas Republicans continue to move to the fringe on guns even after Uvalde.
This week, President Biden took historic action to reduce gun violence by moving our country as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation.
The President’s plan outlines several common-sense gun safety measures. This includes keeping more guns out of dangerous hands by the use of “red flag” laws, strengthening efforts to hold the gun industry accountable, and accelerating law enforcement efforts to identify and apprehend the shooters endangering our communities.
This display of leadership from President Biden is in stark contrast to the failures of Greg Abbott and his fellow Texas Republicans in office. In recent years, Texas Republicans have only loosened gun safety restrictions, including passing permitless carry.
When Beto O’Rourke challenged the Governor in Uvalde, many had hoped that Abbott would find some courage on the issue. But that hasn’t happened yet. In an Op-Ed we published earlier this month, a Texas mom and Moms Demand Action volunteer described the inaction around school safety as lip service. In the same op-ed it was noted that in 2022, there were at least 14 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in Texas, resulting in 23 deaths and 23 injuries. And in 2023, there have been two incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in one death.
Texas Republicans should rebuff the extremist, fringe gun lobby and protect our children, but we won’t hold our breath for it to happen this session. Good thing for Texans: there’s a Democrat in the White House.
