AUSTIN – State Sen. Roland Gutierrez gave an update on gun safety bills in the 2023 Texas Legislature as the Bexar County Gun Safety Coalition advocated for victims and pushed for commonsense gun laws.
About 50 bills related to guns, gun safety, school safety and gun violence victims were filed in the 88th Legislature following the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
During a press release on Tuesday, Gutierrez said two school safety bills have moved forward. On Monday, the Texas House passed legislation called for investments to boost school safety, and on Wednesday, the Texas Senate approved a bill to strengthen active-shooter plans.
Gutierrez said those bills are not enough, and the “things that are going to really make our schools safer” are implementing extreme risk protective orders, raising the age limit to buy rifles, closing the gun show loophole, and requiring universal background checks.
Families of Uvalde victims have been traveling to Austin to advocate for stricter gun laws. Last week, they testified in a late-night hearing to advocate for House Bill 2744, which would raise the minimum age to buy certain semiautomatic rifles.
According to a news release, Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, filed bills directed at services for mass shooting victims, accountability, school safety and mental health resources, training for first responders, a memorial to mass shooting victims in the Texas State Cemetery, and commonsense gun safety measures.
“I’ve tried to be nice, I’ve tried to be mean, I’ve tried everything that I can to move bills forward that are about gun safety solutions, and we’ve got none,” he said.
Gutierrez added that no bills concerning law enforcement accountability and transparency have moved forward.
“These families will be stuck having to figure out what the hell happened for the next five, six, seven years as they proceed with lawsuits against the state of Texas which they’ll probably never win,” he said.
Watch the full press conference in the video player above.