Uvalde shooting reignites gun control debate

After an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, President Joe Biden and Democratic legislators are calling for more stringent gun control laws. Late Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., began talking to Republican and Democratic senators about two House-passed bills to expand background check requirements for gun purchases. No votes have been scheduled. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., recalled the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 and pleaded with senators to enact new legislation. He said he would try to work with Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas.

How did the shooter get his guns? Salvador Ramos legally bought two AR-style rifles and hundreds of ammunition rounds at a licensed store just after his 18th birthday, roughly a week before the shooting. The national age minimum for buying a handgun is 21, but an 18-year-old can buy a rifle. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who is running for governor, interrupted Gov. Greg Abbott’s news conference Wednesday, shouting that the state needed to pass gun controls to prevent future massacres. He was escorted out of the building.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s article in The Stew on negotiations over gun control laws after a 2019 shooting in Texas.