Some in Texas Legislature call for rethinking state's gun laws

[TexasTowelie]

by Matthew Choi, Texas Tribune

In the days after a lone gunman at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs left at least 26 people dead, some members of the Texas Legislature are pushing for their fellow legislators and other top officials to examine whether the state's gun laws need to be changed.

At a news conference organized by Texas Gun Sense at the state capitol on Wednesday, state Reps. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, and Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, urged state leaders to declare gun violence a public health issue and reform existing gun regulations.

Nevárez proposed limiting the ability of Texans to "walk around" with long rifles, such as the AR-15 variant used by the shooter Sunday. Texas has allowed long gun owners to openly carry their weapons for decades.

Collier urged state leaders to declare gun violence a public health issue, comparing it to other health crises such as obesity and the opioid epidemic. She also denounced those, such as President Donald Trump, who have focused on addressing mental health issues following the shooting rather than guns themselves. While acknowledging mental health plays a critical role in gun violence, she said focusing entirely on mental health is a "distraction" from the role of easy access to guns and "stigmatizes" those with mental health issues.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/11/08/house-democrats-outline-measures-prevent-gun-violence/

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. It's not like Trump or the GOP is offering any solutions or action on mental health either.

[Alice11111]

2. I can't believe I'm even reading this. That's not the Texas Legislature

that I know and hate. I worked there many years ago, in various capacities, including lobbying. It was peppered with Harvey Weinsteins, in the days when you just learned who to avoid. This is the same legislature that mandated students can carry guns into the University of Texas classrooms, even though it was overwhelmingly opposed by both faculty and students.

Just maybe, there will be a break in the NRA dam.
When country musicians and Texas legislatures start speaking out, maybe. It needs to be a relic of the past, like the KKK, a dark chapter in our history. ( Given recent events, we may have to bury it again.)

[LeftInTX]

3. These are Dems

I'm sure most of them opposed campus carry.

[Alice11111]

4. Thx. I don't live in Texas anymore. TG.

Giving gerrymandering in Texas, so that even Austin is carved out, I am surprised there are Dems, maybe Corpus and large inner cities.
I'm glad to see a large active Indivisible Movement there, plus people, including my Tx friends, giving them hell at town halls.