HB 2744

May 9th was a dark day for Texas. In the wake of the Allen shooting, this bill, which would raise the minimum age to buy an assault rifle to 21, moved unexpectedly out of committee on May 8th.

24-hours later, it was dead. 

"That left little time for the bill to be added to the House’s calendar, however. The final day the House can pass bills is Thursday, and the chamber’s agenda must be approved 36 hours ahead of when they convene. That creates a de facto deadline of around 10 p.m. Tuesday for the measure to be placed on the calendar.

When that hour arrived Tuesday night, House Bill 2744 remained off the list."

The Uvalde parents who campaigned for this bill vowed to keep fighting. 

In the wake of the outlet mall shooting in Allen, multiple former law enforcement and military people, themselves owners of guns, came out in favor of gun reform. The usual thoughts and prayers were heard and the usual push back to those thoughts and prayers followed. 

Republicans, particularly Texas Rs, refuse to recognize the simple fact that the previous assault ban worked. Raising the minimum age to buy on these weapons seems like a no-brainer. It's not stopping the sale of the weapons out right, only restricting by age. Frankly, I'd much rather an untrained 18-year-old NOT be able to buy an AR-15. Still, they point to mental health issues as the cause for these shootings and maintain the guns themselves are not to blame.

If you haven't seen it yet, I strongly encourage you to find the Washington Post article on what kind of damage an AR-15 can do. If you haven't subscribed you should still be able to view it as your daily freebie. Essentially, these weapons were intended to do only on thing - kill human beings efficiently. They excel at it. 

No one who isn't a member of law enforcement or the military should have access to these weapons.  At the very least, Texas should limit the age of who can purchase them.