Perhaps it was just the timing after this weekend’s deadly mass shooting at an Allen shopping mall, but a Texas House committee advanced a bill today that would raise the minimum age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.
HB 2744 was filed by Democratic Rep. Tracy King, whose district includes Uvalde.
In a surprise move days after the Allen mall shooting and hours before a key legislative deadline, a Texas House committee on Monday advanced a bill that would raise the age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles. https://t.co/3zy0H0fR7c
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) May 8, 2023
From the Texas Tribune:
The bill faces an uphill climb to becoming state law, but the vote marked a milestone for the proposal that relatives of Uvalde shooting victims have been pushing for months.
Several relatives of children who were killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting last year sobbed when the committee voted 8-5 to send the bill to the House floor.
Republican state Reps. Sam Harless and Justin Holland joined with Democrats on the House Community Safety Select Committee to advance the bill.
It’s worth noting that today is the last day bills can be voted out of committees and on to the full state House.
Just my two cents, but an 8-5 vote in a House committee is one thing. It’s difficult to imagine this bill getting approved by the full House and the state Senate. And then, Gov. Greg Abbott would have to sign it into law.
BREAKING: The Texas House Select Committee on Community Safety has passed 8-5 the bill to raise to 21 the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle. #Uvalde families cry and clap in celebration. #txlrge pic.twitter.com/r4pc9gQc1t
— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (@SergioMarBel) May 8, 2023
8-5: Two Republicans join Democrats on a Texas state House committee to advance a bill to raise the age for purchasing certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.
The bill's unlikely to pass the GOP-controlled Senate, and it’s unclear if it would even advance to the full House. pic.twitter.com/WDp0k6QePM
— The Recount (@therecount) May 8, 2023