Texas Lawmakers Poised To Go Home Without Taking Any Gun Safety Action
Despite support from Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas), the Texas Legislature is no closer to voting on tougher firearm storage laws to help prevent mass shootings such as the one at Santa Fe High School when 10 were killed a year ago. Lawmakers are moving forward with a measure to arm more school personnel. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., police officials study gun violence to try to understand the causes.
The Associated Press:
1 Year After Santa Fe Shooting, Texas Shuns Tougher Gun Laws
A year after a high school mass shooting near Houston that remains one of the deadliest in U.S. history, Texas lawmakers are on the brink of going home without passing any new gun restrictions, or even tougher firearm storage laws that Gov. Greg Abbott backed after the tragedy. A Republican governor pushing even a small restriction on firearms kept at home in gun-friendly Texas was a landmark shift after two decades of loosening weapons regulations. And it put Texas in line with other states exploring ways to prevent not just mass shootings, but thousands of lethal gun incidents involving minors. (Vertuno, 5/17)
The Washington Post:
District To Study Victims Of Fatal Gun Violence To Help Understand Root Causes
Police and other officials trying to understand the District’s rising homicide count have attributed it in part to shootings becoming more lethal, and now they say they may know why. A new study found that more victims are being struck by multiple bullets. The report by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that 57 people killed in shootings in the city in 2017 were struck multiple times. That number rose to 74 last year. (Hermann, 5/17)
