This afternoon, news of another mass shooting broke. According to the Gun Violence Archive this is the 8thshooting with ten or more victims this year and the 249thmass shooting in 2019. The details of this horrific incident are continuing to emerge, but several reports have indicated that as many as twenty were murdered and dozens injured in the attack.
In Texas, no criminal background check is required for private gun sales including for assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines. In addition, there is no limit on the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time and gun owners are not required to have a license, register their firearms or report lost and stolen firearms.
Texas did not pass meaningful gun laws in the wake of the Sutherland Springs Church shooting in 2017 or the Santa Fe School shooting in 2018 and just this year the Governor signed ten bills into law that were NRA-supported legislation.
“While the details of this horrific massacre continue to emerge, our hearts and thoughts are with victims of this attack and the El Paso community” said John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of Stop Handgun Violence. “While the shooter’s motives are still unclear, one thing is blatantly obvious: The time for action is now. The gun lobby’s unconscionable priority of guns over lives has disastrous consequences. Over 90 Americans die each day due to gun violence and the unrestricted access to firearms in this country is a dangerous policy with dangerous consequences.”
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