Texas mass shooting victims, families join March for Our Lives rally to demand action on gun safety
AUSTIN, Texas - March for Our Lives is again gathering at the steps of the Texas State Capitol demanding action on gun safety in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas mass shooting.
The organization is rallying with the parents whose children were killed in the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School, as well as survivors from the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School and youth activists from across Texas.
The rally is to urge Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session immediately and to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 to 21.
"Three months since the horrifying and preventable tragedy at Robb Elementary School, Governor Abbott still hasn’t taken action to keep kids safe and prevent gun violence," said the organization in a release. "With kids across Texas returning to school in the coming weeks, Abbott’s inaction is unconscionable. Every day he doesn’t take action is another day he gambles with our lives."
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Earlier this month at an event in Dallas, Abbott promised "accountability at all levels" following the botched response to the shooting in Uvalde. Abbott sent 30 DPS troopers to patrol Uvalde school campuses as requested by Mayor Don McLaughlin.
After Uvalde, Abbott also called for every school district to do security checks on all campuses and funding was allocated for mental health resources. However, the governor has so far refused to call the legislature into a special session to turn recommendations into law.
March For Our Lives previously held a rally in June in a renewed push for nationwide gun control, with thousands gathering in Washington DC and smaller local marches, including at the Texas State Capitol.
The first rally took place in 2018 after 17 people were killed and another 17 wounded when a gunman opened fire at the school in Parkland, Florida on Valentine's Day that year. That massacre sparked the creation of the youth-led March For Our Lives movement, which pressured the Florida state government to enact sweeping gun control reforms.