Leaders Disagree Over Calls For Texas Legislature, Congress To Pass Gun Reform
EL PASO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - In El Paso Sunday, Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn laid a folded American flag along side flowers to honor victims of the El Paso shooting.
He was asked about whether gun laws should be reformed. "I would say there's no simple answer. One difference between the United States and the rest of the world is we have a Bill of Rights, including the Second Amendment to the Constitution. And the problem is not with law-abiding people exercising their Constitutional rights. It's obviously people who are twisted," he said.
In a statement Sunday, Sen. Ted Cruz said, "What we saw yesterday was a heinous act of terrorism and white supremacy. There is no place for this in El Paso, in Texas, or anywhere across our nation."
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke returned to his hometown to meet with shooting victims and to attend a vigil. "The fact that we will lose nearly 40,000 of our fellow Americans this year, and every year until we change course demands an urgency that has been absolutely lacking from Congress," he said.
Gov. Greg Abbott said it's too soon to discuss this. "I think we need to focus more on memorials, before we start the politics," he said.
Democratic State Rep. Victoria Neave of Dallas said the state legislature hasn't done enough to protect residents from gun violence. "We can both protect the 2nd Amendment while looking at laws like universal background checks, like looking at assault weapons and policies that have actually worked in the past," she said.
Neave said the state lawmakers representing Dallas County, all but two Democrats, plan to meet soon privately to discuss what the state can do now and during the next legislative session in January 2021.
Former Republican State Rep. Jason Villalba of Dallas renewed his call for the governor to establish a blue-ribbon panel of experts to determine the root causes of gun violence. "It's not just gun control. It's not just mental health issues, it's a significant number of issues all across the spectrum we must address," he said.