Texas is gearing up for a battle over gun rights after the Waco shooting.
According to The Hill, gun control advocates aren’t letting a good crisis go to waste.
They call the shootout between rival biker gangs that left nine dead “a wake-up call.”
“Dear #Texas lawmakers: more guns in more places with fewer safeguards not winning strategy for public safety #txlege #WacoShooting #GunSense,” tweeted Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
“#WacoShooting should be wake up call for #txlege: stop taking orders from gun lobby; listen to police and constituents @MomsDemand #GunSense,” she added later.
Although Watts claims to be speaking for Texas mothers, police, and constituents, she does not live in Texas, but Indianapolis, Indiana.
Moms Demand Action and other gun control groups are demanding expanded background checks that would apply to people buying firearms online and at gun shows.
Despite the opposition and the recent incident, Texas lawmakers remain undeterred, The Guardian reported. They plan on passing new laws this session that grant more gun rights.
One of those bills expands open carry laws for gun owners who carry pistols and handguns. It would also bar police from asking someone who’s carrying a gun if they’re licensed.
The bill, HB910, passed the state House of Representatives and was debated on Monday in a state Senate committee.
The Texas State Senate is also considering SB11, which would allow for concealed carry on college campuses.
