Texas senator introduces new Uvalde-related legislation

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — In a Tuesday press conference with some families of the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary mass school shooting, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, introduced a new set of legislation related to the Uvalde massacre.

Gutierrez had previously introduced three other Uvalde-related bills, two related to firearm regulations and one that would create a state fund to compensate victims of the May 24 Robb Elementary tragedy.

Senate Bill 144 would create "extreme risk" protective orders, which would allow a judge to temporarily take away guns from a person who is deemed as posing a danger to themselves or others. His other bill, Senate Bill 145, would raise the age limit required to buy any firearm from 18 to 21.

Gov. Greg Abbott has suggested that age limits are completely out of the question. He pointed to a Texas federal court decision related to a state law that previously banned 18 to 20-year-olds in Texas from carrying handguns. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman said the law was unconstitutional, since the Second Amendment does not mention age limitations.

Gutierrez aruges it would be constitutional, pointing to states like Florida, which passed a law raising the age limit after the 2018 Parkland mass school shooting.

This is a developing story. Capitol Correspondent Monica Madden will have a full report on KXAN at 6 p.m.