Texans are still reeling from the worst mass shooting in state history, but some in the Texas Legislature want to take action to prevent future massacres.
As The Texas Tribune reports, a number of Democrats and at least one Republican in the Texas Legislature are launching an effort to investigate the state’s gun laws. Ar a news conference at the capitol on Wednesday, state Reps. Poncho Nevárez, and Nicole Collier urged state leaders to declare gun violence a public health issue.
Collier compared gun violence to the opioid epidemic, saying that limiting access to products that are harmful might be the solution. “If any other consumer product resulted in a fraction of the injuries and deaths [that guns do],” Collier said, “we would be scrambling to find solutions.”
Republican Rep. Jason Villalba of Dallas has also urged state leaders to consider “common sense” gun reforms.
