SAN ANTONIO — Democratic politicians and education union presidents convened in San Antonio on the first day of early voting, advocating for change in state leadership and gun law reform.
The ongoing demand for change comes five months after the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez joined leaders of the Northside American Federation of Teachers, San Antonio Alliance and other lawmakers running for office Monday morning to address gun law reform.
“Texas has an age limit on handguns and yet an 18-year-old can walk into a gun shop, buy an AR-15 on his 18th birthday like he’s going into buy a Slurpee at a 7-11,” Gutierrez said.
Upcoming legislation known as SB 21 would raise the age from 18 to 21 to purchase certain firearms in Texas.
Florida lawmakers passed a bill following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018 that raised the age to buy assault style rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21. Former Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law.
“I am the president of an education union. I do not want to be up here talking to you all about guns and gun reform. I want to be talking about mental health supports, I want to be talking about class sizes,” said Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance. “We’re demanding more from our elected officials.”
Families of the 19 children and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde have continued to demand across the board accountability on local and state levels.
Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott rallied his supporters in San Antonio, touching on the economy and immigration. He did not address the Uvalde shooting or elaborate on school security.
The governor’s office referenced the $105 million initiative that’s gone toward funding school security and mental health services at schools statewide.
“It’s been said many times. Our children are not partisan. They’re not Republicans, they’re not Democrats, they’re children and they all deserve to be safe,” said State Sen. Jose Menendez.