Major Attempts At Gun Control Happeninng Right Now!

Willaim --

Like so many people in Texas and across the country, I can’t stop thinking about the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in Uvalde along with all those injured. I continue asking myself: how do we prevent this from happening again?

I want to be clear from the beginning: I am not in support of restricting or limiting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

What I am for is targeted action to expand mental health resources, enhance school safety, and keep guns out of the hands of those who already can’t legally have them.

In other words, we need to enforce the existing laws we have.

According to reports, the Uvalde shooter was isolated. He harmed himself. He had a history of fighting, threatening fellow students, and abusing animals.

These are textbook signs of someone who could pose a threat, but these signs were ignored and we saw the tragic consequences.

We need to do more to support those who struggle with emotional or mental health problems. That’s something I believe all Texans can agree on.

Another big issue is school safety. The shooter should never have been able to gain access to Robb Elementary School.

School districts need additional resources to evaluate their security measures and make needed improvements. No one should be able to walk through a door and access a classroom so easily.

Improving safety also means reviewing current protocol, developing best practices, and potentially increasing the number of school resource officers.

Willaim, I want to reiterate that I simply will not support any proposal that infringes on the rights of law-abiding gun owners in Texas or across the country.

I believe we can address some of the failures that allowed the tragedies in Uvalde, Buffalo, and elsewhere to take place, while also protecting the Second Amendment for millions of law-abiding gun owners.

While the Senate continues with bipartisan talks on these issues, I want to know where you stand. If you have a moment, please answer the brief question below.

For Texas,

John

Do you agree that we can both protect the Second Amendment while working to secure our schools and increase mental health resources in our communities?

Yes, the Second Amendment is critical to the American way of life.

No, the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans don’t matter.



*By answering this survey, you are subscribing to my newsletter.

Dear Willaim:

Thank you for contacting me regarding federal firearms laws. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this important matter.

On May 24, 2022, a gunman maliciously took the lives of 21 innocent people, including 19 children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. My heart goes out to the loved ones of those who lost their lives as they grieve such a cruel tragedy. This is an incredibly difficult time for the Uvalde community, Texas, and our Nation. My office is coordinating with federal, state, and local officials to assist the people of Uvalde as they navigate the aftermath of this senseless act of violence.

As your Senator, I am committed to focusing on the root causes of mass violence, fully enforcing current law, and addressing improvements to mental health care in America. I will continue to push for effective solutions that protect communities and preserve citizens' Second Amendment rights. As a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, I believe it is essential to safeguard law-abiding citizens' constitutional right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes. Restricting this right runs counter to the intent of our Founding Fathers, who expressly guaranteed that citizens would retain the right to keep and bear arms.

It is encouraging that the Supreme Court has upheld the will of our Founders and re-affirmed the ideals upon which our country was established. The Supreme Court's ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) affirmed that Americans' constitutional rights remain secure from federal government intrusion. I was proud to sign an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting the fundamental right of American citizens to keep and bear arms. This landmark ruling continues to have implications far beyond the District of Columbia. In the 2010 McDonald v. City of Chicago decision, the Supreme Court struck down the arbitrary gun ban in Chicago-thereby affirming that the Second Amendment protects Americans' fundamental rights against state and local encroachment.

As a former Texas Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General, I have firsthand knowledge of crime-fighting policies that work, and I believe citizens' Second Amendment rights should not be restricted because of the actions of criminals. Rather, we must focus our attention on the source of violent crime: criminals who use firearms to harm innocent Americans. I believe strictly enforcing the law-and imposing tougher sentences on career criminals and violent offenders who use firearms-will reduce violence more effectively than gun or equipment bans, which primarily serve to take firearms away from law-abiding citizens.

Furthermore, I believe Americans with concealed handgun licenses should not sacrifice their safety and peace of mind when traveling between states. That is why I was proud to introduce the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2021 (S. 1522). This bill would allow qualified individuals to carry a concealed handgun into, or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. I look forward to working with my colleagues on furthering protection of Americans' Second Amendment rights during the 117th Congress.

As your Senator, I will continue to champion the Second Amendment and work to provide resources for individuals with mental health issues to help ensure that our communities our safe and our Constitutional rights are not infringed.

I appreciate having the opportunity to represent Texas in the United States Senate, and will continue working with my colleagues to protect our Second Amendment rights. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

I received these letters after contacting Senator Cornyn:

Dear Willaim:

Thank you for contacting me regarding federal firearms policy. I appreciate the benefit of your comments on this important matter.

On May 24, 2022, a gunman maliciously took the lives of 21 innocent people, including 19 children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. My heart goes out to the loved ones of those who lost their lives as they grieve such a cruel tragedy. This is an incredibly difficult time for the Uvalde community, Texas, and our Nation. My office is coordinating with federal, state, and local officials to assist the people of Uvalde as they navigate the aftermath of this senseless act of violence.

Like every Texan, I want to prevent violent crime, and this begins with enforcing existing gun laws. The federal government has not adequately enforced the 2007 NICS Improvement Amendments Act (P. L. 110-180), which amended the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This law is supported by organizations ranging from the National Rifle Association to the Brady Campaign and was passed unanimously by Congress in 2008. P.L. 110-180 requires states to submit criminal history and mental health records of individuals who are adjudicated as a danger to themselves or others in order to prevent them from legally purchasing firearms. This includes felons, domestic violence perpetrators, and those who suffer from serious mental illness.

To prevent high-risk individuals from illegally purchasing firearms, federally licensed firearms sellers are required to run an FBI background check through NICS on all individuals who attempt to purchase a firearm. This system relies on the sharing of records by federal agencies and state governments to ensure individuals who are prohibited from possessing a firearm are not able to obtain them. Unfortunately, federal agencies and state governments often fail to upload relevant information to NICS, thereby allowing dangerous individuals and violent criminals to purchase firearms. This failure to share information had tragic consequences in multiple mass-violence events, including Blacksburg, Virginia (2007); Charleston, South Carolina (2015); and Sutherland Springs, Texas (2017). In each of these cases, a dangerous individual who was legally prohibited from purchasing firearms was able to pass a NICS Background Check, because criminal or mental health records were not uploaded to the system.

I introduced the bipartisan Fix NICS Act (S. 2135; 115th Congress), which was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (P. L. 115-141). This legislation helps prevent future tragedies and ensure the integrity of our criminal background check system. P.L. 115-141 requires federal agencies and states to produce NICS implementation plans to upload all information to the background check system showing that a person is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms under current law. Federal agencies are held accountable if they fail to upload relevant records to the background check system through public reporting and prohibiting bonus pay for political appointees. P.L. 115-141 rewards states who comply with NICS implementation plans through federal grant preferences and incentives. Since the Fix NICS Act was signed into law in 2018, more than eleven million new records have been added to the NICS databases. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to build upon the continued success of this law to ensure missing records don't put more innocent lives at risk.
We can also reduce violent crime and mass shootings by taking steps to strengthen our broken mental health system. On August 5, 2015, I introduced the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 (S. 2002; 114th Congress), which was later signed into law as part of the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-255). This law enhances the ability of local communities to identify and treat potentially dangerous, mentally ill individuals. The law includes reforms to increase the use of treatment-based alternatives for mentally ill offenders, and improve crisis response and prevention by state and local law enforcement officials. The bill was endorsed by a diverse group of organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Association of Police Organizations.

On October 23, 2019, I introduced the RESPONSE Act (S. 2690; 116th Congress), which included a number of provisions to prevent mass attacks and make our communities safer. This legislation would create nationwide task forces to investigate and prosecute those who are illegally selling firearms, and those attempting to buy firearms who provide false statements as part of a background check. In addition, this bill would improve the quality and availability of mental health care by expanding assisted outpatient treatment and increasing access to crisis intervention teams. Furthermore, the RESPONSE Act would increase safety for students and teachers by promoting best practices and internet safety policies to help schools better identify and assess students whose behavior indicates a threat of violence. Finally, this legislation encourages online platforms to share information with law enforcement concerning acts of mass violence, hate crimes, or domestic terrorism. While this bill was unfortunately not enacted during the 116th Congress, I look forward to working with my colleagues to prevent violent crime during the 117th Congress.

Like you, I am outraged by mass shootings and the senseless destruction of lives. As your Senator, I am committed to focusing on the root causes of mass violence, fully enforcing current law, and addressing improvements to mental health care in America. I will continue to push for effective solutions that protect communities while preserving our constitutional rights.

I appreciate having the opportunity to represent Texas in the United States Senate. I recognize we have differing opinions on this important matter, but I hope you will continue to share your views with me regarding issues of importance to you. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator