The Democratic candidate showed his support for raising the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21, along with other gun measures.
SAN ANTONIO — Beto O’Rourke joined parents and families of the 19 children who died in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde ahead of Friday’s debate with Gov. Greg Abbott.
At a pre-debate news conference, he showed support for raising the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21, along with other gun measures.
It is a policy proposal supported by many of the families affected by the mass shooting. The Beto O’Rourke campaign says the policy is supported by a majority of Texans based on recent polling.
“It has been 18 weeks and not a single thing has changed to make it any less likely that any other child in any other classroom in any other community in Texas will meet the same fate as these 19 children did on the 24th of May.” O’Rourke said. “The answers are before us. You’ve heard it here from these parents, who unfortunately, know this issue better than any of us do.”
Abbott has said that he believes raising the age to purchase an assault weapon is not constitutional and would not pass.
“It’s clear that the gun control law they are seeking in Uvalde, as much as they may want it, has already been ruled to be unconstitutional,” Abbott said last month, citing three recent court rulings related to gun laws.
The two candidates for governor are planning to debate Friday evening in the Rio Grande Valley, and gun violence is expected to be a hot topic after the mass shooting in Uvalde earlier this year.
O’Rourke plans to speak at the pre-debate news conference at 1 p.m. in Edinburg. The debate is at 7 p.m. at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg.