AUSTIN, Texas — A bill to remove short-barreled guns from a state list of prohibited weapons received initial approval in the Texas Senate on Monday afternoon.
Senate Bill 1596 passed on second reading by a vote of 21 to 10.
An identical House bill, HB 259, and other gun-related bills up for public hearing on Monday drew families from Uvalde and Santa Fe to the state Capitol in Austin.
Currently in Texas, legally possessing a short-barreled firearm comes with restrictions. They must be registered with the federal government, which involves a background check and paying $200, or must be classified as a curio or relic.
On Monday, the House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans Affairs Committee’s agenda listed 17 gun-related bills, including HB 259.
The author of HB 259, Rep. Richard Hayes (R-Denton), testified he’s responding to federal attempts to classify a pistol with a stabilizing brace as a short-barreled weapon.
“This act by the ATF criminalizes an estimated 350,000 to 900,000 firearms under Texas law because it is contingent under federal law,” said Hayes.
The lawmaker also emphasized that Texans can currently legally own short-barreled firearms.
“That’s just the reality,” said Hayes. “You just have to pay the federal government $200 for the tax stamp. It serves no Texas policy purpose to require Texas citizens to pay the federal government $200.”
Flo Rice is one of 13 survivors wounded in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School near Houston in May 2018. Eight students and two teachers died in the attack, carried out by a gunman armed with a revolver and legal sawed-off shotgun.
Rice, who worked as a substitute teacher, described how the gunman concealed the shotgun under his coat and the damage caused by the weapon’s wide blast.
Rice told lawmakers she supports the Second Amendment but wants it followed in a way to prioritize children’s safety.
“The current process for registering a sawed-off, or short-barrel, firearm requires a … responsible gun owner’s commitment to a background check,” said Rice. “I fear without this commitment, sawed-off shotguns will become more readily available to minors.”
Rhonda Hart, whose daughter Kimberly Vaughan was killed in the Santa Fe High School shooting, told the committee she supports the tougher federal guidelines already in place.
“I oppose Texas, for lack of a better term, trying to trump that already federal bill because my daughter was shot and killed by a sawed-off shotgun in her classroom in Santa Fe, Texas,” said Hart, during an interview with KVUE outside the hearing room.
Parents of students killed in the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde came to support the Santa Fe families and testify against some of the other gun-related bills on the Monday agenda.
“We are here to stand alongside you and also to oppose [House] Bill 2470, which is going to lower the age from 21 to 18 to purchase a handgun, which, of course, we oppose,” said Kimberly Rubio, mother of Lexi Rubio, during an interview with KVUE.
“I think if this bill passes, [House Bill] 2470, then they are putting more moms at risk for more fear, more pain of losing their children or loved one,” said Gloria Cazares, mother of Jackie Cazares, during that same interview.
After testifying, Rice and other opponents joined state lawmakers Christina Morales (D-Houston) and Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) at a news conference criticizing the bills and lack of gun reform since 2018.
As of late Monday afternoon, HB 259 was left pending in committee. That means those lawmakers must vote later to advance the bill before the full House can vote on it.
The Senate is set to take a second vote on its version of the bill on Tuesday.