Texas bill to raise age on AR-style gun purchases advances days after Allen shooting

AUSTIN, Texas — Facing pressure from parents whose children died in the Uvalde school massacre, a Texas House committee voted Monday to raise the minimum age to buy AR-style rifles from 18 to 21.

Two Republicans, Reps. Sam Harless of Spring and Justin Holland of Rockwall, joined with all six Democrats on the committee to advance the measure. Cheers erupted as the vote was taken in a packed committee room, and someone yelled “thank you.”

“This is a big win,” said Jerry Mata, whose daughter Tess was killed last May in the shooting at Robb Elementary School.

The bill is unlikely to become law, and it’s unclear whether it will advance to the House floor. But the vote Monday represents the most substantial movement in recent years to tighten gun laws in the GOP-led Legislature, which has steadily loosened restrictions even in the face of previous mass shootings.

It comes just two days after a gunman opened fire at Allen Premium Outlets, killing eight and wounding seven more. Authorities have released little information about the shooter, his motives and the weapons used.

The raise-the-age bill by Rep. Tracy King, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, would apply to semi-automatic rifles that are capable of accepting a detachable magazine and have a caliber greater than .22. Police officers and members of the military would be exempt.

Veronica Mata and other Uvalde parents told lawmakers the age limit would have stopped the teenaged gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers in their elementary school classrooms.

The fate of the legislation had been in limbo for weeks. While the Select Committee on Community Safety had an overnight hearing in April to consider the legislation, the proposal had languished ever since.

On Monday, the deadline to pass House bills out of committee, protesters flooded the halls of the Capitol chanting “raise the age” and Democratic state senators held a press conference demanding a vote.

At a hastily called committee meeting, there was no debate before the 8-5 vote. Afterward, Rep. Vikki Goodman, an Austin Democrat, said the next step is to get the bill on the calendar for a full House vote before Thursday’s deadline.

Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican who chairs the calendars committee and also sits on the community safety committee, voted against the measure. His office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bill faces pushback from key Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who has questioned the constitutionality. Rep. Ryan Guillen, a Rio Grande City Republican who chairs Select Committee on Community Safety, voted against raising the age and said the policy “doesn’t have the support in the Legislature.”