At a recent U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on solutions to school gun violence and mass shootings, victims of the May massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and survivors of other mass shootings testified about their experiences on the day of and following these tragedies, while lawmakers disagreed on how to address the issue.
Republican lawmakers defended the second amendment right to bear arms, spoke against gun control measures, and defended the sale of AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, which are often commonly used by perpetrators in mass shootings. They also blamed violent acts like mass shootings in schools on single-mother households and a lack of Judeo-Christian teachings in the classroom.
Conversely, Democratic lawmakers continuously pushed for responsible gun ownership, increased age limits on gun purchases, background checks, red flag laws that hinder gun ownership for people considered dangers to themselves or others, a ban on AR-15s, and improved law enforcement training.
To read more about the hearing in a more detailed report from K-12 Dive, click here.