Major Republican donors, including some that have contributed to Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 campaigns, joined other conservative Texans in signing an open letter supporting congressional action to increase gun restrictions in response to the mass shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead last week.
The letter, which ran as a full-page ad in The Dallas Morning News on Sunday, endorses the creation of red flag laws, expanding background checks and raising the age to purchase a gun to 21. More than 250 self-declared gun enthusiasts signed it.
鈥淢ost law enforcement experts believe these measures would make a difference,鈥� the letter reads. 鈥淎nd recent polls of fellow conservatives suggest that there is strong support for such gun-safety measures.鈥�
The letter voices support for Texas鈥� senior senator, John Cornyn, who has been tapped to lead bipartisan negotiations in Congress over possible gun reform measures.
鈥淲e are grateful that our Senator John Cornyn is leading efforts to address the recent tragedies in Uvalde and elsewhere across our great Country,鈥� the letter says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the right man to lead this bipartisan effort, as he has demonstrated throughout his career.鈥�
In an interview with Politico, Cornyn stressed that he was not interested in 鈥渞estricting the rights of law-abiding citizens under the Second Amendment,鈥� but said it would be 鈥渆mbarrassing鈥� if Uvalde didn鈥檛 spark Congress to reach some sort of bipartisan legislative response.
The letter was paid for by Todd Maclin, a former senior executive at J.P. Morgan Chase who now runs the Dallas-based finance firm Maclin Management. Maclin said he is a conservative gun owner who has been stirred to action by the shooting in Uvalde.
鈥淭hese events have really motivated me and really gotten under my skin and encouraged me to support the effort that鈥檚 underway,鈥� Maclin told The Texas Tribune. 鈥淚 just felt like I needed to do something, and I also believe that there are reasonable things that can be done.鈥�
He said he is still hearing from more conservative gun owners who are feeling a 鈥済reat sense of urgency and a great need to support [Cornyn] as he does his best to address these issues.鈥�
Maclin said the group is focusing on federal legislation, which he believes is the best avenue to passing gun safety laws and ensuring they are applied uniformly across the country. He declined to comment on the state response to the shooting or gun legislation, except to say that he hopes any federal plan led by Cornyn and passed with conservative support would be embraced by state governments.
Among the signatories are deep-pocketed Abbott supporters, including billionaires Robert Rowling, whose holding company owns Omni Hotels, and Ray L. Hunt, executive chairman of Hunt Consolidated Inc.
The contents of the letter are in line with policies Abbott and other party leaders, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have supported in the past 鈥� though not the ones they are endorsing now.
After the 2018 school shooting in Santa Fe, outside Houston, Abbott supported 鈥渞ed flag鈥� laws, which would allow local officials to take someone鈥檚 guns away if a judge declares them to be a danger. He later dropped his support for the measure, citing a 鈥渃oalescence鈥� against it from his own party.
The next year, after back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Midland-Odessa, Patrick said he was 鈥渨illing to take an arrow鈥� from the National Rifle Association and support expanding background checks.
The next time the Legislature met, however, lawmakers instead passed a law that allows Texans to carry a handgun without a license or training.
This time, neither Patrick nor Abbott have expressed any support for tightening gun laws. They have instead offered suggestions that have ranged from expanding mental health services and minimizing the entrances to school buildings to doing surprise security checks.
On the federal level, both Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz have A+ ratings from the NRA and are top Senate recipients of gun industry donations. But they鈥檝e taken differing tacks in response to the shooting in Uvalde.
Cruz said in the wake of the massacre that passing laws that restrict gun access 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 work. It鈥檚 not effective. It doesn鈥檛 prevent crime.鈥� But Cornyn has shown a willingness, now and in the past, to support some bipartisan gun legislation.
In the wake of the 2017 Sutherland Springs shooting outside San Antonio, Cornyn worked with Democratic colleagues to improve the background check system to prevent felons and domestic abusers from purchasing firearms.
He has also supported banning 鈥渂ump stocks,鈥� which allow semi automatic guns to fire faster, and shepherded into law a bill that funded the screening and treatment of offenders with mental illness.
After last week鈥檚 shooting, Cornyn has said he鈥檚 鈥渘ot interested in making a political statement,鈥� but is focused on making 鈥渢he terrible events that occurred in Uvalde less likely in the future.鈥�
Disclosure: Politico and Robert Rowling have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them
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