CRAZY TEXANS WITH GUNS! Gun-loving Texas, Where Most Households Own A Firearm, Has Become An Epicenter Of Mass Shootings

[Crazy People With Easy Access To GUNS!!!]

Gun-loving Texas, where most households own a firearm, has become an
epicenter of mass shootings


By Emma Tucker, CNN
Updated 7:51 AM EDT, Wed May 17, 2023


Five of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in America over the past eight
years have been in Texas, the latest occurring in Allen in early May when
a gunman fired an AR-15-style rifle at a crowded outlet mall, killing
eight people and injuring at least seven others.

The number of mass shootings in Texas is no coincidence given the sheer
number of guns in the hands of the public, several gun violence experts
told CNN.

Texas has among the most expansive gun rights in the country – roughly 60%
of households own at least one gun, according to an Everytown for Gun
Safety analysis of 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. That’s the second-highest rate in the country and above the
national average of 55% of households owning one or more guns, according
to Everytown.

There is a direct correlation between states with weaker gun laws and
higher rates of gun deaths, according to a study first published by
Everytown in 2021. That relation is evident in Texas, where the number of
mass shootings has tripled in the past five years, while mass shootings
nationwide have nearly doubled from 2018 through the end of last year,
according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive (GVA).

CNN and the GVA define a mass shooting as a shooting that injures or kills
four or more people, not including the shooter.
Visitors to a make shift memorial leave flowers in front of a large cross
that has the words "Hope, Love, Allen", engraved into it at the mall where
several people were killed, Monday, May 8, 2023, in Allen, Texas. (AP
Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

'They're still shooting': Frantic audio from officers at the Texas mall
massacre reveals chaos during the carnage

The deadliest US shooting this year, however, took place in California – a
state that advocacy groups say has some of the strictest gun laws in the
country – in Monterey Park, when 11 people were killed and nine injured at
a Lunar New Year celebration in January.

Despite the rise of high-profile mass shootings in Texas – including in
Uvalde, where a shooter opened fire in Robb Elementary School last May,
killing 19 children and two teachers – the state has repeatedly loosened
restrictions on gun ownership in recent years.

In September 2021, for example, legislation went into effect allowing most
Texans who legally own a firearm to carry it openly in public without
obtaining a permit or training, a measure Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia
said makes it harder for law enforcement to differentiate a “good guy with
a gun from a bad guy with a gun.”

Republican supporters of the legislation, however, have argued that by
removing the licensing requirement, they are removing an “artificial
barrier” to residents’ right to bear arms under the Constitution and
ensuring more Texans have access to “the protection of themselves or their
families” in public.

“If you possess a firearm, you should be able to carry a firearm,” state
Sen. Charles Schwertner, a Republican, previously said.

Meanwhile, the rate of gun homicides in Texas has increased more than 90%
from 2012 to 2021, compared to a 73% increase nationwide, according to an
analysis by Everytown of CDC data, which tracks homicides, accidental
killings and suicides committed by guns.
Santa Fe High School student Sierra Dean mourns the death of her friends
killed in a recent shooting at a makeshift memorial left in their memory
at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, U.S., May 23, 2018.
Santa Fe High School student Sierra Dean mourns the death of her friends
killed in a recent shooting at a makeshift memorial left in their memory
at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, U.S., May 23, 2018.
Loren Elliott/Reuters

In April, Texas led the nation with 108,224 gun sales, and more than
430,000 guns have been sold in the state so far this year, according to
The Trace, an independent news operation dedicated to covering America’s
gun violence epidemic, which used the FBI’s National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS). Additionally, Texas does not require
background checks for all gun transfers, paving the way for people to
potentially obtain guns in the illegal gun market, according to experts.

Gun rights advocates and conservatives, including Republican Gov. Greg
Abbott, have continued to advocate for weaker gun laws. They argue that
more firearms and higher gun ownership increases public safety – a stance
that continues to be at odds with gun violence experts and data.

In the wake of the mass shooting in Allen and several others, Abbott and
his constituents have tried to shift the focus to mental illness as one of
the main drivers of gun violence. That argument, however, is fiercely
contested by gun violence and policy experts, who say the two crises are
separate public health issues with only some overlap.

“Over and over again, Governor Abbott has put gun maker profits above
public safety – statistics and data be damned,” said Shannon Watts, the
founder of Moms Demand Action, which has been fighting for gun safety
measures since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in
Connecticut that killed 20 children and six educators.

“Every time there’s a shooting tragedy in Texas, the governor and his
Republican allies, whether they are in state or federal government, point
the finger at something that has no data to prove it’s actually the cause,
whether it’s mental illness, single parent homes, violent video games, too
many exit doors, not enough exit doors. The list goes on,” Watts said.
Helicopters are parked outside the school.
Children run to safety after escaping through a window.
Students run to safety after escaping from a window at Robb Elementary
School on Tuesday, May 24.
Students run to safety after escaping from a window at Robb Elementary
School on Tuesday, May 24.
Pete Luna/Uvalde Leader-News
As the gunman was inside, worried parents gathered outside the school
along with law enforcement and first responders.
A man throws his hands in the air as students are helped to safety.
Law enforcement works near a school window before helping children out.
The shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, crashed his truck in a ditch near
the school, DPS Regional Director Victor Escalon said during a news
conference Thursday. Ramos got out of the truck carrying a rifle and bag,
Escalon added.
Law enforcement works near the scene on Tuesday.
People work to get the students out from the window.
A stretcher is readied outside the school.
An ambulance is at the scene as people watch from behind police tape.
Helicopters are parked outside the school.
Children run to safety after escaping through a window.
Students run to safety after escaping from a window at Robb Elementary
School on Tuesday, May 24.
As the gunman was inside, worried parents gathered outside the school
along with law enforcement and first responders.
Photos show chaotic scene as Uvalde students escape
1 of 11
Texas is no stranger to mass shootings

The gunman in the mass shooting in Allen, 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia,
purportedly wrote online of his support for Nazi ideology before he got
out of his car in the Dallas suburb and started firing an AR-15-style
rifle, according to authorities.

Garcia had eight weapons with him – three on his person and five in his
vehicle – all of which were legally obtained, according to Texas
Department of Public Safety Regional Director Hank Sibley.
ALLEN, TEXAS - MAY 08: Citaly Ramirez reacts as she visits a memorial
setup near an entrance to the Allen Premium Outlets mall after the mass
shooting occurred on May 8, 2023 in Allen, Texas. Ramirez said she was
working in a store when the shooter ran past. On May 6th, a shooter opened
fire at the outlet mall, killing eight people. The gunman was then killed
by an Allen Police officer responding to an unrelated call. (Photo by Joe
Raedle/Getty Images)

Texas mall shooter's 8 weapons were legally obtained, authorities say, as
motive remains unclear

The victims killed in Allen included children and relatives out shopping
together who were killed. At least seven more were injured in the
massacre, which lasted three to four minutes before an unidentified Allen
police officer at the mall sprinted to the scene and killed the gunman,
state officials said.

Once again, people engaged in routine activities, like a trip to the
supermarket or a Sweet 16 party, had their lives ripped apart by a US mass
shooting.

“We get upset about the mass shooters because it’s so frightening and
disturbing and irrational to everything we don’t want ordinary life to
be,” said Jeffrey Swanson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral
sciences at Duke University who specializes in gun violence and mental
illness.

“But on the day of any of those shootings, we have 140 other people die
all around the United States. That’s the drip, drip, drip of gun violence.
We need a change in our culture,” Swanson said.

The death toll from mass shootings in Texas stands apart, with the recent
events in Uvalde and Allen, in addition to nine killed in a Waco bar in
2015; 26 people killed at a church in Sutherland Springs in 2017; 10
killed at a Santa Fe high school in 2018; and 23 people killed at an El
Paso shopping center in 2019.
On May 17, 2015, authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of
the Twin Peaks restaurant, in Waco, Texas.
On May 17, 2015, authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of
the Twin Peaks restaurant, in Waco, Texas.
Jerry Larson/AP

The shootings in Uvalde and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, that same
month fueled the massive public outcry by many Democrats, gun safety
advocates, gun violence experts, parents and entire communities, putting
intense pressure on lawmakers to enact stricter gun measures.

Then, in June last year, President Joe Biden signed into law the
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the most significant new federal
legislation to address gun violence since the expired 10-year assault
weapons ban of 1994. The legislation included incentives for states to
pass red flag laws and funding to implement crisis intervention programs,
but the law failed to ban any weapons.
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Several hundred high school students from the
Washington area observe 19 minutes of silence while rallying in front of
the White House before marching to the U.S. Capitol to protest against the
National Rifle Association and to call for stricter gun laws April 20,
2018 in Washington, DC. Students marched to mark the 19th anniversary of
the Columbine High School shooting and to demand that Congress pass
'common sense gun violence prevention legislation'.

About 1 in 5 high school students have witnessed community violence, new
CDC report says

The tragedies in El Paso and West Texas in 2019 – when a gunman killed
seven people in a shooting spree in Midland and Odessa – prompted Abbott
and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to briefly consider a gun control proposal that
would make it harder for Texans to buy a firearm. But during his annual
State of the State address in 2021, Abbott stressed the need to “erect a
complete barrier against any government official anywhere from treading on
gun rights in Texas.”

“Regardless of political party, parents are scared to send their kids to
schools,” Watts said. “And if your kids aren’t safe, you can’t really
focus on any other issue. These shooting tragedies are making single issue
voters out of Americans.”
Abbott blames mental health issues, but questions raised about funding

One day after the massacre in Allen, Abbott again called attention to
mental health in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” saying there’s an
increase in “anger and violence” and the root cause is “mental health
problems.”

The governor’s statements to increase funding for mental health services
echo those he made two days after the Uvalde shooting at a news
conference, when he claimed it’s a “mental health challenge” whenever
someone uses a gun to shoot someone else, CNN previously reported.
An attendee looks at a gun on display at the National Rifle Association
(NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, U.S. May 28, 2022.
REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

Analysis: Three experts explain America's gun politics

Despite the governor’s vows to address gaps in mental health services,
Abbott redirected roughly $211 million from the Health and Human Services
Commission, the state agency that oversees mental health services in the
state, less than one month before the Uvalde shooting, according to CNN
affiliate WFAA.

The state funding provided to the agency was swapped with federal aid that
was allocated to Texas to help it recover from the pandemic, WFAA
reported. Abbott then wrote a letter to state leaders saying the transfer
of funds “will not affect any agency or program function,” according to
WFAA.

In a statement to CNN, Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said
the governor “did not, in no uncertain terms, cut funding from mental
health services being provided for Texans. Governor Abbott has always
worked diligently to fully fund and expand mental health programs and
services for Texans.”

Texas also has no red flag law – also known as an extreme risk protection
order – which allows law enforcement, family members or a household member
to petition a judge to temporarily seize a person’s firearms if they are
deemed a risk. Extreme risk laws have been shown to reduce firearm suicide
rates in Connecticut by 14% and Indiana by 7.5%, according to Giffords Law
Center data between 1981 and 2015.
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke disrupts a press
conference held by Governor Greg Abbott the day after a gunman killed 19
children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, U.S.
May 25, 2022.
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke disrupts a press
conference held by Governor Greg Abbott the day after a gunman killed 19
children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, U.S.
May 25, 2022.
Veronica G. Cardenas/Reuters

There is no research that shows mental illness is causing America’s gun
violence crisis, according to Swanson. The mental health system is
fragmented and overburdened, he said, and many people with serious mental
illnesses that “impair the brain’s ability to reason and perceive reality
and regulate mood wind up in the criminal legal system.”

“That’s a big problem that costs our society hundreds of billions of
dollars a year,” Swanson said. “But it’s just not that related to
violence. It just intersects with the problem of gun violence on its edge.
These two problems get lots of attention because of these mass shootings,
but in my view, to ‘fix mental health’ – what you hear from Abbott and
others – is a great solution to a different public health problem.”

CNN posed several additional questions to Abbott’s office asking why he
has put the spotlight on a need for mental health funding to address gun
violence, despite research and data that proves otherwise, but his office
did not provide an answer. Abbott’s office also did not answer questions
about how he is working to address high gun ownership and strengthen gun
laws to lower gun violence in Texas.

Joshua Horwitz, co-director of the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says Texas and other
states with weak gun laws can enact measures such as requiring an enhanced
background check for gun purchases or banning high-capacity magazines as
strategies that would lower the prevalence of some shootings.
Churchgoers pass a memorial wall following a dedication ceremony for a new
sanctuary and memorial room at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland
Springs, Texas, Sunday, May 19, 2019.
Churchgoers pass a memorial wall following a dedication ceremony for a new
sanctuary and memorial room at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland
Springs, Texas, Sunday, May 19, 2019.
Eric Gay/AP

“We have to reduce gun violence in total. Mass shootings are just a piece
of that, and the strategies that we’re laying out will impact mass
shootings. They’ll also impact a lot of other types of gun violence and
that’s absolutely critical to saving lives,” Horwitz said.

“But the bottom line is, the United States has too easy access to
firearms,” he said. “We don’t have any more mental health issues than
others. It’s not video games – it’s guns.”
Most gun violence is not caused by mental illness
Visitors seen hugging at a memorial set up near the scene of a mass
shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets mall on May 8, 2023 in Allen, Texas.
Visitors seen hugging at a memorial set up near the scene of a mass
shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets mall on May 8, 2023 in Allen, Texas.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In 2015, Swanson and a group of researchers studied any possible
connection between firearm deaths and mental illness. They looked at the
CDC’s reported number of firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people and
three mental health-related categories in all 50 states: the number of
people with untreated mental illnesses, the number of psychiatric
inpatient bed capacity per 100,000 and the amount of money spent per
capita on mental health services.

“The correlation is approximately zero. There’s no relationship
whatsoever,” Swanson said.

The group also looked at any relation between firearm-related deaths and
three gun-related categories, including the estimated rate of household
gun ownership; the restrictiveness of state gun laws; and the rate at
which guns used in crimes are exported and used in crimes in other states.
They determined that the three firearm categories “are very highly,
statistically associated with the firearm fatality rate,” Swanson said.
Multiple agencies arrive at a building after a shooting took place in
Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday, April 10, 2023.

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Even if, hypothetically, the United States cured all serious mental
illness and removed the risk that an afflicted person could obtain a gun,
the nationwide rate of gun violence would only go down by less than 4%,
Swanson said.

“Ninety-six percent of it would still be there because it’s caused by
other things,” he added, such as exposure to childhood trauma, substance
abuse and impulsive anger. But these causes overlap and interact with each
other in numerous ways, making it very difficult to predict violence.

“When psychiatrists predict that a patient will be violent, they’re wrong
about half the time,” Swanson said, citing his research.