House

House Republican who represents Uvalde backs bipartisan gun safety bill

by Mychael Schnell - 06/22/22 12:12 PM ET

AP Photo/Eric Gay
Reggie Daniels pays his respects at a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on June 9, 2022, honoring the two teachers and 19 students killed in the shooting at the school on May 24. For families fractured along red house-blue house lines, summer’s slate of reunions and weddings poses another round of tension. Pandemic restrictions have melted away but gun control, the fight for reproductive rights, the Jan. 6 insurrection hearings, who’s to blame for soaring inflation and a range of other issues continue to simmer.

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales — whose Texas district includes Uvalde, the site of last month’s school shooting — said Wednesday he will vote for the Senate’s bipartisan gun safety bill.

Gonzales’s announcement of support came one day after Senate negotiators released the text of their bipartisan legislation, which includes a number of provisions to respond to the shooting in Uvalde, which killed 19 students and two adults at an elementary school, and last month’s massacre in Buffalo, N.Y., which left 10 Black Americans dead.

“As a Congressman it’s my duty to pass laws that never infringe on the Constitution while protecting the lives of the innocent. In the coming days I look forward to voting YES on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” Gonzales wrote on Twitter.

Senate negotiators released the legislative text of the bill, which clocked in at 80 pages, on Tuesday, after weeks of intense talks between both parties. The group announced a nine-point framework last weekend, but needed extra time to hash out final details before releasing the actual bill.

The legislation calls for enhancing background check requirements for firearm purchasers who are younger than 21 and have juvenile criminal records and closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole” by barring individuals from buying firearms for at least five years if they are convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence involving someone they have or had a romantic relationship with, among other measures.

The bill also gives states federal funding to establish red flag laws and other intervention programs.

The Senate advanced the legislation in a 64-34 vote Tuesday night, with 14 Republicans supporting the measure.

With at least 15 Republican senators in support — Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) helped write the framework but missed Tuesday’s vote — the bill is poised to overcome a filibuster, pass through the chamber and head to the House for consideration.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday morning that she expects the Senate will pass the bill with enough time for the House to consider it before the weekend.

The House is scheduled to break for a two-week recess on Friday to mark Independence Day.

“I anticipate that they will get it done,” Pelosi said.

It is unclear how many other House Republicans might join Gonzales in supporting the measure.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) have said they will not vote for the bill.

In announcing his support for the legislation, Gonzales talked about his history with domestic abuse.

“My name is Tony Gonzales and I am a survivor of domestic abuse, my stepfather would come home drunk & beat on me and my mother. One night he decided that wasn’t enough and shoved a shotgun in my mother’s mouth. I was 5 at the time and not strong enough to fend off the wolves,” Gonzales wrote on Twitter.

“School was my sanctuary from the chaos at home. Now I am 41, all grown up. Loving father of six children. Served our country in the Navy for 20 years, led men and women in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. I slay wolves every day,” he added in a separate tweet.

Gonzales led a moment of silence on the House floor earlier this month to commemorate the victims of the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School.