AUSTIN, Texas — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin laid flowers for the 21 people who lost their lives in Uvalde. For her, it's a painful reminder of her own tragedy.
"Every time one of these tragedies happen, it just reminds me of my own loss. My father was shot and killed in 1990," said Goodwin.
That's why she's going to push for a special session on gun legislation reform. One thing she wants is to close loopholes on universal background checks.
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"One example is someone with a revoked or suspended license to carry can go into a gun store and use that license to get a gun without getting a background check. Other examples would be online sales and gun shows. There are some loopholes there as well," she said.
Goodwin also wants to raise the age to buy assault-style weapons from 18 to 21. She also wants waiting periods between when people buy a gun and when they can actually get the gun.
To get another perspective, we spoke to the vice president of Open Carry Texas, David Amad. He wasn't sold on these ideas.
"Universal background checks is a backdoor to universal gun registration, which is a backdoor to gun confiscation,” said Amad.
Amad also said raising the age to buy assault-style weapons isn't a solution either
"Raising the age to do anything doesn't stop that thing from happening," he said.
He said the answer is more guns.
"You ever wonder why there's never a mass shooting at a police station or a gun range or a gun store? A place where people are armed? Well, it's because the bad guy knows he's going to die within seconds," he said.
Meanwhile, the community is still grieving for the lives lost in Uvalde. And for Rep. Goodwin, the issue remains personal.
"The fact that I've lost someone to gun violence makes this an issue that I'm not willing to give up," she said.
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