Gun Violence

People in hard-hit communities say guns have become more present, and deadly gunplay more common and chaotic.

While Texans are still reeling from the May shooting in Uvalde that claimed the lives of 21 people, the state faces another somber reminder this week of the proliferation of gun violence in Texas.

Overwhelming majorities want to see universal background checks, raising the age to buy any kind of gun to 21 and red flag laws. But just a quarter trust the government to look out for them.

Authorities credit the fast response by camp staff and police with preventing injuries to anyone else.

The rallies across the country came the same weekend a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators agreed in principle to a package of gun-reform laws.

"My own historically Republican mother told me she looked up her senators and called them for the first time in her life," Liz Hanks, who leads the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action, told NPR.

The massacre in Uvalde, Texas, was yet another grim reminder that in the U.S., children are more likely to die from gun violence than in any other wealthy nation. And it's getting worse.

This week’s massacre in Uvalde highlights disparities in how federal laws regulate rifles and handguns. The shooter bought two rifles days after his 18th birthday.

Parents and other guardians waited desperately trying to get more information on what was happening and where their children were.

"Is this the moment to reform gun laws?" British reporter Mark Stone from Sky News asked the U.S. senator.