Tag Archives: Uvalde

House passes assault weapon ban

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Another bill that won’t pass the Senate, but nonetheless shows the gap in values and priorities between the two parties. As the House passed legislation to ban assault weapons for the first time in nearly two decades Friday, Democrats pointed … Continue reading →

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Uvalde school board asks for a special session on guns

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not going to get it, just like everyone else who has asked that Greg Abbott Do Something about them. The Uvalde school board is formally urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call state lawmakers back to Austin so they can … Continue reading →

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Arredondo won’t be fired just yet

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna have to wait a little longer. Uvalde school officials have postponed a scheduled Saturday meeting to decide whether to fire police Chief Pete Arredondo at the superintendent’s recommendation. Arredondo’s lawyer asked the district to postpone the meeting amid due-process … Continue reading →

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Uvalde school superintendent recommends firing Arredondo

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I suspect he’ll get his wish. Uvalde school officials will decide the fate of district police Chief Pete Arredondo during a special meeting Saturday after Superintendent Hal Harrell recommended the police chief’s firing. The meeting falls almost two months after … Continue reading →

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Now DPS is checking on its officers that were at the Uvalde mass shooting?

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have one simple question about this. The Texas Department of Public Safety is reviewing how 91 state troopers and Rangers responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting to determine if any violated policies or laws. The agency’s announcement Monday … Continue reading →

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House committee report on the Uvalde massacre

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The special State House committee that was tasked with investigating the response to the Uvalde mass shooting released its report yesterday. The report identified numerous failures, in law enforcement and in the school and in other systems, though it’s clear … Continue reading →

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Uvalde video to be released

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is the right thing to do. The Texas House committee investigating the Uvalde school shooting plans to release video footage of the incident on Sunday, Rep. Dustin Burrows said. Burrows, a Lubbock Republican and the committee’s chairman, said Tuesday … Continue reading →

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Are we going to get law enforcement video from Uvalde or not?

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Still waiting. A bureaucratic spat over whether to release video from inside Robb Elementary School during the May 24 mass shooting grew increasingly complex on Monday after a key Texas state legislator suggested that there was now finally an agreement … Continue reading →

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We’re number one in the worst way

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Bad and getting worse. When a disturbed teenager in Uvalde sought a high-powered rifle that could fire numerous rounds, he didn’t have far to go. Texas has more licensed gun dealers and manufacturers than any other state, according to a … Continue reading →

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Uvalde mayor disputes report that police missed opportunity to shoot gunman

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still arguing over the basic facts of this tragedy. Uvalde’s mayor on Friday denied a recent report that said a city police officer had an opportunity to shoot the 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers inside … Continue reading →

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A few words about the state of the Governor’s race

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There are many factors. A school shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead. The end of a nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to an abortion. A history-making spring in Texas is laying the groundwork for a contentious … Continue reading →

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Uvalde updates

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Too much news, so time for a news dump. Uvalde shooting victims aren’t getting compensated from state fund as intended, officials say. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said Monday that families of the Uvalde shooting victims … Continue reading →

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Congressional Dems ask Paxton to release Uvalde info

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

He won’t, because he sucks, but you gotta ask. Nine Democratic members of the U.S. House from Texas on Tuesday called on Attorney General Ken Paxton to order the release of government records related to the May 24 school shooting … Continue reading →

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The empty “mental health” promise

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What’s going on in Uvalde these days. Days after the May 24 shooting, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promised an “abundance of mental health services” to help “anyone in the community who needs it … the totality of anyone who lives … Continue reading →

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Biden signs modest gun control bill

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s now the law. We’ll see for how long. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a bipartisan measure to address gun violence, less than 24 hours after the bill was approved by the U.S. House and a month … Continue reading →

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Cornyn-Murphy gun bill gets final passage

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What great timing, huh? Exactly one month after a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers in a Uvalde elementary school, the most significant new gun laws in decades were headed to President Joe Biden’s desk on Friday … Continue reading →

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We’re still not going to get a special session for gun safety legislation

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But I still appreciate the effort. Someone has to do it. With Texas schools restarting classes in less than two months, Texas Senate Democrats renewed calls Monday for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back to Austin this summer to … Continue reading →

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Uvalde versus DPS

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s not happy. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin on Tuesday accused state authorities of selectively releasing information about last month’s school shooting to scapegoat local law enforcement and intentionally leaving out details about the state’s response to the massacre. New details … Continue reading →

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Cornyn’s gun control bill passes the Senate

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy to have had my cynicism proven wrong. Exactly four weeks after a teenage gunman armed with a semiautomatic rifle massacred 19 elementary schoolers and two teachers in Uvalde, the U.S. Senate voted 64-34 Tuesday night to advance a bipartisan … Continue reading →

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DPS pins the blame on Arredondo

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Look out for that bus! Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state Senate committee Tuesday that the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting was an “abject failure” and police could have stopped the shooter at … Continue reading →

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Of course we don’t do nearly enough for mental health

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Because Republicans rush to talk about “mental health” every time there’s another mass shooting, it’s important to remember that their response to meeting the demand for mental health, in schools and elsewhere, has been completely inadequate. Tucker’s was the kind … Continue reading →

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What were Uvalde police actually doing at Robb Elementary?

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll say it again: The more we learn about the law enforcement response to the Uvalde massacre, the worse it looks. Surveillance footage shows that police never tried to open a door to two classrooms at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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So how’s that bipartisan agreement on a framework for a gun control deal going?

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s check in. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn arrived at the Texas GOP convention in Houston Friday to address his role as chief negotiator for a bipartisan gun package head on — and was promptly booed for it. “No gun control!” … Continue reading →

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There’s a lot of resistance to releasing information about Uvalde

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The City of Uvalde and its police department are working with a private law firm to prevent the release of nearly any record related to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in which 19 children and two teachers … Continue reading →

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What was DPS doing during the Uvalde massacre?

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not much, it would seem. As many as 13 troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety waited in a hallway at one point during a gunman’s rampage that killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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March For Our Lives

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I sure would like to think that all this activist energy means that things are different this time. Hundreds of Houstonians gathered near City Hall in downtown Saturday for the student-led March for Our Lives, one of dozens of events … Continue reading →

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Running the Sandy Hook playbook against the Uvalde gun manufacturer

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I sincerely hope it works. Will the attorney who won a $73 million settlement from Remington for nine Sandy Hook families use the same playbook in his legal dealings with the company that made the AR-15-style rifle used in the … Continue reading →

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Uvalde’s police chief speaks

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll reserve judgment for now. Only a locked classroom door stood between Pete Arredondo and a chance to bring down the gunman. It was sturdily built with a steel jamb, impossible to kick in. He wanted a key. One goddamn … Continue reading →

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Justice Department starts its review of the Uvalde law enforcement response

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what they turn up. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday that the Department of Justice’s investigation into the law enforcement response to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde won’t be criminal in nature. Garland described the federal … Continue reading →

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We’ve seen this movie before

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the sentiment, but I know how this ends. Major Republican donors, including some that have contributed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaigns, joined other conservative Texans in signing an open letter supporting congressional action to increase gun restrictions in … Continue reading →

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If committees are all we’re going to get, then let’s get something from the committees

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not too much to ask, I hope. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Friday announced the creation of a legislative committee to investigate the Uvalde shooting. “The fact we still do not have an accurate picture of what exactly happened … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the Uvalde gun lawsuits

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if they can get anywhere. A teacher at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde has filed paperwork indicating she intends to sue the gun manufacturer who made the assault-style rifle the gunman used to massacre 19 children and two teachers. Don Flanary, a lawyer … Continue reading →

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Social media monitoring is not a solution to school shootings

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

While current Republican “solutions” for gun violence include door control and arming teachers, one “solution” that has been in place for the past few years has been monitoring social media for signs of gun-related threats. That was in place in … Continue reading →

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The very least Greg Abbott could do

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You can always count on him for that. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday called on the Texas Legislature to form special committees to make legislative recommendations in response to the Uvalde school shooting. In a letter to House Speaker Dade … Continue reading →

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