It is US law to recognize the right to bear arms as part of measures viewed by the founding fathers as necessary for accountable government. However, over the years, the debate has been about the extent to which guns should be allowed in the hands of private individuals seen the rise in shootings. The recent West Texas mass shootings have reignited this debate and Democrats as expected are calling for tighter restrictions.

The Hill has the information by Zack Budryk.

A mass shooting in West Texas on Saturday reenergized a push by Democrats for tighter restrictions on guns on Sunday even as President Trump said the deadly rampage, which killed at least seven in the cities of Odessa and Midland, “hasn’t really changed anything.”

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), a 2020 presidential hopeful who became one of his party’s loudest and most sustained voices on the issue after a mass shooting killed 22 in his home town of El Paso, Texas, last month, made the rounds again on the Sunday morning talk shows to reiterate his support for stronger gun control measures and his frustration with what he saw as a lack of action.

“The rhetoric we’ve used, the ‘thoughts and prayers’ … have done nothing to stop the epidemic of gun violence,” O’Rourke said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, adding, “This is f—ed up.”

O’Rourke has published proposals calling for a ban on assault rifles and mandatory buyback and licensing programs as well as universal background checks and “red flag” laws.

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