In wake of Uvalde shooting, Fort Worth mayor calls for raising legal age to buy rifle

Days after the Uvalde school massacre that killed 19 elementary school students and two fourth-grade teachers, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said change begins locally – that besides advocating to raise the legal age to buy a rifle in Texas – she plans to evaluate local resources in what she called a “moment … far past due.”

Nationwide firearm regulations are not effective, Parker said, adding that leadership “must be better.”

“Gun violence is tearing this country apart and no city, small town, or region is immune,” Parker wrote on a Medium blog Saturday afternoon. “The City of Fort Worth has seen 40 homicides so far this year alone, following 2021 where there were 118 homicide victims, a 27-year record high in Fort Worth. And across the United States, guns are now the leading cause of death among children.”

Parker said that in addition to security measures that are already implemented at local schools, officials need to find “any gaps that must be addressed,” and “think outside the box,” including bringing retired officers and veterans into the conversation.

Beyond school security, the Fort Worth mayor also said a mental health crisis team, founded by the city’s police department in 2017, has proven effective. She said that the city needs to “fund and expand on what we already know is working.”

“Since January 2022, in just 5 months, the CIT has answered 4,380 calls, completed 248 emergency mental detentions, stopped 348 suicide attempts, seized 29 firearms, and conducted 2,243 mental health follow-ups with My Health My Resources (MHMR),” Parker said. “This model is effective and I am determined to bolster this and other innovative solutions for Fort Worth.”

The fight for change won’t just stop on a Fort Worth level, Parker said. She plans to advocate statewide and in Washington D.C.

“For almost 20 years I have seen the public policy process at work at all levels of government, and I know this will not be a one and done solution; there should be debates, compromises, and numerous policy proposals,” Parker said. “But we must get serious, we must be bold, and we must do the hard work of governing and leading. This moment is far past due, and we should have no tolerance for inconsistent or nonsensical policy.”

The Fort Worth mayor continued, adding that it “absolutely” does not make sense, that an 18-year-old could purchase an assault rifle, but not alcohol, tobacco or a handgun.

“Let’s not overcomplicate things,” she said.

A mother herself, Parker said that she recently attended her son’s fifth-grade graduation ceremony and “could not stop thinking about the families in Uvalde who are planning funerals.

“As your Mayor, I am determined to make Fort Worth safer,” Parker said. “As a Texan, I am committed to fighting for courageous and commonsense policies. And as a mother, I will not rest until we have made our world better for the next generation.”