Rep. Gonzales Censured By Republican Party of Texas

Texas Representative Tony Gonzales (R) was recently censured by the Republican Party of Texas.

The Associated Press share the news of the Texas GOP censuring Rep. Gonzalez over his support for "new gun safety laws."

“Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas has been censured in a rare move by his state party over votes that included supporting new gun safety laws after the Uvalde school shooting in his district.”

In a follow-up tweet, the news source gave more insight into the legislation signed by Rep. Gonzales.

“After the Uvalde school shooting, which killed 19 students and two teachers in the spring of 2022, Gonzales supported a sweeping and bipartisan gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden.”

Though Gonzales has been heavily critical of the Biden administration, he has been known to break away from the Republican party on several occasions.

With that said, the use of censure is a rare move. However, despite its rarity, the move still proved to be popular with the party voting 57-5 in favor of censuring the Texas congressman.

Rep. Gonzales’s stances may not line up with most of the opinions of his fellow House Republicans, but they are similar to fellow Texas Representative Roland Gutierrez (D).

Rep. Gutierrez has called for a change in gun laws after the massacre that took place at Robb Elementary in San Antonio, Texas.

In defense of his stance on gun laws, Rep. Gutierrez stated, “Not one parent in Uvalde is asking for anybody’s guns to be taken away. They’re asking for a small law change to not allow an 18-year-old to have access to a militarized weapon until they’re 21. It’s common sense.”

Changes in gun laws have a large amount of bipartisan support that is constantly increasing. However, the reception from opposing lawmakers shows that legislation is still viewed as controversial by some.

Texas has made several headlines recently with multiple mass shootings happening in the state over the past few years. On February 15, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at the Cielo Vista Mall.

The fight for stricter gun laws continues to be a daily battle in the state of Texas.