Gun Control After Texas School Massacre: Evers Speaks In Uvalde's Wake

WISCONSIN — Political leaders throughout the nation, including in Wisconsin, called out for gun control after a gunman opened fire and killed 19 children and two teachers on May 24.

In Uvalde, Texas, a crowd chanted "do something" at President Joe Biden when he and first lady Jill Biden visited the scene of the 27th school shooting of 2022. "We will," the president said, but his power is limited without the cooperation of Congress.

An informal survey of the nation's governors showed state leaders were split on whether gun control or hardened school security was the best approach, The Associated Press reported.

"We cannot accept that gun violence just happens," Gov. Tony Evers said at a news conference Wednesday. While most Wisconsinites support common sense measures, the state has to reject policies and rhetoric that would make the problem worse, he added.

Evers — a Democrat and former teacher, school superintendent and state education chief — told The Associated Press that he was concerned arming teachers would make schools more dangerous. Wisconsin's top Republicans emphasized additional school security, including arming teachers.

“There's not enough people to do it,” Evers told The Associated Press, "and I'm not sure we want to turn our learning institutions into armed camps.”

RELATED: Governors Diverge On Gun Control, School Security Efforts

The governor had vetoed a set of bill that would have loosened gun restrictions in Wisconsin, including a bill that would let concealed carry permit holders have a loaded gun in their car while on school grounds.

Parties Split As Gun Deaths Near Record

The schism between Democratic and Republican governors on gun violence prevention mirrors the partisan split in Congress and many state capitols on how to best address a near-record-high number of gun deaths across the United States. Those statistics, for 2020 — the latest year for which data is available — also show that firearms were the leading cause of death among children for the first time.

Since 2019, the House of Representatives has twice passed legislation to expand criminal background checks for gun purchases, only to have the bills languish in the Senate amid heavy Republican opposition.

A bipartisan group of senators is meeting this week to come to agreement on what legislation to curb gun violence might look like, The Hill reported.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky tasked Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn with negotiating with Democrats on the response to mass shootings. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is the lead negotiator for Democrats.

Biden said Monday he was optimistic Cornyn may be able to bring the two parties to some agreement, calling him a “rational” policymaker.

“I think Sen. McConnell is a rational Republican. I think Cornyn is as well. I think there’s a recognition in their party that they — we can’t continue like this,” Biden said, referring to mass shootings at schools and other public places.

The bipartisan group includes Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin echoed Evers' sentiment against inaction. "I support passing legislation in the Senate that puts in place universal background checks for all gun sales," she said in a tweet.

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said he pushed for legislation to direct schools to government grants for safety initiatives, Fox Business reported. Johnson didn't answer questions about background checks for firearms after the shooting, CNN reported.

Republican Congressman Chris Jacobs of New York said he supported a ban on "assault weapons" after the Buffalo supermarket shooting, in which 10 people were killed on May 14. Jacobs was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in 2020.

“If an assault weapons ban bill came to the floor that would ban something like an AR-15, I would vote for it. So I want to be clear: I would vote for it,” Jacobs said at a news conference. He said he also favored raising the minimum age to buy some firearms to 21.

But the term "assault weapon" is only used in reports on gun violence for semi-automatic rifles that look similar to military assault rifles, KIRO-TV reported. Semi-automatic rifles are still available for civilian purchase outside of states like Maryland, Massachusetts and New York, where some semi-automatic weapons are already banned.