Gun debate a side note in hearings on Uvalde shooting

By JIM VERTUNO and JAKE BLEIBERG
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The first public hearings in Texas looking into the Uvalde school massacre have centered on law enforcement blunders, school building safety and mental health. But there’s been only brief mentions of the shooter’s AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and gun reform. Only near the end of Wednesday’s hearing in the Texas Capitol was there much talk about gun laws, and it received little acknowledgement. By week’s end, the U.S. Senate could pass new gun legislation. But in Texas the Republican-dominated committee examining the Uvalde tragedy has shown little appetite for new guns laws, even after a series of deadly mass shootings. No one from Uvalde testified.