Collin County parents travel to Austin to protest gun violence
A group of North Texas parents boarded a bus for the state capitol on Monday to call for more gun restrictions.
"I couldn't sleep [after the Allen shooting], so I told my husband I'm going to use my time and do something good about it," said Ann Bacchus.
They're all members of the Collin County Parents Against Gun Violence.
They traveled to Austin to meet with State Representative Jeff Leach and State Senator Angela Paxton, who represent Allen, and other lawmakers to urgently demand what they call "common sense" gun safety legislation.
"Let's face it, when these incidents happen there's not a survey going on asking the victims before they're shot, what are you: Democrat, Republican or Independent, what are you? The offender doesn't care either, this is affecting all of us throughout Texas," said Kelly Karthik.
The group believes their call to action is the best way to honor the 8 victims who went to the Allen Premium Outlets earlier this month and never came back home.
Featured
Service held Monday for security guard killed in Allen mall shooting
Another one of the eight victims killed at the Allen Premium Outlets mall will be remembered today. Christian LaCour worked as a security guard and died trying to help others during the mass shooting.
"I didn't lose a child, but what I lost is my sense of security, you know, of peace and happiness. My quality of life has been affected," said Bacchus.
The group's organizer said they are turning the anger from that shooting into action.
They are asking the legislators for universal background cheeks, raising the legal purchasing age to 21, a waiting period to possess a weapon after purchase and red flag laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands.
House Bill 2744, which would have raised the purchasing age of certain rifles from 18 to 21, was passed out of committee last week, but was not scheduled for a vote in the full House.