Texas
Texas lawmakers closed a background check loophole, but many gun measures failed to pass
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The first legislative session since the worst school shooting in Texas history ended with several proposals that would have limited some access to guns failing to get traction, though one firearm safety bill became law.
Latest in the series: 2023 Session Recap
Loading content …
Senate Bill 728, from Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, closes a loophole in state law that allowed people who had serious mental health issues as juveniles to legally purchase firearms. Despite a previous state law, courts were not reporting juvenile psychiatric hospitalizations to a federal gun background check system.
Under the new law, a judge’s orders that a minor receive inpatient mental health treatment will now be reported in the background check system that federally licensed dealers are required to check before they sell someone a firearm.
In an investigation last year, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica found that local courts were not reporting juvenile records because of problems with the way the law was written, vague guidance from the state and conflicts with other Texas laws.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill Friday. It takes effect Sept. 1.
It was a rare instance of a bill that could limit some gun access making it through Texas’ Republican-led Legislature, which has steadily loosened firearm restrictions. Lawmakers supporting the measure argued that it didn’t change existing state or federal laws.
Notably, lawmakers did not pass a bill that would have raised the minimum age to purchase certain semi-automatic firearms from 18 to 21. The families of Uvalde school shooting victims passionately and vocally pushed for House Bill 2744, from Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville.
A House committee unexpectedly advanced HB 2744, but the bill missed a key legislative deadline the following day. Lawmakers’ efforts to revive the provision through amendments subsequently failed, and neither chamber ever debated the idea or held a record vote on the proposal. The Uvalde gunman legally bought his firearms within days of turning 18 and soon after killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
Lawmakers also passed a bill aimed at preventing credit card companies and banks in the state from tracking the purchases of guns, ammo and accessories. In an interview with Dana Loesch, bill author Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, said that gun control advocates — including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — have been pushing credit card companies to begin such data collection.
Other bills received some support but didn’t make it to Abbott’s desk. They included one that would have designated August as Firearm Safety Awareness Month, another that would have outlawed tiny devices used to modify handguns essentially into fully automatic firearms and another that would have restricted straw purchases, which is when a person buys a gun for another person who is not allowed to have one.
State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, carried SB 728, the gun bill closing the background check loophole. He represents Allen, where a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle killed eight people and wounded at least seven others in May at an outlet mall.
“There are many individuals and many groups whose first response — and they tell us to do something, just do something — they want us to do something and I’ve always kind of resisted just doing something because I think that we should do the right thing,” Leach said in laying out SB 728 11 days after the Allen shooting. “We should be interested in being careful and safely guarding our Second Amendment rights but also doing the right things that can curb unnecessary and tragic gun violence.”
Go behind the headlines with newly announced speakers at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival, in downtown Austin from Sept. 21-23. Join them to get their take on what’s next for Texas and the nation.
Texas
Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M
Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.
At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.
Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay
Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.
Texas
D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.
In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.
“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.
The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.
But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.
Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.
But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”
On Twitter/X: @t_myah
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Sign up for our FREE HS newsletter.
Texas
Saving Hope Rescue receives $1,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
-
Politics1 week ago
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics1 week ago
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Business1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
News1 week ago
East’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
Technology2 days ago
Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps