The New York Times on Monday lamented the slim likelihood that the shooting tragedy in Texas on Friday would result in significant gun control legislation in the conservative state. Times writers Manny Fernandez, Jack Healy and Dave Montgomery offered a front page story contrasting the results in swing state Florida after its recent shooting. The headline complained: “Will School Shooting Spur Anti-Gun Furor? In Texas Not Likely.”
They compared: “There is little indication of anything similar in Texas, a place where guns are hard-wired into the state’s psyche, Republicans control virtually all the levers of power.” Considering that the Times in 2015 put an anti-Second Amendment editorial on the front page, the disappointment on Monday was palpable:
What played out instead was a reminder, as happened after 26 people were killed in a church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Tex., in November, that major gun violence often does not produce a backlash against guns.
But, for now, the pro-gun forces are firmly in control, and deeply conservative voices are not hard to find.
The journalist hyped possible hope for the future in Texas:
Polling shows the state’s voters are more split on guns than popular culture might indicate. According to an October poll by the University of Texas and The Texas Tribune, more than half of the registered voters surveyed said gun control laws should be stricter. Only 13 percent said the laws should be less strict than they are now, and 31 percent would prefer to leave current gun laws unchanged.
But, for now, the pro-gun forces are firmly in control, and deeply conservative voices are not hard to find.
In July of 2017, the frightened Times worried that Texas has “shifted further to the far right.” On another occasion, the paper fretted about the state, describing it as “ultraconservative.”
