11:20 a.m. It’s not as common as one might think, but the question comes up at the Kalashnikov USA booth.
“They’ll says, “Are y’all a Russian company,’” said Dave Garretson, manning the booth. “It’s not often, but it happens..”
Convention floors are a volume business, and business was booming Saturday morning in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center.
After the spectacle of Friday’s politics-driven day, attendees were settling in more to browsing and grabbing free bags and ballcaps.
Even the Kalashnikov booth, Russian name and origins and all, was bustling.
“They know the AK-47, but not Kalashnikov,” Garretson said.
The Florida company, an importer prior to 2008, started manufacturing after the Russian company was kept out of the market. With Ukraine and Russia’s aggression on many people’s minds, and guns front and center, it certainly has not dented their demand on the convention floor.
10:55 a.m. A Houston progressive group member confronted Ted Cruz at a restaurant about the Uvalde shooter’s age and gun access before being escorted out by the senator’s security.
“What about background checks, can you talk about background checks?” Benjamin Hernandez of Indivisible Houston pleaded with senator just after posing with him to take a picture at Uptown Sushi.
“So, if you look at the laws the Democrats are passing they wouldn’t stop a mass murderer,” Cruz responded.
“This shooter waited till the day he turned 18, why is it so hard to support stronger gun laws in this country?” Hernandez said. “You need to make it harder to get guns in this country.”
“My bill would have stopped the violence,” Cruz can be heard saying as Hernandez was escorted out of the restaurant.
8:36 a.m. A growing number of state lawmakers are urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call them back to Austin for a special legislative session after the mass shooting in Uvalde.
The calls have mostly come from Democrats, who have made similar pleas after past tragedies. The entire Senate Democratic Caucus is expected to send Abbott a letter on Saturday pushing for a special session to address gun violence and implement new gun restrictions.
But the GOP controls both chambers of the Legislature, and now some of them have also asked to come back to Austin. State Sen. Kel Seliger and Rep. Lyle Larson, both moderate Republicans who are not seeking re-election, demanded on Friday that lawmakers “do something.”
By the end of the day, a handful of other Republicans, including state Reps. Steve Allison of San Antonio and Jeff Leach of Plano, joined their calls.
“Texas Lawmakers have work to do,” Leach tweeted. “Conversations to engage in. Deliberations & debates to have. Important decisions to make. And the best way to do our jobs openly, publicly & transparently is in a #txlege special session. Texans expect & deserve this & the time demands it.”
At a Friday press conference, Abbott said “all options are on the table.” He made similar remarks after a pair of mass shootings in 2019, but nothing materialized.
The Uvalde school massacre