Uvalde victim's sister pleads for tougher gun laws in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Well before the sun came up Thursday, Jazmin Cazares sat on her sister’s bed and wept for the 9-year-old killed in the Uvalde school rampage one month ago.

Then the teenager with purple-streaked hair got up for the four-hour drive to the Texas Capitol, where she tearfully pleaded with lawmakers to pass tougher gun laws and questioned why so many security measures failed.

“I shouldn’t have to be here right now. I should be at home watching a movie with my sister,” she said through sniffles. “I’m here begging for you guys to do something or to change something, because the people that were supposed to keep her safe at school didn’t, they failed.”

Her sister Jacklyn — a tough-minded and compassionate girl who dreamed of visiting Paris and becoming a veterinarian — was one of 19 children shot to death inside Robb Elementary School on May 24 before police stormed the classroom and killed the gunman. Two teachers also died.

The massacre and a string of recent mass killings in the U.S. has renewed the debate over gun laws, school safety and how to stop the violence. In Texas, where there have been several mass shootings in recent years, lawmakers responded by making it easier to carry guns, rather than to clamp down.

Jazmin’s testimony before a committee of lawmakers looking at how to prevent mass shootings came as Congress moved toward passing its most far-reaching gun violence bill in decades and the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling saying Americans have the right to carry firearms in public.

But all that mattered to the 17-year-old about to enter her final year of high school was that something be done to make schools safer. She said she’s been doing active shooter drills since she was in pre-kindergarten.

“It’s terrifying, not knowing if it’s true...