Gun violence activists discussed the successes gun control legislation had in preventing violent crimes at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library on Tuesday. 

The LBJ Future Forum hosted the conversation on the 56th anniversary of the signing of the Gun Reform Act by President Johnson. The bill imposed stricter licensing and regulations on the firearms industry, such as banning the mail order of firearms.

Mayor Kirk Watson gave opening remarks for the panel and explained how the government passed the act following several political assassinations including President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. He said the United States is at a critical point in history, with gun violence and school shootings becoming more frequent. 

“It feels that we’re at another moment where we should have action,” Watson said. “I believe there is hope because conversations like this give me hope.”

Moderator Alexandra Samuels, a freelance journalist and former Texas Monthly senior editor,  began the discussion by asking David Hogg, co-founder of the prevention organization March for Our Lives, what politicians thought during the passage of the Gun Reform Act. 

Hogg said since the passage of the act, the National Rifle Association has changed leadership multiple times, moving further away from its original mission of gun safety. Hogg said the NRA promoted the “vicious cycle of violence” that profits only gun manufacturers. 

“The difference is that now we’ve seen the mass production of weapons like the AR-15 and other semi-automatic rifles that are extremely lethal,” Hogg said. “(Semi-automatic rifles) are made for one thing, and that’s killing human beings.” 

Samuels asked Amber Goodwin, founder of prevention organization Community Justice and Travis County assistant district attorney, how the gun control movement has changed over the last 50 years. Goodwin said people now speak about gun violence prevention instead of gun control, and there needs to be a public health approach to preventing gun violence. 

“We are right on this issue, and that’s nonpartisan, we are right by saying that we’re trying to prevent gun violence,” Goodwin said. “We’re trying to save lives, and there’s a ton of ways to do that, but I do think it’s important.” 

Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the mother of Lexi Rubio, who was killed in the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, said she and other parents are reaching across the political aisle to get gun reform legislation passed at the state level. 

Mata-Rubio said she met with the two Republican state representatives, Sam Harless and Justin Holland, who voted in favor of Texas House Bill 2744. The bill would raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle from 18 to 21. The Robb Elementary shooter turned 18 less than a week before committing the mass shooting. 

“Those conversations went really well, surprisingly,” Mata-Rubio said. “We shared very intimate parts of our grief, birthdays at cemeteries. They cried with us and they prayed with us, but then they took action.” 

Samuels ended the panel by giving the panelists a chance to discuss the future of the conversation and the actions being taken. 

Mata-Rubio said she is focused on electing “gun-sense” candidates this election cycle. She said she wants to continue working with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which provides funds to communities affected by mass shootings. 

“I’m also gearing up for the Texas legislation — this next session — so we’re going to raise the age,” Mata-Rubio said. “There’s so much work to be done, and I want to do it all, and then I also have to be very cautious of the grief.”