Gun violence hearing - latest: Republican claims Democrats using 11-year-old Uvalde victim for political gain

Conservatives have come up with all kinds of reasons why the average American needs access to a semiautomatic weapon designed to operate as civilian versions of military rifles.

The latest offering, from GOP Senator John Thune, involves the high-powered rifle’s usage in hunting prarie dogs, small rodents which burrow underground.

Some states do not have restrictions on the usage of firearms to hunt such animals, which are considered pests in some areas. But it’s unclear why a high-powered assault weapon would be needed for such small creatures.

Read more from The Independent’s Gustaf Kilander:

As the powerful AR-15 rifle has received increased attention following the devastating shootings in Buffalo, New York and in Uvalde, Texas, The Independent asked Republican senators if they have used or owned an AR-15.

Here’s what the Republican senators reached by The Independent said about their own experiences – or lack thereof – with the powerful rifles.

The families of four students injured in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, are suing the gunman’s estate.

A lawsuit was filed by attorney Thomas J. Henry on behalf of the families in a Texas district court on Monday, reported ABC.

“This initial lawsuit will allow us to discover evidence and possibly add other parties to the lawsuit, if necessary,” Mr Henry said in a press release.

“The discovery process will focus on the school system, law enforcement, social media, and gun and ammunition manufacturers.”

The lawyer’s firm will also investigate shooter Salvador Ramos’ past to see if he had a violent history.

In addition, Alfred Garza, the father of Amerie Jo Garza, one of the children killed in the Uvalde shooting, has hired Connecticut lawyers who successfully sued the manufacturer of the gun used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Social media app Yubo said on Tuesday that the platform is adding new safety features and updating its usage guidelines following news that the gunman in Texas’Robb Elementary School mass shootout allegedly used the app to send disturbing messages.

“The devastating events of 24 May in Uvalde, Texas, brought to light systemic issues in society that need to be addressed,” Yubo CEO Sacha Lazimi said in a statement.

“In the days since, we have been working to accelerate safety developments in our pipeline and further expand the scope of existing safeguards across our platform.”

Media reports said that gunman Salvador Ramos appeared to have sent concerning messages regarding his intentions about violence at school on the app.

Yubo representatives said that app’s risk-detection policy has been updated, reported ABC.

They have also enhanced its user-reporting capabilities, and introduced audio-moderation technology for live streams that they say will allow for “comprehensive automatic moderation across the platform.”

Fox News’s Sandra Smith mocked Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, after he delivered an emotional plea for change on Tuesday in response to nearly two dozen elementary schoolers in his hometown.

Falsely describing the actor as coming “from Hollywood”, the Chicago-born Smith (who lives in New York City, a bastion of the Democratic Party), quipped that the actor’s gripping remarks about the slain children in Uvalde were an example of “Someone from Hollywood calling to restore our family values”.

Read more in The Independent from Graeme Massie:

Ahead of the House Oversight Committee meeting on Wednesday to hear stories of gun violence’s impact on families, those who have lost their children in the shooting have urged for action and responsibility.

“We need to take some kind of action and have some kind of responsibility and control of what we are doing,” said Vincent Salazar, the grandfather of Layla Salazar, who was killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting.

Arnulfo Reyes, a fourth-grade teacher who was shot during the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has recounted how children called out for police to help them before they died.

Speaking to ABC’s Good Morning America, he said that he was in classroom 111 along with his students, which was connected to one of the rooms where the gunman began shooting.

Mr Reyes said he heard officers outside the classroom as a child in the other room asked for help, adding that he believes the officer had walked away without hearing the calls for aid.

“One of the students from the next-door classroom was saying, ‘Officer, we’re in here. We’re in here,’” Mr Reyes said. “But they had already left.”

Gustaf Kilander has more:

Much of the conversation around potential responses to the massacres in New York and Texas have focused on the high-powered semiautomatic AR-15-style rifles used by the shooters in both attacks.

Many Republican are opposed to the idea of raising the age limit for buying AR-15s and other assault-style weapons, while almost all are opposed to banning their sale altogether.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia tracked down Republican members of the Senate with one question as conversations about how to deal with such weapons continue: Have you, personally, shot one?

Top Republican and Democratic senators are attempting to stake out common ground on legislation that could reduce future mass shootings in the wake of horrific shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York in recent weeks.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy who is one of the negotiators trying to seek common ground from across the aisle said on Tuesday that discussions are “entering a pretty critical stage,” reported CBS.

He added that his “goal is to get an agreement by the end of the week.”

Mr Murphy said he met president Joe Biden at the White House Tuesday, but did not divulge further details relating to the meeting.

“I’ve failed so many times before in these talks that I”m sober-minded about our chances,” Mr Murphy said on ABC’s “The View.”

“But normally, as time goes on, after one of these cataclysmic mass shootings, the momentum fades. The opposite seems to be happening this time. There are more Republicans every single day who want to help us get to a product and so, I am deeply hopeful that perhaps by the end of this week, we can announce a framework that will allow us to take votes.”

Ice-cream maker Ben & Jerry’s has called on corporates in the US to stop financing politicians who oppose gun control measures.

“It’s time for companies and their trade associations to stop political contributions to elected officials who do the gun lobby’s bidding, blocking common sense gun laws that nearly all Americans support,” the Vermont ice cream maker said in a statement last week.

“Our leaders are more responsive to the gun lobby than to the grieving families of countless victims.”