Rep. Pete Sessions, a self-described "strong NRA member" said Wednesday on Newsmax that it would "not bother me at all" if people in his home state of Texas were not allowed to buy a rifle legally until they are 21 years of age.
The Texas Republican, speaking on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now," commented that he's offered his advice in "hundreds of conversations," and that while he's not a state lawmaker, he'd encourage a review of the buying age for rifles "just as we did under Saturday night specials and handguns."
"Handguns in Texas cannot be bought by a person until they're 21," said Sessions. "It would not bother me at all to say that a person who buys a rifle must be 21."
His comments come in the wake of the killings of 19 young schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, who were shot dead by an 18-year-old gunman who had reportedly bought his rifles legally within days of his birthday.
The shootings came just 10 days after another gunman, also 18, launched an attack on a supermarket in Buffalo.
"What does this mean? It means that we have learned directly that people from 18 to at least 21 are part of this generation that is struggling with either COVID or the way life is now," Sessions said. "It doesn't mean they can't have a rifle. It means they cannot purchase one. It does not mean they can't go deer hunting. It means that to purchase one, an adult who maybe has a little bit better balance might be able to make a wiser choice."
Such limits are the "kinds of conversations that reasonable Republicans and conservatives need to have and come to a conclusion," Sessions said. "I think to me that is one gettable answer that we would accept the challenges of looking at the problem, and I think the problem is an 18-to-19-year-old person."
The congressman said he will be attending a large meeting in Waco, Texas, this Friday with school superintendents, sheriffs, and county judges to discuss the steps that can be taken to keep similar school shootings from happening again.
Sessions further discussed the changing stories concerning the shootings in Uvalde, including the refusal of the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District Police to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The local police have been criticized after officers responding to the shooting at the elementary school waited outside the classroom where the children and teachers were trapped with their killer.
"The events that happened in Uvalde obviously are taking a different turn," he said. "I'm not sure, and I'm not sure anybody knows the real truth of it … we need to make sure that everyone is redoubling their efforts by really looking at things."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.