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VERIFY: Reports claim HPD Chief Art Acevedo wants to take away guns

KHOU 11 News is verifying if claims made online about Houston's Police Chief and his views on gun control are true or false.

HOUSTON - Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo has been very outspoken since the Santa Fe shooting, talking about how gun laws should change to prevent future violence in schools.

Because gun control is a polarizing topic, KHOU 11 News is verifying two claims against the Chief that are circulating online.

The first claim is that Chief Acevedo wants to take away guns

The police chief has repeatedly said prayers are not enough. However, based on social media comments, a lot of people think that means he wants to take away guns.

Acevedo talked about this during a one-on-one interview with KHOU 11 News on Monday.

“It’s important for people to realize, no one is talking about gun control other than the media the way they frame it. It’s about keeping firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens of sound mind. How is that communist? How is that fascist? That’s called reasonable,” said Acevedo.

Houston’s Police Chief does want universal background checks, including at gun shows, but the claim he wants to take away guns is false.

The second claim is that he wants to punish law-abiding gun owners.

NRATV posted a video on Twitter saying, “@ArtAcevedo plays the part of a police chief…he says he wants to go after criminals, but for him apparently, the easiest way to do that is to make new criminals that are easy to catch – make criminals out of law-abiding gun owners.”

What they’re referencing is a statement the Chief has made several times.

“It isn’t the gun we have to worry about. It’s the people that have those guns. We need to have consequences for people who don’t store their guns properly,” said Acevedo on Monday.

In Texas, gun owners legally have to secure their guns when minors are around, which means he is talking about punishing people who are breaking the current law.

Therefore, the claim that Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo wants to penalize law abiding gun owners is false.

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