The governor of Texas on June 1 called for legislators to convene to examine issues that include school and firearm safety, mental health, and police training following the elementary school shooting in Uvalde that left 21 dead, in addition to the shooter.
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, asked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state House Speaker Dade Phelan each to convene a special legislative committee.
“I request that these committees review what steps previous legislatures have enacted, what resources the State has made available to local school districts, and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Executive Branch so that meaningful action can be made on, among other things, the following topics to prevent future school shootings: school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety,” Abbott said in a letter to Patrick and Phelan, who are also Republicans.
Abbott asked that the process begin “immediately” following the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
“We as a State must reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence. As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans,” he said.
The offices of Patrick and Phelan didn’t respond by press time to requests for comment.
Abbott signed a bill in 2021 that let people carry guns without licenses.
Texas Democrats want to enact a number of measures, including ones that raise the age to buy guns to 21 from 18, expand background checks, and impose a so-called red flag law that would enable judges to strip certain people of their ability to possess firearms.
But Abbott is resisting pressure from Democrats to call a larger special legislative session to consider the proposals.
Under Texas law, the governor is the only official who can call a special session. If he doesn’t, the next session doesn’t begin until Jan. 10, 2023.
“Anyone can call for a committee. Only a governor can call a special session. Do your job,” said Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat challenging Abbott in the upcoming election.
Ovidia Molina, the president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said Abbott’s request was “very weak.”
“Guns kill people, including school children and educators, and there are too many guns out there in the possession of dangerous people,” Molina said. “It doesn’t take more committees to figure that out.”
Following the shooting, Phelan said the legislature would have “a long, very robust discussion about mental health,” calling the situation “another reiteration of a mental health crisis we have in this state.”
