Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has asked state lawmakers to find solutions to “prevent future school shootings.” But what is noticeably missing from the items mentioned in the areas of focus? Gun control.
Abbott sent a joint letter to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan asking for the Texas state legislative leaders to gather for a special session and develop recommendations for five topics to “prevent future school shootings”: school safety, mental health, social media, police training, and firearm safety.
Gun control is not one of the topics to address mass shootings. It matters because it comes one week after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school. An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.
Abbott said in the letter that the state must reassess the “twin issues of school safety and mass violence.” Last week, Abbott essentially ruled out gun restrictions as a response to the massacre. In his public comments, he has shifted focus to mental health and school security, rather than gun reform.
Abbott last year made it legal for anyone in Texas to carry a concealed weapon without a license or training.
The committees are different from the special legislative session that Democrats and some Republicans have demanded after the shooting. Only a few Republican officials have said they are open to gun reform in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting.
Abbott’s critics have quickly argued that the time for committees has passed and that in the past, they have done nothing. After mass shootings in 2019, the Legislature also formed special committees, and those discussions did not prevent the Uvalde shooting this year.
Abbott’s challenger for the Governorship, Beto O’Rourke (D), said that anyone can call for a committee, but only a governor can call for special sessions. “Do your job,” he said.
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