AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for special legislative committees to examine what legislation and action might be taken to prevent future school shootings.
The call comes after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary in Uvalde on May 24. It is Abbott’s first request for action from lawmakers to address a shooting that rocked the Uvalde community and the state.
The governor asked House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, to convene committees in their respective chambers to examine a number of issues, including firearm safety, school safety and police training.
“As Texans mourn the tragedy that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last week, we as a State must reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence,” Abbott said in the letter. “As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans.”
Abbott’s letter did not mention consideration of firearms restrictions — as some have been calling for after the 18-year-old gunman wielding an assault-style rifle entered the school.
Democrats and at least one Republican have called for a special session to address issues related to the shooting amid renewed calls for firearm restrictions, including raising the age for the purchase of assault-style rifles to 21 and so-called red flag laws.
As in the aftermath of previous mass shootings, such as the 2019 massacre of 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, Abbott has resisted demands to bring lawmakers back to Austin for a special session, in which formal legislation could be debated.
The governor’s response differs somewhat from El Paso, as well as shootings in Midland-Odessa in 2019 and at Santa Fe High School in 2018, after which Abbott convened roundtable discussions with members of the affected communities, law enforcement, politicians and even gun control advocates.
Those closed-door discussions quickly produced reports that address unique aspects of each shooting, including an emphasis on school security after Santa Fe. They also include recommendations for new restrictions on guns, such as a “red flag” law that would keep firearms out of the hands of people believed to be a danger to themselves.
The Legislature has not adopted any of the recommendations, and in 2021 passed several new laws that enhance gun rights, including allowing Texans to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.
Abbott’s letter drew almost immediate rebuke.
“Guns kill people, including schoolchildren and educators, and there are too many guns out there in the possession of dangerous people,” said Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina. “It doesn’t take more committees to figure that out.”
“We don’t need more letters, committees, or roundtables — our children need action,” said Mike Collier, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. “Under Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick, we have had special sessions to ban books and suppress the vote. Why won’t they hold a special session to protect our children?”
Abbott’s opponent in November, Democrat Beto O’Rourke, was to hold a town hall in Dallas on Wednesday night to talk about the shooting and other topics. On Facebook, O’Rourke posted a brief comment on the legislative committees.
“Anyone can call for a committee. Only a governor can call a special session,” he said. “Do your job.”
Abbott called three special sessions in 2021 to address election law, transgender athletes and redistricting.
But Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano praised Abbott’s request, calling it “absolutely the right step,” despite Leach’s previous call for Abbott to call a special session.
“Legislative committees should be convened to discuss and deliberate on these issues in public and to make recommendations to the entire” Texas Legislature, Leach said.
Phelan, the leader of the House, said lawmakers in the lower chamber have already begun looking at how to address gun violence at Texas schools as well as the police response to the shooting, which is being investigated by the Justice Department, and the incorrect information initially presented by Abbott and the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety that has unraveled in recent days.
“The misinformation swirling in the days since the shooting has been nothing short of troubling, and the investigations into these matters must be swift and thorough,” Phelan said in a statement. “Our chamber will get to work immediately, taking a well-informed and comprehensive approach to crafting the House’s response to this horrific tragedy, as we await the results of these investigations to help inform the work we have been called to conduct.”
Patrick, the president of the Senate, announced the membership of the Senate’s special committee, which he is calling the “Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans.” It will include Dallas state Sen. Royce West, one of three Democrats on the panel. Patrick named state Sen. Robert Nichols, a Jacksonville Republican, the chair the committee and asked for the first meeting to be held on or shortly after June 23.
“All of us working together is the answer,” Patrick said. “Now is not the time for politics. It is all about doing all we can so that we never see another tragedy like this happen again in Texas.”
Abbott issued a letter to the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University to begin auditing school district’s safety plans, including unannounced attempts to penetrate school facilities without being stopped.
Late Wednesday Abbott also announced that his office’s Public Safety Office would spend $5 million to establishing a long-term family resiliency center in Uvalde County. Abbott established a similar center in the aftermath of the Santa Fe High School shooting.
“Every member of the Uvalde community will have access to the critical mental health resources they need at this center as they process and heal during this difficult time,” Abbott said in a news release.
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