USA TODAY International Edition
Texas governor calls for more than prayer to stem the bloodshed
Hours after the most recent mass killing in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott went to the city where it happened just outside Houston and said unity and faith might not be enough to curb the shootings in his state.
The Republican governor, a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, inched toward exploring a new approach to gun safety. Sen. Ted Cruz, RTexas, a politician with an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association, stood beside him.
“We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families,” Abbott said. “It’s time in Texas that we take action to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated ever again.”
Next week, Abbott will play host to roundtable discussions with parents, school leaders and lawmakers to explore remedies to gun violence in Texas, where eight mass killings have taken place in the past 50 years or so.
Abbott also wants to hear from gunrights advocates.
The governor said he would support adopting regulations to speed up the background-check process for people buying guns and those that would ensure people “who pose immediate danger” can’t purchase weapons.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who also joined Abbott in Santa Fe, Texas, argued that the state can do more to harden targets like churches and schools — both sacred places in the Lone Star State.
Patrick did not call for gun regulations but said the state should re-evaluate the number of entrances and exits at schools. He also urged parents to keep their guns properly stored and away from their children.
Shooting suspect Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, used two guns that belonged to his father.
“If you’re a parent, and you own guns, lock your guns safely away,” Patrick said. “Your children should not be able, or anyone else, get your legally owned guns. It’s a serious issue and one big step we can take.”
Cruz bemoaned the frequency of the mass killings in Texas. The most recent one was barely six months ago at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
“There have been too damn many of these,” Cruz said. “Texas has seen too many of these.”
Republican leaders have long advocated for more lax gun laws in Texas. In 2015, state lawmakers passed an open-carry law that allows Texans with gun licenses to openly carry handguns. They also enacted “campus carry,” permitting licensed Texans to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.
Gyl Switzer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, said in a statement that the state needs to a better job of protecting children.
“We Texans love our children,” she said. “There are proven strategies to reduce senseless gun violence.”