Although he called the state legislature into special session to address vital, life-threatening things like critical race theory and the LGBTQ agenda that’s not being taught in school, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has refused demands by Democrats to call a special session to address school shootings and gun violence rampant in the state, Newsweek reports.
Texas has had 20% more mass shootings than any other state since the beginning of the year, and it also leads the US in the number of 2022 school shootings, with the deadliest–last week’s slaughter of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde–being the most recent.
Instead of addressing the proliferation of guns in Texas or the ongoing gun violence, Abbott has directed the legislature to form a special committee, at their convenience, to examine school safety, mental health, social media, police training and firearm safety.
“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 wrote in a letter to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Legislative Speaker Dade Phelan. “As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans.”