63 Democratic state lawmakers renew calls for a special session on gun violence
After 29 people were killed within a month in mass shootings in El Paso, Midland and Odessa, Democratic state lawmakers renewed their calls Wednesday for a special session on gun violence.
“We shouldn’t have to be outside of the Capitol having this conversation,” Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, said during a press conference in Austin. “We were elected to have this conversation, this debate, on the House and Senate floors.”
Shortly before joint press conferences in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio and Houston, 61 Democratic House members signed a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking him to call an emergency special session on gun violence. Two additional members added their names after the letter was delivered, bringing the total number to 63 members, according to Phillip Martin, the executive director of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.
Among the proposals they asked to address were closing background check loopholes, banning sales of high-capacity magazines, limiting the open carry of certain semi-automatic rifles, beefing up protective order laws and requiring stolen guns be reported to authorities.
In addition, lawmakers requested measures that “combat and interrupt the rise in racism and white nationalism” be passed. Last month, a gunman in El Paso killed 22 people and injured more than two dozen others in an attack targeting Hispanics.
“I’m sick and tired of us assembling here to gather to share our thoughts and prayers for the victims of these deadly mass shootings,” Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, said at the press conference in Dallas. “We can file all the bills we want to file. In fact, we did. We filed gun safety bills, and the truth of the matter is most of them won’t even make it out of committee, let alone the House floor.”
While lawmakers increased resources for mental health and school safety this past session, they also made it easier for guns to be allowed in more places. It was lawmakers’ first chance to craft new laws after the mass shootings in Sutherland Springs in 2017 and Santa Fe in 2018.
“There won’t be change until the hearts and minds of those who sit in those seats in the legislature, until those change,” Collier said.
Three lawmakers from the Tarrant County area signed onto the letter, including Collier, and Reps. Ramon Romero of Fort Worth and Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, who is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, previously said she would support a special session following the mass shooting in El Paso last month. On Tuesday, her office sent a letter to Abbott formally requesting one.
“It is my hope that you will charge Texas lawmakers with the tall and difficult task of coming together to debate common-sense policies to prevent the next mass shooting while protecting the rights enshrined in our Constitution,” Powell wrote.
The governor has the sole ability to call lawmakers back to a special session, and during a televised town hall after the mass shooting in El Paso, he stressed that one was not needed to take action.
“Governor Abbott made clear in Odessa that all strategies are on the table that will lead to laws that make Texans safer. But that doesn’t include a helter skelter approach that hastily calls for perfunctory votes that divide legislators along party lines,” John Wittman, a spokesman for the governor, said Wednesday in a text message. “If Democrats really want to change the law, they need to stop talking to cameras and start talking to colleagues in the Capitol to reach consensus.”
Democrats pushed back on the idea that a consensus needs to be reached ahead of taking action, pointing to the legislature’s ability to compromise on legislation, such as this past session’s sweeping school finance bill.
“You know who can build a consensus? It’s the governor,” said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin. “If the governor speaks up and says he will get behind certain legislation, we will have a consensus.”
Gilberto Hinojosa, the Texas Democratic Party chairman, said in a statement that Texans already agree “that enough is enough.”
Hinojosa pointed to a February 2019 poll by the Texas Politics Project that found that 72% of Texans surveyed strongly supported or somewhat supported red flag laws, which can provide law enforcement a means to confiscate firearms from people deemed dangerous by a judge.
“The only people obstructing action that keeps us safe are Governor Abbott, the Republican establishment, and the destructive gun lobby,” Hinojosa said.
Because the legislature operates in a biennium, lawmakers aren’t set to reconvene until 2021.
“We should not sacrifice any more Texas lives simply in order to accommodate a legislative calendar,” said Howard, who noted that the next regular session will be focused on redistricting. “We could do something about it right now.”
State leaders responded to this weekend’s shooting in Midland and Odessa, in part, with more committees.
Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced Tuesday the formation of Senate and House Select Committees on Mass Violence Prevention and Community Safety, with the goal of providing legislative recommendations.
The House committee’s 13 members were announced Wednesday morning, and include Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, as chairman, in addition to Reps. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, and Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake.
The committee’s objectives include strengthening laws to prevent the transfer of firearms to felons, evaluating protocols to assess and identify threats and improving their reporting.
The Senate committee’s nine members were announced late Wednesday night, and include Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, as chair, in addition to Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, from the Tarrant County area.
The Senate committee will begin meeting later this month, and hold hearings in Austin, El Paso, and the Midland and Odessa area. Tasked with similar goals as its House counterpart, the committee will also “research the link between violent video games and recent mass shootings in Texas” — a concern Patrick raised after the mass shooting in El Paso.
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said that while the committees are a good first step, action needs to be taken sooner.
“We’re not looking for recommendations for the next session, we’re looking for recommendations for the special session so we can address this issue,” West said.
The House committee must submit a preliminary report to Bonnen within 90 days of its creation, with the goal of eventually producing a final report.
“Words alone will not deliver the bold solutions Texas needs in order to defeat the violence that has become far too commonplace in our state,” Bonnen said in a news release. “While the charges before this committee will be no simple undertaking, their importance cannot be overstated.”
Some of the committees’ objectives are similar to those that have been the subject of closed-door roundtable discussions the governor has convened.
After the mass shooting in El Paso, Abbott announced a Domestic Terrorism Task Force and a Texas Safety Commission that have met to discuss possible steps.
Abbott tweeted Monday night that “a legislative package” is in the works, and added, “Expedited executions for mass murderers would be a nice addition.”
Wednesday, Abbott tweeted that legislative considerations would be announced next week, along with executive action this week.
“Legislators can be part of the process or part of the problem,” Abbott wrote.
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 12:03 PM.
