Fort Worth Republican will support special session on guns — if abortion is discussed
After more than 60 Democratic state lawmakers called for a special session to address gun violence in the wake of two mass shootings within weeks of each other, one Republican lawmaker said he would support the discussion on one condition: that anti-abortion measures also be considered.
“I agree with my colleagues across the aisle that the recent shootings are senseless tragedies,” Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth wrote in a Facebook post Thursday morning. “I would hope they would extend the same courtesy to me and others that feel very passionately that the taking of unborn life through the act of abortion is heinous and tragic.”
In his post, Krause compared the number of gun-related deaths to the number of abortion procedures in Texas.
In 2017, there were 3,513 deaths due to firearms in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In that same year, 52,669 Texans underwent abortion procedures in the state, according to Texas Health and Human Services Commission data.
“If you truly want to protect the innocent and vulnerable, I can’t think of anyone more worthy of protection than an unborn child. If you think 3000 deaths is too many, surely we can agree that 52,000 is also concerning,” wrote Krause, who was not immediately available for an interview.
In the past, Krause has filed bills and voiced his support for regulating and restricting abortions.
“And as we debate the tragic taking of life in El Paso, Odessa, and other places, I think the Governor ought to add pro-life policies to the call. And I would hope my Democrat colleagues would join me in that request,” Krause wrote. “I am ready, willing, and able to discuss and tackle both. Who is with me?”
Some of Krause’s Democratic colleagues were quick to voice their dissent.
“Krause would rather give lip service to Texans by bringing up a wedge issue rather than address the epidemic of mass shootings and gun violence plaguing our state,” said Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth.
Romero said Krause has supported the 2nd Amendment “at all costs,” and noted Krause filed a bill this past session that would have allowed firearms and accessories that are made and that stay in Texas to be exempt from federal oversight, including registration.
Romero and Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, both signed onto the letter Democratic House members sent urging Abbott to call a special session in the wake of the Aug. 3 El Paso shooting that killed 22 people in an attack targeting Hispanics and Saturday’s rampage in Midland and Odessa that claimed seven victims.
Abbott has the sole authority to call a special legislative session and set what items are up for consideration. Because the legislature operates in a biennium, lawmakers aren’t set to reconvene until January 2021.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Krause’s proposal, and Abbott has previously said a special session isn’t needed to take action.
“We need an emergency legislative session focused solely on protecting Texans from gun violence and combating white nationalism because Texans expect us to act and act now,” Turner, who is also the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement. “Republicans in the Legislature have already passed some of the most onerous restrictions on a woman’s right to choose of any state in the nation while rejecting common-sense measures to combat gun violence.”
This legislative session was lawmakers’ first chance to craft new laws in the wake of mass shootings in Sutherland Springs in 2017 and Santa Fe in 2018. While lawmakers increased resources for mental health and school safety, they also made it easier for guns to be allowed in more places.
In addition, lawmakers passed a law that prohibits public money or services to go toward abortion providers or their affiliates, even if the money would not have gone toward facilitating abortions.
Kim Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Texas Right to Life, a statewide anti-abortion group, said the past session was “abysmal for the Pro-Life cause,” noting that some bills the group deemed a priority never made it to the House floor.
While Schwartz said the group would welcome the opportunity to pass legislation in a special session, she declined to comment on whether it would specifically support a special session on gun violence if abortion was included as a topic.
“We commend Representative Krause and hope that the leadership of the Legislature shares his and Texas Right to Life’s sense of urgency about the need to protect innocent human Life through Pro-Life policies,” Schwartz wrote in a statement.
Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, noted that abortion was already one of the focuses of a 2017 special session.
“The reality is people are dying every single day because of gun violence and Republican inaction. Now isn’t the time to play partisan politics or score quick political points,” Rahman wrote in a statement. “Ending this gun epidemic isn’t a Democratic or Republican issue, it’s a Texas issue and needs to be addressed immediately before more people get hurt.”
In his post, Krause stressed that he believed Democratic House members were “sincere and genuine” in proposing measures to prevent future mass shootings that they believe will save lives.
“I am likewise confident that these pro-life policies would save lives,” Krause wrote.
Organizations, including the Texas Freedom Network, Progress Texas and NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, spoke out against Krause’s proposal.
“Rep. Krause’s alleged support for a special session is not serious and shouldn’t be treated as such. This is another example of state Republicans portraying themselves like they are willing to get something done to address the epidemic of gun violence, when the real goal is to ultimately do nothing,” Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, a group of religious and community leaders, said in a statement.
Ed Espinoza, the executive director of Progress Texas, a group that promotes progressive ideals, said Krause’s suggestion was “a distraction from much needed common-sense gun reform.”
Aimee Arrambide, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice, a group that advocates for reproductive health and legal abortions, said in a statement that Krause is using this as an “opportunity to further restrict abortion access.”
“This is a new low for Matt Krause,” Arrambide wrote.
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 5:30 PM.
