More than 60 Texas House Democrats have urged Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session of the legislature to consider gun safety legislation.
“I’ve written two letters to the governor which ask for a special session,” state Rep. Roland Gutierrez said on The Texas Signal podcast. “We’ve seen his responses or lack of response. I’m fixin’ to write a third letter in advance of the next mass shooting, God forbid.”
Gutierrez, who noted measures like universal background checks enjoy bipartisan support in Texas, doesn’t have the patience for inaction.
“People elect legislators to legislate, not to have roundtables, not to talk about the issue,” he said, referring to Abbott’s newly established roundtables. The legislature doesn’t meet again until 2021.
Abbott issued executive orders on Thursday aimed, he said, to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to prevent and respond to mass shootings.
“If he thinks his executive order of today is some kind of action, I mean, sadly I think he’s wrong,” Gutierrez said on Thursday. “I wouldn’t even call it a half-hearted measure, it’s just nothing.”
