Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke on Thursday blasted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for not addressing guns in eight executive orders he signed following two recent mass shootings in the state.
“Not one of these orders mentions guns,” O’Rourke, who represented El Paso in the House for six years, said on Twitter.
Abbott, the second-term Republican governor, said in a release that "Texas must achieve several objectives to better protect our communities and our residents from mass shootings."
"One of those objectives is to marshal law-enforcement resources to stop violent criminals before they commit mass murders.
“But more must be done,” he said.
Abbott pledged to work “expeditiously with the legislature on laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals, while safeguarding the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans.”
Twenty-nine people were killed in mass shootings in El Paso last month and in Odessa, Texas, over the weekend. The attacks injured 46 others — and the Odessa gunman, Seth Ator, 36, was killed by police.
Among the directives Abbott signed Thursday included:
- The Department of Public Safety developing “clear guidance, based on the appropriate legal standard,” for when and how Texas law-enforcement agencies should submit suspicious activity reports.
- The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement making training available to “educate all law-enforcement officers regarding the standards” put forth in all of the orders signed Thursday.
- The Department of Public Safety working with “local law enforcement, mental-health professionals, school districts, and others to create multidisciplinary threat assessment teams” and to “coordinate with federal partners.”
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