‘Status quo is unacceptable’: Abbott promises changes after Uvalde, but not in gun laws

The Texas legislature may be called for a special session to consider new laws in response to the killing of 21 people at an Uvalde elementary school on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Friday.

Abbott said that “all options are on the table,” but reiterated his stance that stricter gun control would be ineffective and that the state should focus instead on increasing access to mental health care.

None of the laws Abbott signed into law in the last legislative session made it easier for the gunman, an 18-year-old who used at least one rifle in the attack, to arm himself for the attack on Robb Elementary School, Abbott said at the news conference. None of those laws, including constitutional carry, are up for reevaluation, he said.

But Abbott said he does expect the legislature to review other laws, like those instituted after the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School in which a gunman shot and killed 10 people.

“Do we expect more laws to come out of this devastating crime? The answer is absolutely yes,” Abbott said. “There will be laws in multiple different subject areas. For example, I do fully expect every law that we passed in the aftermath of the Santa Fe shooting to be revisited.”

He said one of the first things he and the legislature will both have to do is look over the laws meant to protect schools that were followed and which ones weren’t, after the investigation into the shooting is done. He promised committees will be formed, meetings held and proposals will come from those that will lead to changes in the law, but was not specific about what changes those may be.

“The status quo is unacceptable,” he told reporters. “This crime is unacceptable.”