Nick Castillo

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday he could support stronger regulations for gun storage and quicker reporting to law enforcement when a court has determined someone is mentally ill in order to keep them from having weapons.

Abbott said those were top considerations to emerge after meeting representatives from a gun control group as well as gun owners and experts in mental health and education in discussions on school safety. The discussions happened after 10 people were killed last week in a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe. 

Police have said the 17-year-old suspect in the Santa Fe shooting used his father’s shotgun and .38-caliber handgun. Abbott said he and lawmakers need to look at how to address gun storage laws that might have prevented the shooter from getting the weapons.

Texas allows authorities to deny handgun licenses based on a person’s mental health history and to seize weapons from people determined to be in a mental crisis in some circumstances. But mental health history information is up to the applicant to provide and is not related to the purchase of a gun.
Texas courts are supposed to tell law enforcement if a person taken in for a mental health evaluation has been ordered into a mental hospital. Abbott said that reporting could take up to 30 days and he’d like to see that window closed to within 48 hours or less.

Proponents of stronger gun regulations have said Texas should enact tougher background checks for gun sales and “red flag” laws that keep guns away from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. And gun rights advocates have spoken out against any attempt to expand laws that could be used to seize or deny guns from someone without due process or a second review if they are deemed mentally ill. 

This poll includes information from the Associated Press.