San Antonio’s Nirenberg among 13 Texas mayors asking governor to call session on gun reform

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg is part of a bipartisan group of 13 Texas mayors who sent a letter demanding Texas Gov. Greg Abbott call a special legislative session to address gun violence in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.

Abbott, a Republican up for reelection in the fall, has asked state lawmakers to organize committees to look into school safety following the massacre, which killed 19 students and two teachers. However, he’s balked at calling a special session and has avoided discussion of new firearms laws — something that would anger the powerful gun lobby.

The letter calls on Abbott to enact reforms the mayors say are backed by the majority of Texans and could prevent future mass shootings.

“We represent a continuum of political ideology and have come together because we know most Texans have a strong desire for common sense reform to protect our children,” they said. “As mayors, we believe the legislature and executive leaders can come together to find the right solutions for Texas.”

The letter also asks Abbott to place the following reforms on the legislative agenda.

• Requiring universal background checks for gun purchases.
• Increasing the age to purchase assault weapons in Texas to 21.
• Passing “red flag” laws to identify threats before shootings.
• Boosting mental health support funding.
• Training and properly equipping school safety officers.

Texas isn’t among the 19 U.S. states to enact “red flag” laws, which prevent people at risk of harming themselves or others from purchasing firearms.

In addition to Nirenberg, the letter is signed by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, among others.

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner took it one step further, accusing Abbott and GOP lawmakers of trying to wait out public outage over the massacre.

“When you wait for the legislative session in January, you are buying time,” said Turner, a Democrat. “You’re hoping the temperature will go down and that people’s attention spans will shift to something else. And nothing changes.”

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This article appears in Jun 15-28, 2022.