The status of gun safety bills filed in the Texas Legislature
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw are expected to brief reporters on the state's efforts to secure the border Monday morning.
CBS News Texas will now also ask about the investigation into Saturday's deadly mass shooting in Allen, where eight victims were tragically killed.
READ: Political leaders comment on deadly mass shooting in Allen
There is no word yet on what impact, if any, the shooting will have on the final weeks of the Texas Legislature.
The Republican majorities in both the Texas House and Senate don't support increasing gun restrictions in Texas.
Gov. Abbott was asked about guns on Fox News Sunday morning.
"What we've seen across the United States over the past year or two is an increased number of shootings in both red states and blue states," he said. "We've seen an increased number of shootings in states with easy gun laws as well as states with very strict gun laws. I think that the state in which the largest number of victims have occurred this year is in California, where they have very tough gun laws."
The governor said the state is focused on passing bills to increase spending on mental health by $3 billion this session.
Democratic lawmakers have pushed for more gun laws, but don't have the votes to get legislation passed.
Democratic State Senator Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, has filed numerous gun safety related bills.
They include Senate Bill 144, which would keep guns away from people considered to be dangerous by a judge. And Senate Bill 145, which would raise the legal age to sell any firearm to 21.
Neither have received a hearing in a committee.
Both bills were referred to the State Affairs Committee Feb. 15.
In the House, the Democratic Rep. Tracy King, who represents Uvalde, filed House Bill 2744.
Among the provisions, it would raise the legal age to 21 for someone to buy an AR-style firearm, and prohibit the sale of a firearm to someone who's intoxicated or who has an active protective order.
This bill did receive a hearing in committee April 19, but it has been pending since then.
Senator Gutierrez released a statement after the Allen shooting, saying in part, "Texas lawmakers need to have the political courage to get something done about gun violence. It is sad that this has become our everyday reality. Thanks to the Republican regime that has led Texas for the last 30 years, gun laws are looser than ever."
The regular legislative session ends in three weeks, so time is running out for bills to be approved.
There is a new poll about how Texans feel about gun restrictions. Last week, the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin released the results of its survey conducted last month.
The poll found when it comes to a Red Flag Law, 72% of people support it while 18% oppose it.
A majority of Republicans who were surveyed, 65 percent support it too.
When it comes to raising the legal age someone can purchase any firearm to 21, 76 percent support it, 20 percent oppose it.
A majority of Republicans—67% to be exact—said they support it.
During this legislative session, the families of the victims in Uvalde have tried to keep the pressure on Republican lawmakers.
But gun restrictions were very much part of the debate in last year's elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and lawmakers. Republicans remained in the majority in both chambers.
Aside from the governor addressing reporters, Senator Gutierrez and Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Senator Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) will hold a news conference at the Capitol Monday morning about gun issues.
