:watermark(cdn.texastribune.org/media/watermarks/2019.png,-0,30,0)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/07df79d6a6a84e64558b5f9635e7759e/Abbott%20El%20Paso%20JR%20TT.jpg)
The Texas Tribune The orders focus largely on improving reporting channels when members of the public or law enforcement agencies worry that a person might become violent.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued eight executive orders Thursday in response to last month’s mass shootings in El Paso and Odessa.
“Texas must achieve several objectives to better protect our communities and our residents from mass shootings,” Abbott said in a statement. “I will continue to work expeditiously with the legislature on laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals, while safeguarding the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans.”
The orders focus largely on strengthening law enforcement’s ability to respond to and prevent future shootings, mainly through improving reporting channels and closing “information gaps” when members of the public or law enforcement agencies worry that a person might be a threat to commit violence. But, Abbott’s office added in a news release, “legislative solutions are still needed.”
The governor also plans to release a report of recommendations next week from meetings of the Texas Safety Commission, which Abbott formed after the El Paso shooting.