After mass shooting, some US politicians only talk about mental health, not guns: Houston Public Media

NEW YORK - Mass shootings like the one in Allen of the US state of Texas on May 6, 2023 prompt calls for gun reforms and finger-pointing at mental health issues, but change rarely happens on either, and some lawmakers blame mental health issues for mass shootings, not guns, reported Houston Public Media on Thursday.

"We are working to address that anger and violence by going to its root cause, which is addressing the mental health problems behind it," Texas Governor Greg Abbott was quoted as telling Fox News.

Critics say lawmakers use mental health as a way to distract from their lack of action on gun reforms, said the report, quoting Nicole Golden, the executive director of Texas Gun Sense, as saying that "it's a way those who know that they're not going to vote with us for political reasons on sensible gun safety measures are trying to distract and divert the conversation to another direction."

The Texas Department of Public Safety's Regional Director Hank Sibley said that the government should be strengthening the background check system. "Multiple bills in the legislature aimed to do that. But Golden said most didn't move forward," said the report.

Golden said most people support common sense gun reforms, like background checks and increasing the age to buy a firearm in Texas to 21. A University of Texas at Austin survey found that 76 percent of Texans said they support raising the age. But Abbott has said he opposes doing so, it added.