A fiery debate over the Second Amendment is expected in Austin, today, as Gov. Greg Abbott leads a second roundtable discussion on how to prevent another school shooting, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"Whether you are pro-gun or believe in more gun regulation, the reality is that we all want guns out of the hands of those who will try to murder our children. The question is, what are we, the leaders of Texas, going to do to prevent this from happening again?” Abbott said.
One of the groups involved in today's discussion will be Texas Gun Sense. Vice President Ed Scruggs, who will be at the table, says they're not looking for a fight. Instead, they want common ground.
"There is data out there showing a high number of people have guns in the home with minors in the home and those weapons are not secured," he explains.
He pointed to a 2008 study in the journal Health Education Research, which found that firearms are present in about one-third of all homes with children nationwide. Guns in half of those homes were kept unlocked and guns in one-sixth of them were kept loaded.
After the Santa Fe school shooting, authorities in Texas said the pistol and shotgun used to kill 10 people had been bought legally by the suspect’s father, but it's unclear how the gunman got his hands on them.
The idea of holding parents accountable for guns used in shootings it not a new topic. And it seems to have some support from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who spoke on Sunday talk shows
“If you’re a parent and you own guns, lock your guns safely away, so your children should not be able, or anyone else, to get your legally owned guns,” he told ABC news.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, speaking to CBS news, took it a step further.
“I believe that anyone that owns a firearm, that doesn’t secure it properly, ends up in the wrong hands, and used to kill innocent people, that that should carry some significant consequences,” he told Face the Nation.