Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas shared 40 recommendations to enhance school safety as part of a School and Firearm Safety Action Plan on Wednesday, a move that comes after a school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, earlier this month.
According to Abbott, the plan will enhance campus security programs, bolster firearm safety, and support mental health assessments to help determine if students could harm others. The plan also calls for additional help for law enforcement officials monitoring possible threats that come through on social media.
“This plan is a starting point, not an ending place,” Abbott said in a statement. “It provides strategies that can be used before the next school year begins to keep our students safe when they return to school. This plan will make our schools safer and our communities safer.”
Abbott did emphasize that Second Amendment rights would not be “infringed” upon as a result of the plan, which calls for almost $110 million in total funding.
“I doubt there has been a Texas governor with a more pro-gun record than myself,” Abbott said at a press conference Wednesday. “I can assure you, I will never allow Second Amendment rights to be infringed. But I will always promote responsible gun ownership, and that includes keeping guns safe and keeping them out of the hands of criminals.”
The plan comes after the shooting at Santa Fe High School that took the lives of 10 people.
The suspect, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, posted on his Facebook page a photo of himself in a “Born to Kill” shirt before the shooting occurred. Pagourtzis is being held in the Galveston County Jail.
