Texas Senate unanimously passes gun safety bill, but Democrats still say more are needed

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a firearms safety bill that would include mental health and intellectual disability information on criminal background checks for people 16 and older when they try to purchase firearms.

The legislation by Republican Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston that now goes to the House falls well short of the ambitious, but likely doomed, package of bills by Sen. Roland Gutierrez and other Democrats in response to the May 24, 2022, deadly mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school that would raise the age for purchasing military-style weapons and other gun measures.

"We have an obligation to make sure that we are reaching these kids," said Huffman, referring to young people who are intellectually impaired or facing mental health challenges. "And when that happens, then perhaps there will be some kind of record of their background when they try to purchase a weapon."

The measure, Senate Bill 728, is the first piece of legislation to pass either chamber so far this session. It tracks the 2022 federal law that was dubbed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The information on mental health and intellectual impairments that comes up in court proceedings would be forwarded to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which would then pass it along to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS.

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Huffman made clear the bill would not be a backdoor to a so-called red-flag law, which would deny legal firearm sales to someone who is suspected of being dangerous or of having a mental health issue but has not committed a crime or been judged by a court.

"This is not a red-flag law," Huffman said. "It simply brings us in compliance with federal law in providing information to NICS when they do a background check."

Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, signaled his support for Huffman's bill at a news conference a day earlier in the Texas Capitol that included several people whose lives were upended by the shooting at Robb Elementary School that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers. He called Huffman's bill a good start, but a "baby step," to addressing gun safety in the Legislature dominated by Republicans.

"That's what these folks are asking for, some baby steps," he said of the family members of the Uvalde victims. "They're asking to make it a little harder for getting people ... (to have) the ability to access these types of guns."

Sen. Bob Hall, R-Rockwall, said he supported the bill because if someone has overcome a mental health challenge that would have surfaced in a background check, that person would be once again eligible to legally purchase a firearm.

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"There is going to be a clear pathway for this individual to be able to get back from this as they achieve whatever level is necessary so that they can ... get off the list," Hall said.

San Antonio Democrat Jose Menendez expressed concern that the law would take effect Sept. 1 but not require courts to send the mental health information to DPS and NICS that is already known. Huffman said practical politics had to be considered.

"I feel like adding that to this bill would perhaps kill this bill," she said. "I'm very dedicated to this passing. It's very important."

Gutierrez, who nearly each week of the legislative session has held news conferences at the Capitol with Uvalde families and survivors, has filed an assortment of bills he hopes would discourage future mass shootings. They include:

SB 144 — Establishing extreme risk protective orders that would temporarily take guns away from those who pose a danger to themselves or others.

 SB 145 — Raising the age to purchase military-style rifles from 18 to 21.

SB 146 — Establishing a Uvalde victims’ compensation fund.

SCR 12 — Allowing Robb victims and survivors’ families to sue the state and its agencies.

SB 575 — Ending qualified immunity that shields law enforcement officers from civil lawsuits.

SCR 11 — Asking Congress to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

SB 574 — Establishing school violence victims’ compensation fund.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas Senate passes gun safety bill focused on mental health