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With each eruption of gun violence, such as the Uvalde schoolchildren’s massacre last May, the GOP’s leadership (in the last session, has been urging gun owners to carry all kinds of weapons in public). Permissions no longer need to be held) turn around is now a complete cliché. Instead, I promise to improve mental health services that can (mostly) prevent troubled young men from turning violent. Money is abundant. So what happens next?
At the time of this writing, there are 118 proposed bills classified as related to “weapons” or “mental health.” Of the former, Democrats, following the purchase of straws, the purchase of high-capacity magazines or large amounts of ammunition, the sale at gun shows without background checks, and Uvalde, have been criticized for their offensive weapons. Last year there was bipartisan momentum in favor of raising the age to 21 to own an AR-15 or similar weapon. increase. Bill to create standardized extreme risk protection orders (“red flag” laws) that would allow law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from families with a judge’s permission There may be a little momentum this time. People at highest risk for violence, usually domestic violence. House Bill 88 by Rep. Vicky Goodwin (D-Austin) would impose a new excise tax on guns and ammunition to fund the Health and Human Services Committee’s Domestic Violence Prevention Program.
On the mental health front, Lieutenant Dan Patrick has already expressed interest in using the large budget surplus to expand the state’s network of mental hospital services. Bills have also been introduced to ease restrictions on states’ ability to reimburse private mental health providers for services that overloaded public hospitals are now obligated to provide, such as rehabilitation of criminal defendants. As for schools, a dual bill introduced by Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) and Sen. I am aware that I do not have the funds to provide ) allows Texas Medicaid to reimburse these costs to troubled students who are unlikely to get help anywhere else.
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