Sen. Roland Gutierrez upset over being left off Uvalde shooting response committee
Calls it a ‘slap in the face’
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, whose district includes Uvalde, interrupted a news conference held by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Uvalde High School on May 27, 2022, to ask the governor to bring the Legislature back for a special session to address gun violence.
June 2, 2022
UVALDE, Texas — Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, said his exclusion from a special legislative committee designed to make recommendations in response to the Uvalde shooting was an insult to Uvalde residents.
“I do consider it a slap in the face to the people of Uvalde,” said Gutierrez, who has been one of the most vocal Democratic lawmakers on the need for gun safety since the school shooting last week. “They didn’t have their representative there.”
The committee members are appointed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican whom Gutierrez has been critical of in the past.
The three committee leaders Patrick selected are conservative Republicans who are unlikely to entertain legislative recommendations tightening gun control.
Sen. Bob Nichols, a Republican from Jacksonville, will chair the committee Sens. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican, and Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican, will be co-vice chairs.
“These three leaders have the experience and knowledge to lead this important committee,” Patrick said in a statement announcing the members.
The special committee is made up of eight Republicans and three Democrats.
The special committee was requested by Gov. Greg Abbott, who called for legislators to come up with solutions regarding school safety, mental health and other topics.
Gutierrez has also been critical of Abbott, saying legislators had already studied these issues after past mass shootings in the state in 2018 and 2019.
“The same roundtables that he did after Sutherland Springs, the same recommendations that he issued after El Paso and the same concerns that were levied after Santa Fe. We’ve seen the show over and over again.”
