Gov. Abbott attributes mass shootings to mental health issues a month after cutting $211 million from mental health commission

UVALDE, Texas – “We as a state - we as a society - need to do a better job with mental health. Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period. We as a government need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and do something about it.”

Those are the words of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just days after an 18-year-old high school student massacred 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Abbott has doubled down on his stance that mass shootings are an issue of mental health and not gun access following the Uvalde massacre.

However, in April, Abbott slashed nearly $211 million from the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), which oversees mental health services in Texas.

Abbott diverted the funds to add to his effort to send National Guard to the Texas-Mexico border, currently known as Operation Lone Star.