Following the Texas school tragedy, the National Governors Association said Friday that it is launching a bipartisan working committee to provide suggestions to prevent mass shootings.
Given the nation’s governors’ party division on how to address topics like gun control and school safety, reaching a compromise might be difficult.
In a letter to the White House, the group’s chairman, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, and vice chair, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, said they will organize a group of six to ten governors to focus on school safety.
Hutchinson and Murphy appeared to keep the potential of certain gun control suggestions in the report open. The United States House of Representatives enacted a broad gun restriction package this week that has little chance of passing the Senate.
“It is our hope that the task force can provide suggestions to keep our schools and communities safe in a manner that is consistent with the demands of the American people, who overwhelmingly support gun safety measures,” the governors’ letter read.
“We can all agree that there are common sense ways to prevent these tragic events, and we must work together to do everything in our collective power to protect our communities and our most vulnerable citizens – our children.”
The letter comes as governors are divided along ideological lines over how to respond to the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre that killed 19 students and two instructors. Governors were split in a recent poll by The Associated Press, with Democrats asking for stronger gun regulations and Republicans concentrating on school security.
According to Hutchinson, increasing the minimum age to purchase an AR-style weapon from 18 to 21 should be discussed. However, Hutchinson, who is leaving office in January and considering a presidential run, is not advocating for such a move in his state, and has stated that gun control measures will not be on the table if he asks the Republican-controlled Legislature to consider school safety measures during a possible special session.
The letter was delivered the same day Hutchinson announced he was reactivating a school safety panel he established in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida school tragedy in 2018.
