- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave 2 speeches about gun violence on Friday with different messages.
- In Uvalde, he said legislation is "on the table" to address gun violence following a shooting that killed 21.
- To an NRA audience, Abbott said laws do not stop "madmen" from "carrying out evil."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday gave two different speeches about gun control that went on at the same time – with two vastly different messages.
One was in Uvalde, speaking to the community impacted by gun violence in the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting; the other was a pre-recorded message to the NRA convention in Houston.
Abbott canceled his in-person appearance at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde last Tuesday, in which an 18-year-old shooter killed 19 elementary school students, two teachers and wounded 17 others. He instead held an in-person press conference in Uvalde and sent a pre-recorded message to the NRA audience.
"With regard to a special (legislative) session, let me just say this: all options are on the table," Abbott said, speaking to Uvalde community members about addressing gun violence and calling the status quo "unacceptable."
"Do we expect laws to come out of this devastating crime? The answer is absolutely yes. And there will be laws in multiple different subject areas," Abbott added during the Uvalde press conference. "There will be committees formed, there will be meetings held, there will be proposals that will be derived, many of which will lead to laws that will be passed in the state of Texas."
In contrast, Abbott's pre-recorded speech to the NRA's annual meeting aired at the same time, about 400 miles away in Houston, and diminished the impact of gun control legislation.
"There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning and using of firearms, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people in peaceful communities," Abbott said in the recorded message.
"In Uvalde, the gunman committed a felony under Texas law before he even pulled the trigger," Abbott added. "It's a felony to possess a firearm on school premises. But that did not stop him."
Gov. Abbott's office did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.