I’m convinced Republican politicians don’t actually believe mental illness causes gun violence. But they do it because they just know that demonizing people with mental illness has no political consequences and also that doing so buys them enough time to feign outrage until the next mass shooting dominates the news cycle.
Gov. Abbott attributes mass shootings to mental health issues a month after cutting $211 million from mental health commission

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

KSAT San Antonio