TEXAS - In the wake of Sunday's mass-shooting in Las Vegas, calls for immediate action on gun control are emerging both nationally and statewide.
Texas remains one of the most firearm-friendly states in the nation, but some are concerned that Texas' relatively-lax gun laws could put Texans at risk.
"We are about as wide open as you can imagine a state can be in terms of gun availability," said Ed Scruggs of Texas Gun Sense.
Several attempts at gun reform died during the past legislative session. A provision that would have required sellers at gun shows to perform background checks on gun buyers fell flat, and other bills that would have limited where handgun owners could carry their weapons also died.
"We aren't doing near enough that we could be doing," Scruggs said.
But there's debate as to whether stricter gun laws could have prevented a Las Vegas-style mass shooting, where a fully-automatic weapon - known as a "class three" firearm - was used.
Texas Municipal Police Association Executive Director Kevin Lawrence says these types of weapons are regulated by the federal government and are relatively difficult to get.
"To get a class three license, is fairly stringent as I understand it,” Lawrence said. “However there are a lot of ways to obtain guns of various sorts without going through the legal process, and even at that, there are ways of taking guns that don't require special permits and licensing to fully rock-and-roll capabilities."
However, Lawrence added that it's always a good time to talk about good public policy on firearms.
"Both sides coming together and having true meaningful dialogue about what is good, appropriate public policy. We haven't seen that yet," Lawrence said.
But the White House doesn’t want to go there just yet.
“I think that there will be certainly time for that policy discussion to take place, but that’s not the place that we’re in at this moment,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at Monday’s press briefing.
Any attempts at gun restrictions will also be difficult in the Republican-led Congress. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is sponsoring a bill that would make concealed carry laws consistent across all 50 states, and a proposal reversing restrictions on silencers is also coming up for a vote.