President Barack Obama made his case for more restrictive gun laws Wednesday, in a much-anticipated speech.

“We have to examine ourselves and our hearts and ask ourselves what is important. This will not happen unless the American people demand it," President Obama said.

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The gun control push comes on the heels of the mass shooting of 20 first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, but guns are just one side of the debate. A new report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness ranks Texas second-to-last when it comes to funding mental healthcare.

Texas Sen. John Whitmire says that needs to change.

"We all know that there are disturbed individuals in our community that we've identified, and they're not getting the mental health services that they need," Sen. Whitmire said.

A bill has been filed in the House that aims to make hospital beds more available to mental health patients by setting a required minimum of state funding aside.

"We have made some strides," Iliana Gilman of Travis County Integral Care said. "And we hope that this year, with the tragedies that have happened, we'll see more support."

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Former lawmakers Aaron Pena and Sherri Greenberg, as well as the Quorum Report's Harvey Kronberg also weighed in. Click the video below to see the full segments.

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