Texas Governor Greg Abbott will be in El Paso for a special roundtable meeting. It's the second meeting of the Texas Safety Commission.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — More discussion will be had in El Paso on how to put an end to mass shootings.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will be in El Paso for a special roundtable meeting Thursday. It’s the second meeting of the Texas Safety Commission.
The group was formed as a direct result of the Aug. 3 mass shooting. The first portion of Thursday’s meeting will focus on community healing. The group is made up of both local and state representatives.
“Understanding what we went through here in El Paso and taking those lessons and making the changes we can to make our community the best it can be, and also to be an example for the state,” said El Paso state Rep. Joe Moody.
Moody, who is a part of the group and was at the first meeting in Austin last week, says the last meeting covered a broad array of topics, including, hatred, racism, gun violence, community healing as well as cybersecurity and the role the internet plays in advancing hateful ideologies.
However, this is not the first time Texas has had to have these types of discussions.
“This is similar to what was done after the shooting in Sutherland Springs and Santa Fe High School. I do think it’s certainly a sad state of affairs that this is somewhat of a blueprint on how to handle this. This has, unfortunately, become the new normal, ” Moody said.
According to Moody, he expects the governor will have a list of things to do following the meeting. However, he says the Texas Speaker of the House also has plans.
“At least I can say from the Texas House side that the Speaker of the House has told us that once these meetings conclude that he fully intends to task a select committee with looking at the long-range, long term solutions. That is legislative and not part of the executive authority of the governor’s office,” Moody said.
Facebook posts made by gun safety advocates have been shared in the El Paso area. They are upset that Moms Demand Action wasn’t invited to be apart of the roundtable and are planning a protest is expected to happen outside of the roundtable. However, a spokesperson for Abbott’s office says Gabby Giffords’ group a gun safety advocacy group will be in attendance.
