Texas Democrats want to hear from the public on how to prevent mass shootings, address gun violence and protect people at schools and elsewhere.
Texas House Democratic Caucus officials said they were holding the meetings following “inaction” by Gov. Greg Abbott after the deadly 2019 shooting in El Paso and, now, in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting at Robb Elementary School where 19 children and two teachers were killed.
The first Safe Texas Town Hall in North Texas is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD administration building on North Perry Road. Another for the Dallas area will occur at 6:30 p.m that day through Facebook Live.
The next in-person town hall is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Tarrant County College South Campus’ recital hall, located at 5301 Campus Drive in Fort Worth. A Facebook Live event is scheduled for the Richardson area at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The Democrats hope Abbott will “finally be able to see that there is strong support from Texans of all backgrounds for the Legislature to enact common-sense solutions to gun violence,” said Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, Texas House Democratic Caucus chairman in a press release.
The first of these meetings was on Monday in El Paso — the site of the 2019 Walmart mass shooting that left 23 dead.
Since Uvalde, Abbott has asked the House and Senate to form special legislative committees to examine what actions might be taken to prevent future school shootings. He also wants state officials to randomly inspect schools to test safety protocols.
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