Texas Governor Launches Gun Violence Prevention Talks (Video)

AUSTIN, TX — Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday kicked off the first of three planned roundtable discussions on preventing gun violence in Texas — a series of gatherings among officials on both sides of the gun debate that are closed to the public.

Members of the press were allowed into the governor's public reception room on the second floor of the Capitol to listen to Abbott's opening remarks before those gathered exchanged ideas on gun violence prevention. But as soon as he concluded his remarks to kick off the 1:30 p.m. meeting, media were shepherded out of the room while invited to return three hours later to hear the governor make concluding, post-meeting remarks.

The hastily organized gatherings were organized in the wake of last Friday's mass shooting by a lone gunman at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, that left 10 dead — eight students and two teachers at the campus on the outskirts of Houston. Before that in November 2017, another lone gunman in Sutherland Springs, Texas, massacred 26 parishioners at a church right outside San Antonio.

Related story: Gov. Abbott Schedules Roundtable Gun Talk At Texas Capitol

"We all share a common goal, and that is to make sure that we protect innocent lives in the state of Texas," Abbott, flanked by elected officials and representatives from various organizations, said at the outset of the meeting. Members of the press crammed inside the small reception area, jockeying for position to record the governor and those gathered before being asked to leave the room. The weather outside was just shy of 90 degrees, and the body heat from the mass of people inside the reception area that served as gathering place made it feel just as hot indoors.

Abbott noted that some in the room for the initial meeting on Tuesday would be there for all three gatherings — policy makers who are members of the Texas House and Senate, for example — while others would not. Each of the three meetings (subsequent ones are planned for Wednesday and Thursday) would focus on one particular area aimed at gun violence prevention, the governor said.

The focus of the first meeting was "school and community safety," Abbott said. That panel comprised those adept at that focus area, including state and local education leaders, school safety experts, campus threat assessment experts, law enforcement officials and experts in school safety, campus threat assessment and school design.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick listens intently to the governor at first gun violence prevention panel on Tuesday. He's been widely mocked for suggesting, in the aftermath of the Santa Fe, Texas, shooting, that the reason so many people are killed has more to do with the number of entry and exit doors at schools.

Abbott said the second meeting planned on Wednesday would focus on gun regulations, mental health solutions and the underlying causes of gun violence. Attending that meeting will be advocates on both sides of the gun debate along with experts in the fields of mental health, school threat assessment and social media, the governor said.

The third, and final, meeting would focus on victims of gun violence, Abbott said. He noted he already has spoken to more than 100 people affected by the gun violence in Santa Fe, Texas.

"We want to know directly firsthand from these people who are victims what it is they desire in the form of solutions by the state of Texas," Abbott said. "In that regard, it's important that I point out as context, already I have spoken more than 100 people who have been affected by the shooting in Santa Fe."

He said those conversations he's had have been with victims, their families and people who were at the campus when the shooting rampage began.

"By now, we know what the problem is," Abbott said. "The problem is that innocent people are being shot, and that must be stopped. The fact of the matter is, this is something where people across the entire philosophical spectrum can come together and reach solutions like we're going to be talking about together today."

Long known for his ardent support of gun ownership, Abbott struck a more conciliatory tone during his opening remarks in noting potential contributions to curb the scourge of gun violence from those on both sides of the philosophical divide.

"Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, whether you are pro-gun or believe in more gun regulation, the reality is we all want guns out of the hands of those who would try to murder our children," Abbott said. "The question is, what are we, the leaders in Texas, going to do to prevent this from happening again?"

Among those attending the meeting were Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus (both fellow Republicans) along with state lawmakers at the head of relevant committees: State Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat who leads the Senate's Criminal Justice Committee; State Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican chairing the chamber's State Affairs Committee; State Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford, Texas, Republican who leads the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee; and State Rep. Harold Dutton, a Houston Democrat who's chairman of the the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee.

Reporters are ushered out of the governor's public reception room at the outset of the formal meeting on Tuesday.

Others invited at the first meeting were:

• Steve McCraw, Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
• Mike Morath, Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency.
• Chief Allen Banks, Round Rock Police Department - Currently working with local leaders to establish an ISD police department.
• Craig Bessent, Wylie ISD Assistant Superintendent - School district actively employs the Texas School Marshal Program.
• J. Pete Blair, Executive Director of Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center based at Texas State University.
• Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Dallas ISD Superintendent - Will provide insight into the safety and security challenges at one of the largest districts in the state.
• Dr. Ricardo Lopez, Garland ISD Superintendent - School district works with local law enforcement to protect schools.
• Cindy Marble, Former Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Secret Service Houston Field Office - Expert on campus threat assessment.
• Kathy Martinez-Prather, Director of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University.
• Marcus Nelson, Waco ISD Superintendent - Will provide perspective on region-specific safety challenges based on his experiences with ISDs across the state.
• Joe Palacios, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD Director of Safety and Security - Will provide perspective on the unique security challenges that schools along the border face.
• Jeff Potter, FAIA, Architect - Will lend expertise on school design.
• Cecilia "Cissy" Reynolds-Perez, Texas School Safety Center Board member and Ray High School Principal.
• Jack Roady, Criminal District Attorney for Galveston County.
• Candace Stolz, Director of Emergency Management for the Texas Education Agency.
• Phillip Taylor, Hays County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant - Will speak on the school shooting response plan implemented by Hays County.
• Kim Vickers, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Executive Director - Oversees the Texas School Marshal Program.

>>> Photo and video of Gov. Greg Abbott by Tony Cantú/Patch staff