Gov. Abbott Schedules Roundtable Gun Talk At Texas Capitol

AUSTIN, TX — Gov. Greg Abbott will kick off three days' worth of roundtable discussions on school safety on Tuesday with a hastily organized gathering at the state Capitol.

The discussion series was spurred by Friday's mass shooting at a Santa Fe, Texas, high school that left 10 dead. Eight students and two teachers were shot dead by a student now in custody. The meeting also comes in the wake of other similar school shootings and the attack at a Sutherland Springs church that left 26 parishioners dead.

Announced on Monday, the meeting this week will gather advocates on both sides of the gun issue — those calling for stricter gun laws alongside those advocating for unfettered access to all manner of firearms who cite the constitutional safeguard outlined in the 2nd Amendment as an ironclad liberty to such ownership.

The meeting and its subsequent followups will be closed to the public, although members of the media have been invited to attend the beginning and end of each one.

“I am seeking the best solutions to make our schools more secure and to keep our communities safe,” Abbott said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to hearing from all sides of the debate, and from expert perspectives on these issues.”

Starting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Abbott will be joined by other state leaders, including 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.

Details related to subsequent discussions on Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be released the day before each event, according to the governor's office.

Like many conservatives perceived to be strongly aligned with gun interests resonating with their base, Abbott has been criticized for his strident, pro-gun stance. Under his charge, fellow conservatives in the Texas Legislature passed both the "open carry" and "campus carry" laws that allow for the carrying of handguns in the open generally and on state-funded universities in particular, respectively. The first of these measures took effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and the latter the following summer to the chagrin of many university officials preferring gun-free teaching environments.

Abbott also is known to tweet messages to his supporters urging them to buy more guns. In October 2015, he urged followers to go out and buy more firearms after saying Texas had fallen behind California in terms of per capita gun ownership.

"I'm EMBARRASSED,he wrote, using all caps to highlight his messaging. "Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Let's pick up the pace Texans."

In May 2017, Abbott joked about carrying guns while at a firing range where he signed legislation slashing gun license fees to ease ownership further. "I'm gonna carry this around in case I see any reporters," he said after signing the bill into law while admiring his bullet-hole-ridden target sheet.

Related story: Texas Governor Signs Law Cutting Gun License Fees, Jokes About Shooting Journalists

But on Monday, he took a step to curb that zealous enthusiasm for guns in the wake of the latest school shooting. His re-election campaign hurriedly canceled plans to give away a Texas-made shotgun as part of a fundraising promotion — a giveaway that drew the ire of gun-control advocates, especially organizers of March for Our Lives Austin who called it a "...disgusting display of disregard" for gun violence.

The Abbott re-election campaign replaced the gun giveaway with a more palatable $250 gift certificate prize instead. The original banner promoting the contest that read “Win a Texas-Made Shotgun” on the contest page has since been replaced with one reading simply: "Contest."

Also in the aftermath of the Santa Fe high school shooting, Abbott on Monday also issued a statewide call for Texans to take part in a moment of silence starting at 10 a.m. to honor the memory of the victims. “In the midst of such tragedy, we pray for the victims and those mourning in Santa Fe, while we work to ensure swift and meaningful action to protect our students in schools across our state," Abbott wrote in announcing the moment of silence. "The act of evil that occurred in Santa Fe has deeply touched the core of who we are as Texans."

Abbott photo via State of Texas

Also slated to attend Tuesday's roundtable discussion, according to the governor's office:

• 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.

>>> Uppermost image via Shutterstock