Following the tragedy in Santa Fe on Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is kick starting the process of making our schools safer by holding roundtable discussions this week.
“We want input from a lot of different people from across the state of Texas who will offer ideas,” Abbott said on Sunday.
Those discussions start tomorrow. Both Republicans and Democrats will be involved, and political analyst Jacquie Baly tells KTRH this is a positive step.
“There are precautionary measures they are looking at involving schools. But that doesn’t mean they will not continue to be staunch supporters of our Second Amendment rights,” Baly explained.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick told ABC's This Week he believes our schools have too many exits and entrances to watch, and that’s something he wants to focus on.
“We can’t guard every entrance of the 8,000 plus schools we have in Texas, but we can guard one or two,” Patrick stated.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo will not be at these roundtables, but says those on the front lines at schools should carry the most weight in these discussions and not politicians. Acevedo posted on Facebook over the weekend that he hit "rock bottom” because of this. He told KTRH what that meant.
“It touched too close to home in terms of Houston. I got to see the anguish first hand. I got to feel the anguish, and I’m done,” Acevedo explained, adding he won’t be silent on the issue anymore.
Governor Abbott is also calling for a moment of silence at 10:00 this morning to honor the victims of Friday's school shooting.