AUSTIN (AP) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has convened the first of three roundtable meetings to address school violence and safety.
In so doing, he pledged to seek ways to prevent more school shootings like the one Friday at a high school in Santa Fe, about 30 miles southeast of Houston.
Tuesday’s meeting is with school administrators, law enforcement and officials with programs that arm Texas teachers. Abbott said he’ll meet Wednesday with gun rights and gun control advocacy groups and Thursday with victims of the attack at Santa Fe High School and the November attack on a church in Sutherland Springs.
Abbott says everyone shares a “common goal – to protect innocent lives.”
He has been a staunch supporter of gun rights, and few expect the meetings to result in recommendations for significant gun restrictions in Texas. Several top Republicans have called for the state to “harden” school campuses against future attacks and arm more teachers.
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