The Fort Worth school board has passed a resolution urging Governor Greg Abbott to call a special session to address gun laws and school safety. The resolution urges a special session before the start of the next school year.
"Our students, parents, faculty, and staff should not be in fear that mass shootings and gun violence will occur within FWISD and our community, as our schools must be a safe refuge for our children and the adults charged with their care," the resolution reads.
The resolution does not include specifics on how the legislature should act to reduce gun violence. The resolution cites shootings in Uvalde, El Paso, Midland-Odessa, Santa Fe, Texas and Sutherland Springs in the past five years as reasons to adopt "common sense reforms that focus on our children’s safety and security wherever they gather, be it our schools, houses of worship, and other public spaces."
"That's the beauty in this country: we can agree and disagree on things and how we approach things," says Fort Worth ISD Trustee Wallace Bridges. "But I think sometimes we have to send a message to young people: yes, we do care about what happens to you."
Most parents spoke against the measure.
"Criminals are still going to get guns. They can still get in and do something unless you harden the school," one mother said.
"This is not your lane," another said. "This is for legislators."
The resolution passed 7-0 with Trustee Michael Ryan abstaining. Ryan says he was at the Luby's where a gunman killed 23 people and injured 27 others in 1991.
"For lunch after I got through with the first morning's training, I went to Luby's. I walked out the door right when the monster drove through the wall," Ryan says. "I thought he had a heart attack, went behind the truck and saw him shoot the first person."
Ryan says he had left his gun at home because he would have been terminated if his gun was found in his car when he was working at the school. He also had an appointment at Fort Hood later that day.
He says three people he knew were killed that day.
"I hated the fact I couldn't try to do something. Do I know I could have made a difference? No idea. Could the guy have shot me? Absolutely, he could have, but I would have tried to do something," Ryan says.
Instead, he says schools should focus on security. Ryan says he went to three schools this week to look at safety issues. In addition to locking doors, he says schools should secure entrances. He says the district does not have enough money to budget for bullet-proof glass in every window.
He says schools are training kids to respond to lockdowns, showing kids where to gather in rooms and turn out lights during drills.
"That's a shame we've got to do that," he says.
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