Harris County commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday urging Governor Greg Abbott to call a special session to address school safety. Harris County is the state's most populous, containing Houston.
"As a parent of four children, it's unnatural. None of us ever expect to bury our children," said Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who wrote the resolution. "I just can't imagine what parents are going through when they have to deal with that."
Ellis' resolution cites statistics from gunviolencearchive.org, which said there have been 267 mass shootings in the United States in 2022 through Tuesday. The website defines a mass shooting as one where at least four people are injured or killed.
The resolution said at least 33 mass shootings have occurred in the United States since the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, and 19 children in Harris County have been killed by gun violence so far this year.
Rodney Ellis
"Firearms kill Americans at a higher rate than in the rest of the world," the resolution reads. "In 2019, there were 11.1 gun deaths for every 100,000 people in the U.S., more than triple the global rate of 3.0."
"If Governor Abbott can call three special sessions to make it harder for people to vote, surely, he can call a special session to keep our kids from being massacred at their schools," said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
The measure passed 3-2. A woman speaking against the resolution told commissioners the state should instead focus on mental health, and each school should have armed officers on campus.
"Quit letting criminals out. The gun does not kill. It's the criminal holding the gun," she said.
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Ellis, who served as a state senator in the Houston area from 1990 to 2017, says the legislature should act immediately instead of waiting for the 2023 regular session. By acting now, he says the state could enact additional safeguards before the next school year begins.
"I want to be on the right side of history," he said. "I think I have been most of the time. Some people are just afraid of the issue."
Last week, Bexar and Dallas Counties passed similar resolutions urging a special session. Also Tuesday morning, Tarrant County commissioners passed a measure calling for a special session; the vote in Tarrant County was unanimous.
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