| 1 | 1 | | 88R3667 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Moody H.C.R. No. 5 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Lone Star State has borne sorrowful witness to |
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| 7 | 7 | | some of the nation's worst mass shootings; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, In August 1966, a sniper killed 15 people on The |
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| 9 | 9 | | University of Texas at Austin campus; the unprecedented carnage |
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| 10 | 10 | | shocked the nation, and the Associated Press and United Press |
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| 11 | 11 | | International ranked it as the second most important story of the |
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| 12 | 12 | | year, after the Vietnam War; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, Tragically, mass shootings have become almost |
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| 14 | 14 | | commonplace; over the past decade, dozens of Texans have been |
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| 15 | 15 | | killed in such massacres, including the May 2022 attack at Robb |
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| 16 | 16 | | Elementary School in Uvalde, which left 19 children and 2 adults |
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| 17 | 17 | | dead; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 2019, two mass shootings occurred back-to-back in |
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| 19 | 19 | | the month of August; the slaughter at an El Paso Walmart claimed 23 |
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| 20 | 20 | | lives, followed by a murderous spree across Midland-Odessa that |
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| 21 | 21 | | took seven more; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Santa Fe High School lost eight students and two |
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| 23 | 23 | | teachers in a 2018 shooting; the year before, a gunman opened fire |
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| 24 | 24 | | at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, slaying 25 |
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| 25 | 25 | | worshippers; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, The victims of these savage attacks deserve to be |
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| 27 | 27 | | remembered; under Chapter 443, Government Code, and rules of the |
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| 28 | 28 | | State Preservation Board, a portion of the north Capitol grounds is |
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| 29 | 29 | | available for new monuments, subject to legislative approval, |
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| 30 | 30 | | specified procedural requirements, the provision of funding from |
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| 31 | 31 | | private donors, conformity to certain size and design limitations |
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| 32 | 32 | | and parameters, and completion on a timely basis; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | WHEREAS, A memorial on the Capitol grounds would provide a |
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| 34 | 34 | | communal place for Texans to honor the innocent lives cut short by |
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| 35 | 35 | | mass gun violence, and many citizens stand ready to donate funds for |
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| 36 | 36 | | such a project; now, therefore, be it |
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| 37 | 37 | | RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 38 | 38 | | hereby authorize the State Preservation Board, subject to state law |
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| 39 | 39 | | and rules of the board, to approve and permit the construction of a |
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| 40 | 40 | | monument at the state Capitol Complex, at a site outside the |
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| 41 | 41 | | historic Capitol grounds, honoring victims of mass shootings; and, |
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| 42 | 42 | | be it further |
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| 43 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an |
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| 44 | 44 | | official copy of this resolution to the executive director of the |
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| 45 | 45 | | State Preservation Board. |
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