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