AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced the formation of the Texas Safety Commission that will come up with an “immediate action plan” following the recent shooting in El Paso.
The commission met on Thursday in Austin and will meet again on Aug. 29 in El Paso, Abbott said in a statement.
“This plan will include strategies to provide community healing, combat the rise of extremist groups and hateful ideologies, keep guns out of the hands of deranged individuals and combat domestic terrorism, including cybersecurity threats,” said the governor’s office.
According to Abbott, the commission will aim to produce legislative solutions Texas can adopt to help prevent mass shootings and domestic terror attacks.
“The State of Texas will not relent in its effort to help the El Paso community heal and keep all Texans safe,” said Abbott. “The Texas Safety Commission will bring together experts and community leaders to develop an action plan to combat threats of domestic terrorism, root out extremist ideologies and address the link between mental health challenges and gun violence in our communities. By working together, we will we ensure a safe and secure future for all Texans.”
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Last week, the governor announced the creation of the Domestic Terrorism Task Force. The panel of experts will come up with strategies to protect Texans and, according to the governor, “root out the extremist ideologies that fuel hatred and violence in our state.”
The following individuals attended the first commission meeting on Aug. 22 at the Texas Capitol:
- Gov. Greg Abbott
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
- Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen
- Senator Jose Rodriguez
- Rep. Mary Gonzales
- Rep. Cesar Blanco
- Rep. Joe Moody
- Rep. Art Fierro
- Sen. Joan Huffman, Chairwoman of the Senate State Affairs Committee
- Rep. Phil King, former police officer, member of the Texas State Guard
- Colonel Steven McCraw, Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Major David Cabrera, DPS Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, Texas Fusion Centers
- Major Manuel Espinosa, DPS Criminal Investigation Division, Texas Anti-Gang Centers
- Matthew DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Dr. Courtney Phillips, executive director, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
- Ed Scruggs, Texas Gun Sense
- Dr. Juan Martinez, Superintendent, Clint Independent School District
- Jeff Murray, protective security advisor, United States Department of Homeland Security
- Dr. Lina Alathari, Chief, United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center
- Dr. Susan Fletcher, Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
- Robert Chesney, director and James Baker Chair, University of Texas at Austin
- Neil Potts, content policy team, Facebook
- Tory Mayo, lead pastor, The Well Austin
- A representative from Google
- Tom Tarantino, head of U.S. State Public Policy, Twitter
- Lonzo Anderson, Assistant Chief, Dallas Police Department
- Karie Gibson, Supervisory Special Agent, Behavioral Analysis Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation
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