Bill Text: TX HCR5 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizing the State Preservation Board to approve and permit the construction of a monument at the state Capitol Complex honoring the victims of mass shootings.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-04-27 - Left pending in committee [HCR5 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HCR5-Introduced.html
| 88R3667 BPG-D | ||
| By: Moody | H.C.R. No. 5 | |
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| 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. | ||
