Yesterday, Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa was appointed to the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans. The committee is charged with studying five areas: school safety, mental health, social media, police training, and firearm safety. Senator Hinojosa issued the following statement:

"I want to thank the Lt. Governor for appointing me to this committee to do the critical work of ensuring all Texans can safely live their daily lives. The most important responsibility of government is to keep its citizens safe. Sadly, the recent mass shootings have shown that we have work to do to meet this responsibility, and I am ready to get to work to find real solutions that make our schools, churches, grocery stores, and neighborhoods safe for everyone.

Every issue identified as a focus for this committee is an important area that merits a robust discussion on what more we can do to prevent future mass shootings. We must make schools safer. We must do more for mental healthcare, not just when someone is in crisis, but to prevent crises altogether. We must ensure social media is being used responsibly and that police have the proper training to quickly respond if a shooting takes place. And we must implement policies to prevent firearms from falling into the hands of those who would use them as tools of unthinkable destruction instead of personal protection.

I recognize that this is a process that will invite intense discussion from many viewpoints. However, it is my hope that we can arrive at thoughtful solutions to keep our communities safe and mitigate mass shootings."

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