What the hell is going on in Texas?!
Whether you live in Texas or another state you’ve most likely have heard of the new Texas laws being passed or in the process of being passed this year. Governor Greg Abbott (someone I’d like to call another name) has been known for his controversial views similar to those of Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans since his election into office in 2014. There is an astonishing 666 new Texas laws that have went into effect as of September 1st. These new laws will affect abortion access, social studies curriculum, new gun policies and others that have been very controversial for many Texas politicians and residents. Let me give you insight on how terrible a few of these laws are:
House Bill 1927: This new law allows Texans 21 and older to carry handguns without training or a license as long as they are not legally prevented from doing so.
Senate Bill 8: Prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy and allows anyone to sue abortion providers and others who “aid and abet” a person obtaining abortion care. This bill would prevent more than 8 in 10 people from obtaining abortion care. (This law would particularly affect Black patients and those living on low incomes or who live far from a facility that provides abortion care. This law is unconstitutional under the 50 yr legal precedent set by Roe v. Wade)
House Bill 3979: This new law limits teachers from discussing current events and systemic racism in class. It also prevents students from receiving class credit for participating in civic engagement and bans teaching of the “1619 Project.” The 1619 project was launched in August 2019 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans arriving to colonial Virginia. It is an re-examination of the legacy of slavery in the United States.
House Bill 2497: This law establishes an “1836 Project” committee to produce patriotic Texas history materials. In other words, it is created to simply erase the 1619 project and the history of slavery in the United States. The 1836 project will be distributed through channels such as when people receive driver’s licenses.
Star Spangled Banner Protection Act: This law requires professional sports teams with state funding to be required to play the national anthem before games under the Senate Bill 4.
House Bill 1900: This law penalizes municipalities with a population of more than 250,000 that reduce police budgeting. It allows the state to financially punish the cities by reducing sales tax revenues and prevent increases in property taxes.
The new laws highlighted above are just a small portion of how unconstitutional Texas has become over the past few years. As a Texas resident myself, I am more terrified about the future generation if things continue to move this way. It is painful to see these laws being set in place that will mainly affect the black population. With the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election taking place November 8th 2022 it is so important to research and identify the potential candidates that will be in the governor’s race and vote vote vote. Let’s get Greg Abbott out of the office expeditiously!!!
