Texas without any doubt
is the crappiest state in the Union, bar none and now more so with their latest
two new harsh laws: (1) Abortion illegal at 6-weeks, no exception for rape or
incest, and a bounty offered for citizens to report law breakers, and then (2)
their harsh new voting law that is heavy-handed, strict, and hampers the right
vote free, fair, safe, and secure – even as they say otherwise.
Details follow:
· Gov.
Abbott (R) sued ahead of signing the new harsh law
· Abbott
says the voting law will withstand all challenges
Author of the two
bills is Texas Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola):
Voting rights:
In 2021, Hughes introduced legislation to limit voting rights in Texas. This
was part of a broader national effort
by Republicans to defortify (weaken) our entire electoral system in
the wake of the 2020 election that Trump
still refuses to concede all the while he and his Republican
allies make claims of voter fraud and election rigging (Trump’s “Big Lie”).
Democrats claim there is no evidence of widespread fraud in Texas elections or elsewhere – after Trump lost more than 60 court challenges.
Trump
will not relent with his lie and the January 6 riot.
Plus, Hughes defended his attempts to roll back voting by mail, arguing that it was prone to fraud.
Hughes has claimed that Texas has 400 open
voter fraud cases; the Texas AG has 43 pending voter fraud cases, of which only
one is in relation to the 2020 election.
The proverbial
bottom line: The GOP can’t win, so they set out to change the law to
ensure they never lose again!!!
Civil rights and voting rights groups have claimed that the
proposed legislation as an attempt to restrict the access to voting afforded
to voters of color.
Another provision would prohibited early voting on Sunday
mornings, which was a traditional period of voting for Black churchgoers as
part of “Souls to the Polls” events.
Abortion: On
March 11, 2021, Hughes introduced a fetal heartbeat bill entitled “The Texas Heartbeat Bill” (officially:
SB-8) into the Texas Senate.
At the same time, Texas
State Rep. Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville) introduced a companion House bill
(HB-1515).
That bill also allows private citizens to sue abortion
providers after a fetal heartbeat has been detected (I wonder: How would they find out that personal
medical fact).
The SB-8 version of the bill passed both chambers and was
signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on May 19, 2021, taking effect on
September 1, 2021 (see his remarks above).
My 2 Cents: As I said
above, Texas with these two very harsh and restrictive laws hurt people for their selfish simple political gain in two of the most-important and personal ways possible:
Voting rights and a woman’s right to her own personal protection and heath care.
Related is this fine
article from
The New Yorker – a very good analysis of Texas and their harsh and
downright crazy laws.
I don’t know for sure the
outcome of these two harsh laws, but I suspect and hope that the U.S. Supreme
Court tosses them out.
BTW: That photo above was taken
and reported on in the Rio Grande Valley News (June 30, 2021).
Thanks for stopping by.
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