This week I took my two teenage boys to the state capitol building in Austin. The legislature is in session right now and I wanted them to be aware of where the laws of the state are voted on, including those that have a direct influence on them as students. As we entered the east side of the building we were forced to go through metal detectors. My oldest son was actually stopped as his belt buckle (a very small one) set off the detector. A department of public safety officer then pulled him to the side to wand him. I chuckled to myself knowing that if my son had a concealed handgun license he probably would be able to walk through this system unmolested.
So yesterday two hearings were held at the federal and state level regarding guns and involving my state legislators. In Austin, the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety debated measures to allow students to carry handguns on campus. Of course, the usual arguments were made in favor and against the measure. I think what sticks in my head is that a wide receiver on the University of Texas football team was just kicked off the team because he sucker punched a member of the tennis team. The tennis player had the audacity to be dating the football player's ex-girlfriend. I also remember the amount of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs consumed on the campus while I was there in the late 80's and can only imagine how much of that is consumed now. Let's throw some guns into that mix. I'm sure we'll all be better protected. I'm sure when Charles Whitman was shooting people from the tower in the middle of the UT campus if a random student had had a hand gun at that moment, he could have picked off Whitman twenty plus stories up. By the way, the observation deck of that tower is open again. Take the tour yourself.
During the hearing, Alex Ferraro of Aurora, Colorado, testified about what happened in that movie theater according to this article from the Texas Observer by Beth Cortez-Neavel. Ron Clemmons a Republican representative questioned Alex with a hypothetical: What if some people in the theater had been armed? I think Alex must have been caught off-guard by that question. I think that Representative Clemmons, like many who share his opinion, feel that the "good guys" can get off a few well aimed rounds and stop the "bad guys" who bring their lawfully obtained assault weapons to kill people on campuses, movie theaters and restaurants and peace will be restored and future "bad guys" will deterred. Later, Alex seemed to have responded with the response that 10 to 15 "good guys" opening fire in a dark movie house with their own guns might have led to even more confusion and carnage. Don't forget that the Aurora shooter had body armor. Have we come to the point where in order for our gun industry to continue to thrive and employ our citizenry we're all going to have to walk around with weapons and body armor? Probably here in Texas.
In Washington D.C., the junior senator from my state lectured the senior senator from California regarding the second amendment in the committee meeting discussing her assault weapons ban. The Rachel Maddow opening monologue does a better job than I could in summarizing what happened there. Of course, my senator cherry-picked the second amendment and quoted the "right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" part, conveniently leaving out the "well regulated militia" part. He then made that sophomoric argument of picking and choosing what part of speech can be free according to the First Amendment. Thank you Sheldon Whitehouse for countering that argument. I called Ted Cruz's San Antonio and Washington D.C. offices today to lodge my complaints. I urge you to do the same especially if you are a resident of this state.
Ted Cruz, John Cornyn, Rick Perry, Louie Gohmert Dr. Donna Campbell, etc. You can just go on and on with the extremists being elected by my state. Looking at election returns you can see that this state is extremely red. We have not elected a non-Republican to a state-wide office in twenty years. If you look in counties, there are massive amounts of people who do not vote. But, the culture here is so massively tilted towards conservatism. The legislative agenda being discussed this session itself makes your stomach churn. From abortion to "school choice" to water rights to guns this state is sinking further into a right-wing paradigm. So watch us closely rest of the nation. Here are some things you are liable to see.
1. Vouchers: They call them "scholarships" now. I am very familiar with the school choice movement as I just completed about four years working with charter schools. While there are some exceptions, for the most part the charter schools I worked with are fronts for religious and "non-profit" businesses to tap into the great revenue generator of state taxes. Very few seek to truly raise student achievement. Many private school entities want in on the party. They are even going after physical plants built by local communities through Independent School District bond money. Thankfully I think that effort has been successfully deterred (this session).
2. Water: A water plan will be funded because our latest three year drought has literally left some communities dry. A lake southwest of San Antonio, Lake Medina, is practically non-existent anymore. Water will be power in this state. I plan on watching my yard disappear this summer. Of course, the politically connected will be getting in line to exploit the shortages for their own financial gain.
3. Testing: We created the multiple choice test madness and now there is a slight parent revolt. Pearson Publishing gets millions to administer our tests and the tests in other states. We even test children with degenerative intellectual conditions and sub-50 IQs with elaborate standardized protocols by Pearson. My sons will have to pass 15 End of Course tests in high school in order to graduate. To their credit, even some Tea Partiers don't like this.
4. Education Funding: Last session the budget was balanced on the backs of education to the tune of a 5+ billion dollar cut. There is talk of a 1+ billion restoration. But with the sequester cuts to federal programs like Title I and Special Education, you would have to figure that will be a wash. Then throw in the voucher movement and you see what is happening here. I am a cynical person and feel this is really just a move by free marketeers to get their hands on tax money be it through charter schools or private schools.
5. Women's Health Care: The restrictions on abortion will be tightened again. I remember after last year's session a story about a couple who found out their child would be born dead or dying and had to go through multiple sonograms in an office other than their trusted doctor's. It's amazing how such decisions and laws are made without thinking through the true implications for those decisions. Women's health care will be gutted again probably as the state will not expand Medicaid. Fifty plus clinics that did not provide abortions had to close over the last two years. Get ready for more. Lesson? If you live in Texas and you are poor, don't get sick.
6. Guns: We have a bill currently introduced to make it a crime to enforce future, anticipated federal gun control efforts. We want guns in schools, churches, restaurants, etc. We can control gun violence with more powerful guns and clips. Ted Cruz is symbolic of a powerful wave of thinking in this state by those who vote. Ted Cruz is Harvard and Princeton educated. He is not stupid. But, he may be corrupted. Or, he may truly believe what he is saying. But, surely a Harvard educated lawyer knows that child pornography books are not protected free speech. Surely, a Harvard educated lawyer knows the second amendment starts with "A well regulated militia..." Watch Texas. Or should I say "Watch out for Texans"?