Texans got what they voted for
The Republican Party in the state of Texas wanted guns to be easy to buy and own, with no requirement for a license or safety training, with over 50 percent of the gun sales in the state to be at gun shows where there is no requirement for a background check? They got it.
They wanted teenagers who just graduated from high school, who are only 18 years old and cannot even buy a beer, to have the right to buy not one but two deadly military-style semiautomatic rifles and over 50 high-capacity magazines and 1,657 rounds of ammunition? They got it.
They wanted the citizens of Texas to be able to carry guns of any kind anywhere they want, to put them in their cars and drive around with them anywhere they want to go without any questions asked? They got it.
They wanted the police forces of Texas to be funded so they could be outfitted with the latest military hardware, including AR-style military spec rifles and shotguns and sniper rifles and helmets and body armor and really cool camo uniforms? They got it.
They wanted Texas schools to be “hardened” and to have armed “resource officers” on site in order to handle the possibility that someone would want to walk into schools and kill children? They got it.
They wanted the state government of Texas including the governor to encourage a robust gun culture and to encourage citizens to buy more guns? They got it.
They wanted the NRA to come to their state and hold their annual gathering in a convention hall and provide 14 acres of space for gun manufacturers to display their wares? They got it.
They wanted the state of Texas to have the highest percentage of gun owners in the nation? They got it.
They wanted Texas to have a governor who would dissemble and talk about gun crime in places like Chicago when he was presented with the fact that 19 children and two teachers were just massacred in a school in his state? They got him.
They wanted the state to be completely dominated by a political party that is sold out to the NRA and gun manufacturers and their political contributions? They got it.
They wanted Texas to have a state political leadership that, more than 48 hours after 19 children and two teachers were massacred, to have no idea what happened in Uvalde to cause the massacre? They got it.
Elections have consequences. The state of Texas made gun-worship a major part of its politics and culture. They are reaping what they sowed.
Please don't count all of us in that disgusting pack of monsters. Like many other Texans (apparently about 3% less than vote GOP) are lifelong Democrats of the "yellow dog" variety. We have never voted republican in any State, District or local election. It just goes to show you that the difference between democracy and autocracy is a very thin one. The republicans usually win by about 3%-4% margins, but it might as well be double digits. For those of you looking in from the outside it would appear that the whole state of Texas is predominately red. That's not the case. It's that once they got control of the Texas Legislature, they gerrymandered the map so that they eliminated democratic "strongholds". It was pretty easy. If you move a few republicans over to what had been a neighboring Democratic district, while moving a few Democrats out of that district and back over to the heavily republican district, you get two reliable republican districts. Simple. There are actually strong Democratic districts in the Houston and Austin areas. Just not enough of them. We're all looking forward to this upcoming Gubernatorial election. Beto O'Rourke, the Democrat is polling very close to greg abbot and there's a little hope here that it just might be a start. (Notice that I refuse to capitalize "greg abbot" and "republican").
Twenty-eight years as a cop, and the four years before that a newspaper reporter, and now in my retirement I have become (pretended to be?) a writer, so I’m supposed to be eloquent and clever and facile with the written word. Nope. Fuck Texas. Leave it at that.