Free Republic

While some states are trying to claw back your rights, Texas just doubled down on theirs. The NRA reported that over the weekend, Governor Greg Abbott approved five new Texas pro-gun laws, each one a win for personal liberty and the Second Amendment. 1. HB 1403 – Respect for Foster Families Who Exercise Their Rights 2. SB 706 – Universal Recognition of Out-of-State Carry Licenses 3. SB 1362 – Blocking Unconstitutional Red Flag Orders 4. SB 1596 – Legalizing Short-Barreled Rifles and Shotguns at the State Level 5. SB 1718 – Incentivizing the NRA Annual Meeting in Texas

A slow-moving storm that dumped more than a foot of rain in the Texas Hill Country has killed 27 people, with dozens more missing, and officials are saying they weren’t prepared because the National Weather Service got the forecast wrong. Wonder if Donald Trump and Elon Musk laying off 600 National Weather Service staffers earlier this year could have had anything to do with that? …Deadly flash floods are, unfortunately, not uncommon – 10 teens at a summer camp died during a flash-flood event from a storm that dumped 11 inches of rain in Kerrville in 1987, and 13 people...

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful head of the Texas Senate, sharply rebuked Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday for vetoing his top legislative priority — a ban on all THC products — and dug in his heels against the governor’s call for lawmakers to instead place firmer regulations on the hemp industry. In vetoing Senate Bill 3 just before midnight Sunday, Abbott argued that the measure would have faced “valid constitutional challenges” that would have kept it tied up in court for years. He called the Legislature back to Austin for a special session next month to pass stricter rules...

Very surprised and disappointed that Governor Abbott failed to sign a bill that would have stopped having "Cannabis" legal in Texas.and millions of pot shops popping up on every street corner. Not to mention all the crime that goes hand and hand with weed legalization.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill Sunday to ban all THC consumables, allowing the booming market flush with THC-infused vapes, gummies and other products to continue to be sold across the state. Abbott, a Republican, waited until the final moment to veto the bill in what would have been one of the most restrictive THC bans in the country and a significant blow to the state’s billion-dollar industry. The law would have made it a misdemeanor to own, manufacture or sell consumable THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, products and was the latest push by states to regulate THC after a 2018...

A headline regular during the 89th legislative session was an all-encompassing ban on hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products, which landed on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk on May 27. By law, the governor has an additional 20 days following the final day of the session to take action on bills that pass in the session's last 10 days. This means he has until Sunday, June 22, to sign or veto Senate Bill 3, which could determine the fate of Texas’ growing hemp industry. Without any indication of what he will do and mounting pressure from his Republican associates, Abbott seems to be...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Briefing,” host Jen Psaki stated that California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is doing “sort of the opposite” of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in that Newsom “doesn’t want the National Guard to be intervening in these protests” and that protests in San Antonio have been peaceful. Psaki said, “This is the scene in San Antonio, Texas right now. Hundreds of people holding signs, playing music, cheering, and chanting, peacefully protesting ICE raids in their community. In response to organizers planning that San Antonio rally, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he would deploy the...

The East Plano Islamic Center is denying cult accusations involving a 402-acre property in far Northeast Texas. A proposed real estate development project 40 miles northeast of Dallas is drawing the attention of Texas’ most powerful politicians and thousands of internet critics for allegedly planning a “Sharia city” in violation of the Fair Housing Act. The 402-acre property, close to the small town of Josephine and nestled between the far north edges of Collin and Hunt Counties, was purchased by one of the region’s largest mosques, the East Plano Islamic Center, or EPIC. It is set to be managed by...

Several instances of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) seemingly mocking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s disability resurfaced on Tuesday after she received backlash for referring to the wheelchair-bound Republican as “Governor Hot Wheels.” In an August 2022 post, Crockett weighed in on the Texas gubernatorial race between Abbott and Beto O’Rourke with a remark about Abbott “rolling.” “The new nickname I have for @BetoORourke is the king of the clap backs!” she wrote. “Beto is rolling all around the state… where is Abbott rolling to 👀?” Crockett shared another post about Abbott “rolling” this month, which read, “Rolling up to the White...

Outspoken Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) faces criticism from Republicans after referring to Governor Greg Abbott as "Governor Hot Wheels" in a recent public statement. Speaking at a fundraising dinner for LGBTQ advocacy group, Human Rights Campaign, Crockett took a jab at her state's Republican governor, who has used a wheelchair since a 1984 accident. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was swift to condemn Crockett's remarks as an attack on Abbott's disability, taking to X to share the clip and indict the Democratic Party. However, commenters questioned the outrage, pointing out the GOP's history of name-calling and campaigns against language-policing....

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in Los Angeles over the weekend: "We in these hot ass Texas streets, honey. Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there, Come on now! And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot ass mess, honey! So, so yes! Yes, yes, yes."

Gov. Greg Abbott has now made it explicitly clear he wants the next House speaker to have been chosen by members of the Texas House Republican Caucus. Sydnie Henry reports the governor was forced yesterday to issue two statements related to the rump candidacy of Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). Burrows has been seeking support from Democrats and a small faction of Republicans to secure the gavel in January after losing the House Republican caucus nomination vote last Saturday to State Rep. David Cook (R–Mansfield). Notably, of the Republicans who opposed Abbott’s school choice push in the 2023 regular and special sessions,...

📊 2028 National Republican Primary• Donald Trump Jr. — 30% • JD Vance — 30% • Ron DeSantis — 9% • Nikki Haley — 6% • Vivek Ramaswamy — 5% • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — 5% • Sarah Huckabee Sanders — 1% • Marco Rubio — 1% • Tucker Carlson — 1% • Greg Abbott — 1% • Brian Kemp — 1% • Glenn Youngkin — 1% --- • Someone else — 5%@MorningConsult | 12/6-8 | n=994

Texas is often considered the energy capital of the U.S. – but usually that means oil and gas. Nuclear power has a much smaller presence in the state, but Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to change that. This week the governor’s office and the Public Utility Commission released a report from the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, outlining plans to bolster nuclear power production in the state. Recommendations include creating incentives programs and workforce training to build up the state’s infrastructure and power generating capacity. Reed Clay, president of Texas Nuclear Alliance, an industry group, joined Texas Standard to...

Texas Governor Greg Abbott .. is making all available tools available to law enforcement to take action against the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. The governor said the gang members will find their operations in Texas will become unprofitable, forcing them to leave ... They’re looking to make money. And what they’re going to find is, if they’re coming in the state of Texas, they’re losing money. It’s a losing money proposition in the state of Texas, and they’re going to realize they got to take their business elsewhere.” Governor Abbott recently designated the Venezuelan prison gang as...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday declared the Venezuelan gang, Tren De Aragua (TDA) as a foreign terrorist organization. Texas Department of Public Safety is aggressively targeting gang members who were released into country by Biden administration, he said. “I will not allow them to use Texas as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens,” Abbott said at a news conference in Houston. “Texas is a law and order state and I will ensure that law enforcement has every tool they need to keep our community safe.” Tren De Aragua is characterized as “MS13 on steroids,” Abbott said, referring...

exas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a comprehensive investigation into allegations that nonprofit organizations are unlawfully registering noncitizens to vote in Texas. Investigators from the Texas Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit have been actively conducting undercover operations to identify potential voter registration of noncitizens across the state. This is the same unit that arrested and booked Monica Mendez into the Victoria County Jail on June 23, 2021, after a Victoria County Grand Jury returned an indictment against her on multiple counts of election fraud: 7 counts of Illegal Voting (a 2nd Degree Felony), 8 counts of Unlawfully Assisting Voter...

Attorney General Ken Paxton.. I am launching an investigation into reports that organizations in Texas are illegally registering non-citizens to vote. Texans are deeply troubled by the possibility that organizations purporting to assist with voter registration are illegally registering noncitizens to vote in our elections. If eligible citizens can legally register to vote when conducting their business at a DPS office, why would they need a second opportunity to register with a booth outside? My office is investigating every credible report we receive regarding potential criminal activity that could compromise the integrity of our elections. The Biden-Harris Administration has intentionally...

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday issued an executive order requiring hospitals report the annual costs of care for illegal migrants so the state can seek reimbursement from the federal government. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is directed to collect information on illegal migrants who use state hospitals for emergency and inpatient care, according to the executive order. These costs will be reported every year to Abbott’s office and the Texas Legislature in order for state officials to demand reimbursement from the Biden-Harris administration.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Texas can keep the buoys Governor Greg Abbott ordered installed in the Rio Grande. The Biden-Harris administration sued the State of Texas to stop Texas from placing the barriers in the river that separates Mexico from the U.S. “Biden tried to remove them. I fought to keep them in the water,” Abbott posted on social media. “That is exactly where they will stay.” ...