Party divisions in Texas legislation on abortion and gun control

TX Government

Texas Government

Like the federal government, the State of Texas passes legislation and creates laws that are specific to that state. That does not make the state immune to the laws federally required, but it does ensure that citizens there are aware of the beliefs, desires, and goals of the state within the confines of legal issues. As such, many of the bills that are created and passed into law in Texas are based on party lines. Democrats and Republications often have differing opinions on very serious issues such as the right to life, gun control, and immigration. With this in mind, the bills they try to pass are generally very different from one another based on those beliefs. It can easily be seen that people who follow their party lines carefully and seriously will create and attempt to pass bills that are based on the beliefs and ultimate goals of that particular political party to which those people belong.

Republican Bills

Allen Fletcher, a Texas House Member, introduced house bill 55 - a bill that would make it illegal to have an abortion based on the sex of the fetus (Fletcher). In other words, a person could not choose to abort a healthy fetus because it was a boy or a girl and the person did not want a child of that particular sex. The bill was authored during the regular session, but did not get through the legislative process (Fletcher). There are three other states that currently ban the practice of sex-selective abortions (Fletcher). Fletcher has stated that the overwhelming majority of abortions in sex-selective cases are for children who would have been female, and that the practice also occurs in many other countries (Fletcher). While Fletcher realizes he can do little about the overall use of the practice, he does not want it to be an acceptable choice in Texas. Similar bills have been introduced before, but have not gained the two-thirds majority they needed to pass. Republicans have, as a majority, always believed that abortion should not be an acceptable practice.

Another bill introduced by republicans in Texas was HB 533, authored by John Otto (Baysinger). This bill was designed to make the recent changes to gun legislation proposed by President Obama null and void within the State of Texas. It was co-authored by Jim Pitts, Bryan Hughes, and a host of other republicans (Baysinger). It would preserve the second amendment very strongly and stop the federal law changes from taking effect in that state. However, it is technically not legal for a state to pass a law that goes against an enforceable federal law (Baysinger). Some have done so, though, and it remains to be seen whether the federal government would take any steps to block the Texas law if it were to pass. This bill clearly shows the dedication of republicans, who are deeply committed to having the freedoms provided by the second amendment and who do not believe the federal government should be making any attempt to take guns away from the public or to reduce a person's ability to own one under normal circumstances.

Conclusion

Based on the information provided herein, it can be seen that both republican and democratic bills follow their party lines closely. Most lawmakers and legislators who consider themselves part of a particular political party will not go against that affiliation and trying to create a bill or get one passed. There are those who will not always vote along party lines, but the creation of a bill is more than just a vote about something. The creation of a bill is based on deeply-held beliefs about what is right for the country and what will be best for that country's future. Because of that, the republicans and democrats who create bills for the State of Texas will generally always create those bills in a way that matches with what their political party believes. To do otherwise would go against what they believe and what they professed to believe when they were elected as a member of a political party.