Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, June 2, 2022.

– Brandon Waltens 

Beto Flip-Flops on Guns...Again

• Following the tragic shooting at a Uvalde elementary school last week, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Robert “Beto” O’Rourke is back to endorsing mandatory gun confiscation, after a recent series of public flip-flops on the issue. Here's the timeline:
   
  • In 2018, when running  (unsuccessfully) for Senate, O'Rourke said he was against gun bans.
     
  • In 2019, when running (unsuccessfully) for the Democrat nomination for president, O'Rourke was in favor of banning guns, famously declaring, “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15."
     
  • In February of 2022, while campaigning for governor, O'Rourke flipped his position again, stating, "I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure that we do is defend the Second Amendment.”
     
  • Now, in June of 2022, O'Rourke is back to advocating for gun-grabbing. At a campaign event this week, he said, “Not only should no one be able to purchase an AR-15 or AK-47 … I don’t think that the people who have them now for civilian use should be able to keep them."
     
• Maybe O'Rourke should stick to skateboarding...

Abbott's Call for "Firearm Safety" Legislation

• As Democrats call for a special session to clamp down on Texans’ gun rights, Gov. Greg Abbott has requested that leaders of the state Legislature create special committees charged with developing recommendations on “school safety, mental health, social media, police training, firearm safety, and more.”
   
• Abbott made the request in a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, saying, “As leaders, we must come together at this time to provide solutions to protect all Texans."
   

• In 2018, following a shooting at Santa Fe High School, Abbott called on the Legislature to examine so-called “red flag” laws that would strip law-abiding citizens of their firearms, plunging them into a years-long battle against the court without any trial by jury or right to appeal. That proposal was quickly shot down by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick after a special committee hearing in which Second Amendment advocates vigorously opposed the proposal.
   

• This time, Abbott’s charges are considerably more broad, giving both chambers of the Legislature latitude on which issues to study. Chris McNutt, the executive director of Texas Gun Rights, says that brings concern.
   

• “Let me be clear: the pro-gun community, law-abiding citizens, will refuse to be punished for the actions of a deranged killer." –Chris McNutt, Texas Gun Rights

Texas Prosperity Plan Aims to Actually Cut Government Spending

• Ahead of the 2023 legislative session, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility released their Texas Prosperity Plan, a three-step initiative aiming to “go on offense” and halt the growth of Texas’ government. Katy Drollinger has the details.
   

• In their plan, TFR lays out three steps they believe will help restrict excessive spending while also reducing the size of Texas’ government. The steps included are: banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, eliminating the property tax, and adopting a “no-growth” budget.
   

• "For too long, conservatives in Texas have been playing defense when it comes to fiscal policy. We have been content with slowing the growth of property taxes, which have increased nearly 200 percent in the last 20 years. It is the same story with our budget. As policymakers continue to tell us to be happy that they have capped growth and ‘slowed it down,’ taxpayers have been told they should be content with the ‘historic reforms’ passed as they slowly drown in taxes.” –Tim Hardin, president of TFR

Controversial High School Health Text Tramples Parental Rights

• Under the guise of “comprehensive sex education,” school boards across the state are implementing a controversial new health curriculum for high schoolers—and many districts are keeping parents in the dark.
   
• Sydnie Henry reports on the new book approved by the State Board of Education, “Comprehensive Health Skills for High School” from the Goodheart-Willcox publishing company. 
   
• Among the curriculum:
  • HIV prevention (including suggesting the use of a sterile needle for medications, drugs, and tattoos)
     
  • Whether parents have to be notified if a minor tests positive for STDs (text claims physicians may notify parents, suggesting parents have limited rights to a minor’s healthcare)
     
  • Abortion (students are instructed to seek out "reproductive healthcare" facilities in their area, research a minor’s right to consent to reproductive healthcare services, and research whether parental notification is required to obtain these services).

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.