Our Comms team has assembled some more talking points. Many of you expressed how helpful these were previously and we hope these will also be helpful.
Talking points:
Constitutional Carry: Recent Developments
Both constitutional carry bills, HB 1927 and SB 2224, have been sent to them.
We like both bills, but we prefer HB 1927 be our preferred vehicle to get Constitutional Carry done.
Amendments will be added to the bill that will make LEO feel more comfortable and for them to gain more support. Lt. Gov. Patrick has come out in support of them. Need to see final language on those amendments.
Arguments for - Texans are already allowed to walk down the street with a long gun(rifle or shotgun), but cannot carry a pistol. - Texans have the right to defend themselves, and 20 other states already have this as the law of the land.
This law does not effect the current background check process that any citizen who wants to purchase a firearm would need to go through. Quotes from Chairman West to cite - Constitutional Carry is a Republican Party of Texas legislative priority. The Texas State Senate is controlled by a 18-13 majority by Republicans. Twenty other states have passed constitutional carry, including Vermont. Yes, Bernie Sanders has constitutional Carry and I don’t.” - “Why is it that we have to ask for a permit for our constitutional rights?”
Arguments against - Training is important and we should require training to help raise gun safety. - Democratic state lawmaker, Joe Moody of El Paso, criticized the measure, citing the deadly mass-shooting in his city two years ago. “I’m not anti-gun, I’m a gun owner like a lot of us here. But I’m also like most Texans” - Several major police chiefs have come out against this legislation. Counter point bring up that the police cannot teleport to your side in an emergency. A well-armed society is a polite society and allows people to defend themselves.
Election Integrity Recent Developments:
HB 6 is in calendars.
Arguments For: - Will clarify election law and not allow local officials to change election law by fiat. - Push back on any comparison with Jim Crowe or a goal to disenfranchise. - The bill wants to make sure ballot harvesting does not occur and that every legal vote is counted. - Having faith in our election system is paramount. - Simply provides more oversight to mail-in ballots and drive through election sites. - Prohibition of mailing out unsolicited ballots is major fraud prevention. Over 70% of other 1st World democracies do not allow this practice over concerns of fraud. - Not a new proposal, legislation similar to this failed in the 2019 legislative session. - Democrats including Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton said our election system was subject to fraud and Russian Intervention in 2016. How can you argue about strengthening our voting system when both parties agree there are threats to the integrity of secure voting? - It is not racist to want a more secure vote, Blacks and Latinos broke in historic numbers for Republicans in 2020, with counties in the RGV swinging by 30-40%. - Americans of all races want a secure election, and insinuating that Latinos and Blacks are not capable of requesting a ballot or voting a person is a racist belief in and of itself.
Quotes from Chairman West to cite: - Election integrity is the number one legislative priority of the Republican Party of Texas. It should, without a doubt, be the number one legislative priority for the entire country. - It is imperative that our state, Texas, enacts the strongest guidelines and laws for ensuring that we execute honest and fair elections in the Lone Star State.
Arguments Against: - Under the proposed bill, officials would no longer be able to send out unsolicited ballots.
Democrats, like Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, say that will especially deter Hispanic and black Texans from voting. - He said another change would also impact voters who qualify to vote by mail. Usually, those people receive a notice every year notifying them that they have to renew their ballot by mail.
Gender Modification
Recent Developments: SB 1311 is on the Senate Intent Calendar. Should have a second reading/vote in the Senate today. HB 1399 is still in calendars.
Arguments For
- Children should not undergo life altering surgery when they do not understand the consequences.
Chemically castrating children and denying them access to puberty is wrong and will lead to many long term issues. - Great study about how the suicide rate goes up for people who go through sex altering surgery: https://www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/sex-reassignment-doesnt-work-here-the-evidence - Sex Reassignment Doesn’t Work. www.heritage.org - We are not stopping adults from undergoing procedures, but are protecting children from being medically abused.
Quotes from Chairman West to cite: - Let’s ensure we are using the proper language based upon science and not popular culture, nor the lexicon of the progressive socialist left. We are talking about a mental condition called gender dysphoria, as described by the American Psychiatric Association. The culture today likes to create language that makes this issue more acceptable, palatable, transgenderism. - It is imperative to assert that what a legally recognized adult seeks to do with their body is not the issue here. What we are concerned with are the hormonal therapies, puberty blockers, and genitalia surgeries being conducted on children, in some cases as early as eight years of age. The American Psychiatric Association has gone so far as to classify this very disconcerting practice as child abuse. This is not something we should be allowing, or tolerating, in the Lone Star State. - Needless to say, there are very coercive and intimidating efforts from the LGBTQ+ community, but one has to ask: do they not care about the mental health of our children? Do they not care about the physical well-being and normal progression of growth for our children? When did society start to introduce this confusion into the minds of our children?
Arguments Against - Democrats are framing this as denying children access to healthcare. - The Democrats say these children are being their true selves. - Counter point we won’t let children drink booze or take drugs but they are “mature” enough to deny themselves puberity and have their genitals surgically removed. - Democrats are framing this as a civil rights issue that we are denying children.
Thanks,
Brandon Moore
Republican Party of Texas – Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director
512-879-4053 (office)
512-887-4369 (cell)
Thank you for posting. It gives us a start on what we can say.