California vs Texas – The Real Story
The real story behind California’s recently announced ban on travel to Texas goes beyond the temporary prohibition of state employees being allowed to attend conferences and other events in our state. I say temporary because no one really believes that California state employees will never be allowed to travel to Texas again.
And no one believes that we in Texas are going to change our laws to suit liberal California and Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown. Instead, the travel ban is the latest chapter in a much bigger story.
Freedom to Serve Children Act
California announced the travel ban in response to the passage of the Freedom to Serve Children Act which expands the number of organizations in Texas that are recruiting foster care parents to include those who believe placing children with gay or lesbian couples violates their religious beliefs. It does not exclude any one or any group.
Finding high quality foster homes is an urgent need in Texas and has been a personal priority for me and for many others in the Legislature. The bottom line is that this law will expand the pool of potential foster parents.
Some may agree and others may not, but the point is, in Texas, we decide what our laws will be. We don’t buckle under to the radical extremist left, even if they are flying the official flag of the state of California.
I predicted this earlier this year
The same radical left that pushed the travel ban on the foster care legislation has also threatened to retaliate against Texas because of our passage of the Ban on Sanctuary Cities. And, of course, retaliation and boycotts have been a theme of the opposition against the Texas Privacy Act — dismissively called the “bathroom bill” by the left-wing media.
When it comes to protecting our conservative principles and values, the strategy of the radical left appears to be saying — we know the people of Texas agree with you so we will get the left-wing liberals who live in other states to come out against you.
I have said repeatedly that if we cave on the issue of privacy and back off, the threats of boycotts won’t stop. California’s action on the foster care bill proves I was right. We can only guess what the left-wing liberals would target Texas for next — our pro-life policies, oil production, support for gun rights and the Second Amendment?
There is no question that there is broad support for these conservative issues. Just one quick example. If you look closely at a poll released last week by the liberal Texas Tribune, you will find that, despite hundreds of negative news stories about the privacy bill, support for legislation which requires men and women to have separate designated restrooms, has increased dramatically — over 30 points among core Republicans. Opposition is low and about the same as it was months ago when the debate began.
Assault on Texas Values
We must stand strong against this assault on our liberty and our Texas values. These threats have had near zero impact on any city or state that fought back. We’ve added 9 million people to Texas since 2000 and they are still coming including many conservatives and business owners from California.
Texas is ranked #1 as the best state to do business by CEO magazine.
One last point. Despite what they say in the liberal media, the Foster Care Bill and the Texas Privacy Act do not discriminate against anyone. Every Texan is free to live their life as they choose. We are simply standing up for religious freedom and the common sense values held by the overwhelming majority of Texans. As your Lt Governor I can assure you I have no intention of kowtowing to the radical left and I will never quit fighting for our conservative values and principles.
May God continue to bless the greatest place on earth – Texas. Dan Patrick
