1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Republicans want guns at the polls because of threats they created. The Texas House passed legislation allowing Texas voters to start arming themselves at the polls, but there’s still time for the Senate to stop those bills from becoming law.   HB 1794 would allow anyone with a handgun to carry a concealed weapon at the polls. Another bill, co-authored by State Rep. Carrie Isaac (R), would allow concealed weapons to be carried only by election judges (who aren’t actually judges, but ordinary civilians who help run Texas’ voting sites).    “This legislation is a necessary response to the escalating threats of intimidation faced by election officials both nationally and within Texas,” said Isaac, who has supported claims about widespread election fraud that have led to those exact threats. That’s a bit rich don’t you think? This is insane. Politics are no doubt the number one agitator for bad behavior in this country right now. Now we can add the voting booth to places we might find ourselves involved in a mass shooting. This ‘solution’ to solve the escalating trend towards violence when we disagree is a direct result of GOP politics and the rhetoric used to turn us against one another. Or perhaps this is an even more extreme method to dissuade us from the polls on voting day. Nothing is too ridiculous to think about the GOP these days.   I hope the Senate finds some sanity and doesn’t allow this craziness to become law in Texas. I don’t want to go vote and be afraid of what my neighbors might do. We need less hate. Not more.