1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am extremely concerned about plans to send Texas National Guard troops to what are planned as peaceful demonstrations by Texans exercising their First Amendment right to peacefully protest across the state Saturday. Deploying Texas National Guard troops when there is no emergency is dramatic overreach and utterly unnecessary. The National Guard is used in dire emergency. This is not an emergency. It is not an insurrection. It is not an invasion. These are peaceful protests, and local law enforcement is capable of handling any bad actors who would use the protest as a cover for vandalism or theft. What happens when one of these troops shoots and American citizen on American soil? Shoots a Texan on Texas soil? Are you prepared for a Kent State-like scenario? More dangerously, deploying the military in this manner normalizes the idea that active-duty troops can be used on American streets against American citizens. One expects such police-state tactics in Russia, China, Hungary, and Venezuela. But in the United States? In Texas? My wife and I strongly urge you to block any use of the Texas National Guard except in gravest emergency. Saturday’s planned protests are not even remotely emergencies.