Texas Lege: Blank checks for guns, back of the hand for gun violence; ditto on fentanyl issues

 

That's just one of several takeaways from last week's work by the Lege, courtesy of the Trib, but it's a biggie.

The House voted to REQUIRE schools to have armed guards (as well as every classroom to have a panic button). Some version of this will surely pass the Senate and the final bill be signed into law by Strangeabbott. The Trib notes that both houses continue to give the back of the hand to Uvalde families who want the sales age for semiautomatics raised to 21. The Trib doesn't even mention lack of discussion about a serious red flag law.

==

A parallel is playing out on drugs, where both houses are passing "tough on crime" bills while Sen. Joan Huffman continues to block a House bill to get fentanyl test strips legalized. As the story notes, it's weird because she's actually been supportive of other addiction help. And, addiction support groups are right; murder charges for fentanyl distributors and others will just make low-level dealers, and users who know  them, even more leery of law enforcement. More War on Drugs stupidity.