Rick Perry is calling the TX legislature into another special session
Posted by
Brian (aka trav007)
Jun 26 '13, 15:20
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After epic Lone Star filibuster, Gov. Perry calls for new special session
By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Wednesday called for a second special session of the Texas Legislature to reconsider an abortion bill that failed following a filibuster � cancelling the small victory the bill's opponents thought they had won following a marathon filibuster by a state senator Tuesday night.
The new special session will start July 1 at 2 p.m. and will run for no more than 30 days.
"I am calling the Legislature back into session because too much important work remains undone for the people of Texas," Perry said in a statement. "Through their duly elected representatives, the citizens of our state have made crystal clear their priorities for our great state. Texans value life and want to protect women and the unborn."
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The move by Perry practically negates the effort of Wendy Davis, the Texas legislator who stood for 11 hours in pink sneakers on Tuesday night to filibuster the bill that would have set strict new abortion limits for the state. But Davis is a single mother and Harvard law grad who�s shown her grit before, and likely will again.
The Fort Worth Democrat�s one-woman effort to talk down the measure placing stringent restrictions on abortion clinics was ended after state senators ruled that Davis had made three rules infractions, allowing them to break the filibuster. Abortion rights activists had said that Senate Bill 5 would have effectively put an end to the practice in the state of Texas.
After Davis� filibuster was ended late Tuesday night, legislators voted on the bill -- despite calls of protesters who tried to scream down the final 15 minutes of the special legislative session. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst later acknowledged that the GOP-backed bill had missed its deadline.
Many Texans praised Davis' resolve.
�Our community is thankful for Wendy Davis� tenacity to fight for women�s health � her courage is recognized by women of Texas and her leadership reverberates across the country,� Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY�s List, said in a statement on Tuesday.
�Today was democracy in action,� Davis told a crowd of supporters after the failed attempt at a vote, the Austin American-Statesman reported. �You all are the voices we were speaking for from the floor.�
Nothing was certain for Democrats who wanted to squash the bill on Tuesday, but then, little about Davis' political career has been predictable.
At age 19, Davis was divorced and a single mother, raising her daughter in a trailer park in Tarrant County. She took two years of community college courses before transferring to Texas Christian University, according to her state legislature profile. She became the first person in her family to graduate from college, and went on to Harvard Law School.
- Click (usnews.nbcnews.com)
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