Texas House Floor erupts.

[Averageman]

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texa...lative-session
A shoving match and war of words nearly turned into a fistfight on the Texas House floor Monday, the final day of a bitterly contentious 140-day legislative session.
Those rules flew out the House door when a group of protesters crashed the chamber's gallery Monday, chanting opposition to the so-called sanctuary cities ban. Legislators approved a bill this year that would force local governments to enforce federal immigration laws, what opponents call a show-me-your-papers law.
The Democrats were enraged. A shoving match ensued, and lawmakers accused one another of making violent threats. Rinaldi said a Democrat eventually threatened to "come get" him. Rep. Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, who didn't witness the initial altercation, said he later heard Rinaldi say, "I'll put a bullet in your head," to the Democrat he alleged was menacing.
In a prepared statement, Rinaldi said he called ICE officials to report the protesters who held signs that declared they were unauthorized immigrants. The protesters became so noisy that security officials escorted many of them from the House gallery. Rinaldi said that he rebuked his colleagues for "inciting" the protesters, "which are illegal," and that the House members threatened him physically.
"I made it clear that if he attempted to, in his words, 'get me,' I would shoot him in self defense," Rinaldi said in the statement he shared on Twitter. "I am currently under DPS protection."
This is the reaction to outlawing Sanctuary Cities.
That the legality of thumbing your nose at the Federal and State Government is questionable at best, that they now resort to "Storming the Bastille" with illegal immigrants speaks volumes.

[MegademiC]

So they are extremely upset that we don't want them to violate our laws, and they show displeasure by violating our laws.

It's like going to dinner at someone's house, uninvited (but they let you stay), and putting your feet on the table. When they ask you to put them down, you slap them.

Get the hell outta here. This isn't Mexico, and you have no say.

[26 Inf]

The Democrats were enraged. A shoving match ensued, and lawmakers accused one another of making violent threats. Rinaldi said a Democrat eventually threatened to "come get" him. Rep. Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, who didn't witness the initial altercation, said he later heard Rinaldi say, "I'll put a bullet in your head," to the Democrat he alleged was menacing.

Rinaldi said that he rebuked his colleagues for "inciting" the protesters, "which are illegal," and that the House members threatened him physically.

"I made it clear that if he attempted to, in his words, 'get me,' I would shoot him in self defense," Rinaldi said in the statement he shared on Twitter. "I am currently under DPS protection."

Agree 100% with the law re sanctuary cities.

Curious as to what the threat to 'come get' him ensued - fists, firearms, etc.? Reason I ask is because it is Texas and in every Western I've read, when the bad guy ain't packing iron, the good guy hands his iron to the loafer sitting in front of the saloon and kicks the bad guy's ass with his fists.

Seriously, I would never publicly say I would shoot a specific person, whether it be in self-defense our otherwise. He seems to be blowing off steam.

[Averageman]

Agree 100% with the law re sanctuary cities.

Curious as to what the threat to 'come get' him ensued - fists, firearms, etc.? Reason I ask is because it is Texas and in every Western I've read, when the bad guy ain't packing iron, the good guy hands his iron to the loafer sitting in front of the saloon and kicks the bad guy's ass with his fists.

Seriously, I would never publicly say I would shoot a specific person, whether it be in self-defense our otherwise. He seems to be blowing off steam.

The drama is getting rather dramatic aint it?
Stories going back and forth, one claiming he was threatened and replied with "If you come "Get Me", I will put a bullet in your head."
Not smooth at all, but it's ramping up steadily.
I'm not sure how this is even a debate, you become a legislature, then you are bound to follow the law, you don't like it change it. Bringing a couple of hundred illegal aliens to make your point only means ICE knows where to go to round up a days work.

[TAZ]

As far as I can tell. The DPS should have detained all the protestors that were disrupting the legislative session and were in all likelihood guilty if criminal trespass after being asked to leave. Then checked their immigration status per law and detained any for ICE. The rest should have been slapped with as many felony charges as possible. Assuming the protesters were actually disrupting the legislative process that is.

[26 Inf]

The drama is getting rather dramatic aint it?

Yes. And what really pisses me off is that this whole immigration thing could have been handled in a more humane, less disruptive manner 20 or 30 years ago. Instead those that made money off cheap immigrant labor enticed our government to let it slide, only paying lip service to the problem.

[Dienekes]

Yes. And what really pisses me off is that this whole immigration thing could have been handled in a more humane, less disruptive manner 20 or 30 years ago. Instead those that made money off cheap immigrant labor enticed our government to let it slide, only paying lip service to the problem.

Ah, yes--the old kicking the can down the road ploy. If only there had been some way of knowing what would happen.

[Frailer]

As far as I can tell. The DPS should have detained all the protestors that were disrupting the legislative session and were in all likelihood guilty if criminal trespass after being asked to leave. Then checked their immigration status per law and detained any for ICE. The rest should have been slapped with as many felony charges as possible. Assuming the protesters were actually disrupting the legislative process that is.

I think the rest should have been given a gold star for getting off their dead asses and taking action on an issue they feel strongly about instead of staying home and posting memes on Facebook or ranting on forums.

I applaud *all* protestors who do their thing without resorting to violence, whether I agree with their stance or not. It's the American Way, after all.

In this particular case the protestors acted in a more grown-up fashion than the legislators.

[Averageman]

I think the rest should have been given a gold star for getting off their dead asses and taking action on an issue they feel strongly about instead of staying home and posting memes on Facebook or ranting on forums.

I applaud *all* protestors who do their thing without resorting to violence, whether I agree with their stance or not. It's the American Way, after all.

In this particular case the protestors acted in a more grown-up fashion than the legislators.

I'm not sure;
Those rules flew out the House door when a group of protesters crashed the chamber's gallery Monday, chanting opposition to the so-called sanctuary cities ban.
When it gets to the point where "In your face" is the rule of the day, this kind of behavior is the norm.


http://ismboard.com/2017/05/30/heate...use-floor.html
As the proceedings started, hundreds of seats in the gallery were filled and the demonstrators were wearing red T-shirts that read "Lucha", or "Fight".
The protests became so loud that the House had to take a break from activities and the Department of Public Safety chose to clear the protesters from the gallery
And from the other side...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.bb8670f9d0b3
The protesters were apparently chanting and waving signs against Senate Bill 4, the controversial Texas legislation that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law this month. It bans sanctuary cities, allows police to question anyone they detain about their immigration status, and compels local officials to comply with federal requests to detain individuals in state and local law enforcement facilities. The law was passed amid a national conversation about immigration enforcement priorities and promises from the Trump administration to aggressively pursue and deport undocumented immigrants.
Signing SB4 into law was seen as a big victory for Texas Republicans, who had tried unsuccessfully to pass a ban on sanctuary cities in each legislative session since 2011. Texas Democrats reacted to the bill’s passage with alarm; one lawmaker went on a hunger strike.
So how in this Country do we get to the point where we have Sanctuary Cities?
We had Governor Bush and the Governor Perry for a total of fifteen years and it is on their watch that this happened. I honestly feel that Governor Abbot is only doing the legal and just thing by forcing the hand of these Mayor and Law Enforcement Officials to take legal action.

[Frailer]

So how in this Country do we get to the point where we have Sanctuary Cities?

IMHO we get there by--as others here have already noted--kicking the can down the road for so long that the problem
becomes near-insurmountable and by arriving at solutions based more on emotion than reason. With regard to the latter, the "sanctuary" crowd and the "build the wall" crowd have a great deal in common.

I don't agree with the idea of "sanctuary cities," nor am I ideologically opposed to the Texas bill in question, but I'm not so firmly fixed in my opinion that I can't see there are some very practical reasons to keep local law enforcement out of the immigration enforcement business.