Single Sex Marriage…..Yet Again.

Why is single sex marriage still illegal in Texas?  I believe that if you would ask someone what sort of political problem we still have in Texas, they would not say single sex marriage.  This is one of those topics that lost interest over time.  Just like The People’s Texas said, why should we only gives certain benefits to a heterosexual couple?  Single sex marriage is important but Texas looks so behind and is taking so much time that could be used for other major problems to solve something that has already been decided by the people.  

The People’s Texas made a very important point about marriage.  It is a basic human right that should be allowed for any person.  If we really think about “human rights”, there have been many that allow us to do ignorant things, but why not get married with the person you love?  

It makes no sense to me and to others that Texas has been taking a long time to solve this topic.  Like The People’s Texas said “...it is time to look forward and address issues that affect Texas and the great people that live within this state, instead of declining the right for people to become married.”  We as a state have to look at the big picture here like my college stated, the government can’t afford to fight for a battle that has already been won by the other side.  Many states have allowed single sex marriage to be legal, now it’s all up to Texas.   

Covering Abortion

Free will is the ability to act at one’s own discretion, but that’s not always the case in certain situations.  We are the one’s who decide what’s best for us, but what is the “best” we actually need?  What makes it ok for our decision to be taken into account?  With these questions in mind we can look at the topic of abortion which has been a very popular topic around the nation because not all of us agree to understand how this could be good for some but bad to others.  

On Tuesday May 5th, a bill was passed that prohibited Health Insurance coverage for abortions, not including those with medical emergencies.  Senator Larry Taylor proposed the bill and passed with a 21-10 vote which gave Texas the “choice” to pay for someone's abortion.   Given the fact that we all now have the option to pay for “helping” or “ruining” a person’s life, it raises the thought of what will people actually do with this new bill?  

We have the option, the will, to choose not to help these cases of abortion by deciding where our money will go, but what if this was about vasectomies, a category that most of us just see as medical.  Going back to the previous questions, it seems only fair that we see abortion as helping someone who can’t afford to give a life to a child.  Many couples don’t know what’s best for them but those that do need a little help from the rest of us.  I think we can agree that this bill work like a filter, it takes away the unworkable cases and only leaves those with “medical emergencies”.  But shouldn’t it be up to us to decide weather to bring a life into this world?  It seems like the Republican party has it all figured out again for us or maybe  just a small part of us.  These decisions should be personal, and shouldn’t have to be filtered or put into certain categories.   

Why Take Away a DREAM?

There have been several bills and laws that have tried to stop the DREAM act, and the Texas Tribune made sure to cover it.  A couple of the most obvious reasons I’ve heard since this act took process are; “we’re using money for the undocumented”, “a free education is given and not taken advantage of” and the old “it has seemed unfair to U.S. citizens” (mostly students).  

I agree with Texas: All or Nothing when it comes to the idea that we should not be messing with someone’s education.  We’re not just hurting that person, we’re hurting the whole state, the whole world for stopping the knowledge intake of someone who could have made a change.  

The debate regarding the Texas Dream Act did bring up a good point.  Many of these students who used the act from 2001-2006 were not considered undocumented immigrants, giving Senators something to talk about.  I would not expect them to have something nice to say about this because it has been true in several cases that the DREAM Act has been used for something else, rather than getting an education.  Being a Dreamer myself I do understand why these comments and questions are coming up and messing with the only opportunity of education we have, but if we don’t question certain cases, how are we going to know if this is actually benefiting us? Also, the act has not been seen as fair for the other half of the students, but that is because the majority of these Dreamers come from families that are characterized as minorities.  These are student who come from tough worlds and seek to be the first ones to go to a University from their family.  Some financial bends and twists have to be made for them just like how certain laws benefit only groups with financial problems.  So why stop giving a student the education they need? It seems only fair to help everyone.

Permission to Work

We have seen many students work through their classes without worrying about their financial status.  To be more specific, many of these students have been given the right to work for being US citizens, but what about those who are not?  Here is where things get a little more complicated.  The same student that attends class every day, does their work and pushed a little more than others has been categorized as an undocumented student but for a while now.  The DACA program has opened up a door for these student to be allowed to work just like many of their peers.  After the bill was passed, there came a rule that stated that DACA students would need to reapply for their working permit.  

Many Texan students have struggled with financial problems and to make them redo all their paperwork and pay around $600 for everything seems like we are pushing them away from something that could make their lives a little easier.  Students from UT or community colleges now need to be careful for future deportation if they fail to get approved again after 2 years for a working permit.  Instead of putting these students on the hot spot or even taking them away from their studies, Texas should allow their students to have a permanent working permit to save them  money and stress.  It would seem only fair to grant this option only to fully committed student, and to have them checked by administration.  Texas should support them in every way and help them all equally when it comes to education and financial stability.  Like the No Child Left Behind Act, we should not leave behind student who can’t afford to pay school because of a working permit.  If they want to learn then grant them the right to work a lifetime without excuses.  

Main Problem: Guns!

Despite all of our problems that have caused millions of dollars and have several raised issues, the Texas Legislature has decided to take the one topic so many of us have many questions about; guns.  The Burnt Orange Report published the #TXleg Update: Guns! Guns! Guns! by Chaille Jolink were they said that a new law would allow concealed handgun license holders to carry weapons in public and would also allow student to do the same.  Given the major shock I had after reading this, the article was intended to be read by students and their parents since the law allowed this kind of danger in public locations.  The author provided a very personal opinion on this topic but also a few tweets from reporters that allowed us to see the major importance of this law.  In my opinion, she should have added a few more comments from the Tea Party because they were the ones that approved of this new legislature.  She made it very clear at the beginning of the article that she disagreed with this problem because there are so many other things we could be focusing on, but yet the Government is still allowing citizens the option to carry something that could bring even more chaos.  Like the author, I disagree that this should even be a law to approve based on past campus accidents involving guns.  We should focus on more problems that don’t involve someone carrying a weapon in public.  This is common sense; guns are wrong.  

Illegal Students vs. Education

We know as a state that education is far beyond a simple problem.  Education costs millions and millions of dollars in any area around the community, so what makes it right to stop offering financial help to those students who are called “immigrants”?  

The Texas Tribune published an article; McRaven: Keep In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students to allow us to understand that if we have been paying for these students education for a few years now, what makes it a good idea to stop offering assistance after they graduate from high school?  McRaven said that it’s his job to “educate the young men and women of Texas”, even students who are labeled as immigrants.