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Texas Tag

In May, Texas and 12 other states filed suit against the Obama administration when it issued a transgendered bathroom policy across the nation in public schools. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor put a freeze on the policy in August when he found the "administration did not follow proper procedures for notice and comment in issuing the guidelines." Well, today, Judge O'Connor rejected the "administration's request to narrow a nationwide injunction banning enforcement" of the policy." He made a few changes to his original ruling, but now the Department of Education cannot "bring new cases enforcing transgender students' access" to these "intimate facilities."

As we've blogged previously, Governor Perry is on this season of 'Dancing With the Stars'. So far, he's doing alright; hasn't been cut. In his latest DWTS appearance, Perry and his partner danced to the themes song from Green Acres. And here's a little taste: May...

When Senator Cornyn ran for re-election in 2014 he received a bevy of endorsements, but one was missing -- that of Texas' Junior Senator Cruz. Cornyn easily won the primary and went on to win the general election handily, maintaining his status as the number two ranking Senate Republican. On CNN Thursday, Cornyn indicated he has zero plans to endorse his Senate companion. Sure, it's only 2016, but Cornyn's numerous attempts to bring Cruz into the fold were repeatedly rebuffed. Their relationship was further strained when Cornyn killed a would-be Cruz filibuster over the debt ceiling.

Last year, students at the University of Texas organized a "Cocks for Glocks" rally to protest the upcoming implementation of Texas "Campus Carry" laws. We weren't sure if it was a publicity stunt or a thing that would actually happen. Almost a year later and it's a thing that actually happened. Last October I blogged:
Longhorn alumna Jessica Jin plans to protest campus carry in a somewhat unconventional way — by organizing a “Campus (Dildo) Carry” protest at the University’s Austin campus. Jin graduated from the University of Texas last year with a degree in violin performance. Campus carry, a law that extends concealed carry privileges to license holders on university campuses, was signed into law by Texas Governor Abbott this year. Using the social media hashtag, #CocksNotGlocks, participants are encouraged to wield dildos to demonstrate the absurdity of campus carry. Yeah, we don’t get it either.

Dumbest movie ever or THE dumbest movie ever? Is That a Gun in Your Pocket is set to hit theaters in September takes aim at Texas and our love of guns. The film's official website provides the following synopsis:
If there's one thing that the men of Rockford Texas love as much as their women, it's their guns. But when a gun incident at a neighborhood school spurs one stay at home mom, Jenna (Andrea Anders), to rethink Rockford's obsessive gun culture, life in this idyllic town is turned upside-down.
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In May, Texas, joined by twelve other states filed suit against the Obama Administration who'd recently issued a national transgendered bathroom use policy for publicly funded schools. A mixed bag of states joined Texas in legal action, those states included: Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona's Department of Education, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Utah, and Georgia. “This represents just the latest example of the current administration’s attempts to accomplish by executive fiat what they couldn’t accomplish through the democratic process in Congress," said Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. Late Sunday, a federal judge granted the temporary injunction. Reuters reports:

Texas and 12 other states have asked a federal judge to delay Obama's demand that all public schools allow transgender children use whichever bathroom they want:
"We will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at the time. "This goes against the values of so many people," he added. "This has everything to do with keeping the federal government out of local issues."

The assassination of five Dallas cops last July left Dallas, TX, and the whole nation in shock. NFL team Dallas Cowboys wanted to honor the fallen cops with an Arm-In-Arm decal on their helmets, but the league said the team must remove the decals once preseason starts. https://twitter.com/spotcowboys/status/763930522963746816

A federal judge has weakened the Texas voter ID law while the U.S. Court of Appeals suspended a ruling that eliminated parts of Wisconsin's law. Activists have gone after voter laws recently as the presidential election nears. They insist the poor and minority voters somehow cannot obtain an ID.

Ahmed Mohamed, the White House's favorite builder of clocks, has returned to the United States and he's suing his old Texas town of Irving over the bomb mix-up. NBC News reports:
'Clock Boy' Ahmed Mohamed Sues Texas City for Accusing Him of Making Bomb The young tinkerer from Texas who was arrested last year for bringing a homemade alarm clock to school — and was later invited to the White House and Google's world headquarters — has filed a federal lawsuit against his former hometown, accusing it of violating his civil rights as part of a wider pattern of discrimination against African-American students.

The Dallas Police Department lost five officers on July 7, but instead of people backing away from the job, the department still receives applications from people to join the force. Officials received 467 applications days after the attack with more coming in each week.

As of today, Texas' Campus Carry law is effective. Texas' law is not a blanket invite for any and all gun owners to bring firearms on college campuses. Only Concealed Carry permit-holders are allowed to pack heat on campus (minimum age to do obtain a CHL in 21), and even then, certain buildings are off limits. Open carry is not permitted. Private universities were allowed to opt-out of the law, and most did, including Baylor, Texas Christian University, Rice University and Southern Methodist University.