Capital Tonight: Guns, teachers and women’s health
Lawmakers took an early weekend, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of big news in Texas politics.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
After a full day in court, a Texas judge denied Planned Parenthood’s request to rejoin the state's Women’s Health Program. This was just the latest go-round in court for the nonprofit, which hasn't been receiving any state funding since the New Year as a result of action lawmakers took last session.
Earlier in the day, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made waves by calling for gun a training program for Texas teachers. Speaking at a Texas Public Policy Foundation luncheon, he suggested school districts could opt in to the program, and choose which faculty members would be armed. He stressed that state funding would be necessary, because standard training for a conceal-and-carry license would not be sufficient.
"As someone who's on his third renewal of my concealed handgun license in Texas, but has gone through the USA's Air Force in weapons training, and I was in the CIA, and I was posted abroad, and I’ve gone through extensive weapons training — 8 hours of instruction and two hours on the range is not sufficient."
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
The biggest class of freshman Representatives in decades has descended on the State Capitol — 41 to be exact. Over the next five months, we're going to be taking a closer look at what kind of mark they're making. This week, we talk to Republican Rep. Jason Villalba. Click the video above to see more.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
We also heard from the Dallas Morning News’s Christy Hoppe and Corrie MacLaggan with Reuters, plus KUT’s Ben Philpott as part of our new Reporter Roundtable segment.