United States: Controversial New Laws Come Into Force In Texas
In Texas, 666 laws passed by Parliament come into force on September 1.
Getty Images via AFP - TAMIR KALIFA
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
This September 1, many laws passed last spring come into force in Texas.
Symbolic laws of the struggle between the Republican camp, heir to Donald Trump's ideology, and the Democratic camp, a minority in this state.
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With our correspondent in Houston,
Thomas Harms
Among the 666 new laws that come into effect on September 1, there is first
the carrying of weapons without a license
which applies to all adults over 21 years of age if they do not have a criminal record.
Arms sales have exploded during the pandemic, but this new law is criticized by law enforcement officials who fear a proliferation of firearms.
There is also
the law prohibiting abortion after 6 weeks
, when many Texans then do not know they are pregnant.
But the text was suspended by an Austin judge who blocked its entry into force.
The Supreme Court was also seized of this law, which could call into question the right to abortion in all the United States.
The new education law prohibits speaking of history from the point of view of slaves, and obliges teachers to balance their lessons by speaking on an equal footing of the Ku Klux Klan or Black Live Matters.
A new text also criminalizes any demonstrator who blocks a road, and thus prevents an emergency vehicle from passing and punishes wild camping or the homeless with a fine of $ 500.
► To read also: United States: in Texas, the Republicans multiply the vote of controversial laws
Among these 666 laws, there is also the obligation to play the anthem at each sporting event, the financial penalization of cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants which reduce the budget of their police.
But the texts passed during the ordinary session of the Texas Parliament also include less controversial laws such as the extension of the right to use marijuana for medical purposes or the prohibition of the excessive use of force by the police, including we've heard a lot about
the death of George Floyd
. And the obligation for the police to wear a camera that rotates constantly on each intervention.
The electoral law,
which had pushed the elected Democrats to flee Texas this summer
, was finally voted on Tuesday.
But it must first be signed by the governor before it can come into force.
Criticized by Donald Trump, the mail-in votes and their demands will, as of September 1, be tracked online by the Republican-led Texas executive.
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