The Daily Texan on Gay Marriage

The Daily Texan, UT's student newspaper, published an op-ed urging Texas lawmakers to remove the provisions from the Texas State Constitution barring marital status to same-sex couples. This is in response to state Representatives Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) and Garnet Coleman's (D-Houston) proposals that would reverse the 2005 amendments. The editorial staff vehemently supports this proposal, and provides a strong argument in support of it using statistics, court decisions in other states, and reason. 

Some of the editorials strongest arguments include the following:

From a survey in 2012 administered from researchers at UT and the Texas Tribune showed 33% of Texas voters supported same-sex marriage, 33% supported civil unions, and 25% didn't want any state recognition for same-sex marriage. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Prop 8 in California last year, finding that it violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. The Daily Texan also points out that in March, the US Supreme Court is to review the ruling, and will most likely support that decision. 

Quoting the Circuit Court's ruling: 
"It is implausible to think that denying two men or two women the right to call themselves married could somehow bolster the stability of families headed by one man and one woman.”

These arguments are strong due to their factual information, as well as their use of reason and logic to back their opinion. I fully agree with their stance. The only thing negative I have to say about the editorial is that the likeliness of the extremely conservative Texas government to make any changes benefiting the gay community is highly unlikely anytime soon. 

School Security

On January 28th, KXAN published an article on proposed school safety measures, titled "Texas senators tackle school safety" . In response to the recent school shootings, the Texas Senate proposed several new measures that they believe will make schools safer. These measures include having teachers carry concealed handguns after undergoing state funded courses, or having at least one member of the faculty act as a "marshall", and a bill that would allow students to carry guns on college campuses. Another bill proposed would allow Texans to carry firearms publicly rather than concealed. While these new measures are not popular with Democrats, such as Sen. Kirk Watson, who is opposed to these measures, both sides can agree that making our schools safer should be a priority. Other ideas include having metal detectors installed or more security officers at schools. Another proposal includes possibly raising taxes to provide more money to go towards school security. While I definitely lean more on the side of having more security officers at schools rather than put guns in our teachers' hands, I do think this article is highly informative and gives both sides of the issue a voice.