On June 25, 2013, Davis began a filibuster to block the Senate Bill 5. She attempted to maintain the floor until midnight, when the Senate's special session ended, after which the state Senate would no longer be able to vote on the measure.[28] Following an 11-hour filibuster – three hours short of midnight – Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst ruled that Davis had gone off topic, forcing a vote on whether the filibuster could continue.[29] Despite Republican efforts, parliamentary inquiries from Leticia R. Van de Putte and others as well as raucous cheering and yelling from the political activists gathered in the Capitol carried on through midnight and the close of the special session.
just after 11.45pm, when Democratic senator Leticia Van de Putte asked what a female member had to do to be heard over a male senator, the public gallery erupted.
Amid nearly 15 minutes of sustained cheering, the senate president was unable to call the session to order.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g77gHlRYHpQ
**Confusion ruled as police began streaming through the
Capitol to arrest protesters and clear the crowd. The Texas Senate
website released a statement announcing that SB5 had passed – even as the Texas Tribune's Becca Aaronson reported
that an official Senate timestamp showed the final vote approving SB5
was taken at 12:02 A.M., two full minutes past the deadline. As the dust
settled, evidence emerged that Republicans had resorted to changing the timestamp in an attempt to fake the bill's passage.
But with a gallery still packed with Democratic
lawmakers and supporters – and upwards of 180,000 people around the
country watching a livestream of events online
– Republicans could sustain the fiction only so long. After three hours
of continued protests, disputes and meetings inside Senate offices,
state senators finally confirmed to the Texas Tribune the vote was invalid. The bill was dead – for now, at least.**
**excerpts from Rolling Stone magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment