TEXAS VALUES UPDATE 03/07/2014

Submitted by: Nancy Battle

Values Voters Send Strong Message in Texas Primary This week’s Republican Primary Election saw pro-family conservative voters and the tea party send a strong message in race after race across Texas. With Greg Abbott easily topping the Governor’s race, as expected, much of the focus for the night was on two high-profile statewide races for Lt. Governor and Attorney General. In the Lt. Governor’s race, Dan Patrick topped incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a 4-way race, and in the AG’s race Ken Paxton topped Dan Branch in a 3-way race. Both races are now headed to a May 27 run-off. In the Texas Senate, longtime incumbent Sen. John Carona of Dallas was defeated by challenger Don Huffines. And in the Texas House, incumbents Charles Perry, Jonathan Strickland and Matt Schaefer all easily won their races while incumbents Bennet Ratliff, Lance Gooden, Ralph Sheffield, Linda-Harper Brown, and Diane Patrick where defeated by challengers Matt Rinaldi, Stuart Spitzer, Molly White, Rodney Anderson, and Tony Tinderholdt. Read more and view details on the May 27 Run-off Election.
Abortion Mills Continue to Close in Texas More good news for the pro-life movement in Texas. Two more abortion mills are closing in Texas because they can't meet basic safety standards. According to Life Site News: “the last two abortion clinics outside of big Texas cities will close Thursday because they can’t meet the restrictions placed on facilities under the state’s new abortion law. Whole Woman’s Health in Beaumont and McAllen will close after providing abortions in the areas for a decade. Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health, which operated five abortion clinics before the law went into effect, said the provision requiring physicians to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic was proving the most problematic." This brings the total abortion clinics closed since the passage of the Pro-Life Omnibus Law (HB 2) to 13. Thanks to the faithful work of the pro-life movement in Texas and strong pro-life bills, lives are being saved in Texas. Read more.
Texas Values Interview on Election Results This week, Texas Values President Jonathan Saenz was on the Chosen Generation radio program with Pastor Greg Young to talk about this week’s Primary Election results that saw values voters send a strong message in race after race across Texas. He also discussed the recent decision by an activist federal judge in San Antonio to strike down Texas’ Marriage laws. Listen to the interview.	Pastors, State Leaders Stand for Marriage This week, a group of pastors, elected officials, and state leaders held a press conference in Houston to stand for marriage and denounce the lawless ruling of a federal court seeking to redefine marriage in Texas. All people of faith, and especially pastors, must be willing to stand shoulder to shoulder for marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Marriage is the fundamental building block of society. Read about marriage decision.