As a part of his continued crackdown on free speech, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday threatened to withhold transportation funding from municipalities in the event that they don’t erase “political ideologies” from their streets.
The Republican governor mentioned he’s looking for elimination of “symbols, flags or different markings on any roads that convey social, political or ideological messages” to make sure cities adjust to federal and state site visitors security legal guidelines.
Though, the assertion doesn’t particularly point out LGBTQ+ satisfaction crosswalks corresponding to these in San Antonio, Houston and different cities, it’s clear they’re a goal. Abbott has repeatedly championed efforts to strip rights from LGBTQ+ Texans and has repeatedly railed in opposition to “wokeness” and variety efforts.
Abbott’s warning additionally seems to emulate a menace issued by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a fellow MAGA loyalist, who threatened to yank transportation funding from cities that didn’t eradicate rainbow crosswalks and different avenue artwork. Some Florida communities are combating that order.
“Texans anticipate their taxpayer {dollars} for use properly, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,” Abbott mentioned. “At the moment, I directed the Texas Division of Transportation to make sure Texas counties and cities take away any and all political ideologies from our streets. To maintain Texans transferring safely and free from distraction, we should keep a protected and constant transportation community throughout Texas.”
Abbott added that any metropolis refusing to conform would “face penalties together with the withholding or denial of state and federal highway funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.”
In an announcement to Axios, Houston Metropolis Council member Abbie Kamin, whose district contains that metropolis’s rainbow crosswalk, pushed again at Abbott’s assertion, calling it a political stunt.
“He’s losing time fiddling with unhinged stunts and obsessing about paint colours, in the meantime over 1,000,000 Texans might lose their well being care protection, grocery costs are skyrocketing, we’re prone to flooding and excessive climate,” Kamin informed the information web site.
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