Fear the tampon
[Photo/meme credit: Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog]
Last night the Texas Senate passed some of the most restrictive anti-Choice legislation in the country. It will reduce the number of clinics where Texas women can obtain a safe and LEGAL abortion to just five for the entire state.
At 2:22 p.m. yesterday, Burnt Orange Report reported that women were being forced to discard their tampons and pads before entering the legislative gallery. I’m not kidding:
Women are being forced to throw out tampons and maxi pads to enter the Senate gallery, which has been confirmed by DPS.That’s right: menstruating women are being denied entry to the Senate gallery unless they throw out their supplies.
Additionally, diabetics are asked to throw out their sugar packets.
However, people with concealed handgun licenses are allowed to bypass long lines to enter the Capitol itself through the expedited CHL entrance, and per a DPS officer, if a person has a CHL, they can take their gun into the gallery.
Guns yes, tampons no.
These Texas Republicans are a bizarre group: unafraid of handguns but terrified of tampons and sugar packs.
According to the Associated Press, it wasn’t just tampons they were worried about:
Troopers tossed tampons, perfume bottles, moisturizers, pencils and other things into the garbage. The leader of the chamber’s Democrats, Sen. Kirk Watson of Austin, later said he intervened to stoop troopers from confiscating feminine hygiene products from women seeking to watch the debate.
The fight against the War on Women in Texas and elsewhere will not end with this giant step backwards. As Wendy Davis said at the post-vote rally early this morning, “The fight for the future of Texas is just beginning.”
Katherine Haenschen at Burnt Orange Report summed it up well:
Overall the mood is largely energized. People were talking about next steps and registering voters, and what we need to do to elect leaders who respect women’s rights.This is just the beginning. We may have lost this legislative battle, but it has sparked a movement that will be instrumental in taking Texas back for the people of our state.
