Abbott’s Solution To Gun Violence? Chuck Norris

Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety on Wednesday rolled out their solution to school shootings: Chuck Norris. But Walker, Texas Ranger won’t be kicking butt and taking names. He’s recording public service announcements to promote awareness of the iWatchTexas community reporting system.

The PSA will air on television in media markets across the state starting August 17. iWatchTexas is a “partnership between communities and law enforcement that makes it easier for the public to report suspicious activity in the state, including criminal, terroristic, or school safety-related threats,” according to the governor’s press release.

In the video, the 82-year old actor states that he “loves bringing bad guys to justice.”

“But law enforcement,” he continues “can’t stop the bad guys if they don’t know who they are. That’s why I wanted to tell you about iWatch, a website, phone app and service that allows Texans to report suspicious activity.”

But, since Gov. Abbott and most Texas Republicans are adamantly opposed to red flag laws, what, exactly, will happen if someone reports suspicious activity? Will the police pay a visit to a person suspected of “suspicious activity” and attempt to nicely persuade them to not vaporize innocent children with an AR-15?

But now we see that Gov. Abbott has a plan to address the concerns of Texas parents.

“Parents, teachers, and students deserve to feel safe and secure returning to school this fall, and who better to help spread the message about the iWatchTexas reporting system than ‘Texas Ranger’ Chuck Norris,” said Governor Abbott. “We ask Texans to utilize iWatchTexas to report nearby suspicious activity to help our law enforcement quickly and effectively respond to any criminal, terroristic, or school safety threats. If you see something, say something and together we can protect our children, teachers, and communities.”

“There is nothing more important than keeping our schools and communities safe,” said Governor Abbott.

Except guns. Guns are more important than keeping our schools and communities safe.

Nick Anderson

Writer, editor, photographer and editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson has joined the Reform Austin newsroom, where he will employ the artistic skill and political insights that earned a Pulitzer Prize to drive coverage of Texas government. As managing editor, Anderson is responsible for guiding Reform Austin’s efforts to give readers the unfiltered facts they need to hold Texas leaders accountable. Anderson’s original cartoons will be a regular feature on RA News. “Reform Austin readers understand the consequences of electing politicians who use ideological agendas to divide us, when they should be doing the hard work necessary to make our state government work for everyone,” Anderson said. “As a veteran journalist, I’m excited about Reform Austin’s potential to re-focus conversations on the issues that matter to common-sense Texans – like protecting our neighborhoods from increasingly common disasters, healthcare, just to name a few.” Anderson worked for the Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas, from 2006 until 2017. In addition to the Pulitzer, Anderson earned the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award. He’s also a two-time winner of Columbia College’s Fischetti Award, and the National Press Foundation’s Berryman Award. Anderson’s cartoons have been published in Newsweek, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune and other papers. In 2005, Anderson won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning while working for the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky. The judges complimented his “unusual graphic style that produced extraordinarily thoughtful and powerful messages.”