Take Action: Oppose anonymous “tagging”


Please click on the Take Action button to contact your State Representative. Tell them to oppose anonymous “tagging” of bills and to vote for fair and transparent House Rules next week.


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Dear Friend:

Texas legislators will vote next week on important House processes for this spring — including rules they exploited to kill Constitutional Carry last session.

A major problem we face in the Texas Legislature is the lack of fairness and transparency — including practices such as anonymous “tagging” of bills in the Calendars Committee.

For years, legislators have been able to anonymously “tag” bills in order to keep them from passing. I have seen this happen many times in the House Calendars Committee, whose job is to set the schedule for floor votes on bills. When Calendars Committee members use “tagging,” we don’t know who killed the bill so it’s impossible for me to talk with them about it or send out targeted action alerts.

The legislators know this. They often deny that “tagging” exists, but they use it to avoid having a vote on a bill. That way they never have to go on record opposing a gun rights bill — it just disappears and they can still claim to support gun rights. This is not acceptable.

Wondering what this looks like? CLICK HERE for a video of the 2017 House Rules debate — discussion on “tagging” starts at 2:30:15 and lasts for 15 minutes.(Link no longer available)

You’ll hear members oppose a rules change, saying that they want to be able to have someone else “take the heat” so they can still pretend like they support the issue. They say “the process works” — the same process in which Constitutional Carry died last session.

You’ll hear them hide behind the rule that allows legislators to force a bill out of Calendars Committee after it’s been there 30 days. But that really doesn’t fix the problem. In a whirlwind 5-month session, a 30-day delay often means the bill is dead on arrival in the Calendars Committee.

Many other processes will be addressed in the House Rules — including ones that affect your ability to register your opinion on bills and to see the actual bill language being discussed by legislators.

URGENT: I need you to contact your Texas State Representative’s office today and ask them to vote for fair and transparent House rules and end the practice of “tagging” bills! CLICK HERE to send an email to your legislator’s office! (Link no longer available)

Fair and transparent processes are a critical part of advancing constitutional carry. We can’t let the legislators hide behind anonymous “tagging” — we need to know who stands up for our rights and who doesn’t.

Don’t wait — please contact your legislator today!

For liberty,
Rachel Malone
Texas Director, Gun Owners of America