Credit: Christopher Lee / The Washington Post
LLANO, Tex. — No one could remember the last time so many people packed into City Hall.
As the meeting began on a late August evening, residents spilled out into the hallway, the brim of one cowboy hat kissing the next, each person jostling for a look at the five city council members who would decide whether to make Llano the third city in Texas to outlaw what some antiabortion activists call “abortion trafficking.”
For well over an hour, the people of Llano — a town of about 3,400 deep in Texas Hill Country — approached the podium to speak out against abortion. While the procedure was now illegal across Texas, people were still driving women on Llano roads to reach abortion clinics in other states, the residents had been told. They said their city had a responsibility to “fight the murders.”
The cheers after each speech grew louder as the crowd readied for the […]
The article touches upon a trend in this country which is very important. Namely the twisting of the meaning of specific words into referencing something far different than what they have traditionally been used for. In this case the word “trafficking” which has been used for individuals being transported against their will or for illicit purposes. These officials want to twist its meaning to apply for voluntary and legal activities. This language distortion is becoming pervasive in our culture and I view it as a symptom of our dysfunction.
It was heartening to read of a local official actually reading and thinking deeply about the text of an ordinance she is being ask to vote upon. Her considerations of the laws potential constitutionality and its negative impact gives me hope. Her performance is certainly better than that of officials at the Federal level who routinely vote upon laws that they have not read or digested.
I love it when governmental officials pass laws or attempt to pass laws that they cannot enforce. I’m certain that it makes them feel good, but ultimately, it will be meaningless.