Local conservative activists are planning to protest government overreach when Gov. Greg Abbott appears at a local Republican Party fundraising dinner next week.
According to Panhandle Texans for Medical Choice, the group plans to protest Abbott’s appearance at the Amarillo Lincoln-Reagan Dinner on Friday, February 4. The group says it plans to point out several local companies’ vaccine mandates for employees and aims to persuade Abbott to call a fourth special session of the Texas Legislature to ban vaccine mandates by Texas companies.
The protest is a collaboration of Panhandle Texans for Medical Choice and Health Freedom of Lubbock.
In a statement issued to local media, the group encourages “all like-minded Texans” to attend the protest to push Abbott on the issue of vaccine mandates. The group is also calling on State Sens. Kel Seliger (R–Amarillo) and Charles Perry (R–Lubbock) and State Reps. John Frullo (R–Lubbock), Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock), Four Price (R–Amarillo), John Smithee (R–Amarillo), and Ken King (R–Canadian) to officially call for a fourth special session of the Texas Legislature to “protect constituents from federal government overreach regarding vaccination mandates.”
According to the Republican Party of Texas, four Republican state senators—Dawn Buckingham, Bob Hall, Angela Paxton, and Drew Springer—and 26 state representatives have called upon Abbott to order a fourth special session to ban vaccine mandates. So far, Abbott has not called a fourth session.
The protest will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, ahead of Abbott’s appearance at the dinner, according to protest organizers. Protestors will gather on the north side of the Amarillo Civic Center Complex.
