Response: Megan Lomas: Bathroom Law Battle Begins to Take Hold in Texas

    My fellow colleague, Megan Lomas, has brought up some excellent points in her article, Bathroom Law Battle Begins to Take Hold in Texas. She is against Texas's movement towards mimicking North Carolina's law recent law banning people with male body parts from using women's restrooms no matter what that person identifies as. Lomas states that law's like these only push violence against Trans people, and I couldn't agree more. Acting out against a certain class of people with negativity will only perpetuate hate. 

    She also brings up the uncomfortable truth about why the majority of people are uncomfortable with Gender Neutral Bathrooms, for a lot of people think it's unsafe; nonetheless, there hasn't been any evidence indicating more unsafe bathrooms. She is completely right when she states that if one doesn't feel "comfortable" with Trans gendered people using the restroom, then one shouldn't use it. I believe that the belief's of one group of people shouldn't stop law's from being set into place that push for equality for everyone, for if those laws aren't enacted, that's doing an injustice towards fellow Americans.
    All in all, I like Lomas's points as to why Transgendered people should be able to use the bathroom, for it isn't fair to make someone, who identifies as a woman, use the men's resroom. I couldn't imagine how that must feel. Come on Texan's, let's catch up with 2016, for this is a great place to start; Equality for all is never a bad thing.

Texas should put more time and effort into tending to the needs of the many children that are within it's borders

While many of us, Texans and United States Citizens, realize that there are a multitude of children in the foster care system, I'm not quite sure whether we understand how neglected they are. Once a child is in the foster care system, it's the states responsibility to look after the well being of the child; therefore, it pains me to find out that Texas doesn't take care of it's children as well as it should. Texas should be paying more attention to it's children and funding programs to help give these children the lives they deserve.

Firstly, the neglect and lack of supervision that Texas Foster Care Children are faced with lead to very difficult lives full of addiction, mental issues and prison sentences. According to an article, by Leah Kashar, in The Daily Texan, Texas must reform system to help foster children, eighty-percent of the 29,000 foster care children suffer from the issues listed above. The evidence is very telling that we, the state of Texas, are doing an incredibly poor job at taking care of our children. No child should be left behind, and according to these statistics, 23,200 children have been left behind. Social workers are overloaded with cases which leads to less state supervision on each child; therefore, it makes sense as to why so many children "fall through the cracks". They are taught from the beginning that they don't matter, for no one makes the effort to even do a routine check up. Texas needs to combat this before the percentage becomes higher, for our children deserve at least that. We are essentially a parent, so we need to start acting like one.

Also, Texas is not only neglecting its children, but we're running out of space to put them. According to an article, by Madlin Mekelburg, in the Texas Tribune, Judge Blocks State From Licensing Family Detention Center, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services wanted to issue childcare licenses to immigration detention centers. Thankfully, a judge stopped the licenses from being distributed due to enough organizations protesting the act. The state of Texas not only is neglecting it's children, but now, we are treating them as if they are such a burden, that they should be sent to prison. In the article, it references that the Immigration Detention Centers are nothing but jails, for they aren't meant to hold children that have done nothing wrong. This is one more step in the wrong direction, for if we start treating these children like criminals, they'll start acting like them and lead a life full of crime. And the sad thing is, we let it happen. 

All in all, I think the state of Texas has a lot of work to do when it comes to the Foster Care System. Like I said, we're talking about children. These people are the future of this state, hell, this country. Texans pride themselves on being honest and giving, well, we need to start acting like it to the people that need it the most. Texas needs to put more money and effort towards this system fast before it's too late. Let's live up to the standards that we're all so fast to brag about.