Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR8 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Huffines, Kolkhorst S.C.R. No. 8
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed January 11, 2017; February 1, 2017,
3		-	read first time and referred to Committee on Administration;
4		-	April 10, 2017, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
5		-	vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 10, 2017, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
7	2
8	3
9		-	COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Nichols
10		-	Amend S.C.R. No. 8 as filed by Senator Huffines on page 2,
11		-	lines 8-14, by striking the following:
12		-	"since 1954, Smokey the Cannon has been discharged at every
13		-	University of Texas home football game in Austin--at the kickoff
14		-	and the end of each quarter, after the crowd sings "The Eyes of
15		-	Texas," and each time the team scores; during the off-season, the
16		-	cannon and its crew tour the country, representing the Longhorns at
17		-	charity and volunteer events; other"
18	4		SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
19	5		WHEREAS, Throughout the long and colorful history of Texas,
20	6		the cannon has been an important weapon in the state's fight for
21	7		liberty and independence as well as a symbol of the defiance and
22	8		determination of its people; and
23	9		WHEREAS, The very first conflict of the Texas Revolution, the
24	10		Battle of Gonzales, was fought over a cannon; on October 2, 1835,
25	11		the 150 Texian rebels at Gonzales refused to surrender their bronze
26	12		six-pounder to Mexican dragoons; they pointed instead to the cannon
27	13		and declared, "Come and take it!"; during the ensuing battle, this
28	14		memorable catchphrase and a painted image of the cannon itself were
29	15		raised on a makeshift flag that was created by the women of
30	16		Gonzales; the legendary flag has since become one of the iconic
31	17		images of the Lone Star State; and
32	18		WHEREAS, In 1836, the defenders of the Alamo boasted the
33	19		largest artillery contingent west of the Mississippi, an assortment
34	20		of 18 to 21 artillery pieces, and after the Mexican army captured
35	21		the fort, the cannons were destroyed or abandoned nearby; when the
36	22		Alamo was avenged six weeks later by the Texian victory at the
37	23		Battle of San Jacinto, the famous Twin Sisters, two six-pounders
38	24		that had been donated to the rebellion by the people of Cincinnati,
39	25		Ohio, played a decisive role in the defeat of Santa Anna's army; and
40	26		WHEREAS, A cannon featured in a memorable incident in the
41	27		early years of the Texas Republic; in 1842, Austin residents feared
42	28		that President Sam Houston wanted to move the republic's capital
43	29		from Austin to Houston, and when he sent Texas Rangers to take the
44	30		government's archives, an Austin innkeeper named Angelina Eberly
45	31		fired off a cannon on the corner of Sixth Street and Congress
46	32		Avenue, rousing the city's population and blowing a hole in the
47	33		General Land Office; and
48	34		WHEREAS, Today, vintage artillery pieces can be seen at
49	35		county courthouses, military installations, and historical sites
50	36		across Texas; two 24-pound howitzers made especially for the new
51	37		republic by Major General Thomas Jefferson Chambers in the 1830s
52	38		guard the south entrance of the Texas Capitol, while two 12-pound
53	39		field guns and a wrought iron cannon are also situated on the
54	40		Capitol grounds; a cannon reputed to be the "Come and Take It" gun
55	41		is on exhibit at the Gonzales Memorial Museum, a cannon used by
56	42		Colonel James Fannin at the Battle of Coleto Creek is displayed in a
57	43		park in Goliad, and a bronze cannon believed to have been used at
58	44		the Alamo is on permanent loan to the Shrine of Texas Liberty by the
59	45		San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy; and
60	46		WHEREAS, The firing of a cannon continues to be an honored
61		-	tradition at celebrations and commemorations across Texas; since
62		-	1954, Smokey the Cannon has been discharged at every University of
63		-	Texas home football game in Austin--at the kickoff and the end of
64		-	each quarter, after the crowd sings "The Eyes of Texas," and each
65		-	time the team scores; during the off-season, the cannon and its crew
66		-	tour the country, representing the Longhorns at charity and
67		-	volunteer events; other cannons help recreate Texas history, such
68		-	as the fieldpiece fired for visitors by the "Living History"
69		-	reenactors at the Fort Davis National Historical Site; and
	47	+	tradition at celebrations and commemorations across Texas; cannons
	48	+	help recreate Texas history, such as the fieldpiece fired for
	49	+	visitors by the "Living History" reenactors at the Fort Davis
	50	+	National Historical Site; and
70	51		WHEREAS, These historic weapons serve as powerful reminders
71	52		of our state's epic struggle for freedom, and they further
72	53		highlight the unique heritage shared by all those who are proud to
73	54		call Texas home; now, therefore, be it
74	55		RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
75	56		hereby designate the cannon as the official state gun of Texas.
76		-	* * * * *