Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR22 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Hughes S.C.R. No. 22
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	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed February 26, 2025;
	3	+	February 28, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on
	4	+	State Affairs; March 17, 2025, reported favorably by the following
	5	+	vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 17, 2025, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
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6	9		SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
7	10		WHEREAS, Throughout the long and colorful history of Texas,
8	11		the cannon has been an important weapon in the state's fight for
9	12		liberty and independence as well as a symbol of the defiance and
10	13		determination of its people; and
11	14		WHEREAS, The very first conflict of the Texas Revolution, the
12	15		Battle of Gonzales, was fought over a cannon; on October 2, 1835,
13	16		the 150 Texian rebels at Gonzales refused to surrender their bronze
14	17		six-pounder to Mexican dragoons; they pointed instead to the cannon
15	18		and declared, "Come and take it!"; during the ensuing battle, this
16	19		memorable catchphrase and a painted image of the cannon itself were
17	20		raised on a makeshift flag that was created by the women of
18	21		Gonzales; the legendary flag has since become one of the iconic
19	22		images of the Lone Star State; and
20	23		WHEREAS, In 1836, the defenders of the Alamo boasted the
21	24		largest artillery contingent west of the Mississippi, an assortment
22	25		of 18 to 21 artillery pieces, and after the Mexican army captured
23	26		the fort, the cannons were destroyed or abandoned nearby; when the
24	27		Alamo was avenged six weeks later by the Texian victory at the
25	28		Battle of San Jacinto, the famous Twin Sisters, two six-pounders
26	29		that had been donated to the rebellion by the people of Cincinnati,
27	30		Ohio, played a decisive role in the defeat of Santa Anna's army; and
28	31		WHEREAS, A cannon featured in a memorable incident in the
29	32		early years of the Texas Republic; in 1842, Austin residents feared
30	33		that President Sam Houston wanted to move the republic's capital
31	34		from Austin to Houston, and when he sent Texas Rangers to take the
32	35		government's archives, an Austin innkeeper named Angelina Eberly
33	36		fired off a cannon on the corner of Sixth Street and Congress
34	37		Avenue, rousing the city's population and blowing a hole in the
35	38		General Land Office; and
36	39		WHEREAS, Today, vintage artillery pieces can be seen at
37	40		county courthouses, military installations, and historical sites
38	41		across Texas; two 24-pound howitzers made especially for the new
39	42		republic by Major General Thomas Jefferson Chambers in the 1830s
40	43		guard the south entrance of the Texas Capitol, while two 12-pound
41	44		field guns and a wrought iron cannon are also situated on the
42	45		Capitol grounds; a cannon reputed to be the "Come and Take It" gun
43	46		is on exhibit at the Gonzales Memorial Museum, a cannon used by
44	47		Colonel James Fannin at the Battle of Coleto Creek is displayed in a
45	48		park in Goliad, and a bronze cannon believed to have been used at
46	49		the Alamo is on permanent loan to the Shrine of Texas Liberty by the
47	50		San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy; and
48	51		WHEREAS, The firing of a cannon continues to be an honored
49	52		tradition at celebrations and commemorations across Texas; cannons
50	53		help recreate Texas history, such as the fieldpiece fired for
51	54		visitors by the "Living History" reenactors at the Fort Davis
52	55		National Historical Site; and
53	56		WHEREAS, These historic weapons serve as powerful reminders
54	57		of our state's epic struggle for freedom, and they further
55	58		highlight the unique heritage shared by all those who are proud to
56	59		call Texas home; now, therefore, be it
57	60		RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
58	61		hereby designate the cannon as the official state gun of Texas.
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