Daily Dispatch 5/17/24: Abbott Pardon Of Right Wing Murderer Declares Open Season On Protestors, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: In a stunning conservative undermining of our state's criminal justice system, Governor Abbott has issued a full pardon for Daniel Perry, convicted last year of murdering Black Lives Matter protester and U.S. Air Force veteran Garrett Foster in Austin: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-governor-pardons-uber-driver-convicted-murdering-black-lives-matter-2024-05-16/ ...Multiple reactions from progressive sources: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/16/daniel-perry-greg-abbott-pardon/ Gun violence has skyrocketed 63% in Texas under Governor Abbott's watch: https://giffords.org/analysis/texas-gun-deaths-surged-63-under-greg-abbott/ No surprise that three quarters of Texans think our state government has chosen an "extreme conservative agenda" over practical matters: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4667534-texas-poll-conservative-agenda/ A public forum will be held on May 20 by the Texas Medical Board on proposed exceptions to Texas' near-total ban on abortion: https://x.com/hannahnorton89/status/1785054901661216800?s=12&t=Bt_w1MN2AlTfFkWGHJiOJg Progress Texas could use your help in funding our trip to June's Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso - thanks in advance! https://progresstexas.org/donate It will soon be time to vote in the May 28 primary runoffs! https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/26/texas-voting-2024-runoff-elections/ Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20 Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work this election year at https://progresstexas.org/.