This ordinance is still pending, but on hold for more study.
This ordinance is still pending, but on hold for more study.
“We know what Lubbock County did, we know what Odessa did,” said Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley. “I’m not satisfied to come in and vote on something just because I’ve seen somebody else do it.”
So far, four counties — Lubbock, Cochran, Mitchell and Goliad — have passed the travel bans. Odessa, with a population of nearly 117,000, and Little-River Academy, a small town of 2,200, have also passed similar policies.
The setback in Amarillo, the biggest city in the Texas Panhandle with 203,000 residents, stops the ordinance from reaching Interstates 40 and 27 in the city. It’s a blow to the anti-abortion movement that has largely gotten its way with the state’s conservative policy makers.
Council member Tom Scherlen said he could not support the ordinance as it was presented. His main concern came with the enforcement, and how he did not like the idea of turning neighbor against neighbor.
“I don’t believe in that at all. That takes me back to World War II and what the Nazis did,” Scherlen said, referencing how Nazis enforced laws that punished anyone who provided refuge to Jewish people and encouraged neighbors to turn each other in for violating those laws.
The council heard from residents — some of whom were worried the ordinance was meant to divide the community — and outsiders from New Mexico and other areas of Texas. One Amarillo resident, Keely Wilson, expressed concern that the ordinance would scare people away from the city.
“It cannot be overstated how vital interstate commerce is for the Amarillo economy,” Wilson said. “If people believe they can be targeted, harassed, investigated or sued by Amarillo residents, they will be much less likely to drive through or stop here.”
This ordinance is still pending, but on hold for more study.