Portland postpones move to ban Texas travel, trade to protest abortion law

The trade and travel ban was intended to voice opposition to new abortion restrictions that took effect in Texas last week.

AUSTIN, Texas - Portland City Council met Wednesday and failed to bring up a Texas trade and travel ban. The call for an emergency resolution by Mayor Ted Wheeler was postponed.

The ban was intended to voice opposition to new abortion restrictions that took effect in Texas last week. On Wednesday, Texas Senator John Cornyn dismissed the threat and the negative headlines targeting Texas.

"I’m not worried about it, our friends in Oregon, if they don’t want to come to Texas that’s fine, people from every other state, are certainly coming here," said Sen. Cornyn (R) Texas.

Portland moves to ban Texas travel, trade to protest new abortion law

Senate bill 8, also known as the heartbeat bill, continues to be surrounded in controversy.

Ignoring a threat from a state with a population smaller than the DFW Metroplex is one thing. But the abortion law has gained the attention of the federal government.

"It just seems, I know this sounds ridiculous, un-American," said President Joe Biden.

The signing of new election rules, Tuesday, also added fuel to the political rhetoric that’s burning in Texas. "So I don’t want to hear this nonsense and the lies that we continually hear that it’s tough to vote in Texas," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Political activists were equally as sharp with their comments. "If Governor Greg Abbott and Lt Governor Patrick had a Pinocchio Rule in place, their noses would reach to the Oklahoma border," Said Domingo Garcia with LULAC.

Four groups file lawsuit to block controversial Texas election bill

The groups say the bill's restrictions tighten what are already some of the most restrictive voting rules in the United States.

It’s not unusual to have tough debates in Texas.

The senator suggested it may be time to take a deep breath and a break from social media.

"We expect people to have sharp differences in opinion, the only thing I think we should also expect is for people to treat each other respectfully and civilly and not engage in sort of the name-calling that goes along with some of what we see today in our polarized politics," said Cornyn.

A call for civility comes at a difficult time. New voting lines are now being drawn for a fast-approaching election campaign season. To add to it all, Texas is getting two new congressional seats because of the census count.

"We'll get through this like we always do," said Cornyn.

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