Bill Text: TX SCR8 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Designating the cannon as the official state gun of Texas.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-09 - Referred to Culture, Recreation & Tourism [SCR8 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SCR8-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Designating the cannon as the official state gun of Texas.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-09 - Referred to Culture, Recreation & Tourism [SCR8 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SCR8-Introduced.html
85R546 JGH-D | ||
By: Huffines | S.C.R. No. 8 |
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WHEREAS, Throughout the long and colorful history of Texas, | ||
the cannon has been an important weapon in the state's fight for | ||
liberty and independence as well as a symbol of the defiance and | ||
determination of its people; and | ||
WHEREAS, The very first conflict of the Texas Revolution, the | ||
Battle of Gonzales, was fought over a cannon; on October 2, 1835, | ||
the 150 Texian rebels at Gonzales refused to surrender their bronze | ||
six-pounder to Mexican dragoons; they pointed instead to the cannon | ||
and declared, "Come and take it!"; during the ensuing battle, this | ||
memorable catchphrase and a painted image of the cannon itself were | ||
raised on a makeshift flag that was created by the women of | ||
Gonzales; the legendary flag has since become one of the iconic | ||
images of the Lone Star State; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1836, the defenders of the Alamo boasted the | ||
largest artillery contingent west of the Mississippi, an assortment | ||
of 18 to 21 artillery pieces, and after the Mexican army captured | ||
the fort, the cannons were destroyed or abandoned nearby; when the | ||
Alamo was avenged six weeks later by the Texian victory at the | ||
Battle of San Jacinto, the famous Twin Sisters, two six-pounders | ||
that had been donated to the rebellion by the people of Cincinnati, | ||
Ohio, played a decisive role in the defeat of Santa Anna's army; and | ||
WHEREAS, A cannon featured in a memorable incident in the | ||
early years of the Texas Republic; in 1842, Austin residents feared | ||
that President Sam Houston wanted to move the republic's capital | ||
from Austin to Houston, and when he sent Texas Rangers to take the | ||
government's archives, an Austin innkeeper named Angelina Eberly | ||
fired off a cannon on the corner of Sixth Street and Congress | ||
Avenue, rousing the city's population and blowing a hole in the | ||
General Land Office; and | ||
WHEREAS, Today, vintage artillery pieces can be seen at | ||
county courthouses, military installations, and historical sites | ||
across Texas; two 24-pound howitzers made especially for the new | ||
republic by Major General Thomas Jefferson Chambers in the 1830s | ||
guard the south entrance of the Texas Capitol, while two 12-pound | ||
field guns and a wrought iron cannon are also situated on the | ||
Capitol grounds; a cannon reputed to be the "Come and Take It" gun | ||
is on exhibit at the Gonzales Memorial Museum, a cannon used by | ||
Colonel James Fannin at the Battle of Coleto Creek is displayed in a | ||
park in Goliad, and a bronze cannon believed to have been used at | ||
the Alamo is on permanent loan to the Shrine of Texas Liberty by the | ||
San Jacinto Battleground Conservancy; and | ||
WHEREAS, The firing of a cannon continues to be an honored | ||
tradition at celebrations and commemorations across Texas; since | ||
1954, Smokey the Cannon has been discharged at every University of | ||
Texas home football game in Austin--at the kickoff and the end of | ||
each quarter, after the crowd sings "The Eyes of Texas," and each | ||
time the team scores; during the off-season, the cannon and its crew | ||
tour the country, representing the Longhorns at charity and | ||
volunteer events; other cannons help recreate Texas history, such | ||
as the fieldpiece fired for visitors by the "Living History" | ||
reenactors at the Fort Davis National Historical Site; and | ||
WHEREAS, These historic weapons serve as powerful reminders | ||
of our state's epic struggle for freedom, and they further | ||
highlight the unique heritage shared by all those who are proud to | ||
call Texas home; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby designate the cannon as the official state gun of Texas. |