Parker County Hospital District to serve as Regional Hub & Bill Filed to Reform Texas’ Self-Defense laws

Parker County Hospital District to serve as Regional Rural Vaccine Hub  

We are so excited to announce that Parker County was selected by the Texas Department of State Health Services to serve as a Regional Rural Vaccine Hub for all House District 61 constituents as well as residents in the surrounding counties.    

By the end of next week, Texas will have been allocated around 2 million doses of vaccine.  It is estimated that around 13 million Texans qualify under 1A and 1B out of 29.5 million total Texans.  

The demand still far exceeds the supply coming to Texas.  It is expected when the Johnson and Johnson one dose vaccine comes online, that is when we will really see a significant increase in the supply to Texas.    

If you are eligible as part of group 1A or 1B and have not currently signed up or been put on a wait list, you can visit https://www.pchdtx.org to schedule your appointment to receive the vaccine.   

This opportunity to serve as a regional hub is a true triumph for Parker County, and I am so excited to be able to contribute in making sure our community stays healthy.  Special appreciation goes to my chief of staff, Ashley Westenhover, who did such a great job putting this together! 

I want to assure you that these vaccines are purely voluntary.  I strongly believe in individual liberties and completely respect the wishes of an individual to either get a vaccination or choose not to. As your representative, I will always fight for you to have the resources, tools, and ability to make your own choices and direct your life as you see fit.

Rally for Life 

On January 22, 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade, kicking off a battle to protect the life of the unborn that still continues today, 48 years later. Did you know that abortion was the leading cause of death in the world in 2019 with estimated 73.3 million unborn babies. 

Yesterday the 2021 Rally for Life was held on the State Capitol steps with hundreds gathering to oppose the legalization of abortion and continue efforts to protect all lives.

Featured Bill of the Week: Critical Reform to Texas’ Self-Defense Laws

 Recently I filed HB 796 to clean up Texas’ self-defense laws to make sure what happened to the the McCloskey family in St. Louis will never happen in Texas.  The bill addresses a conflict between terms used in Texas’ justified defense and aggravated assault statues and also adds the offense of arson to those violent crimes where Castle Doctrine-style protections would apply when force or deadly force is used.  

This bill clarifies that Texans merely “exhibiting” a weapon in self-defense could not have felony charges applied.  We have also seen an increase in fire against buildings or vehicles as a hallmark of violence so this bill would also include such crimes in penal code where Castle Doctrine style protections apply to further protect individuals and business owners who must thwart such dangerous conduct by the use of force or deadly force.   

State Representative Phil King represents Parker and Wise counties in the Texas House of Representatives.