After ‘No Kings,’ Hill Country Indivisible Asks ‘What’s Next?’

Over 600 protesters showed up for the March 28 ‘No Kings’  rally at New Braunfels Main Plaza, one of around 3,000 across the nation.

That number might seem small in comparison to the record eight million other citizens who stood on sidewalks or marched through city streets to oppose President Donald Trump’s policies.

But New Braunfels’ Hunter Bledsoe, who speaheads Hill Country Indivisible said the protest is one of the most successful ever organized by local Democrats.

In the wake of this week’s school shooting at Comal ISD’s Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde, Hill Country Indivisible will meet from 2-3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 12 at Unitarian Universalists of New Braunfels, 135 Alves Lane, to discuss funding for mental health and public schools.

“If you really want to get to the heart of the problem, besides the guns being too readily accessible, we need to get back to funding by mental health,” said Bledsoe, who taught sixth grade and fourth-grade math and science in Oklahoma schools. “School counselors need to be able to get back to helping the students instead of being testing coordinators and all of the administrative things they have to do now … One, get rid of the assault weapons and other things the gun lobbies push to make more money. And two, fund mental health and the schools the way they need to be funded.

“We owe our children this.”

Speakers at the ‘No Kings’ protest included Lynn Silver, a columnist for the New Braunfels Herald-Zeiting; New Braunfels resident Bruce Carpenter, a local activist and author whose ‘Thinking Deeply’ substack focuses on democracy and the rule of law; scientist Kristen Hook, a Democrat running against Republican Mark Texeira in the race for Texas’ 21st Congressional District; and Merrie Fox, a Democrat, former educator and executive director of Circle Arts Theeatre who is running against incumbent Republican Carrie Isaac for Texas Senate District 25.

“We come together in our shared resolve to say no to war, division, Christian nationalism and hate,” Fox said. “Today, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder to defend our democracy and to demand that the values of humanity and honor and respect for the Constitution to be exemplified by our own damn government.”

Hook urged the crowd to vote for leaders who will stand up to the Trump administration and say, “enough is enough.”

“We don’t need to spend millions of dollars on a war that nobody asked for,” she said. “Our money needs to be spent providing access to health care for all, strengthening our public schools, investing in our public education and investing in public works. They’re going to conserve water. There are so many other things that we need to do, and the first thing is standing against the MAGA agenda that is causing so much harm in our country.”

Silver focused on the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, operated south of San Antonio by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Right now, in Dilley — almost in our backyard — children are living under horrific conditions,” she said. “This very minute, the children are forced to eat food that contains worms, mold and dirty fingernails. Yes, you heard that correctly. Yes, those statements have been documented by court-appointed monitors and the Texas Tribune. The conditions inside Dilley are despicable, with children being held for months in violation of the law.”