Written by Michael Thervil
Stock Photo Photographer unknown
Hidalgo county, Texas has recently expanded its domestic abuse law to include “emotional abuse”. For many people within Hidalgo County, this expansion of the current domestic abuse law which makes domestic abuse a felony, thus barring anyone convicted of domestic violence from legally owning a firearm a great triumph. However, there is a significant number of people within this county that don’t support this expansive legislation because they perceive it as “protectionist overreach”. What we mean by that is that the expansion of the current domestic abuse laws on the books to include “emotional abuse” is so subjective that anyone that is in a “domestic partnership”, simply living together, dating couples, or married can easily claim emotional abuse without any real significant proof of claim.
Amongst our peers, the question was asked: “Who can legislate feelings?”. Whether we can or not, the conclusion was drawn that no matter what we may think, the Senate Bill 1841 has been passed. It was reported that in 2023 that there were over 2700 domestic abuse claims filed within Hidalgo County, which is a border county With a Mexican/Hispanic dominated population of 870,367. Like it or not 2700 domestic violence reports are not a lot of domestic abuse claims when you consider the size of the population. Knowing this, the question that should be asked is who or what is the motivating factor behind the expansion of the current domestic violence laws already on the books? Even more than that, who benefits?
It’s been a long-standing understanding that unlike men in America, culturally, Mexican men don’t take shit from their women and will hesitate to re-enforce their role of dominance in their households and intimate relationships. How many people, specifically women within Hidalgo County will actually file a claim of emotional abuse to the local law-enforcement agencies? Who knows? But the one thing that we do know is that as this law is enforced overtime, there will be irreversible cultural blowback concerning the relationships between Mexican/Hispanic men and women. And this power dynamic swap will more than likely have an adverse impact on the future generations of Mexican/Hispanic relationships of the future.
Comments