Less than a week after protesters and Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, ran the clock out on a tough new abortion bill, they were back Monday -- this time clad in orange.
But their opponents, too, returned for the start of the second legislative special session. And with an iron grip on the Capitol, Republicans vowed not to allow the bill to fail this time around.
Monday's opening of the 30-day session was largely ceremonial -- Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst recessed the session less than an hour after it started -- but not before warning that outbursts from the gallery would not be tolerated.
It was a not-so-subtle nod to the rowdy protests that kept the Senate from approving the abortion bill last week.
Earlier in the day, an orange-clad rally for abortion rights again put the spotlight on Davis and Cecile Richards -- daughter of the late Gov. Ann Richards and president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The thousands cheering them on dwarfed the 100 or so who turned out to support the abortion restrictions.
