Before anyone thinks that the Texas Legislature is having a bout of sanity in regards to their reaction to the open-carry nutcase, this bit of news came out of Austin today -
(forgive the cache, apparently Houston Chronicle has a good bit of its site behind a paywall now)

Lawmaker seeks to eliminate state Confederate holiday

The pushback that Republicans are putting on this is absolutely insane.

Democrat suggests Texas recognize Union too, but a critic says if one must change, it should be King’s birthday

In fact, the Austin Democrat can expect to hear more than that in response to her bill to replace Texas’ Confederate Heroes Day with a springtime Civil War Remembrance Day to honor all who fought in the Civil War. That’s all as in, both the Confederate and Union sides.

“We have quite a few holidays throughout the year that are either national holidays or are days of recognition,” Howard said. “I think there are so many that certain things get lost in the shuffle.”

This year, for instance, Confederate Heroes Day shared its traditional Jan. 19 commemoration with the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

[…]

Brand said she was not concerned with the coinciding holidays, but said if one has to change it should be the King holiday.

“We had Confederate Heroes Day before there was a Martin Luther King Jr. Day, why can’t they change theirs?” she asked. “I have no problem with them both being celebrated on the same day because most of the people who celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day don’t celebrate Confederate Heroes Day.”

Brand also is a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a sister organization to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Both groups organize memorials for prominent Confederate soldiers, as well as host banquets and reenactments throughout the year. The Sons of Confederate Veterans currently is in a legal battle with the state over its refusal to offer specialty license plates with the Confederate flag. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on March 23.