Texas GOP votes to censure Rep. Tony Gonzales over support on gun, same-sex legislation

The Republican Party of Texas voted on Saturday to censure Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) over his stance on several pieces of legislation, including his support on a bipartisan gun law passed last year and federal same-sex marriage protection legislation. 

In a 57-5 vote within the Texas GOP’s State Republican Executive Committee, the state party censured the Texas House Republican. Only one member abstained. 

In the state party’s resolution to censure Gonzalez, the Texas GOP cited his support over the Respect for Marriage Act, which was signed late last year and requires both that same-sex marriages be recognized at the federal level and that, if they happened in states were they are legal, they be recognized in all other states. 

The censure also criticized him for being the only Republican in January to vote against a House rules package over concerns of possible cuts to the defense budget in addition to supporting bipartisan gun legislation passed in the wake of several high-profile shootings, including at Uvalde, Texas, which Gonzales represents. 

“The Republican Party of Texas officially censured Representative Tony Gonzales today, imposing the full set of penalties allowed by the rules, for lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities,” the Texas GOP said in a press release.

A campaign spokesman for the congressman hit back at the state Republican Party in a statement, suggesting Gonzales was representing his constituents through his work. 

“Today, like every day, Congressman Tony Gonzales went to work on behalf of the people of TX-23. He talked to veterans, visited with Border Patrol agents, and met constituents in a county he flipped from blue to red,” the campaign spokesman said. “The Republican Party of Texas would be wise to follow his lead and do some actual work.”