Two Republican state lawmakers in Texas got their hair cut in defiance of restrictions on businesses implemented by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
Reps. Steve Toth and Briscoe Cain said the Tuesday haircuts were meant to send the message that salons and barbershops should be among the businesses allowed to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s absolutely no reason” such businesses couldn’t reopen with proper safeguards in place, Toth said in a phone call with a Texas Tribune reporter while his hair was being snipped.
“I think these businesses need to be open,” Cain told Fox 26, adding that his haircut was an act of “civil disobedience.”
State Representative @BriscoeCain explains his act of civil disobedience. He and @Toth_4_Texas seeking haircuts in defiance of @GregAbbott_TX order which mandates many businesses remain closed.#Fox26 #txleg pic.twitter.com/wWrcOGbRtL
— Greg Groogan (@GrooganFox26) May 5, 2020
Hours later, their message got through to Abbott, who announced hair salons were among the businesses that could begin to reopen Friday, several days earlier than he previously indicated.
“When you’re Greg Abbott and you have people screaming in your ear, you have to find a creative way to communicate with him; he’s going 24/7 right now,” Toth said. “We wanted to get a message to the governor — everyone has to take a different tack trying to make sure the governor knows what our constituents are thinking.”
The closure of salons has been a source of consternation in the state. On Tuesday, a Dallas salon owner was sentenced to a week in jail for violating a court order to close.
