We’re going to join others in congratulating State Rep. Brooks Landgraf on this week’s passage of “Monica’s Law” in the Texas House of Representatives.
It passed 137 to 6 Monday during the 86th Texas legislative session. The law could help prevent domestic violence and protect victims and now heads to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature to enact it into law.
We urge Gov. Abbott to sign the bill. Unless it is vetoed, it goes into effect Sept. 1.
The law is named after slain Odessan Monica Deming. Landgraf said last week he often thought about Odessa Police Department officer Jon Nielsen, the father of the 32-year-old Deming. She was murdered in an act of domestic violence in 2015.
Deming was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, despite him having two separate protective orders for domestic violence issued against him, which he was able to hide from OPD due to them being from other jurisdictions, and no database available to show history of protective orders due to domestic violence.
The fantastic thing about this new law is that it will create an online database available to both the public and law enforcement listing protective orders issued by Texas courts as a result of domestic violence.
This was the second time for Landgraf to champion the legislation, which gained traction in 2017 but ran out of time on the senate floor. It has passed both the Texas House and Senate this year.
We know this can’t bring Monica back or ease the suffering that her family has endured. But it may help prevent other families from going through the same heartache.
It’s a good thing for all of Texas.
