government

On Monday June 24th, the Texas House of Representatives overwhelmingly to approve a bill that would close 37 of the state's 42 abortion clinics, effectively leaving hundreds of thousands of women in the southern United States without access to proper abortion care. The bill was subsequently sent to the state Senate where it looked like it was sure to become law.

Much like voting for elected officials, voting on bills has a deadline. Before midnight on a certain date, government bodies must pass a vote on whether or not the bill should become law. Enter the filibuster: a devious way of delaying a vote past the required time by taking the floor in a session of government and essentially talking about it until the deadline passes.

Seriously, you can literally blab for so long that the deadline passes and the bill dies.

Wendy Davis, a Texas state senator, did just that. Starting at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday June 25th, Davis took the floor of the state Senate and began a speech about the dangers of the bill passing and becoming law.

She didn't stop speaking for 13 hours. If she paused to eat lunch or even take a bathroom break, her filibuster would have ended and the bill vote would have began. At 12:02 in the morning on June 26th, she ended her speech, 120 seconds after the senate session ended. Goodbye, bill.

Filibusters: one of the best ways to troll the government.