As Capitol Hill gears up for fierce debates on health care, taxes, and immigration, the state of Texas is readying for a fight of its own — against misused emojis. "The 85th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby reject the notion that the Chilean flag, although it is a nice flag, can in any way compare to or be substituted for the official state flag of Texas," a newly introduced bill reads.
The Texas House representative who introduced the legislation explained that he wants people to stop using the Chilean flag emoji as a stand-in for the Texas flag: "I noticed that a lot of people will put 'God bless Texas' and put the Chilean flag," an irate Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress) told Dallas News. "Just because it's the closest thing doesn't mean it's an appropriate substitute."
Oliverson knows this might not be "the most pressing issue" facing the Texas House of Representatives right now, but he still wants to bring awareness to the fact that #TheBlueGoesAllTheWayDown on the Texas flag and the Chilean flag cannot be nonchalantly swapped in to do the job:
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(An actual Texas flag | iStock)
The Unicode Technical Committee, which serves as the emoji governing body, does not make state-specific emojis.
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