There's a call for Texas Governor Greg Abbott to make an exception to his order closing bars.
More than 250 Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) lodges in Texas have been shuttered. Most have a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission license.
State Representative Dan Flynn, chairman of the House committee on defense and Veteran's affairs says PTSD is a real thing and it's important for returning soldiers get to spend time together. "Not say they're a bar or whatever. It's kind of bureaucratic red tape and this would be a good one to have an exception on. I've asked the governor and we've been working with the VFW."
Flynn says PTSD is a real thing and suicide rates among veterans is high.
As far as the pandemic goes, the east Texas Republican says use common sense. Wash your hands. Keep a distance from others.
"I don't think they do a lot of hugging at the VFW. It's one of those things where they're sitting at a table or playing pool. We're not talking where there's thousands of people going in there. It's a small crowd" says Flynn.
He adds shutting them down would require them to go through a lot of red tape once the pandemic ends.
Many bars have reopened by selling more food that alcohol. Flynn says that's not really possible with VFW lodges.