The State of Texas: How a San Antonio chef brought Texas to Sweden

Plus: Mitt Romney calls Robert Jeffress a "religious bigot." No Images? [Click here]( [Bauer College of Business, University of Houston]( [Texas Monthly]( May 15, 2018 QUOTE OF THE DAY "I'm starting a new job today that has an hour-and-a-half commute. You're gonna have me listening and calling in a whole lot now." —Former U.S. representative Blake Farenthold to a Corpus Christi radio station. The Corpus Christi Republican was hired by the Port of Port Lavaca-Point Comfort as its [legislative liaison](. Farenthold resigned his seat in Congress following reports that he used $84,000 in taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him. He promised to repay the money, but has yet to do so. THE LATEST [How a San Antonio Chef Built a Texas Empire in Sweden]( HAZEL O'NEIL Philip Huntziger’s chain of Texas Longhorn Steakhouse restaurants helped introduce Swedes to his home state. [Read Story]( [Bauer College of Business, University of Houston]( OUR TOP STORIES [How Detroit Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia Mishandled “Texas Week” Sexual Assault Allegations]( In 1996, Matt Patricia, now the NFL team’s newly-hired coach, was arrested and indicted by a grand jury in a sexual assault case that was ultimately dismissed. [Read Story]( [Five Finds: Texans at the Met Ball, a Seasonal Dinner Series]( What Texas Monthly style contributors are inspired by right now. [Read Story]( [Gerald Green: The Houston Rockets’ Prodigal Son]( The unlikely story of how, after years of bumpy starts, hometown hero Gerald Green made his way back to Houston. [Read Story]( MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS... Religious Bigot? Former presidential nominee and current candidate for U.S. Senate Mitt Romney called prominent Texas pastor Robert Jeffress [a "religious bigot."](Jeffress was chosen to give the blessing at the newly opened U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, which Romney took issue with based on former statements by the leader of Dallas's First Baptist Church. "Robert Jeffress says 'you can’t be saved by being a Jew,' and 'Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell,'" Romney tweeted on Sunday night. "He’s said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem." Jeffress responded in kind: "Historic Christianity has taught for 2,000 years that salvation is through faith in Christ alone," Jeffress tweeted. "The fact that I, along with tens of millions of evangelical Christians around the world, continue to espouse that belief, is neither bigoted nor newsworthy." At least 58 Palestinians died when Israeli forces attacked people protesting the embassy's relocation from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We [profiled Robert Jeffress]( in 2014. Gun Surge The mass shooting inside a church in Sutherland Springs last November created a [surge of local residents acquiring licenses to carry handguns](, an analysis by the San Antonio Express-News shows. Although the population in Wilson County, where Sutherland Springs in located, is just under 50,000 people, there was a 167 percent increase in the number of people seeking gun permits in the aftermath of the shooting, which left twenty-six people dead. That percentage represents 222 new gun permits issued in the county during the same month as the shooting. It also represents the highest per capita increase in the number of gun permits issued in the entire state during November, according to records provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety. In April 2016, we [devoted an entire issue]( to out state's relationship with guns. Sports Betting The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for individual states to begin [allowing legal wagers on sports](—an opening that some suggest Texas lawmakers may not be willing to take. The Supreme Court ruled a federal law that barred states from legalizing gambling unconstitutional. The ruling says that Congress may prohibit sports wagers through direct action, but that it was not allowed to simply prohibit states from enacting its own laws to allow such wagers. “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote. Some analysts predict the ruling could set off a wave of legalized gambling in as many as 32 states, but Texas does not seem to be among them. In fact, in 2015, Governor Greg Abbott told state lottery officials that he did not want to expand into the sports betting arena. Even sports fantasy sites are [considered off limits]( in Texas. TRAVEL & OUTDOORS [Five Zip Line Adventures to Try in Texas ]( HAZEL O'NEIL We won’t leave you hanging: These parks offer a different way for families to enjoy the views. [Read Story]( [Find beauty and adventure in Colorado Springs]( [Colorado Springs, The Beautiful]( At the foot of Pikes Peak sits a city bursting with stories to tell, one step at a time. Explore Colorado Springs through a Texan’s perspective. [Read More]( [Bauer College of Business, University of Houston]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [Clara Harris, Who Killed Cheating Husband With Her Mercedes, Released From Prison]( SKIP HOLLANDSWORTH [The Texanist: Why Don’t Texas Houses Have Basements?]( DAVID COURTNEY [David Chang’s ‘Ugly Delicious’ Does Barbecue Wrong]( DANIEL VAUGHN [Tim Ferriss, the Midas of Media Engagement, on Why He Moved to Texas]( ANDY LANGER [Subscribe to Texas Monthly and Save!]( Get Texas Monthly for $1 an issue. 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