I remain hopeful that the 2013 Texas Legislature will enact a statewide ban on texting while driving and that Gov. Rick Perry will sign the bill into law.

He’s threatening another veto, contending that a statewide texting ban intrudes too deeply on individuals’ behavior. He vetoed a bill that came out of the 2011 Legislature and says he hasn’t changed his mind since that time.

But here’s the question that some folks are asking: Given that the state requires everyone in a car to wear a seatbelt and given that failure to do so puts the people in that vehicle at risk of serious injury or death in case of an accident, why doesn’t the same standard apply to people who text while driving their motor vehicle? What’s more, given also that the seat belt law is intended to protect only those individuals in a particular vehicle, doesn’t a texting ban protect other motorists as well as the offending motorist from serious bodily harm?

Amarillo already bans texting and operating handheld cellphones while driving. I’m glad the city has acted on its own. The city ordinance will stand even if Perry vetoes a texting ban law should it arrive at his desk.

But it’s high time the state acts on the inherent dangers associated with this incredibly stupid behavior.

I’m still hoping.