‘"If [drivers] know that there's a red-light camera, they might be more apt to stop at the red light," Goodwin said.

She's aware of the argument used by Abbott and others that red-light cameras may cause more rear-end crashes, but she said she recognizes the cameras are just one part of a bigger solution.’

Goodwin said she fears losing even more innocent lives. The Texas Legislature doesn’t meet again for another year and a half.

“That’s such a long time from now. Anything can happen,” she said. “I’m afraid people are seeing what’s been happening and saying ‘Well, if that’s how someone else has handled their anger, maybe I need a gun, too,’ and we have sort of a copycat situations and that’s what scares me.”

Eleven Texas House districts comprise the five-county Austin metro area: Travis has six, Williamson is split among three, Hays makes up most of one, and Bastrop and Caldwell together anchor another. (State House districts, unlike state Senate or U.S. congressional districts, are drawn to respect county lines.) When this map debuted in 2012, Republicans captured six of those 11 seats; today, Democrats hold nine, which between them include the entire city of Austin.