Thousands of people swarmed to the state capitol to cheer on state lawmakers on both sides of the abortion debate, and what some thought would be mayhem turned out to be a peaceful but loud rally both inside and outside the capitol.
Mounted police in riot gear watched over the crowds at the rally, but were not needed after all.
Inside, pro-life groups sang "Amazing Grace" over and over, following a press conference from mothers who had had an abortion that went wrong and who now wanted more restrictions for abortion providers.
The pro-choice event outside kicked off with Natalie Maines, formerly of the Dixie Chicks, who sang one of her band's hit songs, "I’m not ready to make nice."
The outside event continued with a series of Hollywood actresses speaking in favor of abortion rights and then the real stars of the hour spoke, Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and Sen. Leticia Van DePutte, D-San Antonio.
"I’m going to stay standing, I'm going to use my voice, and at what point are they going to silence me? Never!" Van De Putte said.
The rally ended with Davis, the filibuster star, whose speech left crowds wondering if she would run for a higher office.
"Texans deserve someone who will stand up for them and their values," Davis said. "It shouldn't be unusual for a public official to stand and fight for men and women who elected them. It should be a job requirement."
Davis said she will be introducing her equal pay for equal work bill that Gov. Rick Perry vetoed during the regular session.
