In The News

WASHINGTON — The room was silent as Hank Hunt recounted how his granddaughter frantically tried to reach 911 as her mother lay dying.

The child was just 9 years old when her mother, Kari Hunt Dunn, was stabbed multiple times by her estranged husband in an East Texas hotel bathroom in 2013. The girl dialed 911 as she had been taught to do during emergencies, but couldn’t get through because she didn’t know the hotel telephone system required her to dial “9” first.

“She grabbed the phone and she called 911. It didn’t work. Said she heard static. She tried again. Nothing,” Hunt, of Winona, testified Wednesday in a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. “She tried again and again, four times in total. Nothing.”

His granddaughter would later tell him: “I tried, but it wouldn’t work, Papa.”

Hunt has since pushed lawmakers to pass Kari’s Law, a measure that would enable direct access to 911 from any phone. Specifically, the law would require multi-line telephone systems, like those often found in hotels or offices, to have a default configuration that enables users to dial 911 without a prefix.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed off on Kari’s Law last year.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, is now behind a bill to make it law nationwide.

Rep. Louie Gohmert is behind Kari’s Law, which would require all phone systems to allow direct dial to 911 without first dialing a prefix.

Gohmert, who introduced the bill last December, said in a statement submitted to the committee that many hotel chains have begun voluntarily changing their phone systems. He also noted that several states, like Texas, have adopted versions of the law. His legislation aims to bring uniformity.

Gohmert’s measure has bipartisan support, including from many Texas Democrats, but it’s unclear whether it has a shot at becoming national law this year. Gohmert, however, expressed confidence in its success.

A few lawmakers expressed concern during the hearing that the legislation wouldn’t also make location data available when a person dials 911. Hunt and Gohmert said they are worried that would hinder the bill’s passage because of privacy concerns. 

“There are pros and cons on the (location data) issue,” Gohmert acknowledged following the hearing. “But for heaven’s sake, let somebody get the emergency person when they dial 911. Bottom line.”

Wednesday’s event was a legislative hearing only. The committee has not set a vote.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, has also introduced a version of Kari’s Law. Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz, both Republicans, are among the cosponsors of the bill. That measure is now under consideration by the Commerce, Science and Transportation committee.

Nearly 550,000 people have signed Hunt’s online petition at change.org calling for its passage.

Brad Dunn was found guilty last year in the murder of his estranged wife and sentenced to 99 years in prison, according to The Associated Press.