The high court also raised questions about why the state opened these investigations in the first place, noting that the child welfare agency is not bound by directives from the governor. By Eleanor Klibanoff, Texas Tribune Texas’ child welfare agency remains blocked from investigating the family of a transgender teen that sued the state in…
Group buys billboards in San Antonio, other Texas cities to fight governor’s anti-trans order
The billboards purchased by the Trevor Project will educate the public about life-saving crisis services while spelling out the importance of gender-affirming care. LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Trevor Project has purchased 120 digital billboard ads in Texas’ biggest cities to push back against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent order targeting families of transgender children. The…
Commentary: Texas’ persecution of transgender kids and their families is fundamentally wrong
Ricardo Martinez is CEO of Equality Texas Over the last two years in Texas, in and outside of the Capitol, I’ve stood side by side with the parents of transgender children. I have witnessed the devotion and unconditional love they have for their children. At those events at the Capitol, when I allowed myself a…
ACLU and Lambda Legal sue to block Texas from investigating parents of transgender youth
The parents of a 16-year-old transgender girl have sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, alleging they’re being targeted by the state after he ordered that cases where gender-affirming medical care is provided to minors be investigated as child abuse. The suit, filed Tuesday by the ACLU of Texas and Lambda Legal, asks a Travis County judge…
Transgender Texas kids are terrified after governor orders that parents be investigated for child abuse
Some experts doubt that classifying gender-affirming care as child abuse would hold up in court, but families still feel targeted by Gov. Greg Abbott’s new order By Sneha Dey and Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune Every couple of months, Adamalis Vigil drives eight hours from the Rio Grande Valley to North Texas so her…
Texas attorney general says state board can’t ban social workers from discriminating against LGBTQ or disabled people
In a nonbinding opinion, Ken Paxton said the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council doesn’t have the authority to punish social workers who refuse service to clients based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or disability status. By Isabella Zou, The Texas Tribune Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a nonbinding legal opinion Monday that…
Texas social workers will no longer be allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ Texans and people with disabilities
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council voted unanimously to restore protections for social workers’ LGBTQ and disabled clients after backlash from advocates and lawmakers. By Edgar Walters, The Texas Tribune After backlash from lawmakers and advocates, a state board voted Tuesday to undo a rule change that would have allowed social workers to turn away…
In Agreement with FAA, San Antonio Must Offer Chick-fil-A Concession at Airport
In an informal agreement negotiated on September 10 with the Federal Aviation Administration, the City of San Antonio must now offer Chick-fil-A concession at the San Antonio International Airport. The FAA’s agreement comes as the result of an investigation initiated by the U.S. Department of Transportation at the request of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton…
Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton’s Letter to City of Austin Supersedes Local LGBTQ Hiring Law
On May 12, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a letter of warning to the mayors and county judges of the Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio metropolitan areas saying that local officials could not impose stricter Covid-19 restrictions than those mandated by Governor Greg Abbott. However, in a letter to the City of Austin and…
Texas Asks U.S. Supreme Court to End Pro-LGBTQ California Law Banning State-Funded Travel
After Texas passed a law in 2017 allowing foster care agencies to cite sincerely held religious beliefs to deny placements to gay couples, California banned state-funded travel to the Lone Star State. By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to strike down a 2016…