“Having a hearing is sometimes a victory,” said state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, whose conversion therapy ban was debated for the first time this year. By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune In every session since she was elected to the Texas House, state Rep. Celia Israel has taken aim at the controversial practice of conversion…
Town Hall to Address Refusal of Service to LGBTs After SCOTUS Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision
Last June, in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, absolving him from legal liability for refusing to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple because it went against his religious beliefs. While many legal experts have maintained the…
Why a Colorado Case Over “Religious Refusals” Could Matter to Texas
By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune June 26, 2017 When the U.S. Supreme Court rules next year on a religious refusal case that started in 2012 at a bakery in Lakewood, Colorado, its decision could have reverberations in Texas. The court announced Monday that it will take up Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission,…
Lawmakers Engaged in ‘Unprecedented Effort’ to Roll Back Civil Rights For LGBTQ Texans
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. On Tuesday, the Texas House could debate and vote on a bill that would give state-funded adoption agencies the “religious freedom” to turn away LGBTQ parents. Other measures waiting for approval by Texas lawmakers would let county clerks deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples if doing so conflicts…
Texas Faith Leaders Come Out Against Bills Targeted at LGBT Texans
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune May 3, 2017 Prayer is a staple of the Texas Capitol, where lawmakers begin each legislative day with an invocation and bowed heads. But on Wednesday, about 50 faith leaders of various denominations lined the stairs outside the Texas House in protest. Their prayer was silent, but their message…
Study Examines Impact of Discrimination on LGBT Texans
A recently released study by the Williams Institute finds that Texas laws and social climate contribute to an environment where LGBT adults experience stigma and discrimination in employment and other aspects of their life. Affected too are LGBT youth who are bullied in schools and rejected by their families. The study, The Impact of Stigma…
Anti-LGBT Religious Refusal Bills Abound in Texas Legislature
Republicans in the 85th session of the Texas Legislature are pushing a number religious refusal bills that would codify anti-LGBT discrimination into state law. State lawmakers failed to pass nearly a dozen religious refusal bills in 2015 and in 2017 are again trying to introduce legislation which uses religion to deny equality to LGBT Texans.…
State Rep. files bill to deny marriage licenses to Texas same-sex couples
Updated Jan.8,2015, 7:20 p.m. Perhaps anticipating that marriage equality could soon be a reality in Texas, a member of the state House of Representatives has submitted a bill that would deny the funding and issuing of marriage licenses for same sex couples. State Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., a Republican from Magnolia, Texas is the author…