In 2017, conservative lawmakers failed to pass legislation targeting transgender Texans. Things were different this year. By Allyson Waller, The Texas Tribune For state Rep. Celia Israel, the priority issues for the Legislature this year seemed quite obvious as the legislative session got underway in January. She expected lawmakers to grapple over the state’s response…
Texas GOP’s bills targeting transgender children have exacted a mental health toll, even if they don’t become law
As the clock ticks on this year’s legislative session, the House scheduled a Tuesday floor debate for a bill that would limit transgender children’s sports team participation. Other GOP bills that would restrict or punish transition-related health care, like puberty blockers, missed a key Sunday deadline to advance. By Megan Munce, The Texas Tribune Houston…
Texas Lawmakers Want to Add More LGTBQ Safeguards After U.S. Supreme Court Ruling
A new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court makes clear that it violates federal law to fire an employee on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Now Texas lawmakers want to guarantee similar protections for LGBTQ Texans in housing, health care and other spheres. by Emma Platoff and Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune…
Texas LGBTQ Advocates Aren’t Worried About Challenges to Austin’s Nondiscrimination Ordinance
The advocates say lawsuits challenging the city’s code prohibiting employers from discriminating against an “individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability” won’t hold up in court. By Matt Zdun, Texas Tribune After two conservative Christian groups filed lawsuits against the city of Austin over the past week challenging…
2017 in Review: A Year in the Life of LGBT SA
A select month-by-month recap of stories about our community reported here and elsewhere in 2017. JANUARY Jeffrey James is Fiesta Cornyation’s King Anchovy LII The board of directors of Fiesta Cornyation, billed as “the raunchiest, cheapest event of Fiesta,” announced in January that this year’s King Anchovy LII was Jeffrey James, the proprietor of James…
SAISD Board Hears From Anti-LGBT Protesters, Votes to Protect DACA Students
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. On August 21, the San Antonio Independent School District board updated district policy to include protections for students or teachers discriminated against for their “gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.” But like a failed game of telephone, SAISD parents, anti-LGBT advocates, and conservative lobbyists showed up to…
Anti-LGBT Group Texas Values Protests SAISD’s Nondiscrimination Policy Changes
The anti-LGBT group Texas Values is protesting changes made on August 21 to the nondiscrimination policy of the San Antonio Independent School District which now includes protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Jonathan Saenz, the president of Texas Values, was the featured speaker at a protest rally with about 15 people in…
Letter in Support of Bathroom Bill Includes Signatures of Three SA Businessmen
An August 9 letter in support of the proposed Texas bathroom bill, which is being circulated by the anti-LGBT group Texas Values, contains the signatures of 33 business owners including three from San Antonio. San Antonio businessmen Patrick Von Dohlen and Michael R. Knuffke of the Von Dohlen Knuffke Financial Group, and Daniel J. Petri…
Religious Right Lobbyists Are the Lone Supporters of the Texas Bathroom Bill
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Law enforcement. The National Football League. Tech companies. Small businesses. And now, the largest oil and gas companies in the nation. None of the communities Texas Republicans have historically rallied behind want the GOP-led state legislature to pass its so-called “bathroom bill.” In fact, each and every one…
Trans Bathroom Issues Dominated Dripping Springs School Board Election
The days leading up to the normally quiet school board election in Dripping Springs, Texas erupted into a heated battle over transgender bathroom use with one candidate saying he opposed trans students using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Three candidates were vying in the May 6 election for two seats on the Dripping…