State Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) announced on March 9 that he has “reconsidered” filing a bill he authored (HJR55) that proposed a state constitutional amendment to the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) which would have eroded the rights of LGBT Texans. Villalba’s now defunct bill is similar to a bill (SJR10) submitted by state…
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Treat all Texans fairly, equally and without bias
State Rep. Rick Miller Texas House District 26 P.O. Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768 Dear Representative Miller, I’m writing to express my very serious concern about your proposed bill (HB 1556) undoing LGBT protections that have passed in cities with a combined population of more than 7.5 million, including Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth,…
Taylor and SA corporations AWOL on marriage equality briefs to SCOTUS
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor and the city’s business community are not among those who signed amicus briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down state laws that make same-sex marriage illegal. On March 6, 225 U.S. mayors, including six from Texas, signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down states laws…
Taylor to appoint human relations liaison, initiate Dept. of Diversity & Inclusion
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor announced this afternoon that she is appointing a human relations liaison who will handle complaints made under the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance and head up a proposed Department of Diversity and Inclusion. According to an email Out In SA received from Leilah Powell, the mayor’s chief of policy, the new liaison…
Three S.A. writers elected to Texas Institute of Letters
Three San Antonio writers have been elected to the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters, an Austin-based non-profit that promotes Texas literature and recognizes literary achievements by Texas authors. The San Antonians selected for induction are Gregg Barrios, Nan Cuba and William Jack Sibley. Barrios was featured in an article on the Out In SA web…
State senators introduce nondiscrimination bill
On March 2, Texas Independence Day, five Democratic state senators introduced Senate Bill 856 that would prohibit discrimination in the areas of employment, public accommodation, housing, and state contracting based upon sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Senator Jose Rodriguez, along with co-authors Senators Rodney Elllis, Sylvia Garcia, Kirk Watson, and John Whitmire, introduced…
Thrive Youth Center opens at Haven for Hope
Thrive Youth Center and Haven for Hope initiated a partnership this week to serve homeless LGBT youth ages 18 to 25. On Wednesday, Thrive staff and clients moved into their office and dorm areas at Haven for Hope. A press conference was held on February 28 to mark the official opening of the new facility.…
Gay troubadour Bobby Jo Valentine to perform in S.A.
Gay singer-songwriter Bobby Jo Valentine will perform in San Antonio on Friday, March 6 in a House Party Concert to benefit ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans For Full Participation. Valentine is a traveling troubadour who has independently produced three albums: A Place to Belong, By My Side and most recently, Home. On his website, Valentine’s music is portrayed…
S.A. trans student seeks acceptance at Memorial High
A transgender student at Memorial High School on San Antonio’s Southwest Side stood up to school officials on February 25 to demand that his gender identity be acknowledged. Jayden Blake Castillo, who is now a senior, has been a student in the Edgewood Independent School District for four years, having attended John F. Kennedy High School,…
Rep. Debbie Riddle would jail trans people in ‘wrong’ bathroom
Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) has filed House Bill 1748 that would make it a misdemeanor for a transgender person to use a public restroom that matches their gender identity and would punish business owners who would allow them to do so. Punishment for breaking Riddle’s bathroom law would be up to one year in…