When Texas Republican voters go to the polls for the March 3 primary election, they will have the opportunity to reply to 10 propositions including one that seeks to control the rights of parents with transgender children. The GOP’s proposition raises false alarms about what some have inferred to be the abuse of transgender children…
Texas House Schedules Hearings for Two ‘Extreme’ Anti-LGBTQ Bills
The State Affairs committee of the Texas House of Representatives has scheduled hearings on April 17 for what Equality Texas is calling “the two most extreme anti-LGBTQ bills filed this session.” The first bill, HB 1035, which was introduced by Rep. William Zedler (R-Arlington), grants special rights to discriminate for people who hold the belief…
Republican State Rep. Files Bill Legalizing Discrimination Against Trans People and Married LGBT Couples
State Representative Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) has filed a bill, dubbed the “Free to Believe Act,” that would legalize discrimination against transgender people and married LGBT couples. In an email to its supporters, Equality Texas warns the bill, HB 1035, “would legally protect discrimination in healthcare, in social services, in the workplace, in access to housing,…
During Debate, Gov. Abbott Says Bathroom Bill No Longer on His Agenda
During the first and only gubernatorial debate with his opponent, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said passing a bathroom bill was “not on my agenda,” marking a change from the position he held during the last session of the state legislature. Valdez, the first openly LGBT major party candidate for…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Opposed Controversial “Bathroom Bill,” State Legislator Says
By Emma Platoff, Texas Tribune March 13, 2018 Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. Gov. Greg Abbott himself was opposed to the controversial “bathroom bill” that dominated debate at the Texas Capitol for much of 2017, according to a state representative involved in keeping the legislation from passing the Texas House. State Rep.…
“Bathroom Bill” Fizzles as Republican Primary Issue
By Patrick Svitek, February 6, 2018 The “bathroom bill,” once touted as a surefire issue for the 2018 Republican primaries, is barely registering in them with less than a month until Election Day. Last year, state lawmakers waded into an intense, emotional debate over whether the state should restrict which bathrooms transgender Texans could use,…
Allies United: Rabbi Mara Nathan
Rabbi Mara Nathan Mara Nathan is not the type of rabbi I grew up with. Traditional rabbis are typically older men cloaked in robes, caring but unapproachable — a little holier than thou, you might say. When Nathan decided to go to rabbinical school, she wanted to be a different type of rabbi. And that…
Allies United: Texas State Representative Diego Bernal
Texas State Representative Diego Bernal Despite the fact that both of his parents, his father a farmworker and his mother an educator, were civil rights activists in their own realms, State Representative and former San Antonio Councilman Diego Bernal told Out In SA, with the kind of unsparing candor that is so needed, that he…
Straus tells business leaders to keep up fight after “bathroom bill” failure
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune September 12, 2017 SAN ANTONIO — Texas House Speaker Joe Straus urged business leaders Tuesday to keep up the fight following the failure of legislative efforts this year to pass a “bathroom bill” that many of them opposed. “Texans rejected name-calling and scare tactics, and as a result, we…
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…