Community organizations and businesses are postponing, canceling events and making adjustments amid worries about the cornavirus outbreak. Recent emergency rules instituted this week will make it harder to proceed with any large group events. On Tuesday, March 16, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg issued a public health emergency declaration which prohibits mass gatherings of 50…
Census 2020 Event Seeks to Make Sure All LGBTQ San Antonians Are Counted
The Thrive Youth Center and Pride Center San Antonio are working with the San Antonio Bexar County Complete Count Committee to make sure all LGBTQ residents are counted in the 2020 Census. To that end, a March 13 event at the Pride Center, dubbed Count Me In, will offer an opportunity for the LGBTQ community…
Graphic Video Shows Trans Student From Alpine, Texas Being Beaten By Classmate
The beating of a transgender student by a classmate from Alpine High School was captured on a cell phone video that has gone viral. Despite the video evidence, the student who precipitated the attack has not been disciplined. In an interview with KOSA-TV in Odessa, the 15-year-old student, who wants to remain anonymous, said his…
Texas GOP Primary Ballot Proposition Challenges Rights of Parents With Trans Children
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 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…
Texas Equity PAC Releases Lists of Endorsements for 2020 Election
Texas Equity PAC, the official political action committee of Equality Texas, released three lists of endorsements for the 2020 General Election. In their press release Texas Equity explains, “Endorsements are only done for Texas races. Senate and House endorsements are based on the following factors: Authorship or co-authorship of legislation that supports full lived equality…
Anti-LGBTQ Legislation Killed in Texas House Revived in Senate
A so-called “religious liberty” bill that was killed in the Texas House last week has been revived in the Texas Senate where it appears to be on a fast track. Last Thursday, state Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Carrollton), along with her colleagues on the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus defeated the bill, HB 3172, using a couple…
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…
Anti-LGBTQ Bills Flood State Legislature as Filing Deadline Arrives
Friday, March 15 was the deadline for filing bills for this session of the Texas Legislature and as expected, Republicans have unleashed a torrent of proposed legislation aimed a scaling back the rights of LGBTQ Texans. On March 18, Equality Texas released a list of “bad bills” and expressed particular concern for two bills: SB15…
Proposed Texas Bill Gutting Local Sick Leave Laws Would Also Void Non-Discrimination Ordinances
A proposed bill in the Texas Senate (SB 15), which would deny cities the ability to enact paid sick leave ordinances, also contains provisions that would also allow the state to gut the enforcement of non-discrimination ordinances. When it was originally filed by state Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), SB 15 was designed to prevent cities…