Assclown Alert is a San Antonio Current column of opinion, analysis and snark. At the tail end of the recently completed legislative session, Democrats in the Texas House successfully ran down the clock on Senate Bill 29, a toxic proposal that would bar transgender student athletes from playing on sports teams corresponding to the gender…
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…
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…
Texas Bathroom Bill Appears to Be All But Dead in Special Session
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune August 11, 2017 Despite it serving, in part, as the reason lawmakers are back in Austin for legislative overtime, the Texas Legislature could very well gavel out next week without passing a “bathroom bill.” With just days left in the 30-day special legislative session, controversial proposals to regulate bathroom…
Growing Number of Corporate Leaders Step Up Opposition to Bathroom Bill
CEO’s from 10 Fortune 500 companies voiced their opposition to the Texas bathroom bill in a letter which was sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday, August 3. “No industry will remain untouched by the unnecessary harm that discriminatory laws will do to our competitiveness, to our ability to attract talent, and to our…
Bathroom Bill Debate Highlights Barriers to Updating Birth Certificate in Texas
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune July 31, 2017 Though he tries to avoid restrooms “at all costs,” high school student Jason Foster says they’re sometimes unavoidable at school. Leander Independent School District requires students to use bathrooms based on their birth certificates. For Foster, who is transgender, that means using a gender-neutral bathroom or…
Sen. Menéndez: Bathroom Bill Is ‘Assault Against Basic Human Dignity’
State Sen. Jose Menéndez issued a statement denouncing the bathroom bill which passed in the Texas Senate on July 25 in a 21 to 10 vote after an 8-hour debate. “I have voted against this bill time and time again and will continue to condemn this offensive legislation in the name of respect and decency…
Mayor Nirenberg Testifies Against Bathroom Bills
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg was among the hundreds of people who testified on Friday, July 21 before the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs, speaking out against two anti-trans bathroom bills introduced by state Sen. Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-Brenham). In his testimony Nirenberg said, “This legislation puts transgender people in the crosshairs of discrimination,…
Texas Senate to Open Discussion on Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills
The Texas Legislature’s Senate Committee on State Affairs will hear witness testimony on two anti-trans bathroom bills introduced by state Sen. Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) for consideration during the Special Legislative Session. The Senate hearing is slated for Friday, July 21st, starting at 9:00 a.m. in Capitol Extension Room E1.036. The bills, Senate Bill 3…
Texas lawmakers, “bathroom bill” opponents prepare for round two
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune June 6, 2017 Among the Elder family’s dinnertime conversations last year was nailing down which sports their son Ben wanted to try out over the summer. This summer, another conversation topic — whether their 11-year-old transgender son will lose the right to use the boys’ bathroom at school —…