Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has fired off a letter asking Texas education agencies remove books from schools he described as “pornography,” specifically citing a pair of memoirs about LGBTQ+ characters that include frank descriptions of sex. Abbott’s letter to the Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission and State Board of Education comes…
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…
Time runs out on Texas House bill banning gender confirmation health care for kids, but another attempt lives on in the Senate
House Bill 1399 would have banned gender confirmation surgery, hormone therapy and puberty suppression treatments for Texas’ transgender children. By Megan Munce, The Texas Tribune A controversial bill that would ban gender affirming health care for transgender children missed a key deadline Thursday for consideration in the Texas House. But a similar Senate bill still…
Texas House Passes Religious Liberty Bill Amid LGBTQ Caucus’ Objections
What started as a sweeping religious refusals bill has been significantly watered down as it moves through the Texas Legislature. But LGBTQ advocates still fiercely oppose it, saying it perpetuates hateful rhetoric. By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune Over the tearful opposition of the Legislature’s first-ever LGBTQ Caucus and several failed attempts at a procedural…
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 LGBTQ Caucus Marks Major Victory, Killing Bill They Feared Would Hurt Gay People
The LGBTQ Caucus, formed this year, notched a major victory Thursday evening, defeating a controversial measure as the Texas House raced toward a midnight deadline. By Emma Platoff, The Texas Tribune In their first major test, members of the Texas House’s LGBTQ Caucus helped muscle down a bill Thursday night that they characterized as an…
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…
House Spars Over Whether New State Bar Rules Would Open Door to Discrimination
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune May 15, 2017 As part of an ongoing push by some Republicans to insert religious freedom protections into state agency review bills, House lawmakers on Monday sparred over attempts to amend the State Bar of Texas sunset bill in a way that opponents say could open up prospective LGBT…
Anti-LGBT Religious Refusal Bills Abound in Texas Legislature
Republicans in the 85th session of the Texas Legislature are pushing a number religious refusal bills that would codify anti-LGBT discrimination into state law. State lawmakers failed to pass nearly a dozen religious refusal bills in 2015 and in 2017 are again trying to introduce legislation which uses religion to deny equality to LGBT Texans.…