With less than two weeks until Election Day in Houston, two openly gay athletes announced their support for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), writes Hayley Miller on the HRC Blog.
Retired NBA athlete Jason Collins, who spoke at HRC’s National Dinner earlier this month, tweeted his support.
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL and the winner of HRC’s Upstander Award, announced his support in an email for HRC.
“I know first-hand what it feels like to be unwelcome – to live an open and authentic life in a place where you can be ostracized or even discriminated against for simply being yourself,” Sam wrote. “That’s why as a Texas native I was thrilled when Houston passed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) last year… and equally disappointed when opponents petitioned for its repeal this year. Now it’s on the ballot and it’s up to all of us to protect Houstonians from discrimination.”
HERO protects Houston residents and visitors from protection from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, and 11 other characteristics in employment, housing and business services.
Early voting began on October 19 and ends on Friday, October 30.
