It is no surprise that proponents of so-called ‘religious freedom’ legislation have emerged in Texas. An array of conservative red states are all crafting some form of legislation that would allow businesses to deny services to anyone – not just the LGBTQ community – based on their religious convictions. But a coalition of business and…
Early this morning, Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz announced his intention to run for president on Twitter, prompting the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to highlight Cruz’s long standing anti-LGBT history. For years now, Cruz has stood on the wrong side of history against the LGBT community. The Texas Senator has proved his homophobia time and…
Stickers that say “exclusively for white people” have been posted on at least six businesses in the Texas capital of Austin. The stickers carry the City of Austin logo and state “sponsored by the City of Austin.” City of Austin officials denied any involvement. In a statement, Mayor Steve Adler said, “This is an appalling…
AUSTIN — Texas State Rep. Celia Israel has introduced a bill that would protect youth and their families from the discredited practice of conversion therapy. The bill— HB 3495 —reflects the unanimous view of medical, mental health, and child welfare experts that attempts by therapists to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity…
With a growing sense of confidence that the ban on same-sex marriages will once and forever be felled by the U.S. Supreme Court this June, civil rights groups and lawyers fear that conservative forces in Texas will punish the LGBT community by enacting laws that undermine an already tenuous environment for equality. According to DailyTexanOnline.com,…
A number of cities in Texas have taken the historic step of passing non-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people, only to see those laws challenged by the extreme right-wing U.S. Pastor Council — a group that has called Houston Mayor Annise Parker a “sodomite” and labeled gay people “forces of spiritual darkness,” reports Media Matters for America. Jan. 20, opponents…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Lambda Legal filed suit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of Kathy Murphy, a Texas widow denied spousal benefits after the death of her wife, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (the National Committee), arguing that denying Social Security benefits to same-sex spouses because they…
Texas governor, Rick Perry waded into the debate over a change to the Texas Republican Party’s platform, which recently added support for so-called “reparative therapy” as a plank. According to press reports, when asked whether he believes homosexuality is a disorder, Perry responded that, “whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or…
LOS ANGELES — Having served three terms as the mayor of Texas’s largest city, Houston’s Annise Parker has proven she is not going away any time soon. Parker began her career as a very visible lesbian activist during the 1980s. Then, as an openly gay politician, she took the mayor’s office in America’s fourth largest…
A couple has claimed that a Texas school refused to enroll their son because they are lesbians. Gay Star News reports that Tracy and Dawn Keller were assured they could enroll their three-year-old son into the Bedford, Texas school but after touring the school were phoned by the director saying there son would not be…
