LGBT activists accuse Texas of ‘assault’
Critics count 24 bills they say would restrict their rights
One bill would make it AUSTIN legal to decline adoption services to gay couples. Another could deny them marriage licenses. Others would bar transgender Texans from using the public bathroom of their choice.
Supporters of the bills circulating in the Texas Legislature this session say they’re intended to protect the religious rights of citizens or maintain safety in public bathrooms. Critics counter that they’re an unprecedented attack on LGBT rights.
Gay rights activists count 24 bills introduced into the Legislature this session that they say would infringe on the rights of LGBT residents in Texas — more than any other time in state history. The bills are a new front in the attack on LGBT rights by Texas’ Republican-led Legislature after a U.S. Supreme Court decision two years ago recognizing the right to marry for same-sex couples, said Chuck Smith, president of Equality Texas, which advocates for LGBT rights.
“This is the most number of specifically anti-LGBT bills that we’ve ever faced,” he said. “It’s an all-out assault on LGBT people.”
One of the most contentious bills has been Senate Bill 6, the “bathroom bill,” which would require that people use bathrooms in public schools and government buildings based on their “biological sex” and prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
Senate Bill 6 has drawn criticism from civil rights activists, as well as business and tourism leaders. In a letter to Texas senators in March, Chris Wallace, president of the Texas Associa-
tion of Business, warned that the bill, if passed, would lead to at least $407 million in direct spending losses for the state. The bill passed the Senate but has stalled in the House.
Another bill would allow county clerks to pass off issuing marriage licenses to other county officials if it conflicted with their religious beliefs, and another would keep transgender athletes from competing in high school sports.
“If these bills are enacted in their current form, we will see litigation,” Smith said.
Texas is not alone. This year, lawmakers have introduced 131 bills that are considered antiLGBT in 30 states, according to figures compiled by the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign. Nine of those bills have passed into law.
Texas leads the nation in the number of bills considered anti- LGBT. Last year, 252 bills were introduced, eight of which became laws, according to the HRC statistics.
As in cases concerning reproductive or voter rights, when initiatives that impede minorities’ rights are blocked at the federal level, lawmakers turn to state houses to try to pass laws, said Cathryn Oakley, HRC’s senior legislative counsel. “It’s happening all around the country,” Oakley said. “Unsurprisingly, Texas just does it bigger.”
Texas Rep. James Frank, RWichita Falls, said the bills are not intended to impede LGBT rights, they’re about allowing citizens and agencies to exercise their religious beliefs. His initiative, House Bill 3859, would allow faith-based agencies to deny adoption and fostering services to couples if providing such services went against their “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Agencies that denied a couple would have to offer a referral to that couple, ac- cording to the bill.
Frank said he hopes the bill encourages more faith-based agencies to expand their services. The bill passed the House last week and is headed to the Senate, where it is likely to pass. “Just because you want to serve children doesn’t mean you have to leave your beliefs at the door,” he said.
Having the White House express similar sentiments helps in promoting religious liberty initiatives at the state level, Frank said. This month, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at allowing churches and other religious organizations to become politically active.
Randy Daniels, vice president of Dallas-based Buckner Children and Family Services, a Baptist-affiliated adoption and foster service agency, said HB 3859 could shield agencies such as his from lawsuits if they turn away samesex couples. Counselors at his agency meet with same-sex couples looking to foster or adopt, explain their beliefs, then refer them to the dozens of other adoption agencies that do work with same-sex couples, he said.
“It’s not my job to judge people,” Daniels said. “We meet with everybody and explain our religious beliefs, and we just ask that you honor and respect what we believe in.”