It Never Ends

Think the battle for LGBT rights is over? We won? Think again, grasshopper. Y’all ain’t been down to Texas much, I’m thinkin’.

Among the political signs jammed into the grass outside a polling station in this city’s South Park neighborhood stands one placard bearing an unusual slogan: “No men in women’s bathrooms.”

The statement, which is also emblazoned on T-shirts and conveyed in ominous television ads, has become a rallying cry for opponents of a measure designed to protect gay and transgender people from discrimination in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city and one of its most diverse.

The campaign to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, has become a priority for national gay rights groups and the city’s gay mayor — as well as for local business leaders, who fear an economic backlash similar to the one that hammered Indiana earlier this year if it is not adopted. But with an election set for Tuesday, polls show voters are divided on the measure — and some analysts are predicting defeat.

 One reason, they say, is the provocative claim that the measure would permit “any man at any time” to enter a women’s bathroom “simply by claiming to be a woman that day.” Opponents have dubbed the measure “the bathroom ordinance.”

“Houston voters do not want men in their women’s bathrooms,” said the Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors’ Council. “It’s an invasion of privacy, an invasion of a safe space for women and girls.”

It’s also completely untrue, supporters of the measure say. They accuse Welch and others of fearmongering, noting that the ordinance would not only protect the rights of transgender people, but also challenge discrimination on the basis of race, sex and a dozen other factors, including military status.

The sad thing is that the bullshit right wing playbook hasn’t changed at all in the eight years since the “shower nuts” in Montgomery County spouted pretty much identical nonsense in opposition to the transgender civil rights law here. And in case you think I’m being unfair with the name, their website here was called “notmyshower.net.” Yes, really.

The interesting – and encouraging – change since 2008 is the fact of the business community being on the side of civil rights. It’s not enlightenment, I think, but the realization that public opinion is now on the side of LGBT equality. And businesses don’t want to lose customers. No matter the reason, it’s good to have new allies.

But the fight isn’t over, not by a long shot.

Voting Rights Win

And out of Texas, no less. A unanimous three judge panel of the 5th Circuit (the country’s most conservative bench) threw out Texas’ 2011 voter ID law. From the Post:

A federal appeals court struck down Texas’s voter-identification law Wednesday in a victory for President Obama, whose administration took the unusual step of bringing the weight of the Justice Department to fight a wave of new ballot-box restrictions passed in conservative statehouses.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans ruled that the 2011 Texas law carries a “discriminatory effect” and violates the federal Voting Rights Act — handing down the decision on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights law.

Texas was allowed to use the voter-ID law during the 2014 elections, thereby requiring an estimated 13.6 million registered voters to have a photo ID to cast a ballot.

This decision should have a positive impact on the pending decision of a federal court in Nothh Carlona on that state’s 2013 law, which imposed a voter ID requirement, restricted early voting, and curtailed same day registration. 

Texas Won’t Give Up

Every state in the country has, to one degree or another, accepted Friday’s Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. Mississippi may be stalling for time, but it’s no more than that. Texas, on the other hand, is special, particularly in its own theatrical and Alamo-addled brains. So Texas has decided to fight. Even though it has less chance of success here than Davy Crockett & Co. did in 1836.

On Friday, Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement decrying the ruling and invoking “religious liberty” as a basis for allowing state officials to continue to deny marriage licenses to same sex couples.

“Despite the Supreme Court’s rulings, Texans’ fundamental right to religious liberty remains protected. No Texan is required by the Supreme Court’s decision to act contrary to his or her religious beliefs regarding marriage.

“The Texas Constitution guarantees that ‘[n]o human authority ought, in any case whatsoever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion.’ The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion; and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, combined with the newly enacted Pastor Protection Act, provide robust legal protections to Texans whose faith commands them to adhere to the traditional understanding of marriage.

“As I have done in the past, I will continue to defend the religious liberties of all Texans—including those whose conscience dictates that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman. Later today, I will be issuing a directive to state agencies instructing them to prioritize the protection of Texans’ religious liberties.”

Not to be outdone, even bigger right wing loon Attorney General Ken Paxton went further, claiming that Texas officials could refuse to issue marriage licenses based on religious conscience. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Sunday stated that county clerks, judges and justices of peace can deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples for religious reasons, arguing that the Supreme Court did not abolish religious liberty.

Ken Paxton, in his nonbinding legal opinion, went on to add that “numerous lawyers” would be made available to defend public officials refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to The Associated Press.

“This newly minted federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage can and should peaceably co-exist with longstanding constitutional and statutory rights, including the rights to free exercise of religion and freedom of speech,” Paxton’s opinion states. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick later requested to review the document.

I guarantee you that sometime this week, some Texas legislator will give a speech advocating for calling out the Texas Rangers to resist the issuance of marriage licenses to same sex couples, and authorizing the shooting of any damn Yankees that try to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision.

They really, really don’t like people messing with Texas. Don’t expect this resistance to end anytime soon.