Nice.
Rep. Julie Johnson
Hours before a key deadline, Rep. Julie Johnson used a legislative maneuver known as a “point of order” to bump [a bill that LGBT rights advocates said would have perpetuated anti-gay discrimination] from the debate calendar. It’s now effectively dead, unless conservative lawmakers can find a way to resurrect it before a critical legislative deadline at midnight Thursday.
Johnson, D-Carrollton, said it was “an honor to be fighting this fight” and torpedo what she called “a very hurtful piece of legislation.”
“Hopefully this is the day discrimination against the LGBT community dies in the Texas House,” Johnson said. “I feel great. …I’m going to go celebrate.”
House Bill 3172 has alternately been called the “Save Chick-fil-A” and “most extreme anti-LGBT” legislation this year. Authored by Fort Worth GOP Rep. Matt Krause, it would have prohibited the government from taking any “adverse action” against someone for their “membership in, affiliation with, or contribution, donation or other support” to a religious organization.
The bill’s supporters said it would have helped avoid the situation faced by fast food chain Chick-fil-A, which was boycotted and booted from San Antonio’s airport for making donations to Christian organizations that oppose expanded LGBT rights. But lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates said the legislation would have given Texans a license to discriminate against people based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
[…]
Johnson said she and her colleagues in the newly-formed Texas House LGBTQ Caucus worked hard to formulate different ways to kill the bill once they realized it had a good chance of being debated by Thursday, the deadline for representatives to pass House bills and resolutions.
First, she offered a point of order arguing the amended bill improperly expanded its scope. That was shot down. Then, Johnson said an analysis of the bill’s effects was inaccurate. That point of order was valid, parliamentarians said, as a handful of lawmakers cheered the bill’s demise.
Johnson said while she brought the successful point of order, killing the bill was a “group effort.”
“It was an honor to be chosen to be the messenger,” Johnson said. “The LGBTQ Caucus is in the House. We’re getting things done and we’re here to stay.”
This bill was high on the list of threats to the LGBTQ community. Killing it would be a big win. Nothing is truly dead until sine die, and bill author Rep. Matt Krause has said he will try to get this attached to something in the Senate, but knocking it off the calendar is a big help. Well done, y’all. The Trib has more.
“….it would have prohibited the government from taking any “adverse action” against someone for their “membership in, affiliation with, or contribution, donation or other support” to a religious organization.”
Be careful what you wish for. If government taking adverse action against someone for their membership in, affiliation, or contribution, donation or other support to a religious organization is fine and dandy, then I am calling for an immediate and full on attack by the Texas state government, and local governments, against any person or organization that supports Islam. I’m calling for CAIR and other Muslim terror support and apologist groups to be ostracized and banned, to the extent allowed by Texas law. I’m calling for cities to ban halal restaurants, from their jurisdictions if the restaurant owners are members of mosques, or donate to said mosques.
Thank you, Julie Johnson, for your courage!
Let’s get this party started!
In case it needed to be said, that was a tongue in cheek comment, highlighting exactly why we should demand that our government treat ALL comers fairly, and not discriminate. Julie clearly isn’t familiar with the law of unintended consequences. She may want to try and use her position to hurt Chick-fil-A, but guess what? If that kind of thing is OK, how’s she going to feel when others use THEIR positions to hit someone or something SHE cares about?
Bill airports run on Sunday, Chic is so religious they would not open on Sunday, would they?
Manny, you just couldn’t help yourself !
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