Tag Archives: transgender rights

SCOTUS blocks order on transgender bathroom access for students

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

For now. The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked a court order that had allowed a transgender boy to use the boys’ bathroom in a Virginia high school. The vote was 5 to 3, with Justice Stephen G. Breyer joining … Continue reading →

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NCAA lays down a marker on anti-LGBT legislation

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hope the Lege is paying attention, because they can’t say they haven’t been warned. The NBA and NCAA may have just dealt a preemptive, one-two knockout punch to anti-LGBT bills in the upcoming Texas Legislature, which convenes in January. First, … Continue reading →

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UT will not push UIL on transgender athletes

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Despite objections from LGBT advocates, UIL’s longstanding informal policy is set to become official August 1 — when it takes effect as an amendment to the league’s constitution. The amendment, initially approved by UIL’s Legislative Council last year, wasoverwhelmingly ratified … Continue reading →

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Fort Worth updates its transgender bathroom policy

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone declares victory. The new guidelines, condensed to two pages, affirm transgender students’ right to accommodations but eliminate a portion of the April guidelines that told schools not to out transgender students to their parents out of concern for their … Continue reading →

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NBA pulls 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bam! The NBA issued the following statement Thursday regarding the 2017 NBA All-Star Game: “The NBA has decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte with the hope of rescheduling for 2019. “Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 … Continue reading →

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What will the NBA do with Charlotte?

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We are still waiting to see if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will follow through with a threat to move the NBA All-Star Game out of Charlotte after North Carolina passed its odious anti-LGBT law HB2. Houston’s 2015 defeat of Proposition … Continue reading →

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First potty case reaches SCOTUS

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The legal fight over transgender bathroom rights reached the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time on Wednesday as a Virginia county school board sought to block an order that lets a student who was born a … Continue reading →

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More opposition to North Carolina’s HB2

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Justice Department seeks to halt implementation of North Carolina’s viciously anti-LGBT law. The billowing legal fight over North Carolina’s House Bill 2 continued to grow this week with the U.S. Department of Justice asking a federal judge to suspend … Continue reading →

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More on Mississippi’s anti-LGBT law and the effect in Texas

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t look like we’re going to learn anything from the Mississippi experience. Reeves’ ruling isn’t likely to deter Texas Republicans who have stated adamantly that Christians and others with sincerely held religious beliefs need extra protection when following their faith, … Continue reading →

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More states file potty lawsuits

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, goodie. Ten additional states are suing the Obama administration to stop a directive that requires schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity under the threat of losing federal funding, bringing the total number … Continue reading →

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Paxton petitions for national injunction against transgender bathroom directive

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Plunging further into the politics of public school bathrooms, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday expanded his federal lawsuit against an Obama Administration directive instructing schools not to discriminate against transgender students, saying he wants … Continue reading →

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From the “You can dish it out but you sure can’t take it” files

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. After years of Texas trying to lure businesses away from other states, New York has struck back — with an ad that paints the Lone Star State as unwelcoming and discriminatory to the LGBT community. The two-minute ad … Continue reading →

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Mississippi anti-LGBT law struck down

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This definitely has consequences for Texas. A federal judge stopped Mississippi’s controversial “religious freedom” law Thursday night, minutes before it was set to take effect. In a opinion that cited scripture and Mississippi’s segregationist past, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton does not approve of transgender bathroom policies

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Big surprise, right? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday issued an opinion saying the Fort Worth school superintendent who made headlines for formulating guidelines to accommodate transgender students exceeded his authority. Paxton also said that a portion of the … Continue reading →

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Republicans gear up for full blown gay panic in 2017

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You have been warned. Still angry about the Supreme Court’s mandate, some conservative lawmakers hope that it is someday overturned. In the meantime, they expect to propose a series of what they call religious liberty bills to blunt its impact. … Continue reading →

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Colleges and bathrooms

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Texas’ colleges and universities have not yet been affected by Dan Patrick’s potty obsession. At the University of Houston, transgender students can enroll in voice feminization or masculinization clinics. At the University of Texas at Austin, students can write a … Continue reading →

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UIL punts again on transgender athletes

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I say again, please reconsider this. The debate over the University Interscholastic League’s policy for transgender athletes continues after the organization’s legislative council took no action during Tuesday’s meeting in Round Rock. The UIL rule stating a student’s gender is … Continue reading →

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Benjamin Elder

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Benjamin Elder, a better and braver person than Dan Patrick will ever be. Spend a few hours in Benjamin Elder’s company and you’ll realize he’s an average, bubbly 10-year-old kid. All lanky limbs and wavy chestnut-colored hair, he’s easy … Continue reading →

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On Dan Patrick’s hostility to the LGBT community

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey sums up the Dan Patrick tweetorrhea situation and tries to make sense of it. Lately, the lieutenant governor has been focused on transgender Texans and which bathrooms they should use — those of their identity or those of … Continue reading →

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Hotze and Woodfill take their hate statewide

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

These guys, I swear. The conservative organizers who helped topple Houston’s equal rights ordinance are pledging a $2 million advertising campaign against Target over the big box store’s transgender bathroom policy. Jared Woodfill and Steven Hotze of Conservative Republicans of … Continue reading →

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Patrick doubles down on potty politics

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s potties all the way down. Declaring that “this fight is just beginning,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday escalated his battle against guidelines in Texas and across the country that allow students to use the bathroom that corresponds with … Continue reading →

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Anyone want to help me sue the feds?

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday that he had filed a lawsuit challenging federal guidelines for transgender students, he said it was to protect a Texas school district that had adopted a policy requiring students … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues over Obama directive on transgender bathroom access

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A more transparent publicity stunt you would be hard-pressed to find. Texas, joined by 10 other states, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop a federal directive instructing school districts to let transgender students use the bathroom that corresponds with their … Continue reading →

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Paxton asks the feds if they’re sure about that bathroom thing

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just checking, I’m sure. Will public schools really lose federal education funding if they refuse to comply with a new Obama administration directive regarding transgender students? That’s the basic query posed by top lawyers from Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, School days | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

TEA Commissioner has no opinion yet on federal transgender bathroom directive

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Tuesday praised the state Supreme Court’s recent opinion upholding the state’s public school funding system and demurred on questions about bathroom use by transgender students. “Last time I checked, it … Continue reading →

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Federal action on schools accommodating transgender bathroom use

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to see this. The Obama administration is planning to issue a sweeping directive telling every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. A letter to school districts … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Dan Patrick is obsessed with children’s bathrooms

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Transgender advocates derided Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday for what they described as his “fake outrage” over the Fort Worth school district’s new transgender bathroom guidelines, calling the Republican a shameless bully. “A bully like … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton would like to remind you that he really is running for re-election

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We all understand that’s what this is about, right? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned Target this week that the company’s restroom policy could lead to criminal activity and demanded the retailer supply his office with its safety policies, stepping … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick supports potty package check legislation

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, weighing into a national controversy over transgender restrooms, said Tuesday he supports keeping men out of women’s restrooms, even if it takes legislation to do so. Since the issue erupted into controversy … Continue reading →

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Federal appeals court sides with transgender teen in bathroom case

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This could be big. A federal appeals court in Richmond has sided with a transgender high school student, saying that he can proceed with his lawsuit arguing that his school board’s decision to ban him from the boys’ bathroom is … Continue reading →

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Why North Carolina and not Houston?

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

John Nova Lomax asks why Houston has not suffered the same backlash as North Carolina after the repeal of HERO last November. In the aftermath of the repeal of Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance in November, the bill’s proponents predicted dire economic consequences. … Continue reading →

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Strategizing for the next HERO fight

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good move. Stung by setbacks related to their access to public restrooms, transgender Americans are taking steps to play a more prominent and vocal role in a nationwide campaign to curtail discrimination against them. Two such initiatives are being launched … Continue reading →

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Once again with “religious freedom” legislation

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. State Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, says he plans to re-file legislation next session that would supplement the state’s existing law to allow business owners to refuse services to people whose lifestyles … Continue reading →

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What will the business lobby do to prevent a North Carolina anti-equality law being passed in Texas?

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question that needs to be asked. Texas business leaders and LGBT advocates hope economic backlash over an anti-LGBT bill in North Carolina will deter lawmakers from taking up similar legislation next year in Austin. More than 100 CEOs and … Continue reading →

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