Tag Archives: gay rights

Interview with Jessica Shortall of Texas Competes

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We are very familiar with the fight over Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, which is encapsulated in SB6 but also exists in a larger sense in several other bills. A major component in this fight is the business community, which sees … Continue reading →

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A warning from North Carolina

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Are we listening? A North Carolina mayor issued a warning Thursday to Texas lawmakers concerning Senate Bill 6, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s anti-transgender bathroom bill. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said a similar law in the Tarheel State — House Bill … Continue reading →

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State Supreme Court will take up same sex marriage appeal

Posted on January 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow, this wasn’t the worst thing that happened yesterday. After pressure from Texas GOP leadership, the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court on Friday reversed course and agreed to take up a same-sex marriage case. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of … Continue reading →

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Paxton courts the business lobby

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what to make of this. Making his case for the “bathroom bill” to Texas business leaders, Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday that Senate Bill 6 would have a narrow focus, and he urged them to listen to … Continue reading →

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The GLSEN 2015 National School Climate Survey

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the stuff we talk about when we discuss Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill is business – the opposition from businesses, the political ramifications of a GOP/business schism, the economics of the bathroom bill, etc etc etc. But schools … Continue reading →

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It’s all bathrooms, all the time

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

People are paying attention to Dan Patrick’s anti-LGBT bathroom bill, and for the most part they do not like it. In early February, the Super Bowl will be in Houston and in late March, the women’s Final Four will be … Continue reading →

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Business really doesn’t want a bathroom bill

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Because this can’t be said enough. Texas business leaders are gearing up for a fight with state lawmakers over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push to bar transgender Texans from bathrooms tied to their gender identity. Business groups vehemently oppose the … Continue reading →

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This fight feels different

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The more I read about the forthcoming fight between Dan Patrick and his minions and everyone else over the bathroom bill, the more I am struck by the thought that we have never seen anything quite like this before in … Continue reading →

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Patrick plunges ahead with his potty bill

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. After months of sparring over whether transgender Texans should be allowed to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday officially set the legislative stage for the debate. Following North Carolina’s … Continue reading →

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Fighting the bathroom bill

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It will take all hands on deck. During a panel discussion hosted by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, [Sen. Sylvia] Garcia suggested that lawmakers should concentrate on issues like education funding and the state’s ongoing child welfare crisis. “It’s a … Continue reading →

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It’s just school bathrooms Dan Patrick really cares about

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So claims a surrogate, who may have been floating a trial balloon. An incoming state senator suggested Thursday that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will focus on schools, not businesses or sporting venues, as he crafts an already controversial proposal to … Continue reading →

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More on the cost of a bathroom bill

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever one thinks of the Texas Association of Business, you have to hand it to them for their lobbying focus on the great potty issue. With the legislative session just weeks ahead, the Texas business community is digging in its … Continue reading →

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It’s bill-filing season

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off. Today is the first day of early filing in the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate may begin filing the bills that will be discussed when the legislature convenes in January 10, 2017. So … Continue reading →

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How much is that bathroom bill worth to you, Danny?

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Is it worth $8.5 billion and 185,000 jobs? The Texas economy stands to lose $8.5 billion and 185,000 jobs if anti-LGBT legislation passes in next year’s session, according to an analysis from the Texas Association of Business, the state’s chamber … Continue reading →

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Republicans take their desperate shot at limiting same sex marriage

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Pathetic. After coming out on the losing end of a United States Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, Texas Republican leaders are now looking to the Texas Supreme Court to narrow the scope of that landmark ruling. Gov. Greg Abbott, … Continue reading →

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Business owners tell Dan Patrick to back off on bathrooms

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. Saying Texas Republican leaders are threatening jobs and the economy, more than 200 small-business owners issued an open letter Tuesday urging legislators to abandon plans for a state law targeting transgender bathrooms. The letter described “a … Continue reading →

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Republicans join Woodfill’s ridiculous anti-spousal benefits crusade

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Shoveling sand against the tide. Fifty Republican members of the Texas Legislature have signed a court brief arguing that the same-sex spouses of government employees shouldn’t be entitled to health insurance and other benefits. The “friend-of-the-court” brief was submitted Friday … Continue reading →

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Jared Woodfill never stops never stopping

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Fifteen months after the U.S. Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, anti-LGBT groups in Texas are still fighting the decision. Jonathan Saenz, president of the right-wing lobby group Texas Values, and Houston … Continue reading →

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How anti-business does Dan Patrick have to be for businesses to oppose him?

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I remain skeptical that there is such a threshold, but if one does exist, the next legislative session will test it. The Texas Association of Business (TAB) has formally come out against discriminatory anti-LGBT legislation, including so-called “bathroom bills.” The … Continue reading →

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ACC makes it three

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So long, North Carolina. Just two days after the NCAA announced they were moving scheduled tournaments out of North Carolina in protest of the state’s anti-LGBTQ House Bill 2, the Atlantic Coast Conference—which includes North Carolina’s biggest Division I programs … Continue reading →

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Patrick whines about NCAA decision to pull events from North Carolina

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick criticized the NCAA on Tuesday for its decision to pull seven of its championship events from the state of North Carolina. The action came after North Carolina passed a law regulating the use … Continue reading →

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NCAA removes all championship games for 2016 and 2017 from North Carolina

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Actions, they have consequences. Based on the NCAA’s commitment to fairness and inclusion, the Association will relocate all seven previously awarded championship events from North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors made this decision because of the cumulative actions taken … Continue reading →

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You are still free to discriminate against LGBT people

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder. Campus Pride usually highlights the best colleges for LGBT youth, as expensive as they may be. But for the first time today, the advocacy group is calling out the worst campuses for queer students. “Most people are shocked when they learn … 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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