Tag Archives: transgender rights

This special session is going to be so much fun

Posted on July 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So much repressed hostility… Five days before the Texas Legislature is scheduled to open a special session, it is clear the relationship between the leaders of the House and Senate remains as strained as it was at the end of … Continue reading →

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Special session officially set

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves, it starts next week. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration for a special session of the Texas Legislature Monday, formally inviting lawmakers back to Austin to pass “sunset legislation” that will keep several key state agencies open. The … Continue reading →

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“America’s future is Texas”

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that long story in the New Yorker that everyone is talking about. It covers basically the entire legislative session with a bunch of preliminary background info, most of which is very familiar to all of us, so I’m just … Continue reading →

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What West Texas can do to improve their schools

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an op-ed from the Statesman about one educator in West Texas who has had enough. My hero this week is Graydon Hicks, Fort Davis superintendent of schools. A West Texas publication published his open letter to Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading →

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Next round of bathroom bills getting prepped

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the new bills, same as the old bills. Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, is expected to introduce two bills in the upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature that would regulate which public bathrooms transgender Texans, including schoolchildren, can use. … Continue reading →

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Doctors against bathroom bills

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. [Last] week, the American Medical Association (AMA), the country’s largest medical organization, took several actions to solidify their defense of transgender people. This included a resolution opposing any policy or legislation — like “bathroom bills” put forth in North Carolina and … Continue reading →

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Even the SBOE opposes vouchers and the bathroom bill

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A rare bout of sanity. The Texas State Board of Education is known for its conservative ideals, but a majority of its Republican members said Tuesday they oppose GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s demand that lawmakers pass a school voucher program … Continue reading →

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The special session could get a little testy

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Sow a little discord, Joe. We approve. Speaking to educators Wednesday, House Speaker Joe Straus took some jabs at the Senate for focusing on a bill to regulate public bathroom use instead of putting more than a billion dollars into … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bill or NFL draft?

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Back to some familiar questions as the special session looms. The Cowboys have made their pitch to host the NFL draft. Whether that occurs depends, in large part, on what happens in Austin this summer. NFL officials have no interest … Continue reading →

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Abbott calls for special session

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

To begin July 18, with a laundry list of wingnut wet dreams. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday called a special session of the Texas Legislature starting July 18 and promised to make it a sweeping one if lawmakers cooperate. Abbott … Continue reading →

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Wisconsin case undermines even the scaled back bathroom bill

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Special session or not, this could be a big deal. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit likely just handed the Supreme Court a new case about a transgender student to consider. The Court’s opinion, issued Tuesday, eviscerates … Continue reading →

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Super Bowl economic impact was about what we expected

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Not too bad. The receipts are in, and February’s Super Bowl LI appears to have been a substantial boon for Houston — albeit with slightly less spending than expected. Gross spending during the nine days of Super Bowl programming, minus … Continue reading →

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More big employers against a bathroom bill

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what it will take to get this message to sink in, but it won’t be for lack of trying. The CEOs of 14 top companies, including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, have sent a letter to Gov. … Continue reading →

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House will not negotiate on “bathroom bill” amendment

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is it. Refusing to go any further to regulate bathroom use for transgender Texans, House Speaker Joe Straus said on Friday that the House will not appoint members to negotiate with the Senate on its proposed compromise on … Continue reading →

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How bad is the “Patrick Lite” bathroom bill?

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For one view, there’s this, from Texas Competes: A review of press coverage shows that the Texas “bathroom bill” debate generated $216 million in publicity for the state of Texas in the period from January 10, 2016 through May 22, … Continue reading →

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Amendment focused on school bathrooms passes the House

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I had some hope that we could make it through this session without something like this happening, but clearly we could not. Amid threats of a special legislative session over the “bathroom bill,” the Texas House on Sunday took a … Continue reading →

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Budget deal reached

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The one bill that must get passed is on its way. After months of private squabbling and public threats of a legislative overtime session, the Texas House and Senate finally compromised to unveil a joint budget late Saturday. Lawmakers, scrounging … Continue reading →

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Patrick takes some hostages

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is what passes for leadership in our state. With deadlines looming, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday threatened to push for a special session of the Legislature to pass a bill to regulate bathroom use for transgender Texans and … Continue reading →

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Bill to allow discrimination in adoptions and foster care passes the House

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Shameful. Under House Bill 3859, which advanced on a 94-51 vote, providers would be protected from legal retaliation if they assert their “sincerely held religious beliefs” while caring for abused and neglected children. The measure would allow them to place … Continue reading →

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House bathroom bill will not get a committee vote

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. A proposal to gut cities and school districts’ trans-inclusive bathroom policies did not advance in the House ahead of a crucial deadline, nixing the measure’s chances of getting a vote by the full chamber. But that doesn’t mean … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bills and business interests

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly’s Dave Mann reviews the Republican schism over the bathroom bill and comes to the same conclusion as I have. At the moment, the Legislature—and the Republican party, for that matter—has settled into an uneasy stalemate between Patrick’s right-leaning … Continue reading →

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LGBT anti-discrimination bills voted out of House committee

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One bit of good news this week. In an unprecedented vote, a House committee on Wednesday approved two bills to prohibit housing and employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Dallas Republican Rep. Jason Villalba split with his … Continue reading →

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Faith leaders against discrimination

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

More of this, please. Prayer is a staple of the Texas Capitol, where lawmakers begin each legislative day with an invocation and bowed heads. But on Wednesday, about 50 faith leaders of various denominations lined the stairs outside the Texas … Continue reading →

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Uber and Lyft speak on the “biological sex” amendment in statewide rideshare bill

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Five days after a controversial amendment defining “sex” as “male or female” was added to a statewide ride-hailing bill, representatives from Uber and Lyft called the addition disappointing and unnecessary — though both companies stopped short of … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bill 2.0 gets its committee hearing

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the same old garbage in a new package. Amid concerns about rolling back local protections for vulnerable Texans and dire economic fallout, a panel of House lawmakers considered a measure into the early hours of Thursday morning that some … Continue reading →

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Another study of bathrooms and business

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Short answer: Bathroom bills are bad. Legislation viewed by many as discriminatory toward LGBT Texans — including proposals to regulate which bathrooms transgender individuals may use — could cost the state $3.3 billion in annual tourism dollars and more than … Continue reading →

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More on the House bathroom bill

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Still a very bad idea. After largely avoiding discussions so far on proposals to regulate bathrooms, the Texas House will wade into the debate this week with a measure some are hoping will serve as an alternative to the Senate’s … Continue reading →

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Greg Abbott wants to kill off cities

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the only way to describe it. As state lawmakers gather for their biennial session this spring, they’re weighing whether to rein in localities that ban plastic grocery bags, extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ residents, discourage cooperation with federal … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bill 2.0

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Beware. House lawmakers will debate a so-called “bathroom bill” next week that supporters hope will be less worrisome to business interests concerned the measure could hurt the Texas economy. The decision to debate the House bill, and to set aside a more severe version passed … Continue reading →

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The first step is admitting you have a problem

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Rewire points out an issue that should have been obvious. Earlier this month, about 70 Texas businesses signed a letter condemning a discriminatory bill now circulating in the state legislature that would largely bar transgender people from using public restrooms … Continue reading →

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NCAA rewards North Carolina for its weaksauce HB2 repeal

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So this happened. Discrimination won the championship this year. The NCAA announced Tuesday morning that it completely fell for the bait-and-switch concocted by Republican leadership in North Carolina’s legislature and Gov. Roy Cooper (D). Last week, they passed a compromise … Continue reading →

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The kindergarten face of SB6

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the Shappley family of Pearland. Kimberly Shappley’s former self is about as by-the-book right-wing as you can get: a Southern Baptist-identified evangelical, a Republican stalwart, an “ultraconservative” Tea Partier. When she heard of other parents with transgender kids, she … Continue reading →

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The North Carolina bathroom bill price tag

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How does $3.76 billion, at a minimum, grab you? Despite Republican assurances that North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” isn’t hurting the economy, the law limiting LGBT protections will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen … Continue reading →

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First shenanigan spotted

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more to come, I’m sure, but this will be happening today. A Tuesday debate over the future of the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry could instead become a showdown over immigration and where … Continue reading →

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