Tag Archives: transgender rights

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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When your gender doesn’t match your birth certificate

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Daily Beast looks at what it means in practice to be a transgender person in Texas facing the prospect of having to use your birth certificate to use the bathroom. According to the Williams Institute, an LGBT think tank … Continue reading →

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Straus is a big No on SB6

Posted on March 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Very good to hear. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus on Friday gave perhaps his harshest condemnation yet of the controversial “bathroom bill” championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Straus said the bill, which has drawn the ire of Texas businesses … Continue reading →

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“It’s harder to paint us as monsters when there’s a human face on it”

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Words of wisdom from one very dedicated and engaged citizen. Monday marked Stephanie Martinez’s 12th time participating in a lobby day hosted by Equality Texas at the Capitol. But this session, in response to Senate Bill 6, the 48-year-old transgender … Continue reading →

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Beware the coming shenanigans on SB6

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The full House may not get to vote on Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t get a chance to vote onwhat’s in the bill. But speculation that SB 6 may not make it to the … Continue reading →

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Athletes against SB6

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Athlete Ally: Dear Texas, The love of sport is in part what makes Texas great. The passion and competitive spirit that reverberates throughout the Texas athletic community is hard to match across the United States. It’s that passion – … Continue reading →

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Mike Floyd for Pearland ISD

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

What were you doing when you were 18 years old? Probably not running for school board. Michael Floyd isn’t your typical high school senior. The Dawson High School student says he’s been involved in politics since he was in fourth … Continue reading →

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Senate passes bathroom bill

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Take your victory lap, Dan Patrick. The Texas Senate on Tuesday tentatively signed off on the so-called “bathroom bill” on a 21-10 vote with one Democrat — state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville — voting in favor of the … Continue reading →

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SB6 is already costing us business

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There will be lots more of this to come as it advances. Three groups — with meetings estimated to bring $3.1 million in total spending — no longer are considering the Alamo City for their events because of a bill … Continue reading →

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The bathroom bill is still terrible (and still about bathrooms)

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t care what they do to it. It’s discriminatory, it solves no problems, and it will hurt many people as well as the state’s reputation and economy. With the measure scheduled for a committee hearing Tuesday, Texas Republicans are … Continue reading →

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Eddie Lucio is the worst

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Screw this guy. State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. on Monday came out in support of the so-called “bathroom bill,” giving Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a Democratic supporter in his push for the high-profile legislation. Lucio, who has previously bucked his … Continue reading →

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More on Mack Beggs

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I like this kid. In the wake of winning a controversial Texas state girls’ wrestling title over the weekend, Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old transgender wrestler, spoke to the need to “stay strong” while also calling on state policymakers to “change … Continue reading →

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Patrick versus the House

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas House isn’t all onboard with Dan Patrick’s agenda, and our Lite Guv has his shorts in a bunch about it. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick celebrated a milestone Wednesday: His Senate had acted on all four of Gov. Greg … Continue reading →

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More businesses against SB6

Posted on March 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In an open letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Joe Straus and state lawmakers, nearly 70 Texas businesses and chambers of commerce voice their opposition to Senate Bill 6, saying the … Continue reading →

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Bathroom bills are floundering

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Bills to curtail transgender people’s access to public restrooms are pending in about a dozen states, but even in conservative bastions such as Texas and Arkansas they may be doomed by high-powered opposition. The bills have taken on a … Continue reading →

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Mack Beggs

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I guarantee, we have never paid as much attention to the Texas high school wrestling championships as we did this past weekend. If the fervor over Euless Trinity transgender wrestler Mack Beggs during the last week could be swelled into … Continue reading →

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On pot and potties

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Two more poll results to note. Opposition to legal marijuana is dropping in Texas, with fewer than one in five respondents to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll saying they are against legalization in any form. Support for marijuana … Continue reading →

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There’s more than SB6 to watch out for

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye out for other anti-LGBT bills, because any of them might pass even if SB6 goes down. With the media seemingly preoccupied by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, three Republican state senators have quietly introduced a sweeping … Continue reading →

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Global investors against SB6

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Led by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and Trillium Asset Management, a group of some of the largest investors in the world, with a combined $11 trillion of assets under management, today spoke out against … Continue reading →

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Keep those calls and letters coming

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Dan Patrick needs to hear from you. As Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick relentlessly pushes a bill that would restrict the public restrooms transgender people can use, opposition to the measure is pouring in to his office. Patrick’s office received more … Continue reading →

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The NBA is keeping an eye on SB6, too

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’d be shocked if they weren’t. While lauding the work of New Orleans to take on the NBA All-Star game after the league pulled its events from Charlotte because of House Bill 2, which limited anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay … Continue reading →

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Again, there is no such thing as an acceptable bathroom bill

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The current strategy for Dan Patrick in trying to round up support for, or at least blunt opposition to, his bathroom bill is to claim that it will contain exceptions for sports venues, so no one needs to worry about … Continue reading →

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Abbott shakes fist at NFL

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? Gov. Greg Abbott is blasting the NFL for raising the prospect that Texas’ so-called “bathroom bill” could impact future events in the state — wading into a debate he has so far mostly steered clear of. “The NFL is … Continue reading →

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Artists against SB6

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see this, but I have some questions. More than 135 musicians and artists are joining the chorus of opposition against Texas’ so-called “bathroom bill.” Singers and other artists including Lady Gaga, Cyndi Lauper, Alicia Keys have signed … Continue reading →

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Trump Justice Department to drop appeals in transgender bathroom directive case

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From ThinkProgress: The Trump administration has elected not to contest a Texas federal judge’s injunction barring the federal government from implementing Obama administration guidelines that protect transgender kids in schools. Oral arguments for the Obama Justice Department’s appeal of the … Continue reading →

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How SB6 will hurt people

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Nell Gaither counts the ways. SB 6 identifies a target without naming it and erases policy intended to offer at least some protection for vulnerable populations, building a legal excuse for harming those people and for coercing them not to … Continue reading →

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Counting to 19 on SB6

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the number of votes needed to move the Patrick potty bill to the floor of the Senate for a full vote. At times, it seemed like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was a bit like a man on an island … Continue reading →

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The burden that keeps on depriving

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

North Carolina’s bathroom law, y’all. The North Carolina Sports Association, which represents 27 counties across North Carolina that recruit and promote major sporting events, sent a letter to the state’s House of Representatives and General Assembly on Monday urging an … Continue reading →

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