Texas Rising members also deliver bathroom passes to legislators to highlight opposition to discriminatory ‘bathroom bill’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUSTIN – Young Texans gathered at the Capitol in Austin today to tell their elected representatives that this rising generation plans to use its growing political power to advance a progressive agenda supporting LGBTQ equality, respect for reproductive rights and opposing barriers to voting.
The group – members of Texas Rising, the Texas Freedom Network’s project to engage young Texans in the political process – also delivered a blunt message: Senate Bill 6, the so-called “bathroom bill,” is state-sanctioned discrimination and should be rejected.
“We represent every single region in Texas,” said Richelle King, a Texas Rising field and outreach organizer at the University of Texas at Austin. “We’re part of a rising generation demanding that politicians stay out of our reproductive health care decisions, that voting be made easier, not harder, and that the Legislature stop trying to undermine full equality and fairness for our LGBTQ friends and family.”
While at the Capitol, the group advocated for 20 pieces of proposed legislation, that if approved, would improve the lives of young Texans. The bills include requirements that sex education classes contain medically accurate information on contraception, the enactment of statewide anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals in employment and housing, and voter education programs for high school teens who will soon become eligible to vote.
The group also visited legislators’ offices to deliver “bathroom passes” that asked staff and lawmakers which restrooms would be appropriate for Texas Rising members to use. The pass highlights the discriminatory aspect of Senate Bill 6 and the absurdity of policing bathrooms.
Texas Rising is a movement of young (ages 18-29), diverse, politically engaged Texans advocating for sound public policies that address reproductive rights, voter suppression, and LGBTQ equality. Texas Rising has chapters on 13 university and college campuses across the state.
“Texas is at a pivotal point in our history, and the decisions being made at the Capitol right now could impact young people for decades to come,” said Rae Martinez, a TFN regional field organizer working with young activists in Central Texas. “Right now we see tens of thousands of Americans resisting the forces of intolerance and division in this country. And for ten years now, TFN has been building a resistance organization full of young Texans who are opposed to discrimination, restrictions on women’s reproductive rights and efforts to undermine voting rights.”
It is estimated that young Texans are now 25 percent of the state’s electorate.
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The Texas Freedom Network is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that promotes public education, religious freedom and individual liberties.
