FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 25, 2017

With its preliminary approval on second reading of a “bathroom bill” this evening, the Texas Senate over the past two days has rushed through approval of bills discriminating against transgender people and making access to abortion care even harder for Texans. Once the bills pass the Senate on third reading, the House still must take them up in the current legislative special session. Texas Freedom Network Deputy Director Ryan Valentine has the following statement:

“Despite all the lies to the contrary, the flurry of unnecessary and harmful bills flying through the Senate has never been about promoting safety and privacy or protecting women’s health. Anybody who is paying attention, including more and more businesses and people of faith every day, recognize those cynical claims for what they really are: justifications for passing cruel and discriminatory laws. We hope the House recognizes that too.”

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The Texas Freedom Network is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization of religious and community leaders who support religious freedom, individual liberties and public education.… Read More

Gov. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Patrick fellow lawmakers continue to claim that the Texas “bathroom bill” isn’t about attacking and discriminating against transgender people. But the hate group that has played a leading role in trying to pass this cruel, discriminatory bill has made the real agenda behind it very clear — attacking the very existence of transgender people and, more broadly, the LGBT community. Check out this week’s hate screed from Steve Hotze, the head of Conservative Republicans of Texas, headlined: “There Is No Such Thing as Transgender.”

Excerpts:

“Men who claim to be women and want to be able to enter women’s and girls’ bathrooms, showers and locker rooms are participating in disgraceful, shameful conduct. They need to be told, ‘Stop it!’ These individuals should be ostracized.”

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“When [the ‘bathroom bill’] passes, the Texas economy will prosper. There will be tens of thousands of families across America who will move to Texas because our state government has stood up for women’s and girls’ privacy, and not caved in to the homosexual political movement which is determined to create moral and sexual anarchy in our society.

The homosexual political movement, comprised of individuals who practice and promote deviant… Read More

As pro-equality activists converge on the state Capitol on Friday (July 21) to speak out against the discriminatory "bathroom bill," supportive clergy will also be there to add their voices.… Read More

Today TFN President Kathy Miller spoke along with representatives of our partner organizations on a national press call about Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick trying to pass a “bathroom bill” and other anti-LGBT discriminatory legislation in the coming special session of the Texas Legislature. The special session begins Tuesday (July 18). Here’s the statement Kathy made during the national press call:…… Read More

Today Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a deeply divisive and discriminatory bill allowing the use of religion to discriminate against LGBT Texans and others in adoption and foster care services. We just sent out the following statement.… Read More