Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That landmark legislation bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Its enactment came after decades of struggle by civil rights advocates in the face of virulent opposition — opposition that often resorted to brutality and even murder. President Johnson didn’t sweep away […]
civil and equal rights
Houston RR Group Makes Big Sunday Church Push for Anti-Gay Referendum
An email from the far-right Houston Area Pastor Council today calls on pastors “to serve as the turning point in the anti-family tide” by using their churches this Sunday to collect signatures for a referendum overturning the city’s recently passed Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). From the email: Pastors, that is a reminder that we can gather signatures […]
Houston City Council Takes a Stand for Equality: Passes Equal Rights Ordinance by 11-6 Vote
The Houston City Council, by a vote of 11-6, has just passed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which bars discrimination based on race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and military status, among other characteristics, in employment, housing and public accommodations. Houston now joins Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso in adopting such broad civil rights […]
Houston ERO Opponent: 'We Can't Let the Devil Do What He Wants'
The vote on the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is scheduled to take place in Houston City Council chambers some time today. The ERO would simply prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on race, gender, religion, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity and a number of other protected characteristics . But from the moment […]
RR Leader: Religious Freedom Applies Only to Anti-Gay Christians
Religious-righters claim that barring discrimination against LGBT people violates their religious freedom to, well, discriminate against people they don’t like. Now Tony Perkins, head of the national organization Family Research Council (FRC), is arguing that Christians who support LGBT equality don’t deserve religious freedom themselves. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated Perkins’ FRC as an anti-gay hate group. Speaking on the […]