The Week in Quotes (Feb. 5 – 11)

Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes culled from news reports from across Texas, and beyond.

Phillip Jones, president of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, on the potential impact on sporting events if state legislators pass a so-called “bathroom bill.”

We’re being disingenuous in thinking that because we’re Texas they would not pull the events from Texas. They will.

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Dan Quinn, TFN communications director, on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appearing at a prayer rally to lobby for an anti-LGBT “bathroom bill.”

It would be a good thing if politicians stopped using faith as a weapon to divide Texans and hurt people they don’t like. But that apparently is too much to ask of a lot of politicians in this Legislature.

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Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Donald Trump’s education secretary.

It’s telling that even when Trump had full control of the legislative and executive branches, he could only get DeVos confirmed by an unprecedented tiebreaking vote by his vice president. That’s because DeVos shows an antipathy for public schools, a full-throttled embrace of private, for-profit alternatives and a lack of basic understanding of what children need to succeed in school.

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State Rep. Ina Minjarez, D-San Antonio, during the announcement of a coordinated, proactive reproductive health, rights, and justice policy campaign for Texas. The coalition behind the campaign, Trust. Respect. Access., includes TFN.

Supporting family values means supporting families. Unfortunately, many of the same lawmakers who are against policies that guarantee access to a full range of reproductive healthcare are also not supportive of policies that would make it easier for Texans to care for their families, like paid leave.

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Rev. Taylor Fuerst of First United Methodist Church in Austin, speaking out against anti-LGBT proposals at the Texas Legislature.

Our lawmakers are considering anti-transgender bathroom bills and bills that come disguised as religious freedom — dangerous pieces of legislation that place a religious mask over what amounts to state-sanctioned discrimination.