Houston decided it had a problem: Its LGBT nondiscrimination law

[suzifrommd]

Houston decided it had a problem: Its LGBT nondiscrimination law

By Janell Ross November 4

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/04/houston-decided-it-had-a-problem-its-lgbt-nondiscrimination-law/

The law aimed to extend civil rights protections in housing, employment and public facilities (in all senses of the term) to all Houstonians, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, marital or military status, as well as sexuality and gender identity.

That's a long list, we know. But it's that final item that appears to have defeated the measure

[suzifrommd]

A disaster. I hope this doesn't mean that LGB anti-discrimination laws will drop the "T" protections.

I do think, though, that the article misses the mark in analyzing people's objections. I don't think they're as afraid of predators as they are of a general elimination of single-sex restrooms and the feeling of safety they give people.

[cindianna_jones]

Well it looks like THIS will be coming up in next year's election cycle. One party depends on hate to further its goals. And men in bathrooms cuts to the heart of fundamentalist feelings.

[Deborah]

 I don't know how this can be better addressed.  Since we are dealing with voters I don't think education will fix it any time soon.  Most people deal poorly with facts and cling to what their authority figures say.  Those authority figures discard facts for dogma.

Carrying some kind of ID might work but is objectionable to most. So that's probably not a viable solution either.

Time will probably fix it but how much time? 

Economic pressure like what was exerted in Indiana is probably the most effective short term solution if enough big companies and organizations participate.  People tend to love their wallets more than their dogmas.


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[Tessa James]

What a disgraceful outcome.  As Houston's mayor, who is gay, asked, why should our civil rights be up for public popularity votes?  I have even less interest now in visiting Texas if those really are their prevailing values.  The ability to legally discriminate, foment hatred and use transgender people in bathrooms as their wedge issue to promote their faith??? Huh? and some of them still think they are the potential victims here.   wow, another mass delusion takes off.

Yuk!

[Colleen M]

Since we are dealing with voters I don't think education will fix it any time soon. 

I don't know whether this makes me want to laugh until I cry...or cry until I laugh.     

[KatelynBG]

I legitimately cried this morning when I read about the bill failing. It triggered me and I had a panic attack. I was brought back to when I was a confused child of 8. I sobbed myself to sleep wishing to be turned into a girl and that I could forget about ever trying to be a boy. I played video games with my older brother a lot back then and one day a few weeks before my birthday we were playing something and he bet me that if I lost, he'd buy me a pink frilly dress. I lost on purpose. My birthday rolled around and no dress... I was devastated. A few days later I hesitantly asked about the dress and my brother called me the f word and said I was mentally ill. Then he punched me in the face.

A few days later I dusted off our encyclopedia and managed to find crossdressing, and ->-bleeped-<- and transsexual. All describing sexuality depraved men, sexual deviants. Imagine thinking you're a sexual deviant before you have your first erection. 6 years before I managed a confusing orgasm. I slammed the book closed as well as the closet door for 25 years. The repression nearly killed me.

I wept imagining all of the other confused little boys and girls that saw the rhetoric and deciding that their whole existence is shameful and deviant.

Sorry for the long post but I've been emotional all day over this and I really shouldn't be.

[RobynD]

Truly horrible to manipulate the electorate into hating people. The reactionary elements will fight tooth and nail to stop change in society because it erodes their power. Faux Christianity is a both a means and ally of this evil.

On the bright side don't count the courts out of the matter as we have seen, and do not forget how fast society changed on marriage equality. From a minority to a majority in favor in what, 7-10 years?

[Yukari-sensei]

What I found most disappointing was despite the fact Houston has a liberal reputation within the state (although not as progressive as Austin), they capitulated to fear-mongering. What was supposed to be a sanctuary city, home of the Transgender museum, many support groups in the area, and the Montrose district has proven to be just as bigoted as the area surrounding it. There is a good deal of blame to share on this defeat, as much by our bigoted governor and his crooked crony attorney general as well as the voters.

I was strongly considering practicing nursing in the area (once I get through the BSN program), now I just want to get the heck out of the area and watch with glee as the boycotts start rolling in. They already lost the NCAA, let's see how bad this gets for them.

At this point the only thing I will miss from Houston is the Houston Grand Opera... oh well.

[Cindy]

I have to admit that I am fascinated by this ruling/debate. From an Australian perspective, and please be gentle, how does anyone know what gender you are when going to the toilet? It is surely unenforceable?

So why create unenforceable law? That is a contradiction on the purpose of Law?

I'm confused.

[KatelynBG]

Hi Cindy,

The law that was up for vote was whether or not people in the 4th largest US city should have anti-discrimination protections. Without them, employers and landlords could refuse to do business with anyone that wasn't protected at the state and federal level (usually just by sex, race and religion). So a trans woman could be fired upon coming out for example, or a gay man could legally be refused housing. The law that was up for vote is pretty standard practice for most US cities in that it extended anti-discrimination protections to 15 new categories of protected classes.

The religious people sized on one tiny aspect of the bill (public accommodation guarantees based on gender identity) and ran a brutally dishonest and harmful campaign against the bill. The proponents of the bill had a squishy response to the most outlandish attacks and of course, got trounced.

So the law doesn't actually forbid trans men and women from using public bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity currently, it just means that those in charge of said bathrooms could refuse to allow access to ladies' rooms to transwoman and vice versa for trans men in the men's rooms, if they feel like making that discrimination.

Hope that helps!

[lisarenee]

As Houston's mayor, who is gay, asked, why should our civil rights be up for public popularity votes?

This was what I wondered. My understanding was that the local government passed LBGT protections and then some judge ruled that the law had to be repealed or voted on by the general public. This is what doesn't make sense. Does Houston/Texas have some kind of Direct Democracy rule. Elected Legislators enacting laws without having to have a ballot measure for every single bill is kinda the point of a Representative Democracy, which is what the US is.

[Yukari-sensei]

This was what I wondered. My understanding was that the local government passed LBGT protections and then some judge ruled that the law had to be repealed or voted on by the general public. This is what doesn't make sense. Does Houston/Texas have some kind of Direct Democracy rule. Elected Legislators enacting laws without having to have a ballot measure for every single bill is kinda the point of a Representative Democracy, which is what the US is.

It's our currently under indictment for 3 felonies Attorney General Ken Paxton who filed against Houston with the Texas Supreme Court - who overruled the Houston city counsel and ordered the city to put it to direct vote. Then this *CENSORED* and our idiotic and crooked Governor Gregg Abbott publicly attacked the pro-HERO movement.

This is yet another in a series of movement by the "conservative" state government overruling progressive municipal legislation (just look at the Denton anti-fracking law).

[Amy1988]

Funny,  I was in the ladies room today at the mall and I was standing in front of the mirror brushing my hair. Along side me were two other gals discussing this very issue and talking trash. I wanted to start laughing at the irony.

[iKate]

This isn't about bathrooms. This is about us.

They don't like the fact that we exist. Why? My feeling is that some of them find us attractive and that will conflict with peer pressure relating to homophobia.

If you watched the whole debate it centered around the notion that we are "troubled men confused about our gender."

I don't know where to even begin with that one. I'm not a man, I'm certainly not troubled, and I'm not confused about my gender.

So they will do their best to drive us out of their perfect little society. Aint gonna work...