Gay Republicans Again Denied Booth At State Party Convention; Labelled "Abnormal"

[#TexasPolitics365]

 

An organization representing gay Republicans was once again denied permission to set up a booth at the Texas Republican Party Convention in Houston.

The Fort Worth Log Cabin Republicans is a new chapter of a national organization. The local group and the organization’s state affiliate were denied booths at the event that drew Republicans from across the state, a spokesperson for the party confirmed. 

“I know that we need change in Texas party leadership, and there’s a small group of very loud people that are running this, but we will come back in two years and continue to fight forward,” said Jason Baldwin, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Fort Worth,

Newly reelected State Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi cast the deciding vote that denied the group permission to set up a table. He said he was casting his vote on behalf of a delegate who had died.

The table denial wasn't the only slight suffered by gay Republicans at the convention. Delegates later approved a platform plank revision calling homosexuality an "abnormal lifestyle choice."

(Full story HERE.)
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Non-Discrimination Bill Would Protect LGBTQ Texans

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Rep. Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) has filed a statewide non-discrimination bill that would protect LGBTQ Texans in employment, housing, and public accommodations, reports OutSmart Magazine. 

“Most people don’t know that LGBTQ people can legally be fired from their jobs. They can be denied housing because of who they love, and be denied services for the same reason,” Gonzalez said. “That’s just unfair, and most Texans don’t believe in that.” 

More than 60 percent of Texans don’t believe in discrimination against LGBTQ people, according to a 2019 analysis by the Public Religion Research Institute. 

Gonzalez said that if passed, it would be the first non-discrimination law in Texas history.

Gonzalez’s bill already has bipartisan support. Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), who helped kill a bathroom bill in 2017, has agreed to co-author the proposal. 

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