Twenty years after a breakthrough Texas se lnched a new era of gay rights, trans people are still the fight

Contents:

• TWENTY YEARS AFTER A BREAKTHROUGH TEXAS SE LNCHED A NEW ERA OF GAY RIGHTS, TRANS PEOPLE ARE STILL THE FIGHT
• LATT GAY NEWS
• HOTON NEWS ANCHOR SHAR HE'S GAY & MARRYG A WEATHERMAN ON SOCIAL

TWENTY YEARS AFTER A BREAKTHROUGH TEXAS SE LNCHED A NEW ERA OF GAY RIGHTS, TRANS PEOPLE ARE STILL THE FIGHT

Jt days earlier, the two quiet men wh workg-class roots fed their nam to a pivotal moment Ameri’s gay rights movement.

LATT GAY NEWS

Supreme Court overturned Texas’ ban on sodomy, lg that stat uld not crimalize homosexualy. A ban on gay sex remas on the Texas books the 20 years sce, advot have secured major victori and cemented key rights cludg marriage equaly, employment protectns and the abily to serve the ary — victori that likely would not have been achieved whout the foundatn of Lawrence v. Notably, transgenr people still face discrimatn and vlence at higher rat than their lbian, gay and bisexual recent years, as trans people have gaed visibily the public sphere, faiar anti-LGBTQ+ trop have emerged efforts to alienate this muny.

“They were jt good, average guys jt tryg to get through life wh the hand that was alt ’em, ” said Lane Lewis, a longtime gay rights activist Hoton who intified their se as an opportuny to challenge the state’s sodomy polil climate which Lawrence and Garner were arrted for allegedly havg sex was not iendly to LGBTQ+ Hotonians, Lewis relled. In 1991, a 27-year-old Hoton rint named Pl Brosard was murred a gay-bashg cint.

HOTON NEWS ANCHOR SHAR HE'S GAY & MARRYG A WEATHERMAN ON SOCIAL

In rponse, the Hoton Police Department anized an unrver operatn Montrose to tch gay-bashers, but the effort was quickly disntued bee of safety risks to officers. Furthermore, gay, lbian and bisexual Texans were not ee om some law enforcement officers’ disda for their muny.

For s leadg up to that fateful arrt of Lawrence and Garner 1998, the Hoton Police Department sometim raid gay bars and harassed those ngregatg some of the only safe spac for LGBTQ+ people at the time. There were simply no protectns agast those forms of discrimatn, he, the LGBTQ+ activist, said overturng Texas’ anti-sodomy law wasn’t the end goal for the gay rights movement.