Why Hoton’s gay rights ordance failed: Fear of men women’s bathrooms - The Washgton Post

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• WHY HOTON’S GAY RIGHTS ORDANCE FAILED: FEAR OF MEN WOMEN’S BATHROOMS

WHY HOTON’S GAY RIGHTS ORDANCE FAILED: FEAR OF MEN WOMEN’S BATHROOMS

As stands now, most of Texas’s most populo ci offer such protectns—the big exceptn beg Hoton (which, ’s worth notg, elected the first openly-gay mayor  a major U. A vio of David Welch, of the Hoton Area Pastors Council, appeared that gave the attorneys reason to believe some Hoton pastors were electneerg om the pulp, which vlat the sectn of the tax that grants church their tax-exempt wordg the subpoena was broad: It requted “all speech, prentatns, or sermons related to HERO, the Petn, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexualy, or genr inty prepared by, livered by, revised by, or approved by you [the pastors] or your posssn.

HOUSTON (AP) — An ordance that would have tablished nondiscrimatn protectns for gay and transgenr people Hoton failed to w approval om voters on Hoton Equal Rights Ordance was rejected after a nearly 18-month battle that spawned ralli, legal fights and accatns of both relig tolerance and monizatn of the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr nearly 95 percent of preccts reportg, Hoton rints had rejected the ordance by a vote of 61 percent to 39 percent.

Supporters of the ordance said would have offered creased protectns for gay and transgenr people, as well as protectns agast discrimatn based on sex, race, age, relign and other tegori.

Opponents, cludg a aln of nservative pastors, said ged on their relig beliefs regardg homosexualy. Democratic Hoton Mayor Annise Parker, who is gay, blamed the rejectn by voters on opponents’ “bathroom ordance” mpaign, which she lled “fear mongerg” and part of an effort to monize the LGBT muny.

“The wedge issue has always been gay people. The outsirs e and say they don’t want gay and trans people protected, ” she state’s top two elected lears — Gov.

Hoton’s Equal Rights Ordance (HERO), signed to protect the rights of gay cizens and others, has failed by a wi marg — after a hard-fought mpaign which opponents warned would give male sexual predators accs to women’s Tuday, Hoton voters were prented wh this qutn: “Are you favor of the Hoton Equal Rights Ordance, Ord. ”Miller was talkg about protectg bathrooms — and the ensug mpaign, which pted gay-rights advot agast Hoton’s relig muny, got ugly.

”Campaign for Hoton aired an ad featurg former Hoton Astros star Lance Berkman speakg out agast Hoton's gay rights ordance. ”Across the untry, 17 stat and more than 200 municipali bar discrimatn hog, employment and public acmodatns based on sexual orientatn and genr inty, acrdg to Freedom for All Amerins, a gay rights group that was active the pro-HERO who oppose such measur said the ti may yet turn.

The Human Rights Campaign is Ameri’s largt civil rights anizatn workg to achieve lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr equaly. Media ptn, Hoton be the latt battleground for LGBT rightsHoton voters have rejected mov to enact protectns for transgenr and gay people after a divisive mpaign that has lasted more than a Hoton Equal Rights Ordance would have extend protectn over hog, employment and other rejected the ordance by a marg of 62% to 38%, Hoton news channel KHOU the most ntted portn, the move would have allowed transgenr people to e toilets of their choosg.

Democratic Hoton Mayor Annise Parker, who is gay, lled the "bathroom bill" strategy a sre bill had received high-profile support om US Print Barack Obama, Democratic printial hopeful Hillary Clton and Apple CEO Tim May 2014, the Hoton Cy Council ially approved the Hoton Equal Rights Ordance, but a legal challenge forced the ordance to go before voters for approval.

and the anti-gay forc feated them by a 4 to 1 marg. is formed wh an anti-gay platform, and is only narrowly feated.

The anti-gay forc won by 2.

“It’s not surprisg to see backlash, ” said Jennifer Levi, director of the Gay & Lbian Advot & Defenrs’ transgenr rights project.

In battg the stereotyp, she said, trans rights advot face the same public relatns task that once faced the gay rights movement. “Fears about gay predators beg teachers held back that movement for a long time, ” she said. More than three-quarters of voters were favour and the move built on a 20-year-old there were special circumstanc Hoton: a loud band of dissenters wh a powerful sp, a sense among Christian nservativ that the tradnal fay is unr attack, pecially the wake of the US supreme urt legalisg same-sex marriage June, and a sire to give the mayor a black Parker, who is leavg her post January after wng the maximum three terms, is a Democrat who beme the first openly gay mayor of a major US cy 2009.

She ma the ordance a personal missn, attractg crics who said she was pursug a “gay agenda” and outraged pastors – and there are a lot of them this Bible belt metropolis – by tryg to subpoena their sermons as part of protracted legal wrangl after the cy uncil passed the ordance last year. HOUSTON -- An ordance that would have tablished nondiscrimatn protectns for gay and transgenr people Hoton failed to w approval om voters on Hoton Equal Rights Ordance, known as HERO, was rejected after a nearly 18-month battle that spawned ralli, legal fights and accatns of both relig tolerance and monizatn of the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny. Supporters of the ordance had said would have offered creased protectns for gay and transgenr people, as well as protectns agast discrimatn based on sex, race, age, relign and other tegori.

Opponents of the ordance, cludg a aln of nservative pastors, said ged on their relig beliefs regardg homosexualy. Democratic Hoton Mayor Annise Parker, who is gay, and other supporters of the ordance had lled this "bathroom ordance" strategy highly misleadg and a sre tactic.

Reportg om Hoton — Hoton voters rejected a ntroversial ordance Tuday that would have barred discrimatn agast gays and transgenr people, an oute that me after an 18-month battle ptg gay rights advot agast those who believed they were fendg relig vote had been expected to be close. Supporters, cludg the mayor, NAACP officials, pastors and bs lears, said the ordance would have offered creased protectns for 15 groups, cludg gay and transgenr people.