North Texas Reps. Alonzo, Anchia, Burnam make top 10 as group revives its LGBT legislative report card; Zedler finishes 3rd from last
Garnet Coleman, left, Matt Krause, right
The number of lawmakers who fought for LGBT equality in Austin this session increased greatly since Equality Texas last ranked House members on their voting history.
Chuck Smith, executive director of Equality Texas, said the last time the organization ranked lawmakers was several sessions ago. This year the report card was brought back and each House member received a numerical and letter grade, with the top 10 best and worst lawmakers listed.
And many lawmakers scored well, with 43 receiving an A or A+. And even three Republicans — Sarah Davis of Houston, John Otto of Dayton and Diane Patrick of Arlington — received Cs.
“It is important on votes that do occur that we track them and let the public know how they vote,” Smith said, adding that the numbers are strong but also show need for growth. “I think it demonstrates the growth of the people who are able to vote the right way. It also points to the larger amount of work that we still need to do.”
A Senate report card would be more difficult because no LGBT issues made it on the floor, so there are fewer record votes, Equality Texas field organizer Daniel Williams said. He said the organization likely will release a top five of the best and worst senators on LGBT issues.
For the top 10 House slots, public votes, authorship of pro- and anti-LGBT legislation, resolutions and committee votes were taken into account.
Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman received the No. 1 spot on the Top 10 Best list for his more than two decades of working on and advocating for LGBT legislation. Two of his longtime-authored bills to remove the state’s unenforceable sodomy law form the Texas Penal Code and to protect minors in same-sex relationships under the “Romeo and Juliet” defense made it out of committee this session.
“I’m honored to be recognized as the No. 1 House member on LGBT issues by Equality Texas,” Coleman said.
“I take great pride in having been a leader on LGBT issues for the more than 20 years I’ve been a legislator.”
Coleman said that times are changing and he expects support for LGBT issues to only continue to grow.
“The tide is turning. In 2013, polls found that the majority of Americans support marriage equality,” he said.
“Still, we must turn this public support into legislative action, and I will continue to lead the charge to do so.”
Dallas’ Roberto Alonzo and Rafael Anchia, and Fort Worth’s Lon Burnam also took spots in the top 10, as did Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, Elliot Naishtat, D-Austin, Gene Wu, D-Houston,
Alma Allen, D-Houston, Joe Moody, D-El Paso, Armando Walle, D-Houston.
“I’m very happy to be recognized for this distinction, but I think it’s something everybody should do,” Alonzo said. “It’s something I enjoy doing and I’m going to continue to do it.”
Alonzo said he was proud to have a large number of lawmakers from Dallas be strong supporters. He said other lawmakers will eventually follow suit and fight for LGBT equality.
“I think it’s great that we have a large number of supporters in Dallas and that number will only continue to grow,” Alonzo said. “We have seen more and more people understand the LGBT community. For some people, it takes a longer time.”
Burnam, who authored a marriage equality bill this session, said he would work harder in the future to get pro-equality legislation heard.
“I definitely appreciate the recognition,” he said. “While we weren’t able to get a hearing on the marriage equality bill, I’m glad to have filed it, and I plan to file it until Texas follows the rest of the country and has marriage equality.”
Fort Worth Republican Matt Krause won the top spot on the 10 Worst list with a score of negative-6. Krause authored HB 360 that would have allowed student groups at state-funded colleges to reject members based on sexual orientation, race and gender. A substitute bill cleared committee that would have allowed student groups to disregard colleges’ nondiscrimination policies. He then tacked an amendment onto another bill that didn’t make it into the final version.
Krause’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Arlington’s Bill Zedler, who tried to defund university LGBT resource centers, took the No. 3 spot on the Worst list. His office also did not return calls.
Williams said the scorecard was more extensive from the one in the past, but every member except Krause received at least one point.
“We are tough graders. We have very high expectations of the people who represent us,” Williams said.
He said he hopes people will use the scorecard as a reference for how their representatives voted, which could end up hurting unsupportive lawmakers like Krause.
“I think Matt Krause’s ineptness in representing the interests of his constituents is going to hurt him in re-election,” Williams said, adding that Krause wasn’t able to get any legislation passed. “The scorecard just reflects that ineptness. He did nothing, accomplished nothing.”
For those who scored well, Williams said he hopes constituents realize the value of their hard work and remember it come election time.
“Our community needs to understand that we have a lot of really wonderful allies and we need to work to keep them,” he said.
Sarah Warbelow, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, said several state LGBT groups have begun using report cards similar to HRC’s Congressional Scorecard.
“It helps hold legislators accountable for their actions,” Warbelow said. “It takes a lot of bravery to stand up for issues that have been unpopular for so long. But there’s been a lot of progress. …This is an opportunity to praise individuals willing to take a stand for these issues.”
To view the full scorecard, go to EqualityTexas.org.
……………….
Best, worst on LGBT issues
BEST
1. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston
2. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City
3. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas
4. Mary González, D-El Paso
5. Elliot Naishtat, D-Austin
6. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth
7. (tie) Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Gene Wu, D-Houston
9. (tie) Armando Walle, D-Houston, Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and Alma Allen, D-Houston
WORST
1. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth
2. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton
3. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington
4. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands
5. (tie) Drew Springer, R-Muenster and Harvey Hildebran, R-Kerrville
7. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney
8. (tie) Cecil Bell, R-Magnolia; Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake; Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe; George Lavender, R-Texarkana; Jeff Leach, R-Plano; Larry Phillips, R-Sherman; Walter ‘Four’ Price, R-Amarillo; Ron Simmons, R-Lewisville; Phil Stephenson, R-Wharton; Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford.
Source: Equality Texas
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 7, 2013.