The removal of sexual orientation from an anti-bullying bill didn’t stop anti-gay groups from opposing the measure during a Texas House committee hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
Jonathan Saenz, director of legislative affiars for the Plano-based Liberty Institute, told the House public education committee that even though sexual orientation and other enumerated categories were removed from Rep. Mark Strama’s HB 224, Saenz fears the categories will be restored to the measure at some point.
“It is about the gay rights, the homosexual community, the transgender community, and an effort to create special categories and special rights in our law that don’t currently exist, and really carve off protections for some groups and not others,” Saenz told the committee. “It’s not about bullying, and it’s not about solving this problem. It’s about creating new classes of people and giving special protections to some categories and not others.”
Strama said during the hearing that he has no plans to restore the enumerated categories to the bill.
“We took all those classes out so we wouldn’t have to have this discusssion,” said Strama, D-Austin. “It’s not my intention to put any of that list back in the bill. At this point I’d like to keep it the way it is if we can get this bill moving through the process.”
Representatives from Equality Texas, which supports the bill and testified in favor of it on Tuesday, have said the enumerated categories were removed to improve the bill’s chances of passage and de-politicize the issue.
Also testifying against Strama’s bill were both the anti-gay Texas Eagle Forum and the normally pro-equality American Civil Liberties Union.
ACLU representatives say Strama’s bill, which would allow school officials to crack down on cyberbullying that occurs off campus, creates concerns about free speech and parental rights.
The bill was left pending in the education committee. To watch video of the committee hearing, go here.
Be honest with your readers Dallas Voice, your previous article about this legislation included a statement by Rep. Strama saying he might put gender identity language into the bill: ”
Davis said she included “gender identity and expression” to her list of categories to make sure districts looked at bullying situations that arose due to “a perception of someone’s sexuality rather than the reality.” Strama said that phrase might be added to his bill as well.”
https://dallasvoice.com/facebook-likes-antibullying-bill-texas-1055083.html
@Jonathan: Actually that’s an excerpt from the Star-Telegram. You be honest, why do hate LGBT people?
Exactly, John.
Jonathan, why do you hate LGBT people? It’s okay for Christian bigots to be protected but not LGBT people?
@Jonathan I agree we need to cut back on unnecessary special rights groups. But the keyword here is “unnecessary”. It’s a matter of record that in the past education officials have not protected those of us with differing sexual and/or gender orientation because they are not required to by law. That’s why the mention of specific groups is needed, so that we receive the protection under law that all people are entitled to.
It would appear that you have a problem with this. It would appear that you do not wish for us to have equal protection under law. I would have to ask why you feel we don’t deserve to be treated equally with so-called “straight” citizens. We don’t ask for special rights, we ask for rights we shouldn’t even have to ask for, the rights that are accorded all citizens of Texas, indeed all citizens of the United States. Is that so much to ask?