Gay couple Mark ‘Major’ Jiminez and Beau Chandler, who gained notoriety last year when they were arrested for seeking a marriage license at the Dallas County Clerk’s Office, attend a pro-choice rally at City Hall on Tuesday night.
GetEQUAL TX was among the organizers of the Texans Unified for Change rally outside Dallas City Hall on Wednesday night.
About 50 people gathered to protest the anti-abortion bill working its way through the special session of the Legislature.
Activist Cd Kirven carried a wire hanger to symbolize women having to resort to dangerous methods of abortion.
Speakers included Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus co-chair Erin Moore and Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance President Patti Fink.
Moore, wearing pink Wendy Davis sneakers, encouraged the crowd to become more involved in politics to help get more people like Davis in office and those who oppose women’s rights out of office.
“It’s easy for men to write a bill to attack women’s rights,” Fink said.
She talked about women being the property of their husbands before the Marital Property Act of 1967 that allowed married women to own property or have a bank account in her own name. She said that when Dallas County’s first female prosecutor, Louise Raggio, filed any paperwork at the courthouse, her husband had to sign every paper.
“They’re wanting to turn the clock back,” Fink said about the current legislators in Austin. “And that’s exactly what they did last week to try to pass the bill.”
Fink was referring to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s attempt to reset the clock to show the vote on the anti-abortion bill happened before the midnight deadline.
Kirven said the bill isn’t just about limiting abortion in Texas, but making it more difficult for women to get Pap smears and mammograms.
More photos from the rally below.