SB 6 passes in the Texas Senate

Texas is one step closer to sharing North Carolina’s fate today, following the vote in the state Senate to approve SB 6, aka Dan Patrick’s Ridiculous Bathroom Bill.
The vote was 21-10. I haven’t seen a breakdown of the vote yet, but I am willing to bet that all but one of the 11 Democrats in the Senate voted against the measure. That one would be Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville. Lucio was the only Democrat — out of two — on the State Affairs Committee to vote in favor of sending the bill to the full Senate for a vote. He blames his vote on him being a Catholic.
His son, Eddie Lucio III, serves in the Texas House. He has said he opposes the bathroom bill.
What happens now depends largely on Speaker of the House Joe Strauss, a Republican who has made no secret of the fact that he is not in favor of the measure. LGBT rights advocates hope that Strauss will bury the House version of the bill in a committee that won’t let it ever see the light of day again.
You might want to contact Speaker Strauss and let him know we’re counting on him. And talk to your state reps, too. Make sure the Democrats are on our side, and do your best to convince the Republicans that the bathroom bill is bad for Texas’ pocketbook, but more importantly, that it’s bad for Texans.