Texas Equity PAC has endorsed Republican state Rep. Sarah Davis, left, and the five members of the Texas LGBT Caucus, state Reps. Celia Israel, Mary Gonzalez Erin Zweiner, Jessica Gonzalez and Julie Johnson.

 

The Texas Equity PAC, the political action committee of Equality Texas, announced endorsements today (Wednesday, Dec. 18) for Republican state Rep. Sarah Davis of Houston and the five founding members of the House LGBTQ Caucus: state Reps. Mary González of El Paso, Celia Israel of Austin, Julie Johnson of Carrollton, Jessica González of Dallas and Erin Zwiener of Driftwood.

Ricardo Martinez, the new CEO for Equality Texas and Texas Equity PAC, said, “Finding people in politics today who will stand up and do what is right regardless of the consequence is increasingly rare. But Republican Sarah Davis from West University Place in Houston has demonstrated time and time again that she is one of those true leaders.

“That is why Equality Texas recently awarded Davis the Profile in Courage Award and why she is one of our first endorsements of the election season,” he said.

Davis co-authored five pro equality bills including a conversion therapy ban, and she has voted against every anti-LGBTQ bill for the past two sessions, the PAC noted, adding that Davis has “stood united at public events and on the House floor with the LGBTQ Caucus.”

The Texas Legislature’s LGBTQ Caucus, created this year, “is a game-changer in the fight for LGBTQ equality,” Martinez continued. “For the first time, we have a whole team of strong LGBTQ voices on the floor of the House. They stood tall in defense of the LGBTQ community, delivering impassioned speeches about the real harm caused by discrimination and negative rhetoric and looking their colleagues in the eye to change hearts and minds this legislative session.”

The founding of the first LGBTQ Caucus in the legislature “marked a new era in Texas state politics,” Martinez said, adding that the five founders “made their commitment to equality and to all Texans clear” throughout the 2019 session, working hard to “bring equality to the forefront of the conversation.” Thanks to their efforts the 2019 legislative session included a “first-ever” hearing on ending the practice of so-called conversion therapy. They also managed to kill anti-LGBTQ HB 3172 in a point of order on the House floor and authored nearly a dozen pro-equality bills.

“That’s why Equality Texas gave the five founding members the Equality Texas Leadership Award and why they are the first legislators endorsed by the Equity PAC,” Martinez said.

— Tammye Nash