UPDATE: The 72-55 vote on Thursday in the Texas House to remove Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code which criminalizes private, consensual conduct between adults of the same gender came on the measure’s second reading. The bill now faces a third reading and vote in the House —expected to be scheduled soon, according to Equality Texas — before it moves on to the state Senate for a vote there.
The final vote on the second reading was 72 ayes, 55 nays and five present not voting. A record of who voted and how is available at the Texas Capitol website.
Brad Pritchett, Interim CEO of Equality Texas, said in a statement Thursday night, “When people hear the phrase ‘gay rights,’ I think that can be confusing, because this is literally all we want — the privacy to live our lives in peace.
“While the law that the House voted to strike from the books has been illegal for over two decades, today’s victory is no small feat,” Pritchett continued. “The passage of this bill in the House is a testament to the drive, dedication, and bi-partisan determination of state Rep. Venton Jones. We know that when we work together, we can make life better for all Texans. I hope other Texas lawmakers will have the courage to follow Venton Jones’ lead and work toward progress together.”
A press release from Equality Texas notes, “This vote comes at a time when transgender Texans are increasingly targeted by Texas lawmakers. In total, the Texas Legislature has filed more than 200 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills—more than any other state at any other time in history. While this bill erases an unenforceable law from the books, LGBTQIA+ Texans still lack statewide legal protections, which 71 percent of Texans support.”
ORIGINAL POST: The Texas House voted overwhelmingly to decriminalize sodomy today, Thursday, May 15. House Bill 1738, introduced by Rep. Venton Jones, passed 72-55, meaning it had bipartisan support.
Jones has been strategic since filing the bill his first session. While Democrats typically file it in each legislative session, the bill has historically gotten nowhere. But with the likes of conservatives such as Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie, an antagonist of House leadership, and members of leadership like powerful State Affairs Chairman Ken King, this time around Jones found a clearer path for the measure.
The bill repeals Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code, which criminalizes private, consensual sexual contact between adults and which was ruled unconstitutional in 2005 in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Lawrence v. Texas ruling overturning sodomy laws around the country.
Conservatives who have long held a strong majority in the Texas Legislature have consistently refused to take the Texas sodomy law off the books. And the state’s anti-LGBTQ attorney general, Ken Paxton, has said he would take steps to enforce the law if the Supreme Court, now held in a stranglehold by partisan right-wing justices, were to overturn Lawrence v. Texas, as Justice Clarence Thomas has called for.
Jones attracted bipartisan support in previous sessions for keeping language condemning the “homosexual lifestyle.” He also got a boost when Sen. Ted Cruz called for eliminating the statute in 2022.
“Consenting adults should be able to do what they wish in their private sexual activity, and government has no business in their bedrooms,” a Cruz spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more information.
— James Russell