Austin, Texas – December 13, 2019 – Equality Texas, the largest statewide organization solely dedicated to securing full equality for LGBTQ Texans, today released a statement from CEO Ricardo Martinez regarding the transphobic mailers from Houston mayor candidate Tony Buzbee.

“On the eve of the Houston mayor’s race, mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee has revealed his true colors by sending out transphobic and homophobic mailers critical of the bathroom bill and drag queen story time.  This is exactly why Equality Texas endorsed Mayor Sylvester Turner for re-election.  We encourage all Houstonians to get out and vote for Mayor Turner and stop the hateful rhetoric of Buzbee who has proven he is unfit to lead a major American city.”

“This mailer is additionally disturbing in light of the fact that Texas has unfortunately led the nation in anti-trans homicides. Two of the four trans Texans we lost in 2019 were from Houston. To see trans women being vilified and misrepresented by a candidate running for mayor in the most diverse and fourth largest city in this country to score political points is a shameful day in Houston’s history.” said Diamond Collier, interim Executive Director of Black Transwomen Inc.      

Emmett Schelling, Executive Director of Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) stated, “LGBTQ Houstonians are part of this diverse city that we are all exceedingly proud of, and we urge all Houstonians to reject the false message that the Buzbee campaign is trying to send.”

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Equality Texas is the largest statewide organization working to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through political action, education, community organizing, and collaboration. The Equality Texas Foundation works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through education, community organizing, and collaboration.