We’re right down to the wire on important deadlines for the Texas legislature which will determine whether the attacks on transgender kids pass into law. The deadline for Senate bills to be debated on the House floor — one of the final steps of the legislative process before they become law — is this Tuesday, 5/25. Any bill that has not been debated on the House floor by that deadline is effectively dead. 

The House Calendars Committee is deciding right now what bills to schedule before the deadline. That includes anti-LGBTQ+ bills like SB 29, the sports ban for transgender youth. 

Send a message to key decision makers right now to tell them not to target trans kids in the final days of the session.

We’ll also keep a close eye out for any amendments targeting trans youth, like Representative Slaton’s attempt yesterday to add a sports ban to an unrelated bill. For those keeping score, this is Representative Slaton’s eighth attempt to hijack another member’s legislation to attack trans youth.

With these deadlines looming, we must continue to amplify our voices in opposition to these harmful bills. There are 10 days left in the legislative session and 4 days until the deadline for Senate bills in the House.

Yesterday, more than 100 people showed up to protect trans kids at the Capitol. We’ll keep planning public events until lawmakers no longer have a chance to attack trans youth. Make sure you’ve taken an action with us and stick close to your email to get a heads up on our next event.

We know this session has been exceptionally hard on our community. We’ve partnered with the Texas Psychological Association to provide counseling for $1 throughout the session. If you’d like to learn more about how to access this, please email robert.salcido@equalitytexas.org.

Yesterday’s trans pride flag demonstration was a proud expression of power and resilience. It was a beautiful reminder that our community has responded to these unprecedented, unrelenting attacks with a fierce love and steadfast strength that anti-LGBTQ+ legislators cannot touch. 

Join us in these last 10 days to keep our community safe and strong. Make a call, write an email, spread the word, and come out to the Capitol to remind legislators that we are a force to be reckoned with.

Greatest threats to LGBTQ+ Equality:

• SB 29: (Perry, R-Lubbock)  This bill bans transgender youths’ access to sports by requiring K-12 youth to participate in UIL sports according to their sex “as correctly stated” on their birth certificate. Passed the Senate and eligible to be scheduled for the House floor by the Calendars committee. It must be debated on the House floor by 5/25 at midnight or it will be dead.
• SB 1311 (Hall, Rockwall) – Prohibits doctors from providing best practice, live-saving transition care for transgender youth and prohibits professional liability insurance from covering transition related care. Passed the Senate and received by the House. It must be referred to a committee and voted out by 5/22 at midnight or it will be dead.
• SB  247: (Perry, R-Lubbock) This bill would allow lawyers to defend their speech or actions – including discriminatory actions – on the basis of religious belief. Passed the Senate and eligible to be scheduled for the House floor by the Calendars committee. It must be debated on the House floor by 5/25 at midnight or it will be dead.
• SB 1646 (Perry, Lubbock) – Adds administering or supplying of life-saving transition-related health care to the statutorial definition of “child abuse,” including related penalties. Passed the Senate and in the House Public Health committee. It must be voted out by 5/22 at midnight or it will be dead.