Statement from Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas

When the President called publicly for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” and filed an executive order, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was the first to support it. So, when Mr. Paxton invokes religious liberty, we know that he has no intention of applying this standard equally across people of all faiths.

His religious liberty excuses are a false argument to continue his clear and ongoing war on LGBTQ Texans, as evidenced by the dozens of actions he has taken against our community while in office.

State’s that pass discriminatory legislation face economic consequences; the California travel ban is one example.

The only result of the foster care bill that passed in 2017 is that it allows organizations to discriminate against LGBTQ Texans and it continues to hurt children who sleep in office buildings and die in the state’s care because there are not enough foster parents when a child could otherwise be adopted by loving LGBTQ parents.