Dear Supporters,

This morning many people in the LGBTQ community have awoken with a sense of dread and fear – a fear that the gains won over the last several years will be rolled back and taken away by a Trump/Pence administration that has threatened to make such rollbacks a reality.

For the LGBTQ community, and those who support equal treatment for the LGBTQ community, this is not the first time our community has been threatened.

Not only must we stand our ground, we must redouble our commitment:

• Redouble our commitment to full and equal treatment of every Texan, regardless of sexual orientation, or gender identity, or gender expression, or race, or religion, or country of origin;
• Redouble our commitment to defeating legislation in Texas that would seek to target LGBTQ Texans for discrimination, including vulnerable transgender children like Marilyn Morrison; and
• Redouble our commitment to public education to accurately portray LGBTQ Texans and reduce homophobia and transphobia.

In five days, Texas lawmakers will begin the process of pre-filing legislation for the 2017 Session of the Texas Legislature, which will convene on January 10, 2017.

We expect to face proposed legislation that will restrict access to restrooms for transgender Texans; that will nullify existing municipal nondiscrimination protections; and that would allow personal religious beliefs to be used as an excuse to discriminate.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

• Save the date! Plan to make 2017’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol the largest ever. Make a commitment today to join us on Monday, March 20, 2017 in Austin. More details to come.
• Help us build the lobbying and advocacy team we need in order to defeat harmful legislation. Please make a gift of whatever you can afford to support our hard-hitting advocacy efforts.

I want you to know that I am committed to continuing this work. I want you to know that the Equality Texas staff, board of directors, and corps of volunteers are committed to this work.

JOIN US, AND LET’S GET TO WORK.

Sincerely,

Chuck Smith
CEO, Equality Texas