Texas Special Oppression Session Is Over!

Earlier this afternoon  we Texas activists who have been fighting SB 6, SB 3 and other anti-trans hate bills heard the words we've wanted to hear:  Sine Die!

The Special Oppression Session ended when the Texas House adjourned without calling hearings on the unjust Senate passed SB 6 or on Rep. Ron Simmons' HB 46 or HB 50 anti-trans hate bills.   The Texas Senate did so a few hours later .

While the GOP transphobes like Kolkhorst and Patrick were lamenting that development, Texas transgender people and our allies are celebrating this huge win.

Don't mess with Texas trans people.   And don't mess with our Texas trans kids.

The Texas trans community, along with the parents of trans kids, Texas based advocacy orgs, legislators, the Texas business community, Texas progressive pastors and our allies testified, phone banked and did what was necessary to kill these bills.

Will Gov Abbott call another special session and waste $800,000 more of our tax dollars to try to pass SB 6 and other anti-trans hate bills?   Just the discussion of these bills has cost Texas $66 million dollars of convention business as the Texas Republican Party tried to pass anti-trans oppression for their political gain.

While Lt Governor 'Potty Dan' Patrick tried to spin this defeat and claim that 'the people' will demand in the next session to pass the anti-trans hate bills, I think fair minded Texans have already resoundingly spoken in the 2015 and 2017 regular and special sessions about how we feel about these attempts to legislate anti-trans oppression.

And if Patrick tries to pass anti-trans oppression in Texas in the next session, we'll be there in force to combat it.

I hope those same fair minded Texans will do to Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, Potty Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep Ron Simmons, and every Texas senator and representative who either sponsored or supported these bills do what was done to Rep Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) and Rep. Gilbert Pena (R-Pasadena) in 2016:   Make them ex-legislators.

Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr.  (DINO-Brownsville) is also high on my make him an ex legislator list.

So what's next?   I predict the Texas GOP will try to oust Joe Straus as speaker before they attempt to call another Special Oppression Session.   He is one of the major reasons Texas didn't go down the disastrous road North Carolina did..

But in the interim, the Texas Trans Forces of Light have once again defeated the Texas GOP Forces of Trans Oppression.   We can exhale and celebrate our win today, but we must prefare for and be ready for the next clash with the conservative forces attempting to oppress us.