After the 9 AM CDT press conference, I spent the rest of the day visiting a few House and senate offices to kill time before the 2 PM scheduled start of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee meeting was scheduled to start.
But because we're mercifully getting close to the end of this Texas legislative session, the House session didn't adjourn until 6 PM, with the committee meeting not starting until 6:30 PM
By the time I and Claire Bow, Danielle Skidmore, Ash Hall, and Leslie McMurry finally got to testify it was two hours later.
Only one hater from Texas Values showed up, but it wasn't who I expected. Instead of Jonathan Saenz doing his hatemongering personally, he sent a Black woman to try and fail do the job.
Sadly, the bill was left pending in committee despite our compelling testimony as to why trans Texans should be added to the Byrd hate Crimes Act. That means if it doesn't pass out of committee and by the full House by Friday, it dies for this session.
While I'm disappointed by that result, Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) has made it clear he will introduce that bill when the next session takes place in 2021.
And I and my Texas trans community will be there in force when it's time to testify in favor of it
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