Tell Gov Perry and Major General John Nichols to protect ALL military spouses!

September 3rd marked the first day that members of the military who are in same-sex marriages were allowed to file for the same benefits that opposite-sex married couples could. Some of these benefits involve hardship pay when a soldier is called to duty overseas, use of various facilities on a military installation, medical, and dental benefits (to name a few).

The order was passed down from the pentagon last month. While Texas National guard soldiers are legally allowed and deserving of these benefits, Major General John Nichols, who is the commander of the Texas Military Forces, has defied the Pentagon and is refusing to allow members of State Militias (such as the National Guard) the ability to file at their local posts. His reasoning is that Texas has a ban on same-sex marriages. He has said that he will not stop these members from going to a federal military post, such as Fort Hood.

Governor Rick Perry has defended this decision for the same reason.

We believe that this action by the highest military official in our state and by our governor are contrary to the spirit and values of Texas and of our country. This causes some couples to have to travel hours away from their own cities in order to file for something that is their legal right to file when they should not have to. This seems like a last ditch effort of Perry and Nichols to ensure that Texans know that they don’t want equality in Texas, an opinion that is fast shrinking throughout the citizenry of our sate.

We need you to help send a clear message to our governor and to the Major General that this discrimination is not welcome in our state. Please sign and share the petition demanding that they allow our soldiers access to the benefits that they deserve!

Tell San Antonio Lawmakers to Remove the bathroom exemptions from the Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Friends, We’ve just received word that San Antonio’s proposed non-discrimination ordinance now contains a compromise that would allow for discrimination against the transgender community in accessing public restrooms. This is unacceptable. Access to public accommodations must include the basic ability to use the restroom without harassment. We are poorly served by allies that compromise the basic dignity of trans people for political expediency. Members of city council are meeting with LGBT leaders tomorrow morning. They need to hear from you NOW! Please sign the petition demanding that the bathroom exemption be removed.

Dear San Antonio Lawmakers,

I recently discovered that exemptions were added to the proposed Non-Discrimination Ordinance that would discriminate against transgender persons in San Antonio.  This compromise guts protections for the most vulnerable population protected by this ordinance, in the place they are most vulnerable. Public accommodations must include the basic ability to use the restroom without harassment.  Repeatedly those who claim to be our allies have made compromises such as these that cause great harm to the transgender members of our community for political expediency.  Remove the bathroom exemptions from the Non-Discrimination Ordinance NOW!!!

urgent action: The Fair Employment Act

Dear friends,

as you may already know, the Texas legislature meets for only 140 days on odd numbered years. There are only 26 days left in this session which means, there are 26 days to get pro-LGBT legislation passed. While that may not seem like a lot of time, there is still a lot of business that can be done.

Texas is one of the many states where it is still perfectly legal (and common practice) to fire someone, refuse to hire someone, or deny someone an otherwise deserved promotion based solely on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. We have a good chance to change that this session with “The Fair Employment Act” (SB 237).

We are certain that we can secure job protections but we need your help in doing so. There are three things that you can do to ensure that this bill passes and if you do all three, the chances of passing this bill are even greater.

 

Share this page and this information with all of your friends so that they can help make this happen.

Action item 1:
The bill is currently held up in the Committee on Economic Development. We have 3 of the four “yes” votes required to get it out of committee. We need to convince at least one of the remaining four to vote yes and to get it out of committee as soon as possible.
Whether you’ve called before or not, please make the call to the following senators urging them to vote yes on SB 237.

Sen. Bob Deuell –
Sen. Brian Birdwell –
Sen. Kelly Hancock –
Sen. Troy Fraser –

Action Item 2: 
Brave activists will be engaging in non-violent civil disobedient action which could lead to arrest. We will need your help for legal fees and bail. Please consider donating what you can at https://getequaltx.org/donate

Action Item 3:
Sign the petition urging these senators to vote this out of committee. This petition will email the four senators directly.

We need LGBT Workplace protection

As of this writing, there are only 41 more days left in the Texas Legislative Session of 2013. That’s not a lot of time to get the “fair employment act” (SB 237) through to becoming law but, we’ve done a lot more in a lot less time so this is certainly something that we can win.

In order to win, we will need your help to do so!

Employment Discrimination Statistics:

- An estimated 431,000 members of the Texas workforce identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
- 26% of transgender Texans report being fired solely based on their gender identity.
- 12% of lesbian and gay Texans report being fired because of their sexual orientation.
- 37% of gay and lesbian Texans report being harassed at work due to their sexual orientation .

We can and we must work together to change this. Please, sign the petition below urging the senate committee on economic development to move forward with this bill.
In addition, call the committee members every day to remind them that this issue is urgent and that we need our job protections!

These are the Senators that are currently voting “no” on the bill. This petition will be emailed directly to them. It will also help tremendously if you call each of them once a day to re-iterate the need for this bill to pass.

Sen. Bob Deuell – Chair
(R-Greenville)

 

Sen. Brian Birdwell
(R-Granbury)

 

Sen. Kelly Hancock
(R-N.Richland Hills)

 

Sen. Troy Fraser
(R-Horseshoe Bay)

 

Lastly: In order to ensure that this bill passes, we will be engaging in non-violent civil disobedient action which holds a high risk for arrest. Please consider donating so that the activists engaged in these actions will be able to bailed out of jail quickly and get home to their families. https://getequaltx.org/donate/

 

It is a matter of urgency that the Senate Committee on Economic Development vote and pass Senate Bill 237 “The Fair Employment Act”.

Currently, it is legal in Texas to fire, refuse to hire, refuse to promote, or otherwise discriminate against someone solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“My government’s duty is to protect me, and preserve my rights, and secure this nation” ~ Sen. Brian Birdwell
If you agree with this statement, as I do, then I know that a bill that was designed to do just that, would be something that you would be championing.

The facts are as follows:
- An estimated 431,000 members of the Texas workforce identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
- 26% of transgender Texans report being fired solely based on their gender identity.
- 12% of lesbian and gay Texans report being fired because of their sexual orientation.
- 37% of gay and lesbian Texans report being harassed at work due to their sexual orientation.

Senate Bill 237 would do a great deal to help those Texans who are effected by the lack of protection provided in our law by giving the Texas Workforce Commission the ability to file and investigate discrimination claims based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

You have within your power to help fix the problem and I am simply asking you to use it by doing the following:
- sign on as co-author to the bill
- urge the committee to take a vote and get this bill to the senate floor

Thank you for your time and service to the state of Texas and thank you, in advance, for your support of this bill.

Help get “The Fair Employment Act” to pass

 

Help Make History in Texas!

Dear friends,
make no mistake about it, history has already been made in Texas this session. An unprecedented number of bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature that are pro-LGBT. Additionally, for the first time in Texas history, “The Fair Employment Act” has actually had a committee hearing.

We have an opportunity here to make history again but it will take all of us working together to make that happen. We need “The Fair Employment Act” to get out of committee, onto the floor, and ultimately to pass this session and become law.

What is “The Fair Employment Act”? I’m glad you asked. Currently Texas is one of several states in which you are legally allowed to be fired, denied employment, or otherwise discriminated against in the workplace without haveing any legal leverage. “The Fair Employment Act” (Senate Bill 237, SB237) would provide legal leverage to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons who suffer from discrimination in the workplace.

Imagine one day, you log into facebook and you ‘like’ a pro-equality post by a friend and your boss infers from that post that you are a member of the LGBT community. The next day, you are fired and your boss tells you that it’s because they think that you are gay. Currently, the only thing you can do is to clean out your desk and start looking for a new job. This bill aims to change that.

The Fair Employment Act would not allow anyone to sue their employer for employment discrimination. It would allow employees who experience employment discrimination to lodge a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission, which would then investigate.

Employment Discrimination Statistics:

- An estimated 431,000 members of the Texas workforce identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
- 26% of transgender Texans report being fired solely based on their gender identity.
- 12% of lesbian and gay Texans report being fired because of their sexual orientation.
- 37% of gay and lesbian Texans report being harassed at work due to their sexual orientation .

The Action: 

Right now, the bill is stuck in Senate Committee on Economic Development. At least 2 of the 7 members of the committee are ready to vote “yes”. We only need to convince 2 more Senators on that committee to vote for the bill. We urge you to call the 5 members who are not yet “yes” votes and urge them to support it.

Script: 

Here is a suggested script which you can modify to fit your message.

As a Texan, I believe that nobody should be fired from their job or denied employment for anything other than how well they perform their job duties. I agree with the 76% of Texans who support passage of SB237 and I am asking that you do everything in your power to make it law THIS SESSION.

If you are a business owner, a veteran, or a constituent you should also ensure that you let them know that but this call is not limited to those who fit in those categories.

Who to call:

Currently, these are the 5 senators that we need to call:

Sen. Bob Deuell – Chair

(R-Greenville)

 

  Sen. Kevin Eltife

(R-Tyler)

 

 Sen. Brian Birdwell

(R-Granbury)

 

 Sen. Kelly Hancock

 (R-N.Richland Hills)

 

 Sen. Troy Fraser

 (R-Horseshoe Bay)

 

GetOUT! GetACTIVE! GetEQUAL!

 

• GetEQUAL National