Tag Archives: gay rights

Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court reaffirmed in a new ruling on Wednesday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on … Continue reading →

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Another DEI ban knocked down

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, I say good. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday to block three Texas school districts, including Katy and Houston, from enforcing a new state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public schools. The law, Senate Bill … Continue reading →

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Dallas still needs to remove its rainbow crosswalks

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve tried to delay it but are probably running out of road. The Texas Department of Transportation gave Dallas until Jan. 31 to remove its decorative crosswalks, which include LGBTQ+ rainbow and Black Lives Matter designs, according to a memo … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to install rainbow sidewalks

Posted on January 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t have rainbow crosswalks, so this will have to do. The City of San Antonio has started preparing the sidewalks on N. Main Avenue to be painted in rainbow colors. The decision comes after the city was forced to remove … Continue reading →

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How alarmed should I be by these?

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

News item one: Texas launched a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week over the agency’s approval of mifepristone, marking the state’s latest effort to crack down on access to abortion pills. Joined by Florida, Texas Attorney … Continue reading →

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Hearing for the school DEI ban lawsuit

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s legitimately hard to keep track of all the crappy laws our Legislature passes and the lawsuits filed to block them. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas asked a federal judge Thursday to put a preliminary injunction on a … Continue reading →

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San Antonio rainbow crosswalk appeal denied

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. The Texas Department of Transportation has denied the City of San Antonio’s request to keep the pride district’s rainbow crosswalks after Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to remove “any and all political ideologies” from Texas streets. In an Oct. 8 news release from … Continue reading →

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The rainbow crosswalk ban comes for Buddy Holly

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. An order from Gov. Greg Abbott has made rainbow crosswalks celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride disappear across Texas. But Abbott’s directive also has one of Lubbock, Texas’ most famous residents catching strays. As part of Abbott and … Continue reading →

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San Antonio and Dallas to fight the rainbow crosswalk ban

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them! San Antonio has formally asked the Texas Department of Transportation to approve an exemption allowing the city to keep its rainbow-colored crosswalks at North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street, arguing that the intersection has become safer … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit allows drag ban enforcement

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not quite sure how to interpret this. Texas can enforce a 2023 law that restricts some public drag shows, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. Senate Bill 12 prohibits drag performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics on public … Continue reading →

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Where the rainbow crosswalk ends

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is deeply stupid and deadly serious at the same time. At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks. … Continue reading →

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Judges can discriminate against same-sex couples

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least. Texas judges who decline to perform a wedding ceremony based on a “sincerely held religious belief” do not violate the state’s rules on judicial impartiality, according to a comment the Texas Supreme Court added to the state’s judicial … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit to reconsider West Texas A&M drag ban

Posted on October 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hrmph. A federal appeals court will take a second look at whether West Texas A&M University can ban drag shows, setting aside an earlier ruling that found the university’s ban likely violated students’ free speech rights. The Fifth Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Metro makes its excuses

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Weak. Metro board chair Elizabeth Brock on Thursday stood by the agency’s decision to remove the Montrose rainbow crosswalk this week after a Houston resident asked why it was erased so quickly. “My primary concern is how quickly y’all allowed … Continue reading →

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Austin seeks waiver for its rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All the cool kids are doing it. The city of Austin is exploring a waiver that would allow its current street art to stay in place. In a message board post on Monday, Mayor Kirk Watson said the city plans … Continue reading →

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We could have asked!

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I am smacking my forehead so hard, you guys. The City of San Antonio will seek an exemption from the State of Texas in order to keep the city’s rainbow crosswalk. The decision comes after the state issued a mandate … Continue reading →

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Metro paints over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Montrose rainbow crosswalk was gone Monday morning after protesters faced off with police as a construction crew started restriping the intersection overnight and some were were arrested, according to the Houston Police Department. As of 8:15 a.m., fresh … Continue reading →

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There may be a lawsuit over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A legion of Houston’s elected officials gathered at the Taft and Westheimer rainbow crosswalk Tuesday as a show of force against Gov. Greg Abbott’s call to remove it or risk the loss of state transportation funding, and some even … Continue reading →

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A brief recap of the whole rainbow crosswalk situation

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let me see if I’ve got this right: Greg Abbott gets his knickers in a twist over the recently-repainted rainbow crosswalk on Westheimer at Taft, after having been spun up about it by some online wingnuts. These crosswalks are no … Continue reading →

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More on the lawsuit over the latest DEI ban

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this in passing last week but wanted to give it its own post. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and a group of LGBTQ+ and student rights organizations are suing to block a new state law that … Continue reading →

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West Texas A&M drag ban blocked

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal appeals court Monday blocked West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler from enforcing a campus drag show ban, ruling that the performances are likely protected under the First Amendment. The 2-1 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit … Continue reading →

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Time to bury the 2025 Legislature

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance. Texas lawmakers gaveled out of their 140-day legislative session on Monday after passing a raft of conservative policies, from private school vouchers to tighter bail laws, that furthered the state’s march to the right. The Legislature wrapped up … Continue reading →

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More on the May elections

Posted on May 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

In my first post, I promised I’d look for a recap of the school board races from Franklin Strong. Here he is. That was a drubbing. I’ve been covering Texas school board elections for seven cycles, and as I have documented over and over again, book … Continue reading →

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It’s the Hotze Show again

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my God. For over a decade, Americans with private health insurance have enjoyed free access to dozens of types of preventive health care: cholesterol medication, prenatal care, and many types of cancer screenings, as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the “miracle … Continue reading →

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Draggieland unbanned

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Texas A&M University System from enforcing a ban on drag shows being held at its special event venues. This means Draggieland will go on as planned on Thursday at the flagship university’s … Continue reading →

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There was some good news from Odessa last month

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good to hear. When Craig Stoker pulled the flyer out of the mailbox, he chuckled. It was a political mailer, one of many deployed this fall in Odessa, the West Texas city in the heart of the oil-rich Permian Basin. … Continue reading →

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The first Harris County LGBTQIA+ Commission report

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

For your perusal. The Harris County LGBTQIA+ Commission came out with its list of recommendations to improve the quality of life for Houston’s LGBTQIA+ community. The commission, created in June 2023 under the office of Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit hears drag ban appeal

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hope for the best as always. A Fifth Circuit panel grappled with questions of free speech and expression on Wednesday as it deliberated whether to uphold a lower court’s ruling that a Texas law dealing with sexually explicit performances and … Continue reading →

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Court reform has to be about more than just SCOTUS

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Exhibit A. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton returned to court on Thursday to press his case against the Biden administration’s workforce protections for transgender employees. Texas’s lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and … Continue reading →

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Katy ISD keeps doing Katy ISD things to library books

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it’s useful to be reminded, as we slog our way through another Year Of Mike Miles, that the suburban school districts around us have their own unique set of dysfunctions. The Katy ISD board of trustees passed a … Continue reading →

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How Houston-area students are taking on conservative school boards

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. Rather than giving in to the common case of “senioritis,” recent Spring Woods High School graduate Cristopher Melendez spent his senior year determined to make his fellow classmates’ voices heard by Spring Branch ISD leaders. Melendez created a … Continue reading →

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Anti-gay Waco JP gets her lawsuit reinstated

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, the State Supreme Court sure had a banner day on Friday. The state’s highest court ruled Friday that a Waco judge who had refused to officiate same-sex marriages had a right to sue the State Commission on Judicial Conduct … Continue reading →

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The HD146 runoff

Posted on May 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve avoided writing about this for as long as I could, but it needs to be talked about. That Senate Bill 14 would pass was not in doubt. The legislation, which would bar gender-transitioning care for children and teens, had … Continue reading →

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Feds investigating Katy ISD

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation Monday into Katy Independent School District to determine if its controversial gender identity policy discriminates against students, according to records obtained by the Houston Landing. The investigation … Continue reading →

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