Gay rights battle flares in Houston over nondiscrimination ordinance

The campaign to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, has become a priority for national gay rights groups and the city’s gay mayor. But with an election set for Tuesday, polls show voters are divided on the measure.

One reason, they say, is the provocative claim that the measure would permit “any man at any time” to enter a women’s bathroom “simply by claiming to be a woman that day.” Opponents have dubbed the measure “the bathroom ordinance.”

They also accuse most others of fearmongering, noting that the ordinance would not only protect the rights of transgender people, but also challenge discrimination on the basis of race, sex and a dozen other factors, including military status

To date, 17 states and more than 200 municipalities bar discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, according to Freedom for All Americans, a gay rights group active in the pro-HERO campaign.

Texas is not one of those states. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/gay-rights-battle-flares-in-houston-over-nondiscrimination-ordinance/2015/11/01/02282754-7f08-11e5-b575-d8dcfedb4ea1_story.html

Eryn Sanclemente