Texas Pride organizers hopeful amid rights rollback
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Texas can be a hostile state for LGBTQ+ rights, but local advocates say there's hope as the community celebrates Pride in the face of challenges.
Why it matters: Texas, like Florida, has operated as a test kitchen for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that has spread to other states, according to Michael Rendon of the Human Rights Campaign in San Antonio. Texas passed four laws targeting LGBTQ+ rights last year.
- And the state led the nation in proposed anti-transgender legislation last year, even if few of those bills became law.
The big picture: In states nationwide, significantly fewer bills passed this year than were proposed, per data analysis from the Human Rights Campaign — signifying a slowdown from last year's boom.
Yes, but: The Texas Legislature will not meet this year.
However, the state's last session emboldened intolerance toward the LGBTQ+ community, James Poindexter, Pride San Antonio secretary, tells Axios.
What they're saying: "We're 50 years past Stonewall at this point and still not where we need to be," Poindexter says.
- "If we're gonna combat all of this nastiness that's happening legislatively, we need to continue educating people."
State of play: In 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed four anti-LGBTQ+ bills into law, according to an ACLU tracker.
- Bans on gender-affirming care for children, transgender students in college sports, and certain drag shows all passed.
- A judge blocked the public drag show ban, and the Texas Supreme Court is considering the gender-affirming care ban (it remains in effect for now).
- Texas has also cracked down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities.
- Republicans praised the laws, saying the ban on gender-affirming care protects children from misguided medical treatments that they will regret later.
Zoom in: Despite the state's legislative actions, San Antonio and other major Texas cities get good grades from the Human Rights Campaign for rules and services that support LGBTQ+ people.
- San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth all scored a 100, a perfect grade, while Houston scored a 73.
- The grade is based on factors like local nondiscrimination protections, city employment policies and services, hate crime reporting, and local leadership support.
Case in point: San Antonio's annual Pride Bigger Than Texas festival at Crockett Park has grown from just a handful of vendors to a 10,000-person event, with up to 25,000 people attending the parade, Poindexter says.
- The addition of the Pride River Parade downtown, launched in 2022, makes the celebration more visible to people outside the city's Main Strip, an area known as an LGBTQ+ hub, Rendon says.
Reality check: Not everyone is welcoming toward San Antonio's LGBTQ+ community. In 2022, an armed group protested outside the Aztec Theatre downtown before an all-ages Christmas drag show.
- The dueling protests were largely peaceful, according to the San Antonio Report, but rattled attendees.
- "Yes, we get a lot of hate still," Rendon says. "But I also see a lot of love and joy that our community brings to one another."
What we're watching: What Texas legislators choose to tackle in next year's legislative session, which starts in January.
- LGBTQ+ rights or restrictions were not on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's list of priorities this year.
The bottom line: "Now is our time to jump on this and have a teachable moment," Poindexter says. "And hopefully when those bills come back again, they'll have even less of a chance of passing."
What's next: Pride Week San Antonio will offer a lineup of events June 21-30.
- The Pride Bigger Than Texas festival and parade are on June 29.