Latest news with #ErinZwiener
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Texas House passes ban on sexuality-based school clubs after emotional debate
Texas House Democrats rebuked their Republican colleagues in unusually personal terms Saturday over a bill that would ban Texas schools from authorizing clubs on 'sexuality or gender identity,' with Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu of Houston labeling it the work of "monsters.' The proposal, Senate Bill 12, passed from the House last week without the Senate version's ban on school-sponsored LGBTQ pride clubs and other sexuality-based groups. But lawmakers replaced that provision when negotiating a compromise, and the House adopted those changes in a 77-40 vote on Saturday night. Democrats warned the prohibition would apply to Girl Scouts and Christian men's athletic groups as much as it would pride clubs — but that only those groups for gay teens would end up facing enforcement. 'This bill is hate,' said state Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Dripping Springs, who identifies as bisexual. 'This is one of the most nakedly hateful bills we have had on the floor of this House.' Republicans have labeled SB 12 from state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the 'Bill of Parental Rights.' The 36-page proposal bans diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public schools, which Republicans argue detract from educational instruction and foster division based on race and sex. It also tightens parental notification and consent requirements regarding a child's mental or physical health, psychological treatment and sex education. The bill's Republican sponsor said public schools have no place hosting clubs based on sexuality. He also said he's been 'repulsed' at 'some of the things I've heard defended in our public schools,' including in debates over school library book restrictions. 'We're not going to allow gay clubs, and we're not going to allow straight clubs,' said state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano. 'We shouldn't be sexualizing our kids in public schools, period. And we shouldn't have clubs based on sex.' More: Texas House passes bill to implement sweeping restrictions on school libraries Democrats argued the ban on sexuality-based clubs will strip LGBTQ youth of a safe space from bullying, which disproportionately impacts gay teens and preteens. They also fiercely contested Leach's characterization of the prohibited clubs as 'sex clubs," for which he later apologized and said he "misspoke." 'There is nothing inherently more sexual about the existence of LGBTQ people than there is of straight people,' Zwiener told him. 'And if we are concerned about overly sexualized behavior in our schools, I would hope you would focus more on the comments young men make about young women in the locker room than about a bunch of queer kids getting together to support each other.' Over several hours of debate, other Democratic House members shared personal stories to illustrate why they opposed the measure. State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, said his daughter was the vice president of her school's pride club, where students colored, watched movies and went to a musical together. 'I don't know why grown-ups in this body are so triggered by that,' he said. Later, state Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Houston, asked a colleague, "What club in your school taught you to be gay or to be a lesbian?" "Nobody taught me to be who I am today," Democratic state Rep. Jessica González of Dallas, who is lesbian, responded. "It's just how I felt." Several Republicans expressed incredulity that their colleagues across the aisle found the ban objectionable. State Rep. Alan Schoolcraft, R-McQueeney, said organizations like the Gay-Straight Alliance and GLSEN are 'efforts to fundamentally change the moral and social fiber of this country' and that "they're attacking us through our children." The bill will soon be sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and would apply beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. A spokesperson for Abbott signaled the governor supports the legislation. "DEI agendas divide us rather than unite us and have no place in the state of Texas, which is why Governor Abbott called on the Legislature to ban DEI in grades K-12," said Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris. "The Governor will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk that helps achieve this goal.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas to ban school LGBT clubs under bill passed by state Legislature
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas House Republicans flex their might after Democrats threaten legislative priorities
Partisan rancor in the Texas House of Representatives threatened to boil over on Friday when a group of hardline Republicans killed a seemingly uncontroversial bill brought by a Democratic House member. Five members raised their hands in objection to a bill from Democratic Rep. Erin Zwiener of Driftwood on white tail deer population management, declaring they would kill all Democrat bills on the local and consent calendar. Zwiener's bill was the first from a Democrat on the calendar today. The move prompted Democrats to respond in kind, creating a stand-off of mutually assured destruction that ended with the House pulling all but two bills off the remainder of the calendar. Local and consent calendars typically feature uncontested and local legislation, including bills that fund local parks or water districts. The move threatens to take a traditionally low-key aspect of the House's work and turn it into a partisan battleground with just 38 days left in the legislative session. One Republican expressed frustration. 'We got a lot of bills still to be heard,' Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, told The Texas Tribune. 'And we ain't got that much time on that. So, we need to cut the games and get back to work.' Others were exultant. 'Conservatives are done allowing dems to run the Texas House,' Rep. Andy Hopper, R-Decatur, posted on X, with a photo of five representatives who raised objections to the bill. 'Today patriots are standing together to declare that if Texas GOP priorities aren't to be prioritized or passed, that local & consent will no longer be mindlessly passed.' The photo showed Republican Reps. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Mitch Little of Lewisville, Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth, Tony Tinderholt of Arlington and Steve Toth of The Woodlands raising their hands in objection. Although Democrats have long been a minority of the Texas House, they have had some influence on the edges of issues. They managed to stop some Republican budget measures and are blocking constitutional amendments. The Republican hardliners' stated goals are twofold. They want Democratic Rep. Mary González of Clint to publicly apologize for quietly slipping in an amendment to the House budget that killed several conservative-backed budget amendments. Secondly, the hardliners want Democrats to end their blocks on the passage of constitutional amendments. 'The Democrat Caucus, with the exception of a few, has prevented constitutional amendments from passing, some of which would have benefitted mentally handicapped individuals,' according to vote reasoning signed by at least 15 Republicans. 'Mary Gonzalez's bills will continue to die because, in addition to the aforementioned reason, she lied with her amendment to the amendment on the budget.' González declined to comment. It takes 100 members to pass a constitutional amendment in the House, meaning at least 12 Democrats need to play along with the Republican majority. Although most of the Democratic caucus helped elect Dustin Burrows as speaker, most Democrats have withheld their votes on constitutional amendments for the past three weeks in an attempt to extract concessions from House leadership. On Tuesday, House leadership put House Joint Resolution 72 to a vote, testing Democrats' resolve with a sympathetic and bipartisan measure about creating a homestead exemption for the residences of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It failed to gain the two-third majority needed for passage. The two bills that were salvaged from the local and consent calendar wreckage were HB 155, from Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, D-Laredo. Raymond was one of a few Democrat who voted in support of HJR 72. The second bill from Austin Rep. Sheryl Cole honored a fallen police officer. Cole had been absent in recent weeks. Hardline Republicans articulated their reasons. However, they're concerned more broadly about the pacing of conservative priorities. The uproar from the far right comes as the grassroots have increased their criticism that the House has not passed any of its legislative priorities. On Wednesday, Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George posted a video on social media chiding the House for not yet passing any of the party's eight legislative priorities while the Senate has made more progress. After the House adjourned, Representative Shatzline said House leadership reassured his group of hardline conservatives that leadership is dedicated to passing Texas GOP priorities this session. 'There was no details given, and we want details or we're going to go through with our plan,' he said. 'I hope that it's the most conservative session we've ever had. And the ball's in their court.' After the bills were removed from the local and consent calendar, the House paused to let the local and consent calendars committee meet. The committee voted to send everything in their committee to the main calendars' committee, the first step before sending these bills back to the House floor for potential approval. Kayla Guo contributed to this report. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers Greg Casar, Erin Zwiener hold town hall at Texas State
The Brief Texas State welcomed Congressman Greg Casar and State Representative Erin Zwiener for a town hall Lawmakers and their constituents talked about all the hot-button issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, school vouchers, and health care SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas State welcomed Congressman Greg Casar and State Representative Erin Zwiener on Thursday for a town hall. Several dozen people packed into a room at the student center to hear from them. The backstory "There is a very important history of First Amendment rights in instructional freedom that we should all be invested in defending," said Zwiener. The town hall comes as both the U.S. House and Senate are out of session simultaneously for the first time this year. "It's really important for elected officials to communicate with their constituents, answer their questions, whether it's people of your political party or not," said Casar. Lawmakers and their constituents talked about all the hot-button issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, school vouchers, and health care. "I believe in and support a single-payer-for-all program that would dramatically reduce cost for people," said Casar. Attendees like Samuel Kulovitz said they're here to make sure issues that matter most to them, like trans rights, get attention in Congress. "Coming today, after I've kind of lost that pre-election hope, getting to come back and be reminded that there are still people fighting and that even as nobody knows what's going on, there are representatives that still care, and it just felt a little bit reassuring," said Kulovitz. Regardless of where people stand on an issue, lawmakers tell them to keep pushing. "I think staying engaged, staying visible is all incredibly important," said Zwiener. Dig deeper With most attendees in agreement, this town hall was a breeze compared to others happening across the country. In Maryland, Congressman Glenn Ivey (D) answered to yelling. Ivey: "I'm gonna answer his question.... (screaming).... you'll get a turn... (screaming)... you will get a turn, but, it's not your turn. It's his turn. I'm gonna answer his question." Recently, North Carolina's Richard Hudson (R), the head of the House GOP re-election efforts, warned his members to consider tele-town halls instead of in-person town halls during this recess. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel
