skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, December 8, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Some South Dakota farmers are unhappy with industrial ag getting conservation funds; Texas judge allows abortion in Cox case; Native tribes express concern over Nevada's clean energy projects.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Colorado Supreme Court weighs barring Trump from office, Georgia Republicans may be defying a federal judge with a Congressional map splitting a Black majority district and fake electors in Wisconsin finally agree Biden won there in 2020.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Texas welcomes more visitors near Big Bend but locals worry the water won't last, those dependent on Colorado's Dolores River fear the same but have found common ground solutions, and a new film highlights historical healthcare challenges in rural Appalachia.

Rights Groups Blast TX Leaders Over Special-Session ‘Bathroom Bill’

play audio
Play

Monday, July 17, 2017   

AUSTIN, Texas – A coalition of rights groups is blasting Texas leaders for making anti-LGBTQ bills a priority when lawmakers convene this week in a special session.

In a conference call with the media, the groups urged the Legislature to work on funding the state's public schools or repairing the state's crumbling infrastructure instead of passing a so-called bathroom bill the groups say is designed to legalize discrimination.

The measure would restrict where transgender Texans are allowed to use the bathroom.

Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, says Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing the bill to appease members of the Tea Party.

"Despite opposition from civil rights organizations, religious leaders and the business community, and despite not one shred of evidence of the privacy and safety issues Patrick claims makes this legislation necessary, the bathroom bill remains his chief priority," Miller states.

Once lawmakers complete major legislation, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to allow other anti-LGBTQ bills to be considered, including ones undoing local nondiscrimination ordinances and barring anti-discrimination bathroom rules in schools.

Patrick says the bathroom bill protects girls and women "from men using their bathrooms."

Chuck Smith, CEO of Equality Texas, maintains some legislators want the support of evangelical conservatives so badly they are willing to stigmatize transgender children to get votes.

"These lawmakers are so obsessed with pushing a divisive political agenda targeting vulnerable children that they are sinking to unconscionable lows," Smith states.

JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, says many businesses oppose the bill, fearing an economic boycott if Texas legalizes discrimination.

"Some of the concerns they have shared are about their ability to do business and support their employees and their families, their ability to recruit folks to come to Texas so people wouldn't be worried about being able just to live their day-to-day lives," she explains.

One business – IBM – ran full-page ads in major Texas newspapers over the weekend, warning legislators the bill could cost the state billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

The special session convenes Tuesday and runs for 20 days.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
More than 2,000 patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities have received dental care in group home day center settings across North Carolina, according to Access Dental. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Most people probably never give a second thought to their visits to the dentist, but not everyone can navigate this process with ease. People with …


Social Issues

play sound

Christmas is a little more than two weeks away, and toy drives around the country are in full swing. A North Dakota organizer shares some things to …

Social Issues

play sound

A federal judge in Nevada has dealt three tribal nations a legal setback in their efforts to stop what could be the construction of the country's larg…


A study on earth.org reveals a 6 1/2-foot artificial Christmas tree would have to be used for at least 12 years for it to be more ecofriendly than a real Christmas tree. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Hoosiers could get their holiday trees from any of about 200 tree farms in the state, according to the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association…

Social Issues

play sound

Reports from the Insurance Commissioner's office and the state Attorney General reveal an analysis of what they call "the true costs of health care" i…

Environment

play sound

Connecticut lawmakers are reluctant to approve new emission standards that would require 90% cleaner emissions from internal-combustion engines and re…

Social Issues

play sound

Another controversial move in Florida's education system is a proposal to drop sociology, the study of social life and the causes and consequences of …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021