Texas Attorney General wants to sue San Antonio over new LGBT ordinance thats even more respectful of the 1st amendment

Abbott won't come out and say he hates thy gays but he will make it legal for others to, if he can.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and two leading Republican candidates to succeed him say they want to sue the city of San Antonio over its vote last week to add sexual orientation and identity to an anti-discrimination ordinance that already included race, religion and nationality. But Rick Casey says language changes in the new rules actually respect the First Amendment more than the old ordinance.






My San Antionio reports Abbott doesn't bash gays in his warning. He's just worried about language in the ordinance that he thinks will punish those who do bash gays. But such language was in the previous anti-discrimination ordinance for years.

“No person shall be appointed to a (city) position if the City Council finds that such person has, prior to such proposed appointment, engaged in discrimination or demonstrated a bias, by word or deed, against any person, group or organization on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or handicap,” the language said.

This is very disturbing language. Under it, any Christian who said she thought Jews were going to hell might be barred from office. But it didn't seem to disturb anyone until Councilman Diego Bernal sought to add gays and transgendered persons to the list. Bernal, himself a civil rights lawyer, took out that language early in the drafting process. It is no longer in the ordinance.

A surviving section, however, does include similar language. It says, “No appointed official or member of a board or commission shall engage in discrimination or demonstrate a bias, by word or deed, against any person, group of persons, or organization (based on race, color, sexual orientation, etc.) while acting in their official capacity while in such public position.”

A board member or other official who violates this section can be removed by City Council.

This is the section Attorney General Abbott has focused on. “I believe that violates the First Amendment — both freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” he said.

Nikki Araguz firefighters widow denied survivor benefits, now denied a Texas marriage license

HOUSTON (KHOU) -- The transgender widow of a Wharton County firefighter, whom a judge ruled was not entitled to her late husband’s death benefits because she was born a man, is challenging Texas law once more by attempting to get married again.

Nikki Araguz, 38, was the transgender wife of Wharton firefighter Thomas Araguz. He died fighting a blaze at a Wharton County farm in 2010. His family, when they found out Nikki Araguz was born a male named Justin Purdue, challenged her rights to the benefits. They argued that the marriage should be declared null and void because the Texas Constitution effectively bans same sex marriages. A judge agreed that although Araguz had her original California birth certificate amended to show that she is now female, that Texas law goes by the original birth certificate that shows Araguz/Purdue was born male.

"This is an acceptable form of identification according to your 2009 family code but you're denying me one,” Araguz said.
"Denying it per the constitutional amendment,” Stanart said.

KHOU 11 News Legal expert Professor Gerald Treece of the South Texas College of Law says Araguz is following the same argument she already lost in court. Texas law, as was the ruling in Araguz’ original case, goes by the original birth certificate, not an amended one. Araguz’ original birth certificate shows she was born a male. Under current Texas law she would always be considered a male. Therefore the Harris County Clerk denied Araguz a marriage license based on the interpretation she was marrying another man.

The three words keeping Nikki from getting a marriage license and the Achilles heel for all of us transsexual Texans "Original Birth Certificate".