This year, Texas lawmakers are anticipated to discuss many pieces of legislation that may significantly alter the lives of homosexual and transgender Texans. Lt. Gov. Sen. Dan Patrick made it a top priority for the Senate this year, and Senate Bill 14 was chosen as the measure to carry it out.
LGBTQ Community
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made it a Senate commitment to adopt rules that would bring changes to the lives of LGBTQ individuals. It would cover providing LGBTQ people with access to medical care, allowing transgender students to play on college sports teams, and teaching about the LGBTQ community.
Many claims that the planned changes amount to attempts to limit people’s rights and diminish queer expression, according to the mysanantonio.com report.
More than 90 “bad bills” have been submitted so far this legislative session, according to Equality Texas. Even though only a few of them remain, they cause significant harm. The law has a detrimental effect on the mental health of LGBTQ youth.
Senator Dan Patrick designated but has not yet submitted Senate Bill 14. He hasn’t specified what it would expressly forbid. Similar legislation has been proposed by other politicians.
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Texas’ Blocking Laws
LGBTQ advocates worry that House Bill 319, which does not explicitly name LGBTQ individuals, may empower doctors to refuse patients based solely on their gender or sexual orientation. House Bill 41 and Senate Bill 250 forbid doctors from prescribing hormone therapy or puberty blockers to children and insurance companies from paying for such care, the Texas Tribune reported.
Rep. Jared Patterson’s House Bill 436 seeks to label medical procedures like hormone therapy and puberty blockers as child abuse. Texas residents who take hormone therapy or puberty blockers or have transition-related surgery would be entitled to sue their physicians under House Bill 1752.
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