Houston Mayor Sued Over LGBT Rights Law – Again

Twitter has sent a call to action to Beyoncé to help stop a repeal of HERO, Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance passed by the city council in last April that bans discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing, public accommodations like hotels and restaurants and other areas.

The new suit, filed in Harris County District Court, accuses Parker of interfering with citizens’ right to vote and also seeks damages associated with subpoenas the city issued to some local ministers in connection with the previous suit, the Chronicle reports.

Now, the pastors who were the subject of the city’s discovery requests have filed suit against Houston Mayor Annise Parker for “trampl[ing] on the rights of one million Houston citizens” through the subpoena requests.

“When somebody has executive authority in the fourth largest city in America and are willing to literally step over, around and on the law to achieve their own personal agenda, it doesn’t matter what party, color or background it is, we just can’t have that”, said Welch.

The group of pastors is filing the lawsuit this afternoon. “And so we’re here today to say “uh-uh, ‘ there’s going to be accountability for doing that. Far from creating equality, “HERO” creates special rights, not equal rights, for biological males to enter the public restrooms reserved for adult women, adolescent girls, and infants”.

According to the ruling (see below), residents of Houston who oppose the Equal Rights Ordinance gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum, but Houston officials disagreed on the number of valid signatures and refused to bring the referendum to the ballot in November. It claims that the pastors’ religious freedoms were “trampled” when their sermons were subpoenaed by the city.

In a statement released Monday, Parker said the lawsuit and the overall effort against HERO “threatens to hurt [Houston’s] image and our progress”. It’s about politics. It is being waged by a small group that wants to take Houston backward instead of moving it forward.