In advertisements opponents said it would allow people born as men to freely enter women’s restrooms. The blunt message of “No Men in Women’s Bathrooms” was plastered on signs and quoted during radio and TV ads during the hard-fought debate.
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Parker is not certain a more aggressive campaign could have countered opponents labeling HERO as the “bathroom ordinance”.
The notion that passing a non-discrimination ordinance would allow “any man at any time” to enter a women’s bathroom “simply by claiming to be a woman that day” is absurd.
As supporters of Houston’s equal rights ordinance pieced together how the law came to suffer such an overwhelming defeat at the polls Tuesday, political scientists and even a few campaign supporters pointed to what they said was a key misstep: poor outreach to black voters.
As I read the news, I wondered if there was a lesson here that deserved wider attention. “We will continue telling the stories of Houstonians whose lives would be better off because of HERO – including people of color, people of faith, veterans who have served our country, women, and gay and transgender people”. “This will have stained Houston’s reputation as a tolerant, welcoming global city”, she added. But with Parker ending her final two-year term, it’s unclear if the new mayor and City Council will take up the issue.
Opponents of the ordinance, including a coalition of conservative pastors, said it infringed on their religious beliefs regarding homosexuality.
“The voters clearly understand that this proposition was never about equality – that is already the law”, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement.
The ACLU’s National Political Director Karin Johanson said Houston was the only major American city that had not passed a law “protecting its residents from discrimination”.
Voters in Houston have decisively rejected anti-discrimination rules that were approved by the city’s council in May but were forced to go to a referendum following legal challenges by socially conservative opponents.
“People need more accurate information, not fear-based horror stories”, says Robyn Ochs, a campus speaker who focuses on identity, sexuality, and gender.
Although 22 state laws prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, 28 others, including Texas, do not.
Far from a complete picture of the election, early voting results reported Tuesday evening tilted toward Houston repealing the city’s law banning discrimination.
Houston will, eventually, join that list.
Ed Young, pastor of Second Baptist Church, called the ordinance “a very serious moral issue” that could potentially open the city up to godlessness.
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“When I looked at it I felt it was overly broad, I would not have worded it that way myself”, said Feldman. “This is beyond politics”. Houston is a world-class city. You know this great city.
