Equality Texas Interim Executive Director Samantha Smoot today urged the statewide LGBT community to “ramp up our engagement and activism during the final month of the legislative session,” as several virulently anti-LGBT bills continue to move through the state Capitol.

Chief among advocates’ concern is Senate Bill 17, which could be headed to committee as early as next week and would create “dangerous ‘religious exemptions’” for virtually every licensed occupation in Texas, Smoot warned.

That includes hundreds of professions, from barbers to tow truck operators to doctors. If an occupational license holder were to call on “sincerely-held religious belief” in taking a discriminatory action, the licensing agency that oversees the occupation would have no recourse to remedy that discrimination, explained in a press release, and that it includes health care providers, who could turn away sick and injured people seeking care.

“We don’t know exactly when the hearing will be on SB 17, but it may be as early as next week, and we want our LGBTQ people engaged and tuned into the Equality Texas website and Facebook page for more information,” a spokesperson said.

In addition, SB 2485, 2486, 2487 — all pre-emption bills — have been referred to House State Affairs Committee. “We continue to have significant concerns that this legislation as currently written will expose municipal [non-discrimination ordinances protecting LGBT people and others] to being overturned,” the Equality Texas press release noted.

House Bills 1035 and 3172 remain pending in the House State Affairs Committee. These bills and others, the press release declared, “would make a mockery of religious freedom, guaranteeing that discrimination will be permitted [by allowing] businesses, licensed professionals and even government officials to use religion to exempt themselves from nondiscrimination laws and policies, including licensing and professional standards.”

A number of people testified against HB 1034 and HB 3172 during an overnight hearing, including Equality Texas board member Emily Copp of Austin. “All my life I have loved being a Texan. I was born here. I went to school here.  I go to a Christian church here. I got my first job here. I started by business here,” Copp said. “But, bills like HB 1085 and HB 3172 make me question whether I can continue to call Texas my home and my place to do business. These bills, if passed, will treat people like me like second class citizens.”

Johnny Bennet told lawmakers, “Yesterday was my 15th anniversary of meeting this wonderful husband of mine, and it is also the fifth anniversary of our wedding. This bill is very discriminatory because it singles out same-sex marriage, and it singles out transgender people.”

In her testimony at an earlier hearing on SB 17, Smooth said. “Religious freedom is a fundamental American value, but it is not a license to discriminate. SB 17 would create a religious litmus test and open the doors to discrimination and to real harm to LGBTQ Texans. That’s why Dan Patrick supports it and why it’s the #1 threat to LGBTQ people this session.”

— Tammye Nash