[Update] – If you read this diary earlier and want to know how the politicking is going, please read othniel’s comments below. All Texan BooTribbers – please call, fax, email your senators, with thanks and support for the good guys and making your views known to those who haven’t yet committed. This can still be stopped, but it won’t be easy.

I just got back from testifying before the State Affairs Committee of the Texas Senate at the hearing on HJR 6. This is a bill that would ask Texans to vote on a constitutional amendment that would write denying equality of marriage rights to gay and lesbian citizens into our state constitution. Similar moves to change state constitutions are afoot in many states – very likely in yours.

My purpose in posting this diary is to remind the members of the community how important it is for those of us who are not gay to speak out when the rights of gay citizens are under attack.

(Warning! It’s going to be long since I’m including my written statement to the committee at the end of this diary.)
Testifying was an interesting experience – I’d never done anything like this before. Othniel testified before I did, followed by his son Zane. His testimony was as he said it would be in this comment on his diary about Zane’s prepared remarks. Othniel did the lawyerly constitutional implications thing, which was very necessary, and he did it very well. Zane was composed and did a great job speaking up for young people, as did one of his friends who also testified.

I lived up to my reputation as the absent minded professor by forgetting the 10 copies of my written statement. Othniel saved me by taking me to Rep. Garnet Coleman’s office where they made copies of the one I had in my purse.

(We progressives in Texas deeply (heart) Rep. Coleman. He’s the one holding the adopted child of a lesbian couple in the picture that I used in this diary about gay and lesbian foster parents – who are also under attack.)

There were, of course, many gays and lesbians present to speak in opposition to the bill. They addressed the point that even though the law passed in 2003 and this bill with the same language state that gays and lesbians do not need marriage or civil unions since they can just get powers of attorney, make a will, etc. this is not really the case. One woman brought tears to many eyes when she testified that she was literally dying for lack of health insurance, since she could not get it through her domestic partner.

The committee chair asked us not to read our statements – to just talk to them, so I tried to do that. We only had two minutes each. As a professor, I’m used to speaking in front of a group, so I had an advantage that some people might not. But even so, it’s hard not to be nervous in a situation like that, so I’m not entirely sure what I said.

OK, here’s my written statement:

Testimony Prepared for the State Affairs Committee of the Texas Senate, Hearing on HJR 6, May 19, 2005

Prepared and Respectfully Submitted by:

[“Janet Strange”, PhD]
Professor of Biology, Austin Community College
[address]

What, exactly is the purpose of HJR 6? I support full equality of rights for all Texas citizens, including the right to be married. I am not gay, but I have a nephew and a grand nephew who are, and they are family. My best friend of 30 years, who died two years ago, fell in love with a woman and she was my friend. I do not understand why the Texas legislature wants to discriminate against people who are dear to me. I also have gay neighbors, students, colleagues, and acquaintances. I think they should have the same rights that I do.

I realize that some people disagree with me. They are opposed to full equality for my family, friends, and neighbors. However, the laws of the state of Texas – as misguided as I think they are – already prohibit not only marriage equality, but also civil unions for gay people.

SB 7, passed and signed into law by the governor in 2003, added Section § 6.204 to the Texas Family Code which states,

(c)  The state or an agency or political subdivision of the state may not give effect to a:

(1)  public act, record, or judicial proceeding that creates, recognizes, or validates a marriage between persons of the same sex or a civil union in this state or in any other jurisdiction;  or

(2)  right or claim to any legal protection, benefit, or responsibility asserted as a result of a marriage between persons of the same sex or a civil union in this state or in any other jurisdiction.

So I ask you again, what is the purpose of this joint resolution? It cannot be simply to prohibit marriage equality for gays, or even to bar them from the legal protections of civil unions. That is already the law in this state.

Looking at the Texas Legislature Online website this morning, I see that there are 2914 bills pending before the Texas Senate this session. There are 190 bills pertaining to business and commerce in Texas, just under the heading “general.” There are 86 consumer protection bills. Sixty-three bills have been filed that would affect our courts, and 144 concerning criminal procedure.

I am a professor at Austin Community College. There are 72 higher education bills and 64 more that affect junior colleges specifically. The public schools of Texas have not been adequately funded in my lifetime, and there are 94 bills awaiting action that address school funding.

Fifty-nine bills affect our most basic right as a citizen of a democratic republic – our right to vote. Forty-six bills on the environment, and 36 on energy.

If your goal is to protect families, there are 42 bills for your consideration on child protection, 54 on child services, and 24 on family violence. Twenty-nine bills address marriage including issues of community property and the rights of children and parents following a divorce.

According to a study released less than a month ago by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Texas has the highest percentage of working adults – 26.6% – without health insurance. Twenty-five percent of our children so not have health insurance, again the highest rate in the nation. There are 152 bills for your consideration on health care providers, 102 on medical assistance, 153 on health insurance, and 25 that specifically address insurance for children.

Add in 23 bills on worker’s compensation, 45 for our parks and wildlife, 16 on science and technology, and 127 on transportation. As one who pays into the Teacher Retirement System, I am a Texas citizen who is very concerned about how these bills will affect my financial security when I retire.

The only purpose of this resolution that I can see, is political pandering, pure and simple. It changes nothing concerning the rights – or more precisely the denial of rights – to our gay and lesbian citizens.

I was born in Beaumont, Texas, 56 years ago. As a lifelong Texan, I think I speak for many other Texans when I say, we do not like political posturing that does nothing to address the real issues that face our state.

It looks to me like you senators have a lot of work to do. Why are you not spending your time on the job we elected you to do? Why are you not at work, right now, on Texas’ economy, health insurance for our children, funding for our schools? Why are you wasting your time and my tax money on this resolution that accomplishes nothing?

Some legislators evidently believe that this resolution will gain them favor with the voters. They may think that gratuitous attacks like these will harm only a minority of Texans – gay and lesbian Texans. They are wrong.

Attacks on any citizens diminish us all. If gays and lesbians are attacked by our elected representatives, those who would physically attack gays and lesbians may feel justified by these reckless verbal and legislative attacks.

I am harmed by the reckless disregard for my safety and the safety of everyone in my community when legislators espouse discrimination and attacks on minorities. I am harmed when you attack my friends and my family. There are millions of us in this state who are not gay, but who have gay friends and family and neighbors, and we will fight for them.