State Sen. Donna Campbell
The Texas Senate on Tuesday passed SB 1218, which would prohibit anyone from obtaining a marriage license with a document that lacks a photo, including an affidavit of sex change.
Daniel Williams, field organizer with Equality Texas, said the bill’s author, state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, stated that her intent with the bill was to require a photo be shown to get a marriage license.
However, removing an affidavit of sex change from the list of documents that can be used to obtain marriage licenses could bar transgender people from marrying people of the opposite sex.
“Donna Campbell’s bill is targeting communities that aren’t likely to have forms of ID,” Williams said.
Williams said Equality Texas is working to slow down the bill’s process. It still has to pass a House committee and make it onto the House calendar for it to be voted on by midnight on Tuesday, May 21, which is the last day for the House to consider Senate bills.
Meanwhile, anti-gay Fort Worth Republican Rep. Matt Krause has filed an amendment to SB 215 that would allow student organizations at universities to ignore the school’s nondiscrimination policy. Krause originally filed a bill with the same intention, but it died last week when it failed to make it onto the House calendar.
Williams said the amendment “has a really decent chance of passing” because Krause is gaining support for it based on students having free speech.
“It’s not about protecting free speech. It’s about tax-funded hate speech, ” Williams said.
Williams said constituents should contact their state representative and ask them to vote against the amendment when it’s considered today or tomorrow. You can find your representative here.
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