San Marcos Sneaks in LGBT Policy During COVID-19
Austin, Texas – On April 21st in a closed-door session the San Marcos City Council discussed and then later passed, without a public hearing, a new policy that would force businesses and religious nonprofits to give special treatment on “sexual orientation and gender identity” (SOGI) in employment or subcontract agreements in order to contract with the City of San Marcos. This policy would force private businesses and contractors with the City of San Marcos to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs on marriage and biological sex. Additionally, because the City Council took advantage of the Coronavirus situation in a closed-door meeting, there was no opportunity for a public hearing or comment and this action could violate the Texas Open Meetings Act. The policy is set to go into effect on May 15th
Jonathan Saenz, President, and Attorney for Texas Values said:
“This unprecedented act of secrecy and deception to advance the leftist political agenda needs to be brought to the light. We call on the City Council to allow the people of San Marcos to voice their concerns against these special protections which trample religious liberty. Let the people speak.”
Texas Values has sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council informing them of the possible Texas Open Meetings Act violation, as well as requesting a public hearing before the implementation of the new controversial policy. You can read the letter here.
During the last legislative session, numerous bills were defeated that had similar language and wanted to punish Christian employers and business owners with fines and jail time who did not comply with “sexual orientation and gender identity” (SOGI) special protections. Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are not protected classes under federal law and no Texas state law requires special protection for either. Ordinances and rules of this type are dangerous and inaccurately rely on a short-lived interpretation of Federal law from the Obama Administration. The current U.S. Department of Justice has rejected this interpretation and instead concluded that protections against sex discrimination do not apply to claims on sexual orientation and gender identity.
###
About Texas Values
Texas Values is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.