Will Texas Capitulate to Anti-Family Advocates and Remove “Mother” and “Father”?
In light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to redefine marriage, efforts to completely redefine parenthood altogether continue to grow. Just this week in Tennessee, the state removed “Mother” and “Father” in some court documents and replaced them with “Parent 1” and “Parent 2.” But thanks to a large public outcry, led in part by Fox News’ Todd Starnes, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts quickly announced they were reversing course, thus making the words “mother” and “father” permissible again.
But the question – remains how will Texas respond to the increasing demands from the LGBT machine to target “Mother” and “Father” in our state documents?
A few weeks ago, the media reported that homosexual activists were looking to remove “Mother” and “Father” from birth certificates in Texas by changing state law to “remove gender-specific language from the document and its application forms.” This followed efforts this past legislative session by State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) to pass HB 537 which would have specifically removed “Mother” and “Father” from some birth certificates. The bill ultimately failed but was supported vocally by a few Republicans, including State Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana).
Homosexual advocates followed through on their threats by filing a lawsuit and have bragged about punishing taxpayers as they intend to use taxpayer money to fund their politically motivated lawsuits.
As a result, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has already announced its intentions to “implement changes to vital records for vital events” (which would include changes in forms related to Birth and Death Certificates, Adoptions, Gestational Agreements, and others) in response to the actions and demands by activist federal judge Orlando Garcia. It is anticipated that these final changes to forms will be made and announced on Monday, August 24, in accordance with the court order.
Removing “Mother” and “Father” from any birth certificate, or any other state form, denies not only biology, but also a child’s identity. It directly takes away the rights of parents to identify themselves as mother and father of their child on state documents. The only right way for any of these sweeping policy decisions to be made is through the Texas Legislature, with decisions being made by elected officials that are ultimately accountable to the people.
Already, more than 25,000 emails and phone calls have been made to state elected officials and DSHS expressing support for not removing references to “Mother” and “Father.” We must continue to demand, regardless of rogue court actions, that common sense and the rule of law prevail – so that ultimately we can protect our children’s right to a mom and dad.