40% of Republicans think the COVID vaccine killed more people than the COVID virus. One in four believe that QAnon is real. No matter how far they radicalize, we are told over and over again that the people being rude to them are the problem.
Deputy Director of Policy at the Transgender Law Center. (they)
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40% of Republicans think the COVID vaccine killed more people than the COVID virus. One in four believe that QAnon is real. No matter how far they radicalize, we are told over and over again that the people being rude to them are the problem.
HB 7 has passed the Texas House and is now headed to the Senate. Lawmakers want to take away medication abortion, even though it’s a safe and essential part of health care. Bluebonnets, Whataburger, Buc-ee’s, cowboy boots… and abortion pills. They’re all part of Texas.
The House just released the first tranche of documents in its Epstein investigation. But the materials likely won't satisfy those clamoring for more info about the case. Most of what was released in the first batch of files is already publicly available.
Folks spend way too much time lecturing trans people and Palestinians about what they gotta say and do to be treated like people with human rights
Clearcut has been on my to-watch list for quite some time. I'll prioritize it this month.
since Bluesky is chock full of Newsom-stan-bots insisting that "Dems should compromise on trans issues", I will re-up my November essay about why this is not only immoral & unempirical, but BAD POLITICS. Dems WILL LOSE if they do this, here's why (no paywall): juliaserano.medium.com/should-democ...
Agree and we also need to be clear on WHO THEY ARE. The people saying throw trans folks overboard are not offering us a path to unity, they are very literally and concretely trying to divide us
It is less a mass deportation regime as it is a mass kidnapping and indefinite detention regime
Being shitty about/to unhoused people is such a hardline dealbreaker. It means you’re nakedly motivated by your disgust for a group of people in your community and not at all curious about the material conditions that got them there.
Can you match me giving Alex $20 today?? Even $5?
Hahaha
oh look. it’s that thing we said was going to happen. what’s happening in dc is not staying in dc. please prepare accordingly.
N O
SB 8 passed the 3rd reading late last night. TENT was there the whole time. Next step is back to the Senate for concurrence, then on to the governor. If you haven't yet, follow TENT on socials (not on here) and donate to their incredible work in Texas. Please. www.transtexas.org
We will be jettisoning trans rights from the Dem Party platform over my room-temperature fucking corpse. We are leaving no one behind, and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise. A core tenet of American identity is that we, not the government, define ourselves. All of us get protections or none of us do
It's a bathroom ban for govt. owned properties including schools, a trans prisoner segregation bill, a domestic violence shelter segregation bill, and yet another variation of IWV's Stand with Women Act, defining males & females by gamete production.
Headed to dinner now!!
I'm still writing a gfm, but am intending on launching one soon.
WELL SB 8 PASSED THE TEXAS HOUSE TO THE THIRD READING What's next: has to pass once more through the house tonight, then to the Senate for concurrence.
Definitely the proponents of the bill
FYI that amendment by Toth might mean the bill goes back to the Senate. bsky.app/profile/kiss...
The rhetoric was getting real heated y'all. I'm headed to somewhere i can watch the proceedings on TV.
Another protestor stands. SHAME SHAME ON YOU. They're clearing the gallery. It's been real, y'all.
Rep in opposition to the bill: What if your future granddaughter is trans? Rep in support: She won't be.
Someone stands in the gallery: SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU MOTHERFUCKERS SHAME
We're on hour 5 of this vote, btw.
More reps talking in opposition. A rep talks about her son, whose long hair gets him misgendered consistently. "SB 8 turns that into law."
Reps now talking in support of the bill. A demonstrator stands, "You're freaks!! That's freak behavior!!"
Rep Rosenthal is EXCORIATING supporters of HB 8 right now. "You don't care about women."
Fwiw I did not infer this at all.
“Do not offer thoughts and prayers as you systemically enable such tragedies. Do not claim prayers are sufficient when children die as they pray. Do not pretend you do not understand.” — Lydia, 16, Minneapolis
Rep: "There are authoritarians in Europe, in Asia, who are looking at the US and finding a new way to kill people."
Rep likening HB 8 to the Third Reich using Jim Crow and other US laws to model the holocaust. "You are creating a law because you hate people."
Rep Gonzalez from El Paso: 400,000 women and girls in Texas are assaulted in Texas every year. But we're not talking about that now.
Rep Jones: When we hear that transgender individuals are attacking Texans, it's actually the other way around.
I wish for every conservative in Texas the same things they wish for trans people
Rep: This bill is not about Texas.
Rep: This bill is not just cruel. It's unconstitutional.
Rep raising up the story of Passion Star, a Black trans woman who faced horrific violence in Texas prison. legacy.lambdalegal.org/blog/2016120...
Rep listing the names of Black trans women killed this year.
Rep Turner: This is the most un-Texan bill that this body has ever taken up.
Rep Turner: Senate Bill 8 is big government at its worst. It tells Texans where they can go and where they cannot go. Even worse, it watches you. Even worse, it tells Texans to rat each other out.
"Discrimination has no place in our laws."
Another rep stands up to remind the House that HB 8 will drive away business and tourism: "This bill threatens our ability to attract the best to Texas."
A rep: "I hope my colleagues in support of this bill never experience the trauma that people in the LGBT community experience. Because I do not think you'd be able to handle it."
New amendment: changes the fines. Several R reps stand up in support. Several Ds object. There's a vote. Amendment passes.
Point of order withdrawn.
OK, point of order was withdrawn and another was offered that I didn't catch. The discussion starts again. I might run down to the basement again to get my peanut butter filled pretzels.
I was deluding myself. Now I'm just looking at the different colored suits on the floor. There's a really nice forest green one on the guy who keeps offering points-of-order against the amendments.
I caaaaaaant!!! We're so close to the end (I think lol). We have dinner rezzies at 730 anyway.
I might have been speed-walking lol.
Thank you very much! This is pretty grueling ngl
Thank you for this thread and for your presence there, truly. I don’t live in Texas anymore, but having spent many hours at the capitol (testifying, watching), I know it takes a huge amount of mental and psychological stamina. And that’s as a cis person not being demonized! You matter, this matters.
OK looks like discussion is wrapping up. Maybe I'm deluding myself. I'm hunnnnnnngry.
We're still paused to discuss the point of order that the bill has more than one subject matter.
How apropos!! bsky.app/profile/theo...
OK while they're discussing the point of order, someone text me some food. I'm so hungry. I could never be a legislator. Filibuster who? Not me.
Point of order brought that the bill has more than one subject matter and should not be up for consideration.
Either way, her amendment fails.
OK I missed the amendment that Rep González is putting forward, but it's probably important since she's one of the out queer Texas legislators. Let me see if I can put it together.
Well it took me 9 minutes to get from the House gallery down to the basement bathrooms in allowed to use, pee, wash my hands, and come back up.
Again, the only restroom I'm allowed to use in the Texas capital is the family restroom in the basement. As I was walking in, a capital police officer entered first, yelled Hello?? then left. Wtf.
OK, I gotta run to the restroom. It's down 4 floors. No joke. Let's see how long it takes.
Next amendment by Rep Rose, but there is a point-of-order that the amendment is not germane. Reps proceed to the clerk's desk.
Amendment to remove the fee-shifting provision fails.
I remember the day into overnight session of SB7 and the overnight session discussion of HB2899 in 2017. Both featured more people against the bills than for (the Senate State Affairs committee still passed the bill but fortunately neither of them became law then)
So some people pronounce it Tex-iz? If I pronounced it that way, would it be like mocking folks with a Texan accent? Or is it correct, like Arkansaw?
I'm live-skeeting the Texas House vote on the bathroom bill. Follow along here! We're in hour 3!!
Rep Garcia Hernandez: "Access to a court house is not a luxury, it is a right. Once those doors can be closed to some, they can be closed to all."
I love this.
Rep Garcia Hernandez: let's call this bill what it is: legislative bullying.
if nothing else republicans are going on the record that their intent is to cause as much harm as possible
Rep Garcia Hernandez proposes an amendment to clarify the fee-shifting portion of the bill, which, iirc, currently allows a complainant to recover fees but NOT someone who has been wrongfully persecuted or harmed by false accusations.
Amendment to remove the private right of action fails.
Rep Collier: I want trans people to know you are valued and loved. I don't want any one to go home thinking we don't stand for trans people's rights.
You following along? You in Texas? Out of state? How are ya? I'm getting a little tired, ngl. But I'm here for the long haul with ya.
Rep asks clarifying question. Rep Collier clarifies that anyone from out of state could come in and raise a law suit under the bill.
The Rep talks about the time when Black folks and other people of color couldn't use the same restrooms as white people. "We need to eliminate this private cause of action and move on from there."
Another amendment: to strike the private cause of action. Rep: I guess I can come up here and say whatever I want because you all aren't listening. *laughter from the floor*
Rep Simmons is back with another amendment, but before she can explain it, another Rep objects to it not being germane.
Amendment fails.
Another Rep is clarifying that investigations under this bill would cost political subdivisions money. "Are you aware of any political subdivisions that are running a budget surplus right now?" Rep Simmons: I am not.
I propose an amendment to make the seats in the Texas State House of Representatives even *slightly* more comfortable. My femurs are approximately 3 inches longer than the space provided here.
"do human beings deserve basic rights and protections" "i wanna say no but i know that would come back to bite me in the ass"
Another amendment by Rep Simmons: someone making a complaint under this bill must be a personal witness to the violation.
The Black trans women amendment (the text of which I'm not quite clear on) fails.
IIRC, Orr demured.
Another Black Rep talking about the murders of Black trans women. "If this bill forces Black trans women to use the men's room, isn't that creating the very conditions this bill is trying to prevent?" Rep Simmons: Yes.
Rep: Do trans women and men not deserve the same privacy and protection that cis women and girls do? Rep Orr: I am not advised.
they're laughing because this is their intended outcome
Rep: Are you aware that trans people face high rates of sexual harassment and assault? Rep Orr (again, the author of the House bill): I am not advised.
Unrelated laughter and chatter from reps on the floor as the discussion about Black trans women's vulnerability to violence and harassment proceeds. It's continued the whole time, but it's kind of disgusting right now.
Another Rep stands to inquire about the incidence rate of Black trans women facing violence and harassment in the bathroom. AFAIK, a Black woman staffer here at the Texas capital was accused of using the "wrong" restroom. Rep Simmons clarifies that her office received threats as a result.
Another amendment: Rep Simmons provides an amendment that would protect people who are attempting to comply with the law.
Amendment to prohibit political subdivisions from forcing people to show their ID to use the bathroom fails.
Another Rep asks Rep Weiner to speculate on the hypo that someone from another state could allege that a school district wasn't taking every "reasonable steps" to stop folks from using the bathroom that doesn't match their assigned sex at birth.
Rep Orr moves to table the amendment and Rep Weiner points out that this bill is going to lead to law suits as every political subdivision makes a different policy to comply with the "any reasonable steps" language.
Rep Weiner: Let's put this amendment in place to keep government out of the bathroom.
Heron is live-tweeting the Texas House debate about whether trans people will be allowed to use public restrooms.
