Texas is finally taking a step toward repealing one of the country’s most outdated and anti-LGBTQ laws. The Texas House of Representatives voted to repeal the state’s 1973 “homosexual conduct” law — a statute that criminalizes gay sex as “deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex.”
Though the law was ruled unenforceable by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas back in 2003, it has shamefully remained on the books — a symbol of stigma and discrimination. For years, Republicans in Texas have refused to act. The state GOP’s platform still labels gay people as “abnormal.”
Now, a historic shift is underway. House Bill 1738, authored by out-gay Democrat Venton Jones of House District 100, passed with bipartisan support: 12 Republicans joined 60 Democrats in favor, while 55 lawmakers voted against it. Jones said, “Today, the Texas House voted to repeal the state’s unconstitutional ‘homosexual conduct’ law, for the first time in history.
He added, “HB 1738 is now headed to the Texas Senate, where it will be sponsored by Senators Jose Menendez and Molly Cook. We look forward to our colleagues in the Senate finishing what is long overdue and finally removing this discriminatory law from our books, once and for all.” With a June 2 deadline looming, it’s still unclear if the Senate will act in time or whether Governor Greg Abbott will sign it.
For the LGBTQ community in Texas and across the U.S., the bill’s passage in the House marks long-overdue recognition that dignity is not up for debate.
