"No one's rights should be subject to a popular vote."For background, read about the Houston Lesbian Mayor Agenda vs. Religious Liberty and read how Houston Became Ground Zero in President Obama's War on Christianity as the Houston Lesbian Mayor Subpoenas Pastors' Sermons
-- Annise Parker, outgoing mayor of Houston
"The mayor has never been able to produce a shred of evidence that’s credible of any need for this ordinance, other than everybody else is doing it."
-- Dave Welch, Houston Area Pastor Council
Also read Federal Government OKs Perverts in Employees' Restrooms Across America
And read President Obama Forces Boys into Girls' Showers in Schools Nationwide
-- From "Voters reject Houston Equal Rights Ordinance" posted at KHOU-TV11 (Houston, TX) 11/4/15
Opponents of the issue branded it "the bathroom ordinance," playing up the argument that it would allow sexual predators dressed as women to use women's restrooms. A television ad featured a little girl being cornered by a man in a restroom.
Supporters sold it as an anti-discrimination measure protecting a broad range of citizens from the elderly to veterans. The ordinance would have offered increased protections for gay and transgender people, as well as protections against discrimination based on sex, race, age, religion and other categories.
"The supporters of this proposition brought in movie stars and elites from Washington D.C. and Hollywood to try to force their twisted agenda on the good people of Texas," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. "It didn't work and advocates of this ridiculous proposal are on notice tonight that the voters of Houston will not stand for this kind of liberal nonsense."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Houston votes to repeal LGBT nondiscrimination law" by Elliot Smilowitz, The Hill 11/3/15
It was favored by the White House, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and tech giant Apple, but faced opposition from many religious leaders and Republicans.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, tweeted earlier this week against the ordinance: "HOUSTON: Vote Texas values, not @HillaryClinton values. Vote NO on City of Houston Proposition 1. No men in women's bathrooms."
The ordinance was originally passed by Houston City Council in 2014, but the Texas Supreme Court earlier this year forced it onto the ballot [following a citizen petition drive].
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Houston Equal Rights Ordinance fails by wide margin" by Katherine Driessen, Houston Chronicle 11/3/15
City Council passed the law 11-6 in May last year, but conservative foes launched an effort to force a repeal referendum that spanned more than one year of legal challenges. In July, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the city to either repeal the law or place in the ballot. By a 12-5 vote, City Council opted for the latter, officially unleashing two dueling campaigns.
Businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing and city contracting are all subject to the law and face up to $5,000 in fines for violations. Religious institutions, however, are exempt. The ordinance was in effect for only three months between extensive legal challenges.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Houston voters reject LGBT equal rights measure" by Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times 11/3/15
[The vote] came after an 18-month battle pitting gay rights advocates against those who believed they were defending religious liberty.
[Annise] Parker, the first lesbian mayor of a major U.S. city, had championed the ordinance, making it a personal battle about what she called “my rights.”
Conservative leaders who campaigned and spoke out against the ordinance included a coalition of pastors, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former Houston Astro Lance Berkman and Houston Texans football owner Bob McNair.
Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values Action, a conservative group that opposed the ordinance, called the vote “a significant victory for common sense, safety, and religious freedom, not just in Houston, but for all of Texas.... This vote will impact the nation and shows, once again, that the people still support common-sense Texas values."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bathroom Fears Flush Houston Discrimination Ordinance" by Alexa Ura, Texas Tribune 11/3/15
With the Houston vote garnering national attention, the loss for HERO supporters comes after a tumultuous year and half since the ordinance was first passed by the Houston City Council in May 2014.
Almost immediately, conservative activists and pastors began collecting signatures to petition a referendum or repeal of the ordinance. City officials later ruled that they hadn’t collected enough signatures, prompting a lawsuit from the opponents.
The ordinance had been in effect for about three months when it was put on hold as the legal challenge made its way through the courts. In April, a state district judge ruled in favor of the city, saying opponents of the ordinance had not gathered enough valid signatures.
The case went to the Texas Supreme Court, which in July told the city council it had to consider a valid referendum petition and repeal the ordinance or put it up for public vote.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Houston Voters Reject Broad Anti-Discrimination Ordinance" by Manny Fernandez And Mitch Smith, New York Times 11/3/15
In Houston, the ordinance’s proponents — including Mayor Annise D. Parker, local and national gay rights and civil rights groups and the actress Sally Field — accused opponents of using fearmongering against gay people, and far-fetched talk of bathroom attacks, to generate support for a repeal. The ordinance, they noted, says nothing specifically about whether men can use women’s restrooms.
The proponents’ defeat at the polls was a kind of personal blow to Ms. Parker, a Democrat. Houston became the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor when she won office in December 2009. Now in her third and final term, Ms. Parker had pushed hard for the ordinance and helped it gain endorsements from President Obama and corporate giants like Apple.
Opponents of the measure — including Mr. Patrick, pastors of conservative megachurches and the former Houston Astros baseball star Lance Berkman — said the ordinance had nothing to do with discrimination and was about the mayor’s gay agenda being forced on the city. They denied that they had any bias against gay people, and said the ordinance was so vague that it would make anyone who tried to keep any man from entering a women’s bathroom the subject of a city investigation and fine.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Houston Voters Reject LGBT Ordinance That Raised Bathroom Privacy Concerns" by Susan Jones, CNSNews.com 11/4/15
"While much of the debate focused on biological males using a woman's bathroom, many voters told us they understood this involved a lot more than bathrooms," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said after the votes were counted.
"The mayor's efforts to disenfranchise voters and subpoena pastors' sermons and private communications demonstrated this law was ultimately about silencing and even stripping away the livelihood of those who refused to yield their beliefs to this new morality."
"Houstonians' religious freedom, freedom of speech, and the right to petition their government have won the day, but much more work remains to be done to safeguard these freedoms across the nation. No person should be punished by the government because of their beliefs," Perkins said.
The ordinance would have applied to businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants and hotels, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting. It would have allowed residents to file a complaint if they felt they had been discriminated against based on the various protected categories. Religious institutions would have been exempt. Violators would have faced fines up to $5,000.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below to read previous articles:
Pastors Lead Local Battles Against 'Gay Rights'
Sexual Deviancy Special Class Rejected by Charlotte, NC City Council
Arkansas City Votes Men OUT of Women's Restrooms
New Law Against 'Gay Rights' Ordinances Passes in Arkansas
Also read Hillary Clinton Promises to Codify More 'Gay Rights'
And read how the Gay Agenda attacks Christians one town at a time across America because the homosexualists have been unable to force the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) through Congress.
