Contents |
In 1979, Houston Gay Pride Parade was first held in Neartown, Houston.
The 1984 federal Supreme Court decision in Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University upheld the requirement for public universities to uphold the First Amendment rights of students.
In 1986, Baker v. Wade resulted in a short-lived blow against Texas' sodomy law. This was ultimately overturned in the same year by Bowers v. Hardwick, a Georgia federal case which criminalized sodomy as a non-private act, and SCOTUS refused to hear appeal regarding Baker v Wade.
The 1999 state Supreme Court case Littleton v. Prange annulled transsexual marriages in the state.
In 2001, Governor Rick Perry signed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, which criminalized violent or coercive action against other Texas residents on various immutable traits, including sexual orientation. Gender identity was not included in this legislation.
The 2003 landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Lawrence v. Texas nullified all remaining sodomy laws in the United States. However, Texas Penal Code ยง 21.06 is retained without legal effect. Perry criticized the decision and called the sodomy law "appropriate".
In 2005, Proposition 2 was passed by the majority of the Texas electorate, constitutionally banning all legal recognition of same-sex unions at the state level. Only Travis County voted in the majority against the proposition.
In the 2006 election, independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman becomes one of the first candidates for the office to indicate same-sex marriage rights in Texas, saying "I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us.[1]"
In 2009, Houston City Comptroller Annise Parker was elected the first openly lesbian mayor of a major city in Texas.
|
|||||||||||