Saturday and Sunday (3/19 & 3/20) I was at a UCHAPS conference (org that sets national policy on HIV/AIDS) in LA (where I picked up a nasty cold). I got into Houston at midnight – early Monday morning. At 12:15 I got a message on my phone from a lobbyist friend of mine (who works for HIV causes) to notify me about a bill that would enshrine Littleton Vs. Prange case law into Texas State law by using the Littleton ruling to remove a section of state law that says that a person can be issued a marriage license if they show proof of a “sex change”.

Just after that, a TFA board member texted me to bring the bill to my attention. At 12:30, I began calling TFA board members and local trans leadership. By 1 am, we had called an woken up some of the state trans leaders. Nobody had heard of this bill. Apparently, Senator Williams was trying to sneak it through.

At 2 am the decision was made that I needed to drive up to the State capitol. I got in around 6 am. After giving my testimony, I felt so sick I went back to my hotel room, crawled into bed and stayed their until checkout time the next morning.

After the testimony was given, they stated that they were concerned about what one of the Senator’s called a “Littleton Loophole” whereby people like myself would be able to use Littleton to enter into a legal same-sex marriage. If it comes out of committee (which it probably will), we can still block it if the Democrats will vote to not bring it to a vote on the Senate floor. The Dems who need to be swayed to let the bill die by blocking a vote on it are:

Juan ‘Chuy’ Hinojosa

(512) 463-0120 Phone

(512) 463-0229 Fax

Eddie Lucio

(512) 463-0127 Phone

(512) 463-0061 Fax

Jose Rodriguez

(512) 463-0129 Phone

Judith Zaffirini

(512) 463-0121 – Capitol Phone

(956) 722-2293 – District Phone

(956) 722-8586 Fax

Please call AND fax. Faxes are great because it’s a physical piece of paper that they have to deal with.

Special thanks to Randall Ellis, Daniel Williams, Lou Weaver, Katy Stewart and Lisa Scheps!

Here’s the youtube video I made about this issue: