Was there an actual plan to decriminalize homosexual conduct in Texas? Or was it just theater.
If the Supreme Court decision blocking the Texas law is reversed, it won't be like it was before. We can expect raids and shutdowns of Gay bars, and a shutdown on Grindr and other apps in Texas.
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Links to all posts on decriminalizing homosexual conduct in Texas are in this Directory Post.
Dallas Gay Liberation is going to track this issue until the law is repealed.
This is the legislative history of HB1738 in the 89(R) session of the Texas House.
It didn’t pass.
Nothing happened with it in the Texas Senate.
The Lesgislative Session is over.
The effort will have to start over next legislative session which is in 2026.
If the effort in 2026 is like what happened in 2025, homosexual conduct will still be illegal until 2027.
This is the link to the history of the Bill.
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB1738
From the online report with arrows.
It mostly sat waiting to do something.
It was filed on 1/6/2025, it went to the Criminal Jurisprudce Committee of the Texas House on 3/14/2025, it was voted by the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on 5/6/2025 and reported out on 5/9/2025, was pass by the Texas House on 5/16/2025 and sent to the Texas Senate on 5/19/2025 where nothing happened.
I did mail a letter asking Texas House Representative about what was the plan for this bill.
Didn’t hear back. Maybe there is something I don’t know about, but it is hard to know when correspondance gets no replies.
Was there a real plan to pass this bill or was it theater?
Some questions:
[1] Where were the supposed friends of the LGBT in the Texas Senate? Why did the bill just sit in the Texas Senate?
[2] Why was the bill delayed so long that even if it passed the Texas House there would be no time to get it passed in the Senate?
[3] What is the plan to get a bill passed and sent to the Texas governor in the next legislative session in 2026? Or should the question be asked is there actually a plan?
What next?
[1] Dallas Gay Liberation posts will be written on what is happening so Texas LGBT will know what is happening and start holding their so-called “friends” accountable. When some Texas legislator is appearing before an LGBT audience ask them questions about what they will do to decriminalize homosexual conduct in Texas. If they are a Texas State Senator ask what they will do next time so a bill from the House won’t sit in the Senate.
[2] I am going to do research on each legislator who voted against HB1738 as to their motivations. We need to fully understand the motivations of our enemies. In particular we need to know what churches they belong to.
I have already started this with a post on the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Chair John T. Smithee who voted against HB1738 both in the committee and twice in the Texas House vote. It appears his support of keeping homosexual conduct criminal comes from his Christianity.
However, it is proving difficult to find out what churches some of the anti-Gay Texas House Representatives belong to. For many of these anti-Gay Texas Rep., the information isn’t online anywhere.
It also seems that the Stonewall Dems and the Dems in general don’t track that info. Maybe the so-called “friends” of the LGBT in the Texas Legislature need to start knowing this information. When facing homophobia, we need to call it out for what it is.
Cook voted it out of Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, but against it Twice in the Texas House.
It is odd that Cook voted to get it out of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee for a House vote, then voted against it twice.
He was the extra vote needed to get it out of committee.
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/minutes/html/C2202025050600001.HTM
But then he votes against it twice in the House.
Maybe it was because he knew it wouldn’t get passed or picked up by the Senate, but someone needed a theatrical production for this bill.
Substance versus show.
Some of the media protrayed HB1738 passing the Texas House as a great victory. HB1738 did go further than prior legislation, so it seems that our so-called “friend” are doing a little more in the past. However, it doesn’t end up being anything until it becomes law.
When the session is over, unpassed bills, are just that. They have to be restarted all over again next legislative session.
It is good we have a voting record for the TexasHouse, but we don’t have a voting record for the Texas Senate.
It is too much to ask that what the plan is to decriminalize homosexual conduct in Texas is?
At this time, it could happen anytime that the Supreme Court could reverse itself.
