The Texas State House has voted to repeal an unconstitutional, but otherwise standing law that banned gay sex.
The Dallas Morning News described the House vote a "nail-biter." The attempt to remove the ban from state law books has been attempted before, but this is the farthest the legislation has advanced. The state Senate takes up the bill now where an uncertain future awaits.
The 2003 Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas decided that 14th Amendment protections allowed consenting adults the right to private intimate contact without government interference.
But a Texas law banning gay sex remained in place, despite being unconstitutional and unenforceable after the Supreme Court ruling.
The latest legislative overturn attempt in the Texas House was sponsored by Dallas Democrat Venton Jones. He is vice chair of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus. "I think it gave a little bit of hope," he told the News. "When you have a lot of really long and bad days in this chamber, it’s nice when we can come together and get something right."
During a hearing on the legislation, Jonathan Covey, director of policy for a state Christian political advocacy group, spoke in opposition. "Some laws don’t need to be enforceable to serve a purpose," he said. "They are declarative and persuasive." Covey said the bill was essentially a warning "that this conduct is not acceptable."
In addition to facing uncertain action in the Texas Senate, The Hill reported that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has not indicated if he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk.