The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the city of Houston must either repeal or allow for a vote on the Equal Rights Ordinance — an ordinance banning businesses serving the public from discriminating against gay or transgender people.
While the ordinance managed to qualify for the ballot, the Daily Caller reports that Houston’s mayor kept it off and that she sparked outrage when she attempted to subpoena the sermons and communications of local pastors.
KHOU 11‘s Doug Miller indicated in a report published Friday that a repeal of the ordinance “seems unlikely” as most members of the council were in support of the ordinance during the “contentious” public debates which eventually became emotional arguments over LGBT rights.
The Texas Supreme Court ruling, which came as a result of the ordinance’s critics taking their case to the courthouse, indicated:
The legislative power reserved to the people is not being honored (…) Any enforcement of the ordinance shall be suspended, and the City Council shall reconsider the ordinance. If the City Council does not repeal the ordinance by August 24, 2015, then by that date the City Council must order that the ordinance be put to popular vote during the November 2015 election.
The ordinance was passed back in May of 2014. After it was passed, conservative activists fought for a repeal vote, but were denied by the mayor and other city officials who claimed that they didn’t manage to obtain an adequate number of signatures. However, the court disagreed with the city, which is what lead to the recent ruling which the city of Houston has until August 24 to decide on.
What do you think of the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling on the city of Houston’s LGBT ordinance?
