Texas lawmakers look into bills that could sanction LGBT discrimination: NPR

In Austin, Texas, a new train of anti-LGBT laws is making its way through the state legislature. One of the bills would allow professionals at all levels, licensed by the state, from doctors to pharmacists through plumbers and electricians, to refuse services for religious reasons. Proponents say legislation is needed to protect religious freedoms. But opponents call them "religious denial bills" or "bigot bills".

Last week, on the steps of the capital Austin, business leaders came together to announce their opposition to the series of bills supposed to punish discrimination against their LGBT employees.

Mike Hollinger, an executive at IBM, tried to warn the legislator against legislative efforts. "I'm proud to speak on behalf of IBM, a company that has been in Texas for over 80 years and employs about 10,000 people in the Lone Star State.This discrimination license will hurt the reputation of the company. State and will prevent citizens, especially IBMiens from wanting to live and work here. "

Texas Competes, a coalition of more than 1,000 national and Texas companies, is also lobbying against these bills. It includes many of the country's largest technology companies, including Facebook, Google, and Amazon.

One of the bills, Senate Bill 17, specifically authorizes licensed professionals to discriminate on the basis of sincere religious beliefs. Dale Carpenter, a professor of constitutional law at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, says the bill would allow licensed service providers to discriminate without fear of having their work permits issued. by the state is threatened.

Carpenter says the list of professionals included is prodigious: "There are literally hundreds in Texas … They include sports coaches, doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentists, orthodontists, physiotherapists, counselors in all kinds, accountants, engineers, landscape specialists, architects, real estate agents, tax advisers, air conditioning repair personnel, electricians, and so on. "

Although legislation can be designed primarily for Texas Christians to retain their services to LGBT people, Carpenter says it would allow discrimination against anyone, as long as the motive for that belief is religious belief.

Discrimination of a person …

The word "discrimination" is used by both sides of this political struggle.

Proponents of the law say that it is important to protect religious freedoms and to ensure that those who wish to exercise these freedoms are not discriminated against. Jonathan Saenz is the president of Texas Values, a religious freedom advocacy organization that advocates for the passage. He says the law has broad support.

"Texans are very concerned about violations of religious freedom and believers, especially those who believe in marriage and sexuality as they are defined in the Bible," Saenz said. "Senate Bill 17 clearly states that you can not force anyone to choose between his work and his faith.You can not use the government to punish people who must obtain a license or authorization only because of some personal reasons. " religious beliefs they have. "

Hard for business

For Republican legislators, this type of legislation places them in a difficult situation. Two years ago, a bathroom bill, which targeted students from transgender public schools and other transgender Texans, tore the Texas GOP in two.

Business circles and chambers of commerce hated him. San Antonio was about to stage the last NCAA men's basketball tournament and the city was terrorized by the fact that the NCAA would step down if the toilet bill became law. It was passed by the Senate, but House Speaker San Antonio Republican Joe Straus killed him.

Business hero, but hated by the powerful evangelical branch of his party, Straus retired from politics shortly thereafter.

Tourism industry and rural residents

Congresses and the travel industries in particular tend to be the canaries of the coal mine with respect to these types of bills. Phillip Jones, President and CEO of VisitDallas, said they would be the first to submit if the controversial "religious denial" law was passed.

"One in ten US trade shows is in Texas, and if this bill were to pass, my business volume would now be $ 100 million," Jones said. "From our experience with the lavatory bill, their contracts contain a provision that states that if Texas passes a discriminatory law, it may cancel its meeting in Texas or Dallas without any sanction."

Rural communities are the most vulnerable if doctors or pharmacists refuse services, as alternatives are generally rare or non-existent. In addition, opponents of the legislation fear that the Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso and San Antonio municipal non-discrimination orders could not be enforced if the bill were passed.

The SMU carpenter says that, apart from city ordinances, state law provides no guarantee. "It is already perfectly legal to refuse a service and do it in a discriminatory way in the state of Texas," he said. "In fact, Texas law states that rights of conscience are already protected from state regulation for the benefit of individuals, professionals and businesses."

Carpenter says that federal civil rights laws passed in the 1960s offer less protection from discrimination than many could imagine. Race, religion and national origin are protected from discrimination in public places only, such as restaurants, hotels and theaters.

Carpenter believes that, given the already generous legal right to discriminate in Texas, the latest train of bills is only one way for the Republican-dominated legislator to demonstrate to his evangelical base that he is not the only one in the world. they are on the ball.