Legislation To Remove Language From Texas Law That Makes “Homosexual Conduct” A Crime Impeded By Republican Majority Including Wayne Christian Who Says Law Likely “Better Reflects The View Of A Lot Of Citizens”

The Austin American-Statesmen reports that “homosexual conduct" is still a crime in Texas eight years after the United States Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional. Although the state's so-called sodomy law cannot be legally enforced, civil rights advocates say it should be removed because it creates a climate that cultivates bullying and other hate crimes. But legislation that would repeal the state law, and bring Texas in line with the U.S. Constitution faces an uncertain future in the Legislature, which has been reluctant to provide legal protections to citizens based on sexual orientation. In 2003, the nation's highest court ruled that Texas could not stop people of the same sex from engaging in sexual activity. In 2011, the Texas Penal Code still states that it is a Class C misdemeanour to engage in "deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex" — just following a line that explains that the law is unconstitutional. Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, says leaving the law on the books creates the potential for abuse. Harrington represents two gay men who were kicked out of an El Paso restaurant in 2009 for kissing in public. The men refused to leave and called the police, believing the restaurant, Chico's Tacos, was out of line with a city law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Instead, an officer told the men it was illegal for the two to kiss in public and that they could be cited for "homosexual conduct." A department spokesman described the officers involved as relatively inexperienced, and the men were not cited. However, Harrington said the incident is about harassment. State Representative Jessica Farrar (Democrat-Houston) is sponsoring legislation to remove the language from the law statutes in Texas. "There is archaic language in our code that is used against our citizens today," said Farrar, whose colleague Representative Garnet Coleman, also a Houston Democrat, has filed an identical bill. Gay rights legislation has often faced political hurdles in Texas. The James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded and strengthened penalties for crimes against people based on race, religion and sexual orientation endured a nearly 10-year fight before becoming law in 2001. Republicans hold 101 of the 150 seats in the Texas House, a supermajority that allows them to easily control legislation. Chuck Smith, deputy executive director of Equality Texas, said the state's biggest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lobbying group is not pushing too hard for rewording the penal code, because the makeup of the Criminal Jurisprudence committee makes its passage unlikely. A Democrat chairs the committee, but Republicans including Wayne Christian, the most recent president of the Texas Conservative Coalition, outnumber Democrats 2-to-1. "In this particular session, I'd be hesitant to do any changing," said Christian (Republican-Center), who added that the law probably "better reflects the views of a lot of citizens" as it is. Farrar said she knows her bill is unlikely to pass, but that she filed it to at least start the conversation.