Bill fights for gay rights

By Enrique Rangel – Amarillo.com

AUSTIN – Equality Texas may not be as well known as other civic groups in the Panhandle, but for the past 15 years or so the Austin-based organization has established a strong presence in Amarillo.

“We (have) built a lot of support in the Amarillo area, not only within the gay-lesbian-transgender community but also within the broader community because of the work that our individual members have done in that community, in articulating what we do, what our purpose is, who we are and what our mission is,” said executive director Paul Scott.

Equality Texas advocates and lobbies for the elimination of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender, Scott said. The organization is affiliated with Equality Texas Foundation, whose mission is to educate and engage the public in policies which affect Texans of all sexual orientations and gender identities or expressions.

Reflecting the organization’s presence in the Panhandle is board member Whitney Kelly, an Amarillo native.

In a December news release Kelly said, “I am happy to raise money for, and from, our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and proud of our visibility in Amarillo.”

“However, I know how much more work we have to do to secure equal rights, provide safe schools, and end workplace discrimination,” Kelly said.

In that regard, Equality Texas is pushing for a bill that would help the University of Texas and the Texas A&M University systems – and that would include West Texas A&M University – provide health insurance benefits for domestic partners of all faculty and staff.

That has made the organization cross paths with Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, chairman of the House Insurance Committee, the panel where House Bill 861 landed for the required screening.

The bill is important to all Texans, not just gays, lesbians and transgender people because it would make the two university systems more competitive, Scott and Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, the bill’s author, said.

“How are you going to be able to compete with other institutions that allow same-sex marriages in their policies?” Naishtat asked. “UT has lost people because it couldn’t provide domestic partner benefits.”

But Smithee said he and the majority of the nine members of House Insurance see it differently.

“There are a number of reasons to vote against it,” Smithee said. “One it would be tremendously expensive to our employee insurance system. … Right now, a state employee can bring in their spouse but this one says that they can basically just designate another adult in place of their spouse.

“Well, they can go out and find somebody, the sickest individual they can find who can’t get insurance anywhere else and there is nothing we can do about it, bring those people and very expensive for the system to maintain and typically that is what happens in those situation where you don’t require a marriage,” Smithee said.

Naishtat said that although time is running out in this legislative session, he is hopeful his bill can still make it to the House floor because a committee member who was against the proposed legislation is rethinking his opposition.

Regardless of what happens, Equality Texas is pushing for this session, the organization will continue with its outreach and educational programs in West Texas Scott said.

“We are not there to change minds, just to give people a better understanding of what the issues that are confronting the gay-lesbian-transgender community,” he said.