News Articles by Bonnie Pritchett/Southern Baptist Texan

HOUSTON -- Houston voters convincingly defeated a controversial equal rights ordinance that critics said threatened religious liberties and put into jeopardy the safety and dignity of men and women in private places like bathrooms. Proposition 1, also referred to as the "bathroom ordinance," failed by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. "I think it's significant," Ed Young, pastor of Houston's Second ...

HOUSTON (BP) -- Docenas de oficiales de policía, clérigos, y representantes locales y estatales se reunieron esta semana en la sede de la Unión de Oficiales de Policía de Houston (HPOU por sus siglas en inglés) para iniciar Oren por la Policía. Es una campaña que ellos esperan que sane la ciudad y una a la nación en apoyo por aquellos que juraron proteger y servir.

HOUSTON (BP) -- Dozens of law enforcement officers, clergy, and local and state representatives gathered this week at the Houston Police Officers Union headquarters to launch Pray for Police. It's a campaign they hope will heal the city and unite the nation in support of those sworn to protect and serve. The Pray for Police campaign ran 6 a.m. Sept. 9 through 6 a.m. Sept. 10 at the HPOU offices in downtown Houston. Police chaplains and volunteer clergy were available for prayer during those hours while others distributed 30,000 blue ...

HOUSTON (BP) -- The Texas Supreme Court has directed the Houston's city council to abide by its own charter and repeal the controversial Equal Rights Ordinance or put it up to a city-wide vote this November. The city has until Aug. 24 to comply or be compelled to do so by the high court. In a rare move, the Texas Supreme Court conditionally granted a writ of mandamus stating "the legislative power reserved to the people of Houston is not being honored." Last year, Mayor Annise Parker and then-City Attorney Dave Feldman declared "invalid" a referendum to repeal the controversial city ordinance.

Passage of the only surviving religious liberty bill in the 84th session of the Texas Legislature gives pastors some legal protection against litigation should they refuse to preside over a same-sex marriage. Senate Bill 2065, the Pastor Protection bill, passed overwhelmingly May 21.

AUSTIN (BP) -- The Texas Supreme Court issued a stay halting the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Feb. 20, less than 24 hours after a Travis County Clerk issued a license to a lesbian couple in Austin.

HOUSTON (BP) -- In a Feb. 13 verdict that left both sides claiming victory, a Houston jury handed down a decision in a lawsuit against the city and administrators for their dismissal of a petition by a coalition of pastors and civic leaders opposed to the city's Equal Rights Ordinance. Though the jury -- in a 10-2 verdict -- found nearly 2,500 forgeries among the 54,000 voter signatures, they dismissed the city's allegations of fraud.

PLANO, Texas (BP) -- Plano Citizens United, a coalition of churches and civic leaders, cleared the first hurdle this week in rescinding a city ordinance that legal experts said would stymie free speech and religious liberty, while opponents of a similar ordinance in Houston prepare to take their fight to court. With no preexisting ministerial alliance in place, Plano churches were caught unprepared when the city council, led by Mayor Harry LaRosilier, passed an ordinance Dec. 8 creating a protected class of citizen based on sexual orientation and gender identity. With help from the Houston pastors' coalition, opposition to the ordinance was hastily organized and a successful petition drive launched.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- The U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit heard challenges to marriage laws in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Jan. 9. The similarity between the contested laws -- defining marriage as a union only between a man and a woman and the prohibition against recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states -- led the appellate court to consider the cases together. Each case was heard separately, but a common thread of questioning wove its way through the hearings.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- In what could be a precedent-setting case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments in Whole Woman's Health v. Lakey, Jan. 7, part of the ongoing legal challenges contesting the 2013 Texas abortion regulations law, which observers agree will end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.