Legislation passes to protect Texas kids
Governor Abbott signs Senate Bill 14.
June 18, 2023 | Austin, TX
The Texas Legislature wrapped up its regular session on Monday, May 29. Did they live up to voters’ expectations when it comes to protecting Texas kids? The Montgomery County Republican Party (MCRP) Legislative Committee tracked several wins in the categories of sexualization and gender modification of children.
Strong legislation against sexualizing kids
Due to outcry from voters, Texas was able to pass a strong bill aimed at getting sexually explicit reading materials out of our children’s libraries, though it was a struggle every step of the way. The Reader Bill, HB 900, puts the onus for the contents of books sold to schools on the vendors and says that they will be unable to sell to Texas schools if found in violation. The bill uses clear, commonly accepted definitions of those materials and standards for school libraries.
Another important win for Republicans was legislation to ban the practice of drag queen performances for children. SB 12 slipped in under the wire and received a favorable vote with little time to spare. Appropriately, it was signed by the Governor on Father’s Day.
Other bills that passed may be found on our Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids Bills List.
Essential gender modification bill passes
SB 14, banning the gender modification of children, also made the cut. More than 8,300 Texans posted public comments on the bill with over 79 percent in favor of its passage! The Trans Lobby put on quite a show in hearings and at protests, but on the House floor, the author of its companion bill, Representative Tom Oliverson (HD 130), who is also a board-certified anesthesiologist, calmly but thoroughly stood off a series of 19 attempts to amend and water down the legislation. In the end, the House voted 92-48 to approve it.
SB 14 was signed into law on June 2. Congratulations to Montgomery County Senators Paul Bettencourt and Lois Kolkhorst who were authors of the bill, Senator Brandon Creighton who was a coauthor, and Representatives Will Metcalf and Steve Toth who were sponsors.
“This was more than a legislative battle,” said Texas Eagle Forum President Cindi Castilla. “Over and over again we were struck with genuine sadness by what we witnessed in the Capitol when ‘trans’ issues were being heard. The truth is that the ‘trans’ side is mostly young people who are struggling with mental health issues. Many have been bullied, rejected, abused, or hurt. We know this because we hear them testify about their lives at every hearing. They wrongly believe that mutilating their bodies is the solution to their pain. I hope that believers will pray for those who are caught up in the transgender lifestyle so that they will understand that God wants to help them through their struggles and is waiting for them to turn to him.”
Bill passes to protect women’s collegiate sports
At our colleges and universities, female athletes will no longer have to compete against males identifying as females since the passage of SB 15 that requires students who compete in intercollegiate athletic competitions to do so on the basis of biological sex.
Governor Abbott signed the bill into law on June 15. He commented at the signing, “I signed a law in 2021 to stop biological boys competing in girls’ sports at the K-12 level. Today, we expanded that protection to women’s collegiate sports.”
Thank you to Montgomery County Senators Paul Bettencourt, Brandon Creighton, and Lois Kolkhorst who were authors of the bill.
Governor Abbott signs SB 15, the Save Women’s Sports Act.