But some Texas Democratic lawmakers are determined to push back against the Legislature's conservative majority.
The Texas House Democratic Caucus on Saturday is holding rallies in North Texas and across the state. State Rep. Mihaela E. Plesa of Collin County announced in a press release that one will take place in Plano.
The statewide protests are aimed at spreading the word about recent legislative attacks on Texans’ civil rights. Democratic caucus lawmakers are urging their constituents to show up and join the fight.
Plesa noted in the news release that in Collin County and statewide, Texans are rebuffing divisive politics that promote injustice and hatred, as well as extremism.
“My constituents are concerned about bread and butter issues like public education, healthcare, public safety, economic development and women's rights,” Plesa continued. “We are standing united against policy that attacks the marginalized, discriminates against people based on their heritage or identity, and efforts to roll back the progress our state has made to be a beacon of freedom and opportunity for all.”
The Collin County protest will take place on Saturday at Haggard Park in Plano starting at 11:30 a.m.
Houston state Rep. Gene Wu told the Observer that the caucus is hosting the rallies to encourage citizens to defend their own rights and the rights of others.
“I think people will look at this and say, ‘Oh, what's the big deal? What civil rights are you losing?’” he said. “It's easy to say that when it's not you. It's easy to say, ‘What does it all matter?’ when it's not the things that your community has fought for.”
Wu noted that some lawmakers are pushing for book bans and looking to nix diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. He said there are bills that would even further restrict abortion in a state with “the most strict total abortion ban in the entire nation,” plus bills that would scrap contraceptive rights.
"I think the point of the Democrats in having this rally is a sounding alarm, is to tell people, ‘Guys: wake up. Wake up.’” – State Rep. Gene Wu
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Measures like the “anti-Chinese” Senate Bill 147 and SB 552 would strip “property rights from Chinese immigrants solely on their status as an immigrant,” Wu said. He also blasted a proposal that would create a “border protection unit” (which he called a “Latino-hunting posse”) to repel immigrants who cross the border illegally.
“It is a secret police force to deal with the people that we don't like,” he said. “And who are the people that we don't like? Those 'invaders,' those immigrants. And you know what they're going to look like? They're going to look like me. They're going to look like the people in my district.”
Wu wants everyday voters — not just elected officials and politicos — to pay attention to what’s being done in their name. They need to contact their lawmakers and demand that they don’t infringe on people’s civil rights.
Everything that Texans have read about what’s happening in the broader national culture wars, like banning books and banning people, is happening here, too, he said.
“My biggest fear is that this stuff occurs in the middle of the night and it's done with a whisper, and we wake up in the morning, and we have no idea where everything went,” Wu said. “I don't know if we can stop this stuff. I don't know if we can stop all of it, or any of it. But my point — and I think the point of the Democrats in having this rally — is to sound the alarm, is to tell people, ‘Guys: Wake up. Wake up.’”
Another Democratic lawmaker, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, said in a press release that the state’s GOP is “targeting all that makes our state the best in the nation.” He also noted that Texas has become one of the country’s most diverse states — and increasingly so, adding: “And if you don’t like that, then move because we certainly aren’t.”
We stand united with the @txlgbtqcaucus, @TexasHDC, @MALCTx, @Texas_LSG, and @TXHouseWHC against the onslaught of bills targeting LGBTQIA+ Texans in the #txlege. Read our statement here. pic.twitter.com/wBs0PCds9A
— Texas Black Caucus (@txblackcaucus) April 13, 2023
The Texas House Democratic Caucus also locked arms with five other caucuses last week in a joint statement condemning the targeting of LGBTQ+ Texans. The statement railed against the more than 150 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been filed this session.
Most people in Texas support their LGBTQ+ community members and “do not want to see discrimination written into law,” the legislators wrote.
“We know that all Texans believe in the dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the statement continued. “Thinly veiled political attacks on these rights are not dog whistles, they are red flags.”
