The Texas Supreme Court has directed the Houston city council to abide by its own charter and repeal the controversial Equal Rights Ordinance or put it up to a citywide 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.” In 2014, Mayor Annise Parker and then-city attorney Dave Feldman declared “invalid” a referendum to repeal the controversial city ordinance. Petitioners — a racially and politically diverse group of pastors and civic leaders — sued, alleging the mayor and attorney manufactured signature requirements in order to defy the city charter mandates. The court agreed with the petitioners July 24, stating the city secretary, not the city council, is obligated to evaluate petitions.
Enforcement of the ordinance is suspended.
“Simply put, the city secretary’s certification started the process outlined in the Charter for reconsidering ordinances following a referendum petition, invoking the council’s ministerial duty to carry out its obligations,” the court wrote.
That is what Andy Taylor, attorney for the pastors’ coalition, has said all along.
“The only person who calls balls and strikes is [city secretary] Anna Russell,” Taylor told the Southern Baptist TEXAN. “They can’t ignore her and force us to sue.”
In a statement released July 24, Parker wrote, “Obviously I am disappointed and believe the court is in error with this 11th hour ruling in a case that had already been decided by a judge and jury of citizens.”
At issue was the “validity” of petition signatures — those of the signers and the circulators. Attorneys for the city argued in court in February the signatures did not meet a prescribed standard and therefore invalidated the petition. Taylor countered that the city created the standards in an effort to keep in force an ordinance the mayor called “deeply personal.”
The jury and judge disagreed, and the plaintiffs lost the initial trial. The coalition appealed to the Texas 14th Court of Appeals. And with a mid-August deadline for placing the referendum on the city ballot, plaintiffs asked for an expedited hearing. Their request was denied, and the appeal was put on the normative months-long track for a hearing. That would have put any ballot measure off until 2017.
‘Special rights’ for LGBT
Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors Council, the group that spearheaded the petition drive, was grateful for the mandamus ruling. The coalition charged the Equal Rights Ordinance created “special rights” for Houston’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) community at the risk of compromising the constitutional rights afforded citizens, especially people of faith. The ordinance also permits citizens to use the public bathroom of the gender with which they identify.
The referendum garnered 55,000 signatures. Of those, Russell certified 17,846 — more than enough to send the ordinance back to the city council for repeal or vote by the citizens. If the city fails to act according to its City Charter, the writ of mandamus will be issued, forcing the city to comply.
“We fought for the right to vote and we look forward to that challenge,” Welch said. “It’s time for the Church to act.”
(BP)
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