AG candidates rip ordinance

Ken Paxton said San Antonio's proposed ordinance infringes on religious freedom. Ken Paxton said San Antonio's proposed ordinance infringes on religious freedom. Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close AG candidates rip ordinance 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Three Republicans vying to become Texas' next attorney general say an anti-discrimination measure proposed in San Antonio would discriminate against “people of faith” by suppressing their views about gay people.

The candidates — state Sen. Ken Paxton of McKinney, state Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas, and Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman — have expressed opposition in recent weeks to the proposed updates to a San Antonio ordinance through letters to city officials, online petitions and media interviews.

The measure would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the kinds of discrimination forbidden by the city code. Provisions to protect veterans also are included but will face a separate council vote.

All three candidates declined to criticize similar provisions already in effect in five of the state's largest cities.

“I believe this ordinance is designed to give special status to people based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Smitherman, a former prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney's office. “Everyone is to be treated equal, no one is to be discriminated against, but listing these items after race, color, religion and national origin is an attempt to elevate (gay people) to the same status.”

The candidates argue that banning discrimination against gay people in the city code would infringe upon people's religious freedom and free speech. Each took issue with specific language in the proposed ordinance, which was recently amended, that would prohibit city officials from engaging in discrimination or demonstrating “a bias, by word or deed, against any person” based on sexual orientation.

“It attempts to stop my freedom of speech by suppressing my point of view,” said Smitherman, 55. “You may disagree with my point of view, you may think I'm an idiot or a redneck for that point of view, but it's not speech that incites riot and it's not speech that is intended to cause harm.”

Smitherman said that as attorney general he would challenge the San Antonio ordinance in court. Asked Wednesday about similar ordinances in Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth and Houston, he said he “has not looked at the others” and rejected a request to review them and respond by Friday.

Paxton, a corporate and real estate attorney, declined comment on whether he'd challenge any of the ordinances, though a fundraising page on his website promised: “If you pass this ordinance, we'll see you in court when Ken Paxton is attorney general.”

He said the other cities' ordinances are a “different issue because those relate to personnel decisions, not freedom of speech and religious expression.”

“Fundamental religious freedom and freedom of speech, once you infringe upon those, you've lost two of the most fundamental rights in our Constitution,” said Paxton, 50. “You don't have to agree with people in this country, you get to express what you want, you get to believe what you want. And guess what? People disagree. It's OK.”

Branch, 55, also running to replace Attorney General Greg Abbott, sent a letter to Mayor Julián Castro last week urging the city council to withdraw the proposal. After initially agreeing to an interview Tuesday, a spokesman for Branch canceled and did not return multiple requests to reschedule.

The candidates “have turned the issue of religious freedom on its head,” said Renea Hicks, an Austin attorney who specializes in election and constitutional law. “Because of their religious views, they don't want something to be a law, which is in effect saying religious views should dictate what the law is, which is the opposite of what the Constitution says.”

Bee Moorhead, executive director of Texas Interfaith Center for Public Policy, a faith-based nonprofit said her organization does not have a position on the measure but that “nothing, including religion, gives you a right to discriminate against or attempt to take power away from anybody else.”

Debate on the ordinance, which the City Council has set for a Sept. 5 vote, has spread to state and national politics after the Express-News published a recording of District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan making anti-gay comments earlier this month, which she has since defended as an exercise of free speech.

The GOP primary election March 4 could decide the attorney general's race, since no Democrat has yet announced a bid for the post.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker