Houston voters are looking to a higher court to claim their right to petition the local government in a protracted battle over a pro-LGBT ordinance championed by their mayor, who is an open lesbian.

When Houston's Mayor Annise Parker pushed through an "anti-discrimination" ordinance providing special rights and benefits for homosexuals and transgendered individuals, a coalition of pastors and leaders launched a petition drive that garnered more than 50,000 signatures. The petition, which sought to put the ordinance before the city's voters, only needed 17,269 signatures to be successful.

However, then-City Attorney David Feldman kicked out enough signatures to disqualify the election, spurring petition backers to sue (see earlier story). Last week, Judge Robert Schaffer ruled proponents were a little over 500 signatures short of the number needed.

Pastor Dave Welch of the Texas Pastors Council admits being disappointed but "not entirely surprised" by Schaffer's decision.

Welch

"We were hoping obviously that he would rule correctly according to the law," Welch tells OneNewsNow, "but it appears that he just essentially catered to his political base." According to the pastor, Judge Schaffer was "endorsed and supported by the LGBT political caucus" when elected to the bench. Tweet to @uspastorcouncil

Attorneys also believe Schaffer made a number of errors in deciding how to rule last week. For example, they say, he bounced signatures because he couldn't decipher them.

"... The Voting Rights Act and the state law of Texas [say] that your signature is your mark and that that person signing before a notary and swearing to that statement is all that's necessary," notes Welsh. "[But Judge Schaffer] said If I can't read it or I don't think I can read it, I'm throwing it out – and that ruling alone accounted for 5,000 signatures."

Attorneys for the petition to repeal the law say they will file before the Court of Appeals and may try to expedite it by going directly to the state Supreme Court.