LGBTQ+

Last session, GOP lawmakers passed a drag bill, a ban on gender-affirming surgery and other legislation targeting the LGBTQ community. With the Republican Party growing more conservative, experts say it's likely the theme will continue.

The ban makes it a crime for anyone to use a bathroom that doesn’t match their “biological sex.” The new ordinance also allows people who violate the ban in any building - city-owned or not - to be sued for up to $10,000.

According to the Texas Water Development Board, last month was the driest October since 1952 and the hottest on record since 1895. Texas Public Radio’s Marian Navarro has more on Gov. Abbott saying he will not support tuition increases in public higher education through 2027. The city of Odessa has banned transgender people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.

Julie Johnson’s win came as Sarah McBride of Delaware was elected the first openly transgender congressperson.

North Texas voters who are part of the LGBTQ+ community told KERA their top issues include access to gender-affirming care for minors and abortion.

The Department of Public Safety and the Department of State Health Services are no longer following court orders to update someone's sex on driver's licenses and birth certificates. Transgender Texans and advocates say this could put their community at greater risk of being denied certain services and threaten their safety.

Texans who have secured a court order to update the sex listed on their birth certificates can no longer do so at this time, according to a new state policy that blocks transgender Texans from making these changes.

Now, Texans will not be able to change the sex on their licenses unless it is to fix a clerical error.

The students saw the move as part of a political environment that has become increasingly hostile against LGBTQ+ people in Texas.

Lubbock’s City Council upheld its decision to cut funding from the First Friday Art Trail, after weeks of backlash and calls for reconsideration from some who believe the cut signals a lack of support for the queer and art communities.