AUSTIN, Texas — A House committee on Tuesday debated a bill that would repeal the state’s unconstitutional and unenforceable law criminalizing gay sex.
House Bill 2055 by Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, would repeal the state’s ban on “homosexual conduct” and remove language from the health code that calls homosexuality “not an acceptable lifestyle.” Jones, who is gay and the state’s first openly HIV-positive lawmaker, told the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence that the bill is about more than just cleaning up defunct laws from the books.
“Everyone in the state of Texas should be afforded equal treatment,” Jones said. “After 50 years, it is time to remove the language and do away with discrimination.”
