It’s been a big week for families. On Tuesday, parents and families proved that their issues are winning issues at the ballot box.
But while families were preparing to head to the polls, life hung in the balance.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard two challenges to the groundbreaking Texas Heartbeat Act. The law protects even young babies in the womb from abortion, but two groups — including the Biden Administration — are trying to stop it.
In one hour, we’re going LIVE with Jonathan Saenz of Texas Values to give you the inside scoop.
Conversations with Craig: Life is in the Balance
LIVE with Jonathan Saenz
Stream on Facebook or YouTube
1:30 pm ET / 12:30 pm CT / 11:30 am MT / 10:30 am PT
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Jonathan M. Saenz, Esq., is the President of Texas Values, a nonprofit group – and our key ally in Texas – dedicated to preserving and advancing a culture of family values in the state of Texas. Jonathan’s work on these issues spans two decades, including several years at First Liberty Institute. He frequently presents research, analysis, and testimony before the Texas Legislature, State Board of Education, and other government entities on various issues affecting faith, family, and freedom. He has been involved in numerous court cases, including cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. |
Come learn about the law, the challenges before the Supreme Court, and what comes next. Plus, discover how Texans are saving girls’ sports and protecting the ability of churches to stay open.
Don’t miss this LIVE Conversations with Craig.
See you in an hour!
Meridian Baldacci
Director, Strategy
P.S. Seeing this late? You can still watch on Facebook and YouTube!
Last night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the state’s Save Women’s Sports bill into law to ensure that girls’ school sports competitions are reserved for females. This makes Texas the ninth state to pass a girls’ sports bill into law. Other states that have passed a #SaveGirlsSports bill include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, West Virginia. Some states include protections for college athletes as well.
Meridian Baldacci, Spokesperson for Family Policy Alliance, said:
| “It’s a good day for girls in Texas. Female athletes should grow up with a level playing field, in life and in sports. When males are allowed to compete in female sports competitions, they can and do take championship titles and other elite opportunities that were meant for girls. But in Texas, many girls can know that they have a level playing field, and a fair shot at the opportunities meant just for them. We are grateful for the work of our friends at Texas Values who made this important step possible.” |
Mary Elizabeth Castle, Senior Policy Advisor for Texas Values, released the following statement:
| “We are grateful that Governor Abbott signed the Save Women’s Sports bill into law today. Now, all girls across Texas are free to play without being forced to compete against biological males for precious championships or scholarship opportunities that were given by Title IX. Texas law now confirms the biological reality in sports and Texas is joining 8 other states in leading on this issue.” |
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Texas is the latest state to show that real America is pushing back against the far Left’s radical gender agenda. It seems every week, the Biden-Harris Administration or Speaker Pelosi’s House releases a new priority item that allows men access to rights, opportunities, or accomplishments previously reserved for women and girls. Just last week, the Biden-Harris Administration released a new, out-of-touch “National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality” and named Rachel Levine, a male who identifies as female, as the “first female four-star officer” in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Labeling Levine as the “first female four-star officer” rings hollow to the American public and insults women everywhere.
Family Policy Alliance will continue to work with allies to advance protections for female athletes in the 2022 legislative year. You can learn more about the #SaveGirlsSports effort here!
Making sure that girls’ sports are reserved only for girls is a critical way you—and your states—can continue to push back against Woke DC and its leaders. Please consider a gift to Family Policy Alliance today to stand firm against Woke DC’s gender ideology!
Give now at this link: http://engage.familypolicyalliance.com/site/Donation
For fair play,
Nicole Hudgens
Government Affairs
Should Texas girls be forced to compete against boys in sports? We say no! If you agree, please take a moment to ask Texas House Speaker Phelan to act now to bring the Save Women’s Sports bill up for a vote.
Last Wednesday, the Save Women’s Sports bill (HB 25) was finally passed by the House Constitutional Rights and Remedies Committee.
HB 25 ensures everyone plays by same rules and that girls have an equal opportunity to compete against other girls.
But HB 25 has NOT been scheduled for a vote on the House Floor. Time is running out as this Third Special Session comes to a close next Tuesday, October 19th.
This issue has been placed on the special session call at least 3 times in a row. The Texas Senate has passed a Save Women’s Sports bill during all three special sessions. And the majority of the Texas House already supports the Save Women’s Sports bill.
But the question remains whether Speaker Phelan is blocking or supporting this bill.
The Speaker must have the Calendars Committee schedule the Save Women’s Sports bill for a House Floor vote immediately in order to protect girls’ sports.
Tell Speaker Phelan to place HB 25 on the House Floor for a vote! Time is running out!
Make sure Texas Saves Girls Sports by contacting Speaker Phelan TODAY!
The Family Policy Alliance Team
The battle to save women’s sports has reached Texas, but a committee chairman has so far declined to give it a hearing! Will you take a minute to speak up to him?
State Rep. Valoree Swanson introduced The Fair Play Act (HB 1458) that would protect female athletic opportunities from being hijacked by biological males.
But more than a month after she introduced it, it has yet to be scheduled for a hearing – despite having nearly 80 coauthors, which is more than half of the Texas House!
Along with our allies at Texas Values, we are asking you to take a minute to call or email Rep. Chris Paddie (R-Marshall), Chairman of the House State Affairs Committee. Please politely ask him to promptly schedule HB 1458 for a hearing.
You can reach him directly at chris.paddie@house.texas.gov and/or by phone at (512) 463-0556.
The Fair Play Act is about both science and fairness:
- Science. It’s common sense to keep boys out of girls’ sports, but it’s also science. There are 6,500 genetic differences between males and females, including males having greater bone density, muscle mass and lung capacity.
- Fairness. Around the country, when biological males are allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams, they frequently rob girls of championships, state records and scholarship opportunities. Even in Texas, a biological male identifying as a female dominated the Texas Relays only a few years ago.
Here is sample language that you can draw from for either an email or a short phone message to Chairman Paddie:
| I am very concerned about the growing trend of biological males competing in high school and college athletics and stealing championships, trophies, and scholarships from female athletes. Many states have already solved this problem by passing legislation to keep sports participation based on biological sex. It is time for Texas to take action and address this issue.
Please schedule The Fair Play Act, HB 1458 by Rep. Valoree Swanson, for a public hearing in State Affairs immediately. As a concerned Texan, I want my voice to be heard on this issue, and I also want this bill to pass this legislative session. The bill has strong support in the Texas House with more than 76 coauthors. Please stand up for girls all across Texas and schedule a hearing for HB 1458 immediately! Thank you for your service to our state. |
Thanks for speaking up!
John Paulton
Mobilization Manager
We regard it as such a respite from the troubles of the world that we often call the auditorium a “sanctuary.” How do we talk to our friends and the young people in our lives when a madman brings so much pain and death to a church?
Gen. Patrick Caruana is chairman of the board for Family Policy Alliance. As someone who served in the U.S. Air Force and is a Texan, he offers some insights into what to say and how to pray.
We invite you to join with us as we pray for the families who are suffering in the aftermath of the church shooting.
The Texas House Speaker who consistently stood in the way of efforts to protect the privacy and safety of women in restrooms, locker rooms and showers, now says he will not seek re-election.
Dubbed a “moderate Republican” by the news media, Joe Straus was out of step with the people of the reliably conservative state. As well as stopping the bathroom bill, he also put the brakes on a school-choice plan to help families provide their children a better education through a private or Christian school.
Jonathan Saenz, president of our ally Texas Values, said a key committee chairman, Byron Cook, also announced he was stepping down.
“After 50-plus county Republican parties have censored or issued statements criticizing Speaker Straus and Chairman Cook, it seemed only a matter of time before the mounting grassroots and electoral pressure was too great for them to continue in office,” Saenz said. “Straus and Cook were the main opponents who held back the priority bills of a majority of Republicans in the House, including the Texas Privacy Act.”
With the devastating flooding from Hurricane Harvey still ongoing, Gov. Greg Abbott proclaimed Sunday, September 3, a “Day of Prayer.”
“It is right and fitting,” he wrote in the proclamation, “that the people of Texas should join with their fellow residents and with others from across the country and around the world to seek God’s wisdom for ourselves and our leaders and ask for His merciful intervention and healing in this time of crisis.”
The governor specifically asked for prayers for “first responders, public safety officers, and military personnel, healing of individuals, rebuilding of communities and the restoration of the entire region struck by this disaster.”
Would you share this request for prayer on your Facebook and Twitter? And then join us from wherever you are on Sunday as we all pray for God to abundantly bless Texas.
The battle for student privacy in locker rooms and bathrooms continues in Texas. Today was the first day of a special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott to deal specifically with several key issues, including legislation to keep men out of girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms and other intimate facilities.
Earlier this year, the Texas Senate passed the Texas Privacy Act that guarded Texans’ privacy in areas such as showers, locker rooms and restrooms. But Speaker Joe Straus blocked the bill from even receiving a vote in the Texas House. With Texas only holding legislative sessions in odd-numbered years, it’s paramount that this commonsense legislation is passed now.
Of course, the usual opponents – from the LGBT lobby to the ACLU to big business – are out in force with warnings of grave financial losses if Texas chooses to protect its children.
That’s why it’s critical that Texans – the vast majority of whom support privacy – raise their voices in great numbers this week. Family Policy Alliance has made it easy. Send a message to your state senator and representative – urging them to support privacy for all Texans in this special session.
And whether you live inside or outside of Texas, please share this message with Texas friends and family and encourage them to take one minute to stand up for privacy and protect Texas children.
Thanks for making your voice heard!
Texas Values is one of 40 state allies that Family Policy Alliance is proud to work alongside.
Legislation designed to allow faith-based foster homes and adoption agencies to keep operating according to their faith-based principles (HB 3859) was signed today by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The new law, called the Freedom to Serve Children Act, protects faith-based providers from being targets of discrimination or litigation if they do not refer girls for abortion or if they only place children in homes with a married mother and father.
One-fourth of all foster care agencies in Texas are faith-based, but there has been a trend nationally of religious placement organizations closing as the result of being forced to deny their beliefs. Because of the crisis in state-run foster care, faith-based providers have been asked to do more to help care for foster children. Many faith-based providers want to do so, but Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values, said state law previously did not protect them from being targets of grant discrimination or litigation.
“The signing into law of the Freedom to Serve Children Act is a major victory for children and for religious liberty in Texas. Faith-based providers across Texas are now free to recruit foster families and place children with loving families,” he explained. “HB 3859 ensures that there’s a place at the table for everyone at a time when Texas children need everyone at the table.”
Learn more about Texas Values.
The bathroom issue will be front and center in many states this year, and Texas is no exception.
Right now, the state Senate is considering SB 6, the Texas Privacy Act, that would stop men from getting access to women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and changing areas.
“Texans overwhelmingly oppose these attacks on women’s privacy and safety,” said Jonathan Saenz with Texas Values. “Our Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst are to be commended for introducing this legislation.”
A recent Texas voter survey found a majority of Texans agreeing that public restrooms should be restricted by gender.
“This bill is written not to bring a controversy,” Kolkhorst said. “The Texas Privacy Act is a thoughtful solution to a sensitive issue. It preserves an expected level of privacy for our public schools and buildings. At the same time, it also allows for schools and universities to make personal accommodations for those requesting an alternate setting. The responsibility falls on all of us to protect citizens and ensure that their personal and private rights are secured.”