Visit Dallas CEO Says Houston's Anti-LGBT Vote Bad For State's Convention Business
Skift Take
In a city with the sixth largest LGBT population nationwide, Visit Dallas wants meeting planners to know it has a completely different attitude toward equality and tolerance than Houston.
The citizens of Houston overwhelmingly voted against the passing of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) by a 69-31 percent margin on Tuesday, ensuring that Houston businesses can continue to legally discriminate against members of the LGBT community.
According to The Human Rights Campaign, there are 225 U.S. cities and counties that prohibit discrimination, including on the basis of gender identity. In Texas, only Dallas and Austin have full equal rights ordinances on the books.
The vote this week in Houston borders on the surreal because the anti-HERO proponents hinged their advocacy on scare tactics highlighting transgender people using bathrooms aligned with their identity, and men dressed as women sneaking into women's bathrooms. The opponents of the ordinance knew they couldn't fight the bill on a stance against gay rights, so they honed in especially on the transgender/bathroom issue to tap into some people's darkest fears (see video below).
Adding to the bizarre nature of the vote, Houston is the largest city in the U.S. with an openly gay mayor. That would suggest there's a significant population of progressive people living in Houston.
In which case, it also suggests that there was a lack of collaboration between Mayor Annise Parker, the city council, the Visit Houston tourism bureau, and local business stakeholders to mount an effective campaign to combat the zealous opposition. That's th
