Burnt Orange Report

Gay Foster Care Ban Stripped From CPS Bill

By Byron LaMasters

The Houston Chronicle reports:

House and Senate negotiators agreed Friday to overhaul Texas' troubled child protection agency by slashing investigative caseloads and relying more on private contractors. es at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. [...]

Conferees removed from the final version a House amendment that would have banned gay foster parents. [...]

Rep. Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, who authored the amendment to ban gay foster parents, refused to sign the compromise.

"The bill was about child protective services and adult protective services. I certainly didn't want it to get sidetracked on an entirely different issue that was very volatile," said House sponsor Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, R-Lampasas.

Hupp said she is "mildly concerned" that Talton might try to sway conservative members against the bill, but she predicted such an attempt would not succeed.

"I believe (House members) will see the greater issue at hand, which is the reformation of those agencies," she said.

With this victory, it's never too early to look ahead towards 2006. The Austin Chronicle reports:

Gay rights advocates predict a victory at the ballot box in 2006 – even if Texans approve a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages this year. The reason? Political and social activists will pull out all stops to ensure that certain lawmakers receive a thorough drubbing at the polls next year, said Randall Ellis, executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas.

The targeted lawmakers were already on shaky ground before voting to place the divisive gay marriage question on the Nov. 8 ballot. For example, Austin Rep. Todd Baxter angered constituents early in the session with his vote for a roundly hated school finance bill, just four months after narrowly surviving a re-election bid in his West Austin swing district. [...]

The Democrats' political hit list for 2006 mainly focuses on the House side, where Baxter and Houston Republicans Martha Wong and Joe Nixon are viewed as the most vulnerable. Wong's district takes in a portion of Houston's gay community in Montrose; she is said to be eyeing a state senate seat in a more conservative district, but that depends on whether the incumbent, Kyle Janek, steps aside to seek U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat, who may or may not run for governor next year.

There are other House members at risk. Democratic Party strategist Kelly Fero points to a few seemingly sacred cows – Public Education Chairman Kent Grusendorf, R-Arlington, and chief homophobes Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, and Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, who is the lead sponsor of the same-sex marriage prohibition. Fero said Talton and Chisum are both susceptible – "not because the numbers on paper demonstrate their vulnerability, but because their arrogance and intolerance have become an embarrassment."

Some interesting gossip here. This is the first time I've heard that Kyle Janek is considering a run for U.S. Senate. In terms of targeting, Wong and Baxter are in the obvious first tier of most any Democratic target list. Nixon, Talton and Grusendorf are a bit further down the list (and Chisum a lot further down the list), but I would certainly like to see all of the above be challenged by a strong, well-funded Democrat.