US EditionTexas House Votes to Repeal Ban on 'Homosexual Conduct'
- The Texas House voted 72-55 on May 15, 2025, to give preliminary approval to House Bill 1738 to repeal the state's outdated ban on homosexual conduct.
- This bill comes after more than four decades of attempts to repeal the outdated 1973 statute that has been invalid since the 2003 Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas.
- The repeal effort drew bipartisan support, including Democrats like Rep. Venton Jones and Republicans like Rep. Brian Harrison, despite their usual disagreements.
- Venton Jones, the bill’s sponsor and the first openly HIV-positive legislator in Texas, described the repeal as promoting practical governance and reinforcing the essential rights and personal liberties that all Texans should enjoy.
- The bill now faces a final House vote before Senate consideration, but it may encounter delays amid a busy legislative session ending June 2, 2025.
12 Articles
12 Articles
UPDATED: Texas House votes to overturn sodomy law
UPDATE: The 72-55 vote on Thursday in the Texas House to remove Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code which criminalizes private, consensual conduct between adults of the same gender came on the measure’s second reading. The bill now faces a third reading and vote in the House —expected to be scheduled soon, according to Equality Texas — before it moves on to the state Senate for a vote there. The final vote on the second reading was 72 ayes, 55…
BREAKING NEWS: Texas House votes to decriminalize sodomy
The Texas House voted overwhelmingly to decriminalize sodomy today, Thursday, May 15. House Bill 1738, introduced by Rep. Venton Jones, passed 72-55, meaning it had bipartisan support. Jones has been strategic since filing the bill his first session. While Democrats typically file it in each legislative session, the bill has historically gotten nowhere. But with the likes of conservatives such as Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie, an antagonist …
Texas House moves toward repealing anti-sodomy law
The Texas House of Representatives took a preliminary vote Thursday in favor of repealing the state’s anti-sodomy law, which has been unenforceable since a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case out of Texas in 2003.Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.The repeal bill, House Bill 1738, must be approved by the House once again before the Texas Senate votes. It’s unclear when the next Hous…
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