Houston Pastors' Group Sues Mayor For Legal Fees and Damages In Fight Over Equal Rights Ordinance

Now that the Texas Supreme Court has ordered the city of Houston to place a referendum on the ballot that seeks to repeal Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) (see prior posting), the Houston Area Pastors Council announced last week that it has filed a lawsuit in state court against Houston, Texas mayor Annise Parker to recover legal fees and damages it incurred in the litigation.  Much of the opposition to HERO came from pastors who objected to its protection of transgender rights, and the mayor created particular controversy by initially subpoenaing the pastors' sermons and other documents  relating to their support of the ordinance. (See prior posting.) Houston Chronicle and the Houston Memorial Examiner report on this latest lawsuit which accuses Mayor Parker with interfering with citizens' right to vote.