Today’s world is increasingly small and its people highly mobile. Many people travel regularly for work and other reasons. People are less likely to spend their whole lives in a single city. Instead, they have multiple places that they have called home. This reality has a unique effect on America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population. Since the rights and protections afforded to LGBT individuals change from state to state, the decision to relocate often entails a change in one’s status as a citizen.
Same-sex parents who consider moving will have many of the same fears that different-sex parents might. They will have concerns about uprooting their children and about leaving familiar places and people behind. In addition, they will have to think about what it means to be a LGBT person in their new location. They will find that the status of their relationship to each other, to their assets, and to their children may change. Their personal safety and the security of their job may be put in question.
We were recently contacted by a married lesbian couple from California who are considering moving to Austin. Although they had heard that Austin is LGBT friendly, they wanted some information about how moving to Texas would affect their rights.
I started my research by looking up basic rights related to relationship recognition and employment protection. I found that these rights essentially don’t exist for LGBT individuals in Texas. Texas does not legally recognize same-sex relationships nor does it honor marriages formalized in other states. There are no public or private statewide employment protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
For the sake of comparison, I searched for LGBT rights in California. California recognizes same-sex relationships through domestic partnerships and honors marriages performed in other jurisdictions. California has statewide protections that prevent against employment discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity.
Undoubtedly, this couple faces a difficult decision. Austin has a lot to offer, including important employment opportunities. But, moving to Texas also means no longer being considered a married couple and losing a sense of security at work and in their personal life. Those changes must feel like a significant step in the wrong direction.
The world is perhaps ultimately not as small for LGBT people. There still remains an extreme distance between life in a place like California and one like Texas. With time, we need to reach a point where LGBT mobility is not qualified by the appearance and disappearance of one’s basic rights.
At Equality Texas, we envision a state where all Texans are treated equally with dignity and respect.
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Posted by Walter Simons
Public Policy & Legislative Advocacy Intern
