The short answer… a whole bunch.

This Fall, the city of Houston will be bombarded with campaign ads claiming false information about the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.  You know ads like this one that just hit the airwaves recently.

As Dan Solomon of Texas Monthly reports, the move shows that HERO opponents are not above lies and deceit to lure voters towards their message…

The fight surrounding Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance has been ugly since the anti-discrimination policy was proposed—and after a petition drive to put its recall to a public vote, it’s only gotten uglier. It’s involved city attorneys issuing subpoenas for pastors’ sermons. It’s involved accusations of forged signatures on the petition. And, with the vote on the ordinance approaching, it’s involved some fearmongering. As the Houston Chronicle reports:

Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance released a one-minute radio spot Monday that targets women voters, hitting the airwaves first in what’s expected to be a heated and expensive campaign over the law that will appear on the November ballot.

The ad features a young woman talking about the perceived threat to public safety the ordinance presents. Critics have long seized on the idea that the ordinance, a broad non-discrimination law that includes protections for gay and transgender residents, would allow male sexual predators dressed in drag to enter women’s restrooms.

The idea that scheming, predatory men would disguise themselves as women in order to prey on women and girls in bathrooms has always been one of the rallying cries against HERO. When Fox News commentator and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee used his platform to rally opponents to whip up opposition to the ordinance, he focused much of his argument on the idea that bathrooms would “be unsafe for women and children“:

“If the child…a boy…walks in and says ‘you know what, I really am feeling my girl’s side, he gets to go shower with the girls when he’s 14. I mean, I’m just thinking of all the 14-year-old boys I went to school with, and how many of them would have awakened with that revelation.”

Huckabee’s claims notwithstanding, the ordinance doesn’t put women and girls at additional risk of being harmed by sexual predators, according to experts who’ve studied “bathroom panic” as it relates to transgender people. There are no reported cases of transgender women assaulting anyone in public bathrooms after anti-discrimination ordinances have passed anywhere in the country. And, as stories like the headline-grabbing incident in New York last April make clear, a predator who plans to sexually assault women in public bathrooms doesn’t need to wear a disguise to do it.

To be clear, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is a local protection for all Houstonians.  While it’s true that pregnant women (for example) are protected by federal and state laws against discrimination, what opponents don’t tell you is that it is far more expensive to lodge a discrimination claim through state and federal channels than it is to have the city investigate claims at the local level.  HERO is not simply a duplication of law.  It is putting access to local protection within reach of many in our community that don’t have the money or time to file a federal case.  It is for all of these reasons that cities and counties across the United States have taken similar actions.

Stating that fact over and over again is important, but sometimes it helps to have a visual.  If Houstonians knew that every time they travel to New York, Dallas, Shreveport or even Disney World in Orlando, they were going to another city that offers these same protections, such information could help to break the stigma HERO opponents want so desperately to create.

Texas Leftist has compiled a graphic showing all of the cities and counties that have passed comprehensive non-discrimination ordinances (also known as Human Rights Ordinances or Equal Rights Ordinances) with protections on par with the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (Data source:  the Human Rights Campaign).  Before Houstonians vote this November, they should get a clear picture of just how important, yet commonplace the protections in H.E.R.O. are.

Have you ever visited (and by proper assumption, used restroom facilities) in any of these American Cities? If so, share this post and help combat the many lies being spread about HERO.  

Also, don’t forget to join the cause to protect HERO with Houston Unites.  It’s now more important than ever.

This October and November, Houstonians will decide the fate of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance by a vote on Proposition 1. Election Day 2015 is Tuesday November 3rd, and Early Voting runs from October 19th through October 30th.  Check out this year’s Harris County Early Voting information for locations and times.

(if you like this Texas Leftist post, please consider a donation!  Help us encourage Progressive, common sense ideals in the Lone Star State!!)

By the way, some cities like Las Vegas, Nevada or Santa Fe, New Mexico are not listed for having local Equal Rights protections, but that may be because they are in one of 17 states that have enacted non-discrimination laws, thus protecting residents. In other cases like Los Angeles, the city has still chosen to pass local protections even though they are in a state which offers them.

Arizona
Phoenix, City of
Tempe, City of
Tucson, City of

California

Los Angeles, City of
Oakland, City of
Palm Springs, City of
Sacramento, City of California
San Diego, City of
San Francisco, City of
Santa Cruz County
West Hollywood, City of

Colorado
Boulder, City of
Denver, City of

District of Columbia
Washington, City of

Florida
Atlantic Beach, City of
Alachua County
Broward County
Gainesville, City of
Gulfport, City of
Key West, City of
Lake Worth, City of
Leon County
Miami Beach, City of
Monroe County
Palm Beach County
Pinellas County
Orlando, City of
Tampa, City of
Volusia County
West Palm Beach, City of

Georgia
Atlanta, City of

Idaho
Boise, City of
Coeur d’Alene, City of
Idaho Falls, City of
Ketchum, City of
Moscow, City of
Sandpoint, City of
Victor, City of

Illinois
Aurora, City of
Carbondale, City of
Chicago, City of
Cook County
Decatur, City of
DeKalb, City of
Evanston, City of
Peoria, City of
Springfield, City of

Indiana
Bloomington, City of
Evansville, City of
Indianapolis, City of
Marion County
Monroe County
South Bend, City of

Iowa
Cedar Rapids, City of
Council Bluffs, City of
Davenport, City of
Des Moines, City of
Iowa City
Johnson County
Waterloo, City of

Kansas
Lawrence, City of
Roeland Park, City of

Kentucky
Covington, City of
Danville, City of
Frankfort, City of
Jefferson County
Lexington, City of
Lexington-Fayette County
Louisville, City of
Morehead, City of
Vicco, City of

Louisiana
New Orleans, City of
Shreveport, City of

Maryland
Baltimore, City of
Baltimore County
Howard County
Hyattsville, City of
Montgomery County

Massachusetts
Boston, City of
Cambridge, City of
Northampton, City of
Salem, City of
Worcester, City of

Michigan
Ann Arbor, City of
Detroit, City of
East Lansing, City of
Ferndale, City of
Grand Rapids, City of
Huntington Woods, City of
Kalamazoo, City of
Lansing, City of
Pleasant Ridge, City of
Saugatuck, City of
Sterling Heights, City of
Traverse, City of
Ypsilanti, City of

Minnesota
Minneapolis, City of
St. Paul, City of

Missouri
Columbia, City of
Clayton, City of
Kansas City
Kirkwood, City of
Olivette, City of
St. Louis County
St. Louis, City of
University City

Montana
Bozeman, City of
Butte, City of
Helena, City of
Missoula, City of

Nebraska
Omaha, City of

New York
Albany, City of
Binghamton, City of
Buffalo, City of
Ithaca, City of
New York City
Rochester, City of
Suffolk County
Syracuse, City of
Tompkins County
Westchester County

North Carolina
Chapel Hill, City of

Ohio
Athens, City of
Bowling Green, City of
Cincinnati, City of
Cleveland, City of
Columbus, City of
Coshocton, City of
Dayton, City of
East Cleveland, City of
Newark, City of
Oxford, City of
Summit County
Toledo, City of
Yellow Springs, Village of

Oregon
Beaverton, City of
Bend, City of
Benton County
Corvallis, City of
Eugene, City of
Hillsboro, City of
Lake Oswego, City of
Lincoln City
Multnomah County
Portland, City of
Salem, City of

Pennsylvania
Abington Township
Allegheny County
Allentown, City of
Bethlehem, City of
Cheltenham Township
Doylestown, City of
East Norriton, City of
Easton, City of
Erie County
Harrisburg, City of
Hatboro, City of
Haverford Township
Jenkinstown Borough
Lansdowne Borough
Lower Marion Township
New Hope Borough
Newton Borough
Philadelphia, City of
Pittsburgh, City of
Pittston, City of
Scranton, City of
Springfield Township
State College Borough
Susquehanna Township
Swarthmore, City of
Upper Merion Township
West Chester Borough
Whitemarsh Township
York, City of

South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, City of

Texas
Austin, City of
Dallas County
Dallas, City of
Fort Worth, City of
Houston, City of (suspended pending litigation)

Utah
Alta, City of
Grand County
Harrisville, City of
Logan, City of
Midvale, City of
Moab, City of
Murray City
Ogden, City of
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake County
Springdale, City of
Summit County
Taylorsville, City of
West Valley, City

Washington
Burien, City of
King County
Seattle, City of
Spokane, City of
Tacoma, City of

West Virginia
Morgantown, City of
Charleston, City of

Wisconsin
Dane County
Madison, City of
Milwaukee, City of
Dane County
Madison, City of
Milwaukee, City of

Laramie, Wyoming