As Early Voting comes to a close, the fight for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is intensifying on both sides.  For supporters of Proposition 1 this week, that means some serious star power.  After meeting with the Houston Unites campaign, Academy Award-winning Actress and long-time Equality advocate Sally Field used her celebrity platform to draw attention to this critical vote.

Here’s the story from Drew Karedes of KHOU 11 news…

HOUSTON – Sally Field says she is compelled to stand up to what she calls evil lies surrounding Houston Equal Right’s Ordinance.

The two-time Oscar winning actress says this is very personal to her because her mother and grandmother were both born here in Houston, and she’s the mother of a gay son.

However, the actress says this goes much deeper than that.

“Why here, why Houston, why me? Because everyone in this country is watching this. This is incredibly important. Eyes are on Houston. This is Texas,” Field said.

She’s a name big enough to grab plenty of attention. Field is hoping Houston voters will listen to her message and vote “Yes” on Proposition 1.

“There are 15 different categories of people it protects. I fit into many of those categories,” she said. “This is my country, this our fight to bring about equality as a right for everyone.”

Also in attendance were State Senator Sylvia Garcia, Council Member Ellen Cohen, and a host of prominent Houstonian women in support of the ordinance.

As to be expected, the celebrity star power in support of Proposition wasn’t welcome by everyone.  Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wasn’t too pleased…

HOUSTON: Liberals from Hollywood and Washington, D.C. are trying to impose their radical agenda in Texas. Vote NO on Houston's Prop 1!

— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) October 29, 2015

Spirited as they may be, Lt. Gov. Patrick’s tweets do come with a bit of irony.  As Texas’ second in command, he happens to reside in the beautiful city of Austin, Texas. You know… the same Austin, Texas that imposed its “radical agenda” of equality back in 2004.  One wonders if Patrick lives in a constant state of fear for all of his fellow female legislators and employees as they traverse the big, scary, non-discriminating halls of their offices.

But anyway…

Having voices like Sally Field step up in Support of HERO has so far had the desired effect.  Her name was trending on Twitter for most of yesterday in Houston, and helped to increase national awareness of the truth on Proposition 1.  Let’s hope Houstonians turn that attention into votes.