In the midst of the conversations regarding Stonewall, eight Colorado College students have redirected their energy to Houston, Texas, where voters will decide Tuesday whether to grant legal anti-discrimination protection to 15 categories of peoples through the enactment of the Proposition 1, also known as the HERO vote.
The eight students, led by senior Hannah Tilden, are part of a phone bank, which calls Houston voters to inform them about the implications of the law with hopes to persuade them to vote in favor of it.
“There is so much infighting going on within the queer community right now because of Stonewall, and I was hoping this effort could refocus us against the reality of injustice that can potentially happen in Houston if this law is passed,” Tilden said. “It’s important to focus and contextualize activism in a much larger and broader sense that just CC.”
Tilden and the other students started conducting their first night of phone calls on Wednesday, when they made around 90 calls. During 30 of those calls, Tilden explained, the callers made meaningful connections with the voters.
The HERO vote would put into law an ordinance already in effect in Houston that outlaws discrimination on account of a person’s sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, and gender identity.
50 percent of people who file complaints under the ordinance are of color, another 40 percent by women, 4 percent by LGBT, and 1 percent by others.
According to the most recent polls, public opinion on the vote is almost equally split. Proponents of the proposition, such as David Leslie from the Rothko Chapel in Montrose, Texas, argue the proposition provides essential protection of all peoples, which would also help propel Houston in a more positive direction.
“We are all children of God,” he said to abc13. “We’re all from the same creator. We’re all different. In those differences, we should expect some protections.”
Opponents of the proposition, on the other hand, argue that the dangers of the proposition far outweigh the benefits. One of the most common and controversial claims is in regards to the bathroom ordinance, which allows people to use the bathroom associated with the gender with which they identify. They, including Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, argue that the ordinance would allow sexual predators to enter women’s bathrooms and endanger women and female children.
“It’s not about equal rights,” Lt. Governor Patrick told abc13. “Equal rights are covered under the law. What it is about, by voting no to stop men who on any given day can consider themselves a woman and can go into a woman’s restroom.”
Despite their small size, Tilden and the other students making these calls could tilt the vote in favor of Proposition 1.
“The vote is really close, and just by us sitting in a room, we can make a difference,” Tilden said.
“I think people underestimate the impact of call banking,” said senior and a member of the call banking team Rachel Gonchar. “This was a great opportunity to get involved in something I am passionate about: civil rights and liberties.
If you are interested in helping with the call banking on Monday before the election Tuesday, email Hannah Tilden at hannah.tilden@coloradocollege.edu.