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2021 Faith & Family Scorecard Announcement

October 29, 2021
Topic: Uncategorized

2021 Faith & Family Scorecard

We are excited to announce the release of our 2021 Faith & Family Scorecard based on the most recent 87th (including special sessions) Texas Legislative Session.The Faith and Family Scorecard is the most comprehensive pro-family accountability tool of its kind in Texas. It measures how state legislators performed on our core issues, including religious freedom, marriage & family, life, human sexuality, as well as other important value issues.Our website for the 2021 Faith and Family Scorecard is user friendly, with individual member pages detailing how each legislator voted on core issues. Be sure to click through to the individual pages of your State Senator and State Representative.

VIEW THE SCORECARD
The 87th Legislature saw significant victories in protecting religious liberty, with the passage of several bills that protect the First Amendment freedom to worship and ensuring the government can no longer shut down churches during a pandemic or for any other reason. The Legislature was able to accomplish this with passing HB 1239, The Freedom to Worship Act, HB 525, The Religious Organizations are Essential Act, and SJR 27, the Religious Freedom Constitutional Amendment which will be voted on in the November 2021 election.

This past session was a big win for pro-life with the Texas Legislature passing the monumental Texas Heartbeat Act; a pro-life law unlike any other in the nation that continues to save approximately 150 lives per day. Additionally, the Texas Legislature was able to pass the No Mail Order Abortions (SB 4) bill in the 2nd Special Session, adding to the protections for preborn children and their mothers.

Nevertheless, passing legislation on marriage and family issues was a harder fight. During the Regular Session, bills on protecting children from harmful gender modification procedures and protecting girls’ sports from unfair competition died in the Texas House. Governor Abbott placed the issue of keeping biological males out of girls’ sports on all three special session calls. Finally, HB 25, the Save Women’s Sports Bill, was passed in the 3rd Special Session.

With the success of these special session bills the Texas Legislature was able to pass legislation on all three pillars of Texas Values; Religious Liberty, Pro-life, and Marriage/Family!

However, many Democrats continued to score low on the Faith and Family Scorecard. Although a small number of Democrats voted for religious freedom protection during the pandemic, there were a great number of Democrats who were against the freedom to worship. Democrats continued to vote against pro-life legislation and attack legislation on family values. Many of the Texas House Democrats scored below 20% on the Scorecard and a few even scored a 0%. One of the most important ways you can help Texas Values Action hold our elected officials accountable is by making a generous donation today to help cover the cost of producing and distributing the 2021 Faith and Family Scorecard.Our legislative scorecard is a critical education and accountability tool for Texans to see where legislators stood on the values that matter to Texans. Your financial support is vital to ensuring more Texans are reached with this important tool and that our elected officials are held accountable for their record in Austin.

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