Anti-LGBTQ+ Democrat claimed trans care is “Black genocide.” She just lost to a queer woman.

Texas Rep. Shawn Thierry, right, speaks to Rep. Raymond Peña ahead of a reading of Senate Bill 2 in the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Photo: Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

A Black queer Democratic Texas state House candidate Lauren Ashley Simmons has defeated Democratic state Rep. Shawn Thierry, a Black five-term incumbent who recently voted for an anti-LGBTQ+ book ban and a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The 36-year-old Simmons beat the 56-year-old Thierry 65%-35% in a Tuesday primary election and is likely to win her November general election since her district leans heavily Democrat.

Simmons announced her candidacy against Thierry after the latter’s anti-LGBTQ+ votes, stating, “Our current representative has lost her way and now votes with Greg Abbott and Republicans to take away our rights, destroy our public schools, and hurt our kids.”

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Simmons was endorsed by several LGBTQ+ organizations — including Equality Texas, Victory Fund, and LPAC, a group that supports queer women and nonbinary candidates. She also received union endorsements from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the AFL-CIO, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), as well as Planned Parenthood, and endorsements from U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, journalist Erin Reed noted.

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During the primary campaign, Thierry double-downed in her anti-trans votes, calling gender-affirming care “Black genocide,” holding events with local churches, and securing endorsements from six Black church leaders. She also secured donations from Republican donors who appreciated Thierry’s support of Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) push for school vouchers, a program that defunds public schools in favor of private and charter schools that can discriminate against students for any reason.

Thierry also dismissed Simmons’ supporters in the Texas House of Representatives as “the gay ones,” a quote which was cited in The Houston Chronicle. Though Thierry said her quote was “taken completely out of context from a larger discussion,” Simmons’ campaign received a major surge in fundraising after the Chronicle highlighted Thierry’s remarks, The Texas Tribune noted.

In a social media message celebrating her primary win, Simmons wrote, “Thanks to your amazing support, we all won BIG last night! We are so grateful, and so proud of the strong message this decisive victory sends to those who seek political gain by using bigotry, hatred, and fear: STOP. Thank you!”

Thierry’s anti-LGBTQ+ votes got her censured by local Democrats

H.B. 900 seeks to ban any book containing “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant” content that “describes or portrays” sexual conduct. This could include numerous books from LGBTQ+ authors, Equality Texas noted, calling the bill the “Book Burning Act.” The bill would require students to get parental permission in order to access certain texts.

S.B. 14 would ban trans youth from accessing gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy. The bill would require trans teens who are currently undergoing treatment to de-transition, and it would punish doctors who provide such care by revoking their medical licenses.

Thierry was one of four Democratic state representatives to vote in favor of S.B. 14. The other three were state Reps. Harold Dutton, Tracy King, and Abel Herrero.

In a three-page statement explaining her vote, she claimed that no studies have shown the long-term effects of puberty blockers and HRT on young people, even though these reversible medications have been used on non-trans children to treat various conditions for decades.

Her statement also highlighted the potential side effects of such medications and claimed that unnamed studies from “European countries” have shown that trans minors’ rates of suicide and depression aren’t improved by gender-affirming care.

Her position is in opposition to the findings of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association, who have all found that age-appropriate gender-affirming care is safe, evidence-based, and medically necessary to the well-being of trans youth.

“While many of my constituents encouraged me to vote in favor of this legislation, hostile activists have made nasty political threats to influence my vote against the bill. These personal even racist attacks on me as an African American woman are neither productive or persuasive,” Thierry wrote.

Responding to Thierry’s votes, the Meyerland Area Democrats Club of Houston, Texas, an organization that promotes Democratic candidates and policies, voted to censure her in a 13-7 vote on May 15.

“Rep. Thierry campaigned on being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community,” the club wrote in a statement about its censure. “Yet she has supported legislation which will harm this community and doesn’t ally with democratic principles.”

The club said that H.B. 900 would ban books under “a vague and constitutionally dubious rating system that will create layers of bureaucracy, cost, and red tape” and disproportionately target LGBTQ+, indigenous, and non-white authors for censorship, marginalizing queer kids and educators in the process.

Mentioning S.B. 14, the club wrote, “Not only will her vote for this dangerous legislation hurt her constituents, but she has already harmed transgender Texans by spreading misinformation that is not backed by science.”

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