LGBTQIA+ advocates make record turnout to lobby Texas lawmakers amid increasingly hostile environment

AUSTIN — Roughly 1,300 LGBTQIA+ advocates convened Monday at the Texas Capitol to lobby for better protections amid an increasingly hostile environment created by right-wing state and federal lawmakers. The turnout was the largest ever for the All In For Equality Coalition's annual advocacy day, said Brad Pritchett, interim CEO of Equality Texas. Organizers credited the attendance jump to political turmoil created by the Trump administration, which has trickled down to a flurry of bills filed in the Texas Legislature to strip rights from marginalized groups.