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(From left) State Reps. Erin Zwiener of Driftwood, Celia Israel of Austin, Jessica González of Dallas, Mary González of El Paso and Julie Johnson of Carrollton pose in the Texas Capitol in Austin on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019. The five women have decided to form the Texas Legislature's first ever caucus for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members. (Erin Zwiener/Courtesy of Mary González)
AUSTIN — Five women lawmakers have decided to form the Texas Legislature's first LGBTQ caucus.
State Rep. Mary González will serve as the group's chairwoman. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News on Thursday, the El Paso Democrat said she hopes the caucus will advance bills that are "transformative" for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans across the state.
"We want to honor the moment," González said, just minutes before her staff planned to file the paperwork making the caucus official. "We want to have an intentional and strategic agenda."
When González was first elected in 2012, she was just the second openly LGBTQ member elected to the 181-member Texas Legislature in its history, and the only one serving at the time. Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, was elected in 2014.
The spike in openly LGBTQ members has already prompted other history-making changes.
Last year, the number of openly LGBTQ legislators more than doubled with the election of Reps. Jessica González of Dallas, Julie Johnson of Carrollton and Erin Zwiener of Driftwood. These five women represent nearly 20 percent of the Democratic women serving in the Texas House.