Texas Republican Lawmaker's Staff Snubs Gay-Rights Activist

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The staff of Rep. Molly White, who has proposed prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages, told a gay rights activist not to expect a meeting with the lawmaker.

The Temple Daily Telegram reports that White's staff told Frank Carlson of Equality Texas, the state's largest gay-rights organization, to "drop off your literature and leave."

White's chief of staff, Hannah Bell, told Carlson that speaking to White about gay rights "would be a waste of time."

The first-year Republican lawmaker has also proposed legislation that would allow businesses to cite religious beliefs as grounds for denying goods or services.

White instructed staff during a Muslim rally in Austin in January to ask Muslims visiting her office to "renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws."

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