Lauryn Farris, a leading voice for transgender advocacy in San Antonio, has died, according to an Express-News report.
Farris was remembered for working on the Alamo City’s nondiscrimination ordinance and for fighting the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature’s failed 2017 push to bar transgender people from public restrooms.
She died on July 27 following a heart attack, the daily reports. She was 65.
“Lauryn’s work on our local nondiscrimination ordinance ensured that San Antonio would forever be a more inclusive and welcoming city,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg tweeted Monday.
“We must continue her good work,” he added.
Farris, who began transitioning in the early 2000s, worked with numerous local and statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy groups including the San Antonio Gender Association, Pride Center San Antonio, TENT and others.
In an 2014 interview with the Current, Farris said she preferred to be called an advocate rather than an activist, adding that it was sometimes difficult not to take the anti-trans rhetoric personally.
“I used to say that I was an activist … but activists are bulletproof,” she said. “I’m not.”
Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 10, 2021.
