A gay attorney who represented Pride San Antonio in a controversial lawsuit over San Antonio’s rainbow crosswalks has been appointed to a leadership role in the Texas Republican Party, according to the SA Report.
Lawyer Justin Nichols will now represent San Antonio as a member of the Texas State Republican Executive Committee (SREC), a governing body that controls the state party.
As a newly elected representative on the 64-member SREC, Nichols is tasked with holding the party to its platform, which includes condemning homosexuality and opposing “all efforts to validate transgender identity and ideology.”
Nichols’ role on the SREC has renewed outrage against him among some members of San Antonio’s queer community, who have argued for months that Pride San Antonio misplaced its trust in him as a champion.
“This development underscores why so many in the LGBTQ+ community were concerned when Pride San Antonio chose to align itself with the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum in litigation against the City of San Antonio,” an Instagram post from Pride 210 read.
The January lawsuit, in which Nichols represented both Pride San Antonio and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum, was an attempt to stop the city’s removal of its rainbow crosswalks and the installation of rainbow sidewalks using public funds without a public hearing.
Pride San Antonio received public backlash for retaining Nichols, who has been a Republican precinct chair for 16 years. Nichols also serves as the general counsel and parliamentarian for the Republican Party of Bexar County.
Members of the Pride San Antonio board also fielded criticism for partnering — through Nichols — with the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum, which has been known to take what some view as an anti-trans stance, including championing a 2023 bill prohibiting gender reassignment surgery and gender dysphoria treatment for minors.
District court judges ultimately threw out the lawsuit, but the legal action created a deep rift in the community. Afterwards, Pride San Antonio moved to replace its entire board and many LGBTQ+ San Antonians abandoned ship for what they saw as more “trans-friendly” organizations, such as Pride 210 and the Gay Agenda.
The Texas Conservative Liberty Forum describes itself as a group working to make the Republican Party more inclusive.
Even so, the Texas Republican Party has held firm on its anti-homosexuality stance over the years. In 2022, the party platform called homosexuality “abnormal” and characterized it as a “choice.” The platform also sought to protect those who might be accused of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people.
“Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice,” the 40-page platform and resolutions document reads. “We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin, and we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.”
Despite the party’s staunch stance, Nichols was elected just four years later to represent Texas’ 26th state Senate District, which encompasses much of San Antonio’s urban core. Delegates elected Nichols to serve as one of two San Antonio representatives on the body that governs the Republican Party of Texas.
“I think that they selected me because of what I’ve done, not necessarily some factor of who I am,” Nichols told SA Report, regarding his election to represent the party as a gay man.
Nichols beat out City Hall fixture and conservative firebrand Jack Finger, earning 39 votes to Finger’s 17, according to the San Antonio Report.
Nichols has also been hailed as one of San Antonio’s “most influential” gay leaders by Out in SA and an “LGBTQ+ advocate” in the SA Report’s article this week.
Nichols initially rose to prominence for being the first attorney to file a complaint under San Antonio’s 2013 non-discrimination ordinance, which designated LGBTQ+ people as a protected class.
However, Pride 210 took issue with this glowing characterization, stating “many in our community find it difficult to reconcile [with his other actions].”
“Advocacy is not a simple label. It is measured by the causes we champion, the communities we defend, and the movements we choose to support,” Pride 210’s post added.
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