Sweet Jesus is the major endorser for any public office in Texas and since he tends to phone it in, it’s up to voters to believe which candidate is telling the truth about Jesus’ endorsement.

In the race for Texas Attorney General, three Republicans claim the coveted Jesus Endorsement.

Three Republicans vying to become Texas’ next attorney general say an anti-discrimination measure proposed in San Antonio would discriminate against “people of faith” by suppressing their views about gay people.

The candidates — state Sen. Ken Paxton of McKinney, state Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas, and Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman — have expressed opposition in recent weeks to the proposed updates to a San Antonio ordinance through letters to city officials, online petitions and media interviews.

The measure would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the kinds of discrimination forbidden by the city code. Provisions to protect veterans also are included but will face a separate council vote.

Being nice to all God’s children has already become the law in five of the Texas’ largest cities.  The Republicans argue that being a “person of faith” gives you the right to discriminate and torment people that you don’t like even if they are also persons of faith.  It seems to me there’s not much faith involved here.

It’s about Freedom of Speech.

“It attempts to stop my freedom of speech by suppressing my point of view,” said Smitherman, 55. “You may disagree with my point of view, you may think I’m an idiot or a redneck for that point of view, but it’s not speech that incites riot and it’s not speech that is intended to cause harm.”

Dude, thank you for affirming my idiot redneck thought.

Smitherman is free to use slurs against anyone he wants to in the name of Sweet Jesus.  He just can’t do it in the public workplace where taxpayers are paying him to do it.  And I suspect he is, in fact, asking for a riot if he calls me any word meant to demean women.

Of course demeaning speech is meant to cause harm.  What other reason would you use it?

These Republican guys are so dense that gravity increases around them.

Maybe it would help if they could come up with a list of people we’re supposed to hate and be mean to in Jesus’ name, amen.