Dive Summary:
- John Claybrook, Texas A&M student body president, announced his intention to veto student legislation to allow students to exempt themselves from funding the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) Resource Center on religious grounds.
- A day before the vote, the "GLBT Funding Opt Out Bill" was renamed "The Religious Funding Exemption Bill"; although the bill no longer specifically mentions the GLBT center, a group of student senators sought to strip its funding.
- The legislation passed 35-28 but Claybrook announced his decision to veto by saying, "the damage must stop today"; according to a co-author of the bill, there are no plans yet to override the veto, which would require a two-thirds majority vote.
From the article:
"... News this week that some student senators had targeted the center thrust the traditionally conservative university into the national spotlight, and Claybrook said it was time to 'stop the bleeding.'
'The damage must stop today,' Claybrook wrote in a letter announcing his intention to veto. 'Texas A&M students represent our core value of respect exceptionally and I'm very proud of the family at this university. Now, more than ever, is the time to show great resolve and come together, treating each other like the family that we are.' ..."
