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August 4, 2014      5:32 PM

City of Houston says equal rights ordinance will not be up for a vote in November

City invalidates pages and pages of signatures; Opponents of the equal rights ordinance vow a quick appeal in court

Houston's controversial equal rights ordinance, which supporters call HERO but oppoents say will embolden sexual predators, will not be on the ballot this November if a ruling by the city announced Monday withstands an expected court challenge.

Mayor Annise Parker and City Attorney David Feldman held an afternoon press conference to say that thousands of signatures that had been gathered by opponents of the ordinance had been invalidated.

By law, signatures on a petition designed to put an issue on the ballot must not only be signed by Houston residents, but they must also be gathered by Houston residents. About 5,900 pages were submitted but only about 2,900 pages were valid, the city attorney said. When Parker was asked about her "personal feeling" of the situation, she said "It is what it is... I fully expected it to end up on a ballot and we would win."