GetEQUAL is staging rallies across the country in response to anti-LGBT legislation similar to Indiana’s “religious freedom” law.

From the website for the group’s #HateOutbreak campaign:  

Across the country, religious extremists are introducing bills in state legislatures that would give carte blanche privileges to legally discriminate against anyone — simply by invoking one’s religion as the reason. 

We’ve all seen the negative response to Indiana’s right to discriminate law but this #HateOutbreak is bigger than the Hoosier state. The surge in legislation aimed at legalizing discrimination, disguised as religious freedom, has many asking what can we do to fight back. 

On Saturday, nearly 100 people gathered at the Texas Capitol to protest a record number of anti-LGBT bills in the state Legislature. Among the speakers was Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who warned that Indiana-style legislation could threaten the city’s booming economy. From the Texas Observer: 

“Apple is here, Google is here, because the people who work for Apple and Google, they want to live here,” Adler said. “It’s real important that we not go down that path, and it is scary to me that our state Legislature right now is considering doing that.”

The Austin rally was one of three planned in Texas over the weekend. Rallies were also planned in Gainesville, Fla., and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Monday. 

Watch video of openly gay former Texas state Rep. Glen Maxey speaking at Saturday’s rally in Austin, AFTER THE JUMP … 

Check out our weekly guide to make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.

— HBO’s ultra violent fantasy series Game of Thrones returns Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern. Last season’s jaw-dropping finale set some important things into motion: the escape of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), the voyage of Arya (Maisie Williams) and a missing dragon. We’ve lost the pansexual Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) and gay wannabe king Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony), but we’ve still got the Knight of Flowers, Ser Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones), to cheer on.

More HBO series return and other episodes to catch this week, AFTER THE JUMP …

— Tonight’s RuPaul’s Drag Race asks the question that’s been on everybody’s mind: Whatever happened to Merle Ginsberg? Plus, guest judge Ariana Grande and a runway to die for, tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on Logo.

— Golan Cohen (Ori Pfeffer) is an Israeli, gay detective on the new USA miniseries, Dig. See what happens when he makes an arrest Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern on USA.

— Forget Periscope and Meerkat, the only app you should be concerned with is Pied Piper, the startup at the center of HBO’s Silicon Valley. The series returns for its sophomore season 10 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

— Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) isn’t the only female President on TV, but she is undoubtedly the funniest. Along with the rest of her bumbling team, there are enough insults slung around their office on Veep to earn the crew the title of meanest ensemble on TV. It’s an awful lot of fun to see them continuously hit below the beltway, all while skewering contemporary politics with acid tongues. Catch the season four premiere Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on HBO.

What are you watching this week?