Category Archives: Equality

Equality, Texas Politics

Marriage Equality Comes To Texas

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In the wake of today’s historic SCOTUS decision, marriage equality for the state of Texas went from dream to reality.

But depending on the county that one lives in, that reality may be harder to swallow than it is for others.

As we speak, legal marriage ceremonies are being conducted in  several Texas Counties, including El Paso, Hidalgo, Travis, Bexar and Dallas are now granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

However in the state’s most populous county of Harris, a pathetic waiting game is still being played, as County Clerk Stan Stanart is trying desperately to slow down the process of granting loving couples their constitutional rights.

Even after County Attorney Vince Ryan directly instructed Stanart to comply with federal law, the elected official seems to be ignoring federal law. One Houston couple, Hunter Middleton and John LaRue were the first in line at the Harris County Clerk’s office waiting to apply for the marriage license.  Sadly they were also the first to be turned down. This is a risky stance for the Clerk, as it leaves Harris County and its taxpayers liable for deniability.  In fact, several Houston couples have already begun proceedings to sue the county.  

As of 3pm today, LGBT couples can now wed in Harris County!!!  Here’s what you need to do to obtain a marriage license.  

 

If LGBT Texans were hoping for some support from their governor on this historic day, they sadly will not find it.  As Rebecca Elliott of the Houston Chronicle reports, Governor Greg Abbott has issued a directive in hopes of preventing same-sex spouses from receiving now federally-mandated benefits…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott opened the door for state agencies to withhold benefits from same-sex couples Friday, hours after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

In a letter released Friday afternoon, Abbott ordered heads of state agencies to prioritize religious freedom, writing that no adverse action should be taken against a state official “on account of the person’s act or refusal to act that is substantially motivated by sincere religious belief.”

“This order applies to any agency decision, including but not limited to granting or denying benefits, managing agency employees, entering or enforcing agency contracts, licensing and permitting decisions, or enforcing state laws and regulations,” Abbott wrote.

Yet again, we have a measure of grand irony from the Texas Governor.  preventing loving couples from getting married or receiving benefits is of the highest priority, but letting millions of poor Texans suffer without health insurance of any kind can wait??  Actions like these border on shameful.

CRITICAL UPDATE!!

Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart will begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses at 3pm, whether he has the correct forms or not!  Marriage equality has come to the nation’s 4th largest city!

3:20pm

And it’s DONE.  Congratulations to Hunter Middleton and John LaRue, the first same-sex couple ever to marry in Harris County and the City of Houston!  

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An historic day indeed!!

 

 

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Equality, Politics

Marriage EQUALIZED: SCOTUS Strikes Down State Marriage Bans

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BREAKING:  In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States has invalidated ALL state bans against same-sex marriage. Justice Anthony Kennedy joined Justices Elena Kagen, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to form the majority, with Justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia in the dissent.

The ruling’s foundation came from the Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution.  Directly from the majority opinion…

The right of same-sex couples to marry is also derived from the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. The Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause are connected in a profound way. Rights implicit in liberty and rights secured by equal protection may rest on different precepts and are not always coextensive, yet each may be instructive as to the meaning and reach of the other. This dynamic is reflected in Loving, where the Court invoked both the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause; and in Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U. S. 374, where the Court invalidated a law barring fathers delinquent on child-support payments from marrying. Indeed, recognizing that new insights and societal understandings can reveal unjustified inequality within fundamental institutions that once passed unnoticed and unchallenged, this Court has invoked equal protection principles to invalidate laws imposing sexbased inequality on marriage,…

No doubt about it… this is an historic day for the United States of America.  With same-sex marriage now legal in all 50 states, we must wait and see how this ruling comes into reality.  In the case of Texas, at least 3 county clerks are ready to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, though sadly Harris County is not one of them. Texas Leftist will have more as the process of marriage unfolds across the state, and the nation.

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Equality, Houston, Texas Politics

Texas Marks Juneteenth 150th Anniversary

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It’s a special week for the state of Texas.

This Thursday will be the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of Juneteenth— a national celebration that marks the end of slavery in the last of the Confederate states.  The celebration was born on Galveston Island, June 19th 1865, as Texas slaves rejoiced upon hearing the news of their freedom.   Last year, the state of Texas dedicated an historical marker in Galveston to highlight the important history that occurred on the island.

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The holiday has important significance across the state of Texas as well.  Former slaves actually pooled money together to purchase land specifically for Juneteenth celebration, including Emancipation Park in Houston’s Third Ward, the former Emancipation Park in Austin and Booker T. Washington Park in Mexia.

While festivities in Galveston having already begun, most areas of the state will be hosting events this coming week.  If you can, look up Juneteenth information for community and be a part of the fun.

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The Juneteenth commemorative statue at Ashton Villa– Galveston, Texas.

Here’s information for selected Juneteenth celebrations around Texas…

Austin– Juneteenth Central Texas

Houston Area Juneteenth Celebrations (note some cancelled due to threat of severe weather)

Missouri City Juneteenth Celebration

Dallas Juneteenth Festival

Fort Worth Juneteenth Freedom Fest

Juneteenth San Antonio

El Paso Juneteenth in the Park

Corpus Christi Juneteenth 

Beaumont Juneteenth

Juneteenth Association of Tyler

Lubbock Unified Juneteenth

Galveston Juneteenth Festival

 

 

Equality, Houston Politics, Texas Politics

Marriage Equality Will Face Hurdles in Harris County

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In recent years, the month of June has often meant big news out of the Supreme Court, and June 2015 is likely to be no exception.  Any day now, it is quite possible that the issue of Marriage Equality could be settled once and for all by the Federal Government.

But just because an historic ruling could be handed down in Washington doesn’t mean that the dust will settle in states or counties any time soon.  As Dianna Wray of the Houston Press reports, Texas’ largest county is still far from making same-sex marriages a reality, even if they suddenly become the law of the land…

The U.S. Supreme Court is due to hand down its decision on same-sex marriage this month. Depending on how the court rules, county clerks across the country could see countless gay couples lining up to apply for their marriage certificates. However, if same-sex couples show up to the offices of Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, it looks like they might have some trouble submitting their applications via the current state-issued application forms.

[…]

…should the Supremes rule in favor of gay marriage this month – and the fact that Justice Anthony Kennedy, the resident swing vote on the court, has written virtually every opinion the court has issued on gay rights in the past decade, and has voted in favor of gay rights consistently, implies that the court will find in favor of same-sex marriage – couples who wish to apply in Harris County will still have the flimsy but challenging conundrum of a paperwork problem standing between them and that marriage license.

[…]

While the county clerks in Travis and Bexar have publicly stated that they’ll deal with the marriage application form problem by simply rewriting the form so that it won’t be limited to a male and female couple, Stanart has no intentions of changing the form or doing anything to rush in and start letting gay couples get hitched as soon as the probably-favorable SCOTUS ruling is issued. It seems that even altering a couple of lines on the application form is way too close to supporting gay marriage. “Right now we’re following the current law and we’ll see what happens [with the U.S. Supreme Court], and then we’ll see what guidance the state attorney general gives us, which direction he wants to go,” Stanart says.

Having already issued the state’s first same-sex marriage license earlier this year, Travis County seems a sure bet for Texas couples seeking to wed if the state ban is struck down, with Bexar County not far behind.

While it is true that Harris County is far from alone in this “wait and see” approach, it’s also true that the state’s most populous county will face more pressure to evolve than some of its peers.  The LGBT community in Houston, with its strong political ties and rich history of activism, is not likely to accept a “de facto stay” of the ruling from the County Clerk’s office.

In any event, this is one issue that is definitely worth watching.

Off the Kuff has more.

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UPDATE:  While Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart has not changed his position on marriage equality (cough FAIL cough) , Dallas County Clerk John Warren wants his offices to be ready for the expected SCOTUS decision.  Here’s more from John Wright of the Texas Observer…

The Dallas County clerk now says he’ll issue licenses to gay and lesbian couples if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage later this month.

Previously, Democratic Clerk John Warren told the Observer he was concerned about modifying marriage license application forms, which are generated by the state and say “male” and “female.” Warren wrote in an email Wednesday that he contacted the Texas Department of State Health Services about the forms last week, but had not heard back, so he came up with an alternative strategy in consultation with the Dallas County DA’s office.

“When the Supreme Court issues its opinion, I will immediately meet with counsel to make sure we understand the opinion,” Warren said. “Since I feel that it will [be] in the positive, I will be ready to issue license[s]. I’ve already sent a briefing over to our commissioner’s court regarding overtime pay for my staff as well as addressed the need to have security not lock the building at its normal 5:00/5:30 scheduled time.”

Warren, who came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2013, added that he’s asked a manager to survey staff on their ability to work extended hours.

This is great news indeed.  So while Houston same-sex couples may still face discrimination in their home County, at least they know they can add Dallas to the list of places with open minds and open doors on marriage equality.

Enjoy all of those extra tourism and wedding dollars headed your way!!

Oh yes… time to update the map

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Equality, Texas Politics

Gov. Abbott Rules Out Special Session Over Marriage Equality Fallout

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As Americans wait for the Supreme Court’s ultimate ruling on Marriage Equality, there’s been one question looming in the distance… how will we handle states fallout?

For Texas especially, this question has been quite unclear.  With a new Governor and much legislative turnover, some have wondered if a ruling in favor of Marriage Equality would cause the Governor Abbott to call a Special Session to rebuke the nation’s highest legal authority.

But today in a radio interview with WOAI San Antonio, the Governor essentially put those questions to rest…

The Texas Legislative Session is over, but several social conservative groups are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session for lawmakers to consider exceptions to same sex marriage, as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month that Texas must either allow same sex marriages to be performed, or to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states as valid, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.

[…]

The social conservative groups, including the Texas Eagle Forum, Texas Values, and a group called Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, specifically want Abbott to recall lawmakers to consider a bill that would prohibit county clerks from issuing same sex marriage licenses.

[…]

But Abbott says it won’t happen.

“I do not anticipate any special session,” he told News Radio 1200 WOAI.  “They got their job done on time, and don’t require any overtime.”

Governor Abbott’s statement may cause fury among some fringe Right groups, but for the majority of Texans, right and left, this is the correct stance to take.  If the state ban is struck down and no Special Session is called, legal marriage would be able to take place for nearly 2 years before the legislature could reconvene.  That’s 2 years of marriage equality taking place across the state, and 2 years of Texans getting used to it.

Of course even in today’s climate, many GOP activists have moved past this issue.

Houston area Representative Sarah Davis (HD 134) recently became Texas’ first Republican state-level office holder to publicly support marriage equality.  She also earned the endorsement of Equality Texas back in 2014.

Christopher Busby, chair of Harris County Republican Party Precinct 34, had this to say…

I’m glad that Governor Abbott decided to forgo wasting taxpayer money on a special session on a law that would have very likely been ruled unconstitutional at the end of the month. I look forward to the day when Republicans across the state are not only making sound judgment, but championing legal equality for lgbt citizens.

Try as they may, a few loud-mouthed, anti-equality fringe groups cannot stop the evolution of the Texas GOP.  We’ll wait to see if the Governor remains true to his word.

 

Equality, Texas Politics

Van de Putte, Taylor Face Off For San Antonio Mayor

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Last Saturday’s highly contested municipal election in San Antonio produced an historic result, as two female minority politicians advance to a run-off for the city’s top job, besting all of their numerous male contenders.  Here’s the story from Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune…

Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is set to face San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor in a runoff for the city’s top job.

[…]

It was the first step in determining who would permanently replace Julián Castro, who resigned as mayor last year to become President Obama’s secretary of housing and urban development.

The results mark a reversal of fortune for Van de Putte, who just months ago was trounced in the lieutenant governor’s race by Republican Dan Patrick. Talking to reporters late Saturday, she said speaking with voters across the state last year drew her even closer to San Antonio.

Former State Senator Van de Putte was the top vote-getter in last Saturday’s election, but Taylor came in as a very close second.  With the run-off set for June 13th in what will surely be a very light turnout, anything is possible for this run-off.

It will be of particular interest to see how Progressive Politics comes into play for the mayoral election.  There couldn’t be a more clear difference between the two politicians than LGBT rights.  Where Van de Putte has stood time and again in favor of marriage equality and comprehensive non-discrimination laws, Taylor famously voted against San Antonio’s Non-Discrimination ordinance.  In recent weeks doubled down on her views, calling debate over the measure a waste of time.  Given how rapidly viewpoints are shifting  across the state of Texas, it will be very interesting to see if these recent comments come back to haunt Taylor.

While it’s true that Taylor has pledged not to harm the NDO if elected to serve a full mayoral term, it is important for San Antonio voters to know that on LGBT issues, this campaign represents a very clear choice.  Let’s all hope that Alamo City voters choose wisely on June 13th.

 

 

(Feature photo credit:  San Antonio Current)