Tag Archives: LGBT equality

Texoblogosphere: Week of June 15th

The Texas Progressive Alliance is binged out on the Women’s World Cup as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff tries to predict how County Clerks and AG Ken Paxton will react to a SCOTUS ruling in favor of marriage equality.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos and contributing to Daily Kos spanks the Texas Republican Party for its ideological and spiteful decisions that cheat Texas taxpayers, robbing them of paid for services. Wake up voters. TX GOP: Spite Cheats Texas Taxpayers.

A few people predicted Leticia Van de Putte’s close loss in the San Antonio mayor’s race, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs found them.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants you to know a labor bashing provision was in the Latino bashing border security bill. 50 hours a week is the new norm.

Socratic Gadfly thinks we need to drop a bomb on our entire current health care system, going beyond “single payer” to a full-blown British-type National Health System.

Nonsequiteuse is frustrated by journalists who can’t or won’t shut down wingnuts when they go into the Gish Gallop.

From WCNews at Eye on Williamson. Good news out of Williamson County regarding renewable energy, Georgetown Will Be Powered 100 Percent By Renewable Energy Within The Next Couple Years.

Neil at All People Have Value took a picture of the mailbox he used to send a $50 donation to the Bernie Sanders campaign. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

Texas Leftist wants you to know about the 150th Anniversary of Juneteenth, and where you can go across Texas to celebrate.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Scott Braddock looks back at how the Senate operated in a non-two-thirds-rule world.

Juanita is keeping an eye on Tom DeLay as the SCOTUS same sex marriage ruling draws near.

Greg Wythe reviews the list of departing (or possibly departing) legislators so far.

Scott Metzger offers his thoughts on a recent kerfuffle between some high-end restaurants and the Silver Eagle beer distributor that has many Texas microbreweries caught in the middle.

Carmen Cruz and Annetta Ramsey argue that marriage equality matters to both gay and straight people.

BEYONDBones celebrates World Ocean Day while spreading the word about the problem of plastic pollution.

The Texas Election Law Blog critiques Rick Hasen’s criticism of the Hillary Clinton campaign’s push for voting rights reform.

Jay Crossley calls for an end to road-only bonds.

galveston trumpet

Today’s feature photo is from the Strand in Galveston, Texas.  Taken by Texas Leftist author L. Wayne Ashley

GOP Leaders File Amicus Brief Supporting Marriage Equality

In what can only be interpreted as a visible sign of progress, several prominent Republicans have filed an Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court stating that they support marriage equality for the whole United States.

Here’s the story from Time magazine

More than 300 veteran Republican lawmakers, operatives and consultants have filed a friend of the court brief at the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage late Thursday.

The amicus brief, organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, was filed for the four same-sex marriage cases the Court will hear on April 28 that could legalize the unions nationwide. In 2013, Mehlman marshaled a similar effort for the case that overturned California’s Proposition 8, which had banned same-sex marriage in the state.

Among the signatories are 23 current and former Republicans members of the House of Representatives and Senate and seven current and former Governors. Sens. Susan Collins and Mark Kirk have signed onto the brief, as has Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman. Other notables include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal and billionaire GOP mega-donor David Koch.

The 2013 brief included 131 signatures, featured many former top aides to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, including his general counsel and two senior advisors. The list has now grown to 303 signatories.

Next Gen party voices like MSNBC host Abby Huntsman, columnist Meghan McCain and political commentator S.E. Cupp, along with many top-level staffers from Mitt Romney’s 2012 Presidential campaign also join the brief.

Noticeably absent from the signers are any members of the Texas Congressional delegation, or even any former elected officials from the state.  Republicans vying for the Presidency in 2016 like Rand Paul or Chris Christie are also nowhere to be found.

Yet still, this is a welcomed show of strength and bravery for those that were willing to sign on.  They clearly get the message that the Republican Party must move past marriage equality if they expect to be a competitive national force in the future.

But in the end, the fate of marriage equality still rests at the foot of the Supreme Court to decide.  Let’s hope they settle this issue in the United States once and for all this summer.

LGBTQ Nation has a copy of the Amicus Brief.

Greg Abbott: LGBT Texans Aren’t Stable Enough For Marriage

Marriage in most families is a momentous occasion, and for those that choose to walk down the aisle, it marks the beginning of a new life for the wedded couple.  Marriages form a backbone of not only family history, but American history as well.  But for LGBT Texans that treasured history is being not only prevented, but destroyed by the state’s Big Government Attorney General.  As revealed this week, Greg Abbott has decided to be a roadblock to equality yet again, filing an appeal to the recent ruling that struck down the state’s marriage ban.  Here’s the information directly from the full text of the Attorney General’s filing

Texas’s marriage laws are rooted in a basic reality of human life: procreation requires a male and a female.  Two people of the same sex cannot, by themselves procreate.  All the Equal Protection Clause requires is that Texas’s marriage be rationally related to a legitimate state interest.  Texas’s marriage laws easily satisfy that standard.  The state’s recognition and encouragement of opposite sex marriages increases the likelihood that naturally procreative couples will produce children, and that they will do so in the context of stable, long-lasting relationships.  By encouraging the formation of opposite sex marriages, the State seeks not only to encourage procreation but also to minimize the societal costs of procreation outside of stable, lasting marriages.

Curious how the Attorney General, and Republican candidate for Governor keeps bringing up this point about stability.  Clearly Abbott doesn’t think that LGBT Texans are “stable enough” to handle meaningful relationships.  Of course, as the Houston Chronicle points out, these are the very same flawed arguments that have been rejected several times in other Appeals courts…

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) and pro-gay marriage activists were surprised Abbott led with the “responsible procreation” argument since it has been rejected in the 10th and 4th Circuit Courts.

“It hasn’t succeeded very often because it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and it doesn’t really comport with what most of us think about marriage,” said Rebecca Robertson, legal and policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. “(State law) doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be reasonable.”

Any outcome in the 5th Circuit would be a win for the gay marriage movement, said Steve Rudner of Equality Texas.

If the court upholds Judge Garcia’s ruling overturning the ban, it will bolster LGBT activists’ case. If it becomes the first appeals court to toss out such a ruling, creating a circuit court split, it could put the Texas case on a fast-track to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Whether or not this ridiculous appeal is part of some meticulously orchestrated plot to entice the Supreme Court, or if it’s just the Attorney General’s blunt ignorance on display, only time will tell.  But one thing we can be sure of:  Greg Abbott is no friend of the LGBT community, or of any kind of equality for the state of Texas.  He has shown time after time that he doesn’t support women’s rights, property rights, or even the rights to obtain vital information.  This latest infringement on the rights of Texans should not be ignored.  If you care about personal freedom for anyone in any capacity, please do NOT vote for Greg  “Big Government” Abbott this November.

(image credit:  Texas Democratic Party)

Fringe Right LIES To Thwart Houston NDO

It appears as though the far-right is moving to try and stop Houston’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance from passing Council.  Here’s an email received today from Steven Hotze, President of the Conservative Republicans of Texas.  In an effort to enrage their supporters, they’ve renamed the planned NDO the ‘Sexual Predator Protection Act’
Dear Fellow Conservative,
Mayor Annise Parker is introducing a city ordinance on Wednesday, April 30th, at 1:00 pm at City Hall which would create a new minority class for individuals based solely upon their practice of sodomy and other homosexual and lesbian activities. This is outrageous!
This would make those who engage in deviant sexual acts a new minority class equal to African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and other legitimate minorities. This is a slap in the face of true minorities. It is absurd to base a person’s minority status upon a choice of sexual activities or any other activity, for that matter, in which a person is involved. It’s outrageous!
Mayor Anise Parker’s proposed ordinance should be entitled the “Sexual Predator Protection Act.” It would allow men to put on women’s clothing and go into a female bathroom or locker room in both public and in private business locations open to the public. If challenged all he has to say in his defense is that he thinks that he is a woman. Parker and her supporters call this “transgendered.” Most would consider this deviant and perverted behavior. Do you want your mother, wife, girlfriend, daughters or granddaughters to be exposed to this danger? To allow this would be outrageous!
Parker wants to coerce the public, by force of law, to accept her lesbian relationship as morally equivalent to marriage. This violates not only the Texas Constitution Marriage Amendment, but also our Sovereign God’s law for marriage. “For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5)
While we are all sinners in need of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us of our sins, it would be outrageous to allow any group who organizes politically, based upon their sexual activities, to elevate themselves to minority status.
Please call the members of the Houston City Council today and tell them that you are outraged about Parker’s Sexual Predator Protection Act. Tell them the following:
  1. Parker and her supporters’ sexual behavior does not give them a right to a minority status like legitimate racial minorities, and
  2. You do not want girls and women to be exposed to sexual predators in restrooms or showers.
The City Council names and contact information are listed below.
Also, go to City Hall this Wednesday, April 30, for the 1:00 pm city council committee hearing on Parker’s ordinance. It is important for the council members to know that their actions are being watched.
Parker’s “Sexual Predator Protection Act” will be voted on by the Houston City Council on Wednesday, May 7th.
It is critical that you start calling the city council members today and tell them that you are outraged about Parker’s Sexual Predator Protection Act.
Please forward this email letter to your family members, friends, neighbors and business associates.
Committed to advancing Biblical principles, I remain, as always,
Sincerely yours for Constitutional liberty,
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
Just because Houston’s pro-equality movement has made some significant progress in recent weeks doesn’t mean that we’ve won the fight yet.  As you can see, Hotze and his organization are not above spreading as many lies as possible to get what they want.  If this ordinance is to pass, it’s going to take an overwhelming show of support from those that know the truth.So we are clear, here’s some myth-busting from the American Psychological Association

1.) Sexual orientation is NOT a choice.

2) LGBT people are NOT child molesters or sexual deviants
3)  Being LGBT is NOT a disease of any kind.  We all have a sexual orientation and a gender identity.  It is something that you are born with!!
And many more from years of extensive research from the APA.  Remember the meeting at City Hall is tomorrow 2pm, with a rally for equality starting at 1pm.  If you can attend, please do so and help create a better Houston for us all.  There’s also still time to call and email your City Council representatives.  This is for real folks!!
CRT1

Arizona SB1062 is Gone. What’s Next??

Don’t get me wrong… I’m glad that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has spared her state a bitter set of legal battles by vetoing a controversial bill aimed at codifying discrimination under the guise of freedom of religion. It was a terrible piece of legislation, and everyone from the Progressive community to business leaders to even common-sense conservatives could see it was terrible a mile away. People are now celebrating the bill’s defeat, and claiming victory (forever!!) over discrimination.

But here’s the truth folks… SB 1062 is just a symptom of a much larger disease, and that disease can only be cured through the ballot box.

The real question should be: Why do we keep electing these people?? And by people, I don’t just mean Republicans, but anyone that chooses Legislate their narrow-minded beliefs as a substitute for reality. The “this I believe” caucus isn’t just in Arizona, but it’s a disease that has spread throughout every GOP-dominated legislature in this country. These lawmakers refuse to see our nation for what it really is… a diverse mosaic of peoples that will never agree on everything, especially a single set of morals and values. No matter how one chooses to live their personal lives, that choice cannot be enforced upon someone else successfully. The purpose of law is to solve issues, not create them. But for “this I believe” lawmakers, creating problems seems to be the only thing they are good at. Remember before the outrage of SB 1062, both houses of Arizona’s legislature had numerous hearings where people testified, warning them “This bill is discriminatory” “It will cause an uproar throughout the state”. They’re the ones that listened to all arguments for and against, and after (supposedly) weighing things carefully, STILL decided to vote for a ridiculous 2-page prejudice fest.

The central issue here is not the bill, it’s the lawmakers that are cruel enough to send this bill and ones like it to the Governor’s desk. They’ve done it before, and they will do it again.

As much as the populace would like for these lawmakers to learn their lessen, it’s just not going to happen. The only way to break the cycle of extremism in these legislatures (including the US Congress) is to vote the extremists out of office. It’s great that sanity won the battle on SB 1062, but the war can only be won at the ballot box. If you really care about equality, go educate yourself and vote for candidates that support your views.

Free Press Equality Fest: Macklemore and Annise Parker

Perhaps Texas progressives and supporters LGBT equality are approaching our goals from the wrong angle. Maybe what we need is a little less pounding pavement and a little more poppin’ tags.

Take the spectacular events at this weekend’s Free Press Summer Fest in Houston. The two day event (which has been sold out for weeks) hosted some mega music acts, and even landed Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as their second single is atop the Billboard charts. The crowd at the rap duo’s performance was massive, and they were treated to some big surprises. Right before the the hit song Same Love (which promotes marriage equality), Macklemore introduced Houston Mayor Annise Parker to a roaring crowd. Here’s how the Houston Chronicle writer and pop music expert Joey Guerra observed the situation…

Between the party-starting and fur flinging, Macklemore acknowledged Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who greeted him upon arrival at the festival. It was a fitting intro for “Same Love,” the duo’s powerful, poignant ode to the LGBT community.

“She is an amazing person. And one of the coolest things is that she is the first lesbian mayor in the United States of America,” he said.

“I believe in equality. I believe in tolerance. And I believe in change. And I believe that Houston is at the forefront of one of the biggest civil rights movements of our generation.”

Easy to see how that could be viewed as an “endorsement” of sorts. But the rap artist really sums up the main point here… LGBT equality is indeed THE Civil Rights movement of our time. And, at least for Millennials, it’s also a foregone conclusion, crossing virtually all party lines and ideologies. The longer the Republican Party has to hold on to ideas of bigotry and LGBT discrimination, the more young adult voters they are going to lose.

So here is the key for Progressives… how do we get crowds like this one from the theater box to the ballot box? If politicians like Annise Parker ever want to win statewide in Texas, it’s going to take engagement like what we saw from that crowd. But with endorses as cool as Macklemore, I suspect we’ve got a real shot.

Preacher exposes eerie similarities between fight for segregation, gay rights

Appearing before a city council meeting in Springfield, Missouri, Dr. Phil Snyder, an area preacher draws stunning similarities between the arguments we hear today against LGBT equality, and the ones from yesteryear against segregation. He proves, like we suspected, that those arguments are virtually identical.

After changing the words “Racial integration” from direct quotes of white preachers from the 1950s, he replaces it with the term “gay rights”. At the end of the speech, he reveals the true intent to all. This is a video that I hope everyone not only sees, but takes a moment to think about.