The Caucus Blog

ELECTION DAY - VOTE TODAY

2010-03-02T08:29:00.003-06:00

Today is Election Day in Texas, as well as Texas Independence Day, and it is time to get out to vote. The polls are open today, Tuesday, March 2, from 7:00am - 7:00pm. All you need to take with you to cast your vote is your voter registration card or your drivers license and of course your Houston GLBT Caucus list of endorsed candidates. We suggest that you print out the list of GLBT endorsed candidates to prepare you for the LONG Harris County ballot.

VOTE DOWN BALLOT!
Do not worry about those down ballot races. Our members did all the work in deciding who will be best for the GLBT community. In an intensive screening process, some called it the GLBT Bar Exam, each candidate in contested races was asked to screen with a committee of well qualified panelists. None of the candidates from the Republican Party responded to our requests to screen with our group. Each responding candidate was asked to fill out a lengthy questionnaire and sit through a question and answer session with members of the screening committee. Each candidate was scored and a recommendation was made by the screening committee. The recommendation was then taken to the membership for a vote of the full body at a special membership meeting attended by 80+ members. A vote was held for each race and a candidate selected for our endorsement. The down ballot races are extremely important to our community when it comes to issues that effect our daily lives. Follow our lead in voting for our endorsed candidates all the way down the ballot.

Do not forget that voting locations for the Democratic and Republican primaries may be in different locations in the same precinct.

Below is all you will need to cast your vote today.

Click here to find your voting location.

Click here for a list of our endorsed candidates or text "2010" to 24587 for a mobile version.

VOTE TODAY - Houston GLBT Caucus Endorsed Candidates for the 2010 Primary

2010-02-18T16:06:00.002-06:00

On January 30, the Caucus held a special membership meeting, where our members voted to endorse candidates for judicial races for the 2010 primaries in contested races. We met February 3 to endorse in non-judicial primaries. All the following races are for the Democratic Primary. We are a nonpartisan organization, but only Democratic candidates opted to screen. Click here for a printer-friendly version.

This year's ballot is very long, we recommend that you print a copy of our Endorsement Card to take to the polls with you.

Early Vote runs through February 26th - go to www.harrisvotes.com for times and locations

TEXT "2010" to 24587 for a mobile Endorsement Card.

We urge you to vote for these candidates:

U.S. Representative, District 18: Sheila Jackson Lee

U.S. Representative, District 22: Doug Blatt

Governor: Bill White

Lieutenant Governor: Ronnie Earle

Commissioner of the General Land Office: Hector Uribe

Commissioner of Agriculture: Hank Gilbert

State Representative, District 146: Borris L. Miles

113th Civil District Court: Christina Bryan

157th Civil District Court: Chuck Silverman

180th Criminal District Court: Lori Gooch

189th Civil District Court: Andy Pereira

190th Civil District Court: Jim Wrotenbery

234th Civil District Court: Tanner Garth

245th Family District Court: Janiece Horn

247th Family District Court: Clinton “Chip” Wells

248th Criminal District Court: Trent Gaither

270th Civil District Court: Charles Spain

281st Civil District Court: Donna Roth

295th Civil District Court: Paul Simon

308th Family District Court: Bruce Kessler

310th Family District Court: Judy Dougherty

311th Family District Court: Steve Herskowitz

313th Juvenile District Court: Natalie Oakes

314th Juvenile District Court: David Longoria

315th Juvenile District Court: Bill Thursland

County Judge: Gordon Quan

County Court at Law No. 1: Steve Reilley

County Court at Law No. 2: Damian E. LaCroix

County Court at Law No. 3: Damon Crenshaw

County Criminal Court No. 1: Beverly D. Melontree

County Criminal Court No. 2: Mary Connealy Acosta

County Criminal Court No. 13: Dennis Slate

County Criminal Court No. 3: Judith Snively

County Criminal Court No. 9: Silvia Pubchara-Munoz

County Criminal Court No. 12: Robert “Bob” Cardenas

County Probate Court No. 2: Joellen Snow

County Probate Court No. 3: Mary Galligan

County Clerk: Sue Smith Schechter

Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, Place 2: Denise Graves

Help the Houston GLBT Political Caucus Elect Our Pro-GLBT Endorsed Candidates

2010-02-16T11:07:00.003-06:00

Help the Houston GLBT Political Caucus Elect Our Pro-GLBT Endorsed Candidates

Sign Up to Volunteer During Early Voting February 16-26
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Many people turn to the Houston GLBT Political Caucus for how to cast their vote, with our intensive endorsement and screening process that makes sure we choose the best candidates. Now that the decisions have been made, the Caucus needs your help in getting the word out about our endorsed, pro-equality candidates. Early Voting begins Febraury 16 and runs through February 26. Volunteers will be handing out our endorsement card at polls and making phone calls to get out the vote for our candidates.

We will have shifts throughout Early Voting; just let us know when you're available and we will find a time that works for you. No matter how much or little time you have, you can make a difference.

You can sign up by clicking the link below, e-mailing info@thecaucus.org or calling 713-521-1000. We have also created a Facebook event for volunteering during Early Vote which can be viewed on our Facebook Page.

Click Here To Sign Up To Volunteer

For a list of our endorsed candidates click here.

For a list of Early Voting locations and time click here.

Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email: info@thecaucus.org

phone:713-521-1000

website: www.thecaucus.org

Facebook Page: Facebook Link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obama Awards Harvey Milk Presidential Medal of Freedom

2009-07-30T15:00:00.008-05:00

President Barack Obama will posthumously honor assassinated San Francisco City Supervisor and pioneering GLBT rights activist Harvey Milk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House on August 12, 2009. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor a citizen can receive. Milk became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.

"Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens to live their
lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society
and achieve social equality," the White House statement said today.

Harvey Milk is a hero to many in the GLBT movement still today, and he was recently immortalized in the film Milk. His recognition by President Obama marks the importance of political leadership in the fight for equality. The GLBT community is still waiting for President Obama to act as a civil rights leader for the GLBT community as he promised in his campaign by ending Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), pushing for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and expanding same-sex partner benefits to all federal employees. Today our community should celebrate this honor given by the President to one of our greatest elected leaders.

Caucus addresses City Council on harassment

2009-07-28T15:08:00.007-05:00

There's been a lot of talk lately about the issue of workplace harassment in the Houston Fire Department. Knots that appeared to be nooses, which are seen as a symbol of racial hatred against the African American community because of their historical reference to the days of lynching, appeared twice in fire stations, and racist and sexist graffiti appeared on the lockers of another. The matters are under an internal investigation, and external investigations are being considered.

On Monday, Council Member Melissa Noriega called a special meeting of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee to discuss an evaluation of the workplace conditions for HFD employees. The Caucus, which abhors all types of discrimination and harassment, took the position that if an evaluation is being done, it should include sexual orientation and gender identity in those factors. Council Member Noriega invited the Caucus, and president Kris Banks made the following remarks to the committee:

“Thank you, Madame Chair, and thank you, Council Members. Thank you for taking
up this important issue. I am president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, an
organization that advocates for the rights of and for equal opportunity for the
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, or GLBT, community. I come to ask that
the evaluation of the Houston Fire Department being considered today also
include an evaluation of the workplace conditions faced by GLBT fire fighters
and fire department employees.’

“While recent events have brought to the forefront issues of harassment based on race and sex, harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity remains a serious concern. A survey by Lambda Legal showed that 39 percent of GLBT people reported experiencing harassment or discrimination on the job. It is a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that we are often an invisible minority, meaning that cruel jokes can be made and slurs uttered while members of our community are in the same room. Harassment based on sexual orientation, both real and perceived, and gender identity is a serious threat to the workplace conditions of GLBT employees.’

“Federal and state laws do not address sexual orientation or gender identity in
anti-harassment employment matters, so it is incumbent upon our city leaders to
stand up for those public servants who put their lives on the line for our
citizens and happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. While the City
of Houston is examining issues of harassment, it should specifically look into
whether the Houston Fire Department is a safe place for GLBT employees to work,
both in the evaluation being considered today and in all others in the future.
Our public servants deserve it.”

Peter Brown's shameful words

2009-07-17T09:25:00.002-05:00

What was Peter Brown thinking?

Mayoral candidate Peter Brown – who is a member of our GLBT Caucus, who asked for our GLBT endorsement, who called himself “gay-friendly” in our questionnaire – took a not-too-subtle swipe at GLBT people in a press release this week.

In comparing the $477,000 he raised in the first half of 2009 to Annise Parker’s $810,000, Brown said that unlike other candidate’s, he’s not “combing San Francisco and New York for donations.”

It’s not hard to figure what Brown was driving at with that code language. Indeed, we are used to hearing the inevitable references to San Francisco when anti-GLBT politicians argue against GLBT equality.

So what was Brown thinking? Is it sour grapes for not receiving the GLBT Caucus endorsement he actively sought? Is it a flip-flop in the quest for right wing votes? Is it plain and simple hypocrisy?

The next time you see Peter Brown, ask him what he was thinking. Better yet, tell Brown he owes it to our community and all of Houston to stop attacking GLBT people – the City of Houston deserves better.

Caucus-endorsed Parker big winner on finance filings

2009-07-15T20:09:00.002-05:00

From the campaign:

We're Thrilled!

Houston, TX – The candidates for mayor filed their finance reports today – and the big story here is Annise Parker.

Everybody thought Gene Locke would have three times as much money. But Annise Parker has more.

Because he has a limited base of support, Brown is having to spend his personal wealth to try to buy his way into the mayor's office. Let's remember, in 2003 Bill White started out with little name ID. That's the position Brown is in. It took White – who did have an actual base of support – $6 million to get into a runoff spot.

Bottom line – the big story is Annise Parker:
Parker has more cash on hand than Locke.
Parker has more than three times as many individual donations as Locke, and almost twice as many as Brown and Locke combined.
Locke is spending almost twice as much money per month as Parker – simply trying to catch up to the substantial lead Parker entered the race with and continues to grow.
Locke's campaign stated that the evidence of "campaign strength" was raising $383,000 in the last 30 days. But Parker raised more than that during the last 30 days. (If the last 30 days is the mark of campaign strength, it's worth noting that Parker raised 47% of her total contributions in the last 30 days of the period, while Locke raised 33% of his total contributions during that time.)

One thing is clear: Annise Parker is not only the candidate who started out with a strong lead – she's the candidate who continues to grow that lead. Parker's dollars were raised from more individual donors than any other candidate. Parker’s small dollar donors live on a budget, give wisely and will give again and again during this important campaign to steer Houston through tough economic challenges.

Keep up the good work!

Gay couple kicked out of El Paso restaurant for kissing

2009-07-10T09:47:00.010-05:00

In a disturbing story out of El Paso, a gay couple and their three friends were asked to leave a popular Mexican restaurant after the couple was seen kissing. A contracted security guard, hired by Chico's Tacos, asked the group to leave after seeing the couple kissing. The group was told by the security guard,

"Si seguian con sus payasadas, los vamos a sacar de aqui, no permitimos que anden haciendo cosas aqui de jotos. (If you keep clowning around, we are going to get you out of here. We don't permit doing gay things here)."

The group then called police to help them once they had been removed from Chico's. El Paso has a non-discrimination ordinance that prohibits businesses from denying service due to sexual orientation.

The situation was then made worse by the fact that the El Paso police officer responding to the scene stated that the group could be forced to leave under the Texas law on homosexual conduct, Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code. This is the section was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas. The El Paso officer's lack of knowledge of the city non-discrimination ordinance and the State Penal Code is inexcusable. Worsening matters, the day after the incident, the El Paso Police Department released this statement,

"While there is a homosexual conduct ordinance in the state's penal
code, We don't enforce that law, there's been court decisions about Texas' law
on that. We don't enforce it and what happened there wouldn't have even have met
the elements of the offense, even if it had been enforceable."

The El Paso Police Department's decision to reference a law that has been ruled unconstitutional as an excuse for their actions shows a lack of understanding of sensitivity to the GLBT community and extreme poor judgement. It also is an example for the need of sensitivity training for law enforcement officals.

El Paso City Council Members were quick to denounce actions of the restaurant and El Paso Police. After investigating the incident, Eastridge Mid-Valley City Rep. Steve Ortega said he was troubled, not only by the incident itself, but the response by the police spokesman that the restaurant had a right to refuse service though El Paso has an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. "That highly incorrect," Ortega said in response to the Police Department's statement.

There are multiple disturbing issues that are of concern to the GLBT community which arose from this incident. First being the lack of knowledge of the responding officer of the El Paso
ordinance banning discrimination of people due to their sexual orientation. The Police Department's response was also in poor taste. Trying to defend their officer's actions by referencing an unconstitutional law is insulting. The department then tried to explain the mishap by later admitting the responding officer had very little experience.

The fact that Section 21.06 is still on the books as a law in Texas even though it is unconstitutional is something that should be taken up by GLBT supportive State Representatives here in Houston, and the law should be removed from the Texas Penal Code.

A bright spot here is it sounds as if the members of El Paso City Council were extremely upset with the response of their police department, acting swiftly to condemn the incident and ask for better training for their police officers.

One of the members of the group tossed from Chico's, Carlos Diaz de Leon, has filed a complaint with the El Paso Police Department's Internal Affairs Division. We hope this complaint will get to the cause of the sloppy police work and ensure a similar situation does not occur again.

The El Paso Times has the story on the events here and on El Paso City Council's action here.

Equality Texas, Texas' statewide GLBT advocacy group, blogged here on the story.

A local GLBT group in El Paso, Puentes LGBT Resource, released this statement after the incident:

Puentes LGBT Resources Press Release

July 7, 2009

Dear Community,
I am writing you today to bring to light a recent
incident of anti-gay discrimination, which occurred last Sunday night (07-05-09)
at a Chico’s Tacos on the eastside. A group of young gay men were ordered
to leave the restaurant by the security guards because a couple within the group
was kissing inside the restaurant. Outraged by the security guard’s
orders, the group called El Paso Police Department for assistance, but the
police officer who responded to the call defended the security guard’s actions
by stating to the group of men that it was against the law for two men or women
to kiss in public. This is simply untrue. The City of El Paso holds
a city ordinance that protects all individuals from discrimination in public
accommodations. Below is an excerpt of this ordinance. You can find
a full copy of the ordinance athttp://www.elpasotexas.gov/muni_clerk/_documents/ord_15410.pdf

It is unlawful for any person, firm, association or corporation, or any
agent, servant or employee thereof within the City [of El Paso], to refuse, deny
or withhold from any person, for any reason directly or indirectly relating to
the race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, religion, ethnic
background or national origin of such person, any of the accommodations,
advantages, facilities or services offered to the general public by place of
public accommodation.

In closing, everyone has varying views on public displays of affection
(kissing). Some do it; others don’t. Yet we should not lose sight of
the real issue. This story surpasses the question of whether or not any
two individuals kissing is inappropriate in a public place. The core issue
is about equal rights to public accommodations for everyone, including lesbians,
gays, bisexuals and transgender persons. For all the details on this story
please visithttp://www.kvia.com/global/story.asp?s=10659225

Sincerely,
Cesar M. Campa
Board Chair

The Houston GLBT Caucus stands by Puentes LGBT Resources in their efforts to fight discrimination.

Injured patron and Fort Worth Mayor release statements on gay bar raid

2009-07-09T16:59:00.004-05:00

Chad Gibson, the patron who was admitted to the hospital with severe injuries after Fort Worth police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) agents raided a Fort Worth gay bar, has released a statement about the incident.

In an interview, Gibson states, "You know what, they need to accept responsibility of what they did to me and to everyone," Gibson said. "That's all I want – I want
the truth."

Fort Worth's Mayor, Michael Moncrief, has also asked for a federal investigation into the incident. The Dallas Morning News has the story here, and Mayor Moncrief's statement is included below. The swift action by Council Member Joel Burns, Mayor Moncrief, Senator Wendy Davis, and State Rep. Lon Burnam is commendable. The severity of this situation was not lost on them and is shown by their strong demands for investigations into the raid at the local, state, and federal level.

Mayor Moncrief Statement:

We all join in wishing Mr. Gibson a speedy and full recovery.

Currently, two investigations are underway to review the circumstances and events that took place at the Rainbow Lounge early Sunday morning. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) is conducting an investigation and the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division is conducting its own investigation.

I join Police Chief Jeff Halstead in encouraging any eye-witnesses to the events under review to come forward and share their observations.

Members of the City Council and I have confidence that Chief Halstead is leading a thorough and professional investigation. Once the Fort Worth Police Department’s examination is complete, I have asked the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, James T. Jacks, to independently review the findings of the Fort Worth Police Department’s investigation to ensure the department has thoroughly and impartially carried out its obligation to all the citizens of Fort Worth. I encourage the TABC to follow the same course.

Fort Worth has a history of inclusiveness, and the Fort Worth Police Department has a history of responsible and professional service to our citizens. The police department’s internal investigation and the outside review is meant to ensure all citizens are professionally and responsibly represented by our police department. I am most appreciative to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for assisting us in this effort.
Mayor Michael Moncrief

Washington D.C. begins recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages

2009-07-07T12:26:00.008-05:00

Washington D.C. begins recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions today. Same-sex couples will not be able to marry in Washington D.C., but the marriages from other states will be recognized in the District. As of now, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), allows states to deny marital rights to same-sex couples who were legally married elsewhere. Here is a quick run-down of how things will work in D.C. from the Washington Post. Gay marriage is legal in four states, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, and Massachusetts, with New Hampshire and Vermont joining them in coming months. Marriages performed in California before Prop. 8 will also be recognized.

Senator Wendy Davis and Representative Lon Burnam release joint statement on Rainbow Lounge raid

2009-07-06T10:49:00.008-05:00

Newly elected State Senator Wendy Davis (D-District 10, Tarrant County) and State Representative Lon Burnam (D-District 90, Tarrant County) released a joint statement calling for a detailed investigation into the tactics used by Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) during the raid of Rainbow Lounge. The statement was released by the two Fort Worth area electeds after a meeting with TABC officials. They also stated that Chad Gibson's family deserved answers. Chad is still recovering from severe injuries suffered during the raid while in police custody. The swift action by these two state officials shows the importance of electing equality supportive candidates. Senator Wendy Davis was elected last November with the support of Fort Worth and Dallas area GLBT groups. She unseated long time Republican incumbent Kim Brimer for the District 10 seat, the only seat to switch parties in the last election. The Houston GLBT Caucus is grateful for their work at the state level to ensure a quick and thorough investigation into the raid on Rainbow Lounge. Their statement is included below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Bernie Scheffler - 512.463.0110

July 1, 2009

Today State Senator Wendy R. Davis and State Representative Lon Burnam issued the following joint statement.

From: State Senator Wendy Davis and State Representative Lon Burnam

Re: Incident at Rainbow Lounge, 651 Jennings Ave., Fort Worth on June 28, 2009

We want to provide you with an update of our response to concerns raised about the actions taken by City of Fort Worth Police officers and Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission agents on the early morning of June 28, 2009 at the Rainbow Lounge, which is located in the Fort Worth portion of the districts that we represent. We are deeply concerned about eye witness accounts of the events that occurred that morning and intend to activate all possible investigatory methods to learn the truth about those events.

As part of learning as much information as possible about the incident at issue, we requested a meeting with Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission. As a consequence of that request, today we met with TABC representatives Joel Moreno, Chief of Field Operations, and Carolyn Beck, Public Information Officer. In that meeting, we made a very detailed request for information regarding the factual events that occurred at the Rainbow Lounge on both June 25, 2009, when TABC agents first conducted investigation activity at that location, and on June 28, 2009, when TABC agents returned to that location. Additionally, we requested detailed information with regard to the TABC agents' compliance or non-compliance with procedures and policies of TABC as those are expressed in the TABC Enforcement Division Policy, Procedures & Forms manual.

It is our hope that through a thorough investigation and analysis of the events that occurred at the Rainbow Lounge, particularly in the early morning hours of June 28, our community and those outside our community who have raised concerns, will be able to get the answers they need to their valid questions. Most importantly, Chad Gibson and his family, for whom we are deeply concerned, deserve answers.

To that end, we intend to make a written request to TABC for answers to the questions raised in the meeting that we held today. Tomorrow, we will issue a joint letter detailing that request.
Additionally, in order to assure that we and the community at large receive the answers deserved regarding the events of that morning, it is our hope that an objective, outside investigation be made which would examine internal investigation reports of both the Fort Worth Police Department and the TABC, as well as eye witness accounts. Through such an independent review, truth will be best assured. Our community deserves to know whether unacceptable actions were taken at the Rainbow Lounge, and, to the extent they did, that the persons responsible for those actions will be held accountable.

###

Senator Wendy Davis (D-District 10, Tarrant County)

Representative Lon Burnam (D-District 90, Tarrant County)

Sheila Jackson Lee signs letter asking President Obama to end investigations into DADT

2009-07-02T13:22:00.013-05:00

Thank you to Houston Area Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee for signing a letter sent to President Obama asking him to use his stop-loss power to end investigations against soldiers accused of violating "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). DADT bans service members in the military from serving as openly gay. The Houston GLBT Caucus screened and endorsed President Barack Obama. We hope that President Barack Obama will keep his campaign promise of repealing DADT sooner rather than later.

Fort Worth Council Member Joel Burns' statement regarding the raid of Rainbow Lounge

2009-07-01T11:48:00.010-05:00

Those of you who follow us on Facebook and Twitter are aware of the Fort Worth and State Police raid of Rainbow Lounge, a gay bar in Fort Worth. The raid occurred 40 years to the day of the raid of the Stonewall Inn. The raids left one patron, Chad Gibson, 26, in the hospital with severe head trauma. The police have since admitted that Chad received his injuries while in police custody. Our thoughts are with him and his family as he recovers in a Fort Worth area hospital. Here are some articles and video about the raid from CNN and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Openly gay Fort Worth Council Member Joel Burns has been active in demanding a swift and thorough investigation into the raid. His exemplary actions in the aftermath of the incident are a prime example of why elected GLBT representation at every level of government is needed. The Houston GLBT Caucus applauds his actions. Here is his statement.

Update & response to those who emailed me in the last 48 hours.

I wanted to let you know that I have received your email (along with hundreds of others) regarding the events that occurred at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth's Near Southside Sunday morning.
I want to provide you with an update of some of the actions I and others in the City have taken since the incident.
Monday I met with my predecessor on Council, State Senator Wendy Davis, and spoke with State Representative Lon Burnam by phone. Both represent the area of Fort Worth where the Rainbow Lounge is located (as well as representing most of City Council District 9) and both committed to make official requests Monday for a thorough internal investigation by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on actions of TABC officers (shown in photos on some blogs & news sites wearing shirts labeled "State Police"). Both also committed to follow-up from Austin as they begin the Governor's called Special Session on Wednesday. I appreciate not only their quick and ready action, but also their support and friendship in recent days. If you would like to contact them, you may do so at wendy.davis@senate.state.tx.us and lon.burnam@house.state.tx.us .
In addition, I met separately with Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead twice Monday and with City Manager Dale Fisseler. I reiterated to both of them that the City's investigation of what happened must be swift, thorough, open and transparent -- even if doing so required an outside law enforcement agency such as Tarrant County to come in and conduct portions of the investigation. It is important for those who live in Fort Worth as well as those watching from around the country to know that the investigation will be complete, accurate, and without anyone being able to claim that internal bias or political pressures played any role in determining the facts. Such an investigation not only serves the patrons who experienced the police action Sunday morning, but also sets the record straight for Fort Worth Police officers involved and honors their commitment to serve the City.
So that you may be fully informed of my actions, provided below this e-mail is the text of two written requests I made on Monday to Chief Halstead and City Manager Fisseler as well as to the Chairman of the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission, Estrus Tucker, and my appointee Lisa Thomas. The content of the statement I issued on Sunday afternoon is provided below as well.
I also want to share with you that on Monday afternoon I visited with Chad Gibson, the 26-year-old patron who sustained head-injuries Sunday morning, in his room at JPS Hospital. We were joined by two of his friends who were also at the Rainbow Lounge with Chad Sunday morning and also detained by police. I heard their accounts of what happened. I also visited with Chad's parents and grandparents in the waiting room and with his sister by phone. I hope you will please keep Mr. Gibson and his family in your thoughts.
If you or anyone you know was a witness to what happened at the Rainbow Lounge and wish to report your account please call 817-392-4270 as this may aid the City's investigation.
Like most of you, I love this great City, and am concerned about the unanswered questions surrounding this event. You can be assured that I will work with my Council colleagues and City staff to determine the facts and to make sure we have the appropriate policies, procedures and training in place to make sure it does not happen again.
Again, thank you for your email. Feel free to contact me anytime. This is my direct City email address and my office number is 817-392-8809.
Sincerely,
Joel Burns
Councilmember, District 9, City of Fort Worth
-------------------------------------------------

June 29, 2009
Dear City Manager and Police Chief,
I am writing to request that you immediately initiate an internal affairs investigation regarding the City of Fort Worth Police Action in coordination with the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission on the early morning of June 28th at the Rainbow Lounge located at 651 Jennings Street.
I wish to have comprehensive and conclusive information to respond to citizens requests regarding this matter as soon as possible. Please inform my office when this investigation will commence, the step by step procedures that are taken in such an investigation and when an investigation of this nature can be concluded with due diligence to thoroughness and accuracy given great consideration. Further, please provide a copy of written procedures and policies which govern the conduct of such police actions.
Sincerely,
Joel Burns
--------------------------------------------------
June 29, 2009
Dear Chairman Tucker,
I am writing to request the Human Relations Commission initiate a review of the actions taken by the City of Fort Worth in coordination with the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission on the early morning of June 28th at the Rainbow Lounge located at 651 Jennings Street.
I wish to have comprehensive and conclusive information to respond to citizens requests regarding this matter as soon as possible as it relates the Anti-Discrimination Ordinances of The City of Fort Worth. I greatly appreciate the Commission’s dedication and service to protecting the human rights of all citizens of Fort Worth and your consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely,
Joel Burns
Cc: Vanessa Boling
-----------------------------------------
Statement from Councilman Joel Burns
I want all citizens of Texas and Fort Worth to know and be assured that the laws and ordinances of our great State and City will be applied fairly, equally and without malice or selective enforcement. I consider this to be part of "The Fort Worth Way" here. As an elected representative of the city of Fort Worth, I am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation of the actions of the City of Fort Worth Police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in relation to the incident at the Rainbow Lounge earlier this morning, June 28, 2009.
It is unfortunate that this incident occurred in Fort Worth and even more so to have occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall protests. Unlike 40 years ago, though, the people of this community have elective representation that will make sure our government is accountable and that the rights of all of its citizens are protected. I am working together with our Mayor, Police Chief, the City of Fort Worth Human Relations Commission, and our State Legislative colleagues to get a complete and accurate accounting of what occurred.
Rest assured that neither the people of Fort Worth, nor the city government of Fort Worth, will tolerate discrimination against any of its citizens. And know that the GLBT Community is an integral part of the economic and cultural life of Fort Worth.
Every Fort Worth citizen deserves to have questions around this incident answered and I am working aggressively toward that end.
Thank you,
Joel
Joel Burns
Councilmember, District 9, City of Fort Worth
817-392-8809 • District Office
817-209-5555 • Mobile (City)
joel.burns@fortworthgov.org
OPEN RECORDS NOTICE: This email and any responses may be subject to the Texas Open Records laws and may be disclosed to the public upon request. Please respond accordingly.

Pride

2009-06-26T17:39:00.004-05:00

Pride

By Nick Hellyar

This week, we celebrate Pride in Houston. This year’s Pride Parade marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York. The Stonewall riots were the catalyst sparking the modern gay rights movement. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. It was a scary time to be gay. People feared being arrested for simply being in a certain place or having their pictures printed in the newspapers, knowing they would be fired if they were outed. Today, the GLBT community fights for equality; then, they fought to exist. The gay community had never fought back against the oppression it had faced. They refused to be taken to jail, they refused to give identification. Some were let go by police, but instead of scattering as they usually did, they stayed and gathered in the street. The crowd grew as the few police officers who raided the bar waited for more officers to arrive. As patrons were being led out, some began to resist. The crowd joined the fracas, and rioting broke out. Years of oppression spilled into the streets of Greenwich Village. The riots continued for days. Our community had risen up for the first time. A year later, in cities around the country people marched to commemorate the event. Some were called “Gay Liberation Day” some were called “Gay Freedom Day,” today we call it simply PRIDE. This week, we march to commemorate the beginning of our movement and to celebrate what has been accomplished since.

July 4 marks another anniversary for the City of Houston, the killing of Paul Broussard. He was beaten to death by ten teenage boys from the Woodlands who wanted to “beat up some queers,” as one defendant put it. Paul was 27, my age. It is hard for me and many of my peers to comprehend someone could be killed for merely being gay, that only forty years ago people could not be openly gay for fear of being arrested, and that only eighteen years ago someone was murdered for being gay right here in Houston. It is also hard for our generation to understand the depth and depravity of the AIDS crisis without experiencing it. People learned daily another friend had died. I have be told stories from one of my mentors, openly gay City Council Member Sue Lovell, of how many gay establishments there used to be in Montrose and the wonderful vibrant gay community of the 70’s and 80’s. I asked her once, “Where are all those people and businesses today?” She simply said, “They all died,” referring to all those who were lost to AIDS. I had heard and read of the horror of the AIDS crisis, but this was the first time I could comprehend the severity of those times.

Today we can freely rent apartments, be openly gay at work without fear of being fired, and for the most part exist free of shame and trepidation. Gay youth feel comfortable coming out at a younger age. The GLBT community has made its way into the mainstream of American culture. Gay characters commonly appear on television, though it was just twelve years ago Ellen DeGeneres’ coming out episode was banned from several stations and was preceded by a parental warning before airing. Opponents of gay rights and gay equality are fighting a losing battle. Being gay is not a divisive issue with my generation. Given that it is easier to be gay these days, it can sometimes be difficult for younger GLBT people to identify with with the struggles of the past generations of their community. Many young people may not have heard of the Stonewall riots, they may not have heard of Paul Broussard’s murder, they do not know what it is like to lose dozens of friends to a horrifying illness, and they do not know what it was like to live in fear of merely being who they are in public. Recently, this is where complacency has taken hold in the gay rights movement especially with GLBT youth. However, acceptance and toleration are not equality. The recent set backs, such as state constitutional bans on gay marriage and the Prop 8 fiasco in California, have proven that there is still a long battle ahead. There is a buzz in the community that many have not felt in a while. Many of us, who have grown up with it being acceptable to be gay, have had their eyes opened to the fact that we are still not equal, and realizing we have laws of our country, our state, and our city affirming that we are not equal. Living a life being tolerated or accepted is not the same as living as an equal member of society. The complacency is now being thrown aside.

So this week we celebrate. We observe who we are and our community’s accomplishments. As you gather for Pride, take time to remember how we got here. Remember those who fought back in the Stonewall riots, remember the thousands that would be standing next to you that were lost to AIDS, remember Paul Broussard and Matthew Shepard, remember the struggle the generations before us went through so that we may live as who we are. Celebrate but remember, we have come a long way and have a long way to go.

Nick Hellyar is the Vice President of the Houston GLBT Caucus
nhellyar@thecaucus.org

How To Caucus On Election Evening

2008-03-01T16:11:00.004-06:00

The caucus process, as opposed to our organization the Caucus, is rather complicated. I will update this as I get a handle on it myself and find resources to give our readers.

The Houston Chronical has a guide to Texas' electoral two-step.

The caucus — officially dubbed a "precinct convention" — begins at 7:15 p.m. or when the polls close, whichever is later.

Caucus-goers arrive and put their names and presidential preference on the "sign-in sheet." Ideally, they should show proof of having voted in the Democratic primary, but it is not absolutely necessary, according to the Harris County Democratic Party.

The group first elects a chair and secretary. Those two then take a count, noting the total number of people and how many are for Obama or Clinton. Delegates then are distributed proportionally.

For example, say 100 people show up at a given precinct on Tuesday night. If 75 of them support Clinton, and 25 support Obama, then she gets 75 percent of the delegates and he gets 25 percent. If the precinct has 20 delegates to allot, Clinton gets 15, Obama 5.

[Posted by Amy]

The Caucus Endorses Obama

2008-02-29T14:53:00.005-06:00

This is an historic time for the Caucus. Harris county and Texas are seeing unprecidented turn-out in early voting. In these frantic days before the March 4 election, both Senators Clinton and Obama have taken the time to seek our endorsement.

Due to the timing of our screening, the board members are the ones to make this decision. It was empowered by the membership at the February 6 meeting to do so. This was not an easy decision as both are wonderful candidates. We considered a "no endorsement", however we felt it necessary to endorse since they gave us the opportunity to screen them and as individuals either would have our backing. After thoughtful deliberations, we have chosen to endorse Senator Barack Obama for president.

The Caucus press release is available here.

Obama campaign's website on GLBT issues.

Coverage: The Burnt Orange Report
Coverage: Off the Kuff

A Note From Robert Schaffer

2008-02-07T16:41:00.000-06:00

I want to thank the Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC for your endorsement of my campaign for Judge of the 152nd Civil District Court. I fully appreciate the value of this endorsement and I intend to list this endorsement on any printed material I produce for the remainder of this election. I also appreciate the desire of all of the members of the caucus and the community to be treated fairly with courtesy, dignity and respect when you are in any of the many courtrooms in any of the Harris County Courthouses. If I am elected to the bench you have my assurance that this will be done whenever you come into the 152nd District Court. Thanks again and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Robert Schaffer
Candidate for Judge, 152nd District Court

- Posted by Amy

Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC Endorsements

2008-02-07T16:24:00.002-06:00

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC is pleased to announce its endorsed candidates for the 2008 March 4 Primary:

U.S. President - Barack Obama
U.S. Senate - Rick Noriega
U.S. Representative - Dist. 10 Dan Grant
Railroad Commissioner - Dale Henry
Texas Supreme Court, Place 7 - Sam Houston
Texas Supreme Court, Place 8 - Susan Criss
State Representative, Dist. 46 - Brian Thompson
State Representative, Dist. 127 - Joe Montemayor
State Representative, Dist. 129 - Sherrie Matula
State Representative, Dist. 133 - Kristi Thibaut
State Representative, Dist. 138 - Ginny McDavid
State Representative, Dist. 140 - Armando Walle
State Representative, Dist. 145 - Carol Alvarado
State Representative, Dist. 146 - Borris Miles
State Representative, Dist. 147 - Garnet Coleman
State Representative, Dist. 148 - Jessica Farrar
First Court of Appeals, Place 5 - Leslie Taylor
Judge, Civil Dist. 61 - Alfred "Al" Bennet
Judge, Civil Dist. 80 - Tanner Garth
Judge, Civil Dist. 125 - Jim Wrotenbery
Judge, Civil Dist. 127 - R. K. Sandill
Judge, Civil Dist. 151 - Michael Engelhart
Judge, Civil Dist. 152 - Robert Schaffer
Judge, Civil Dist. 164 - Alexandra Smoots-Hogan
Judge, Civil Dist. 190 - Andres Pereira
Judge, Civil Dist. 215 - Steve Kirkland
Judge, Criminal Dist. 174 - Ruben Guerrero
Judge, Criminal Dist. 176 - Shawna Reagin
Judge, Criminal Dist. 179 - Randy Roll
Judge, Criminal Dist. 337 - Herb Ritchie
Judge, Criminal Dist. 339 - Maria T. Jackson
Judge, Criminal Dist. 351 - Silvia Pubchara
Judge, Family Dist. 312 - Robert Hinojosa
Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1, Place 1 - Dale Gorczynski
Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2, Place 1 - Raymond Stewart
Justice of the Peace, Pct. 6, Place 1 - Richard Vara
County Judge - David Mincberg
District Attorney - Brad Bradford
County Attorney - Vince Ryan
District Clerk - Loren Jackson
County Sheriff - Adrian Garcia
County Tax Collector/Assessor - Diane Trautman
County School Trustee, Pos. 5 - Debbie Kerner
Commissioner, Pct. 3 - Dexter Handy
Constable, Pct. 1 - Jack Abercia
Constable, Pct 7 - May Walker
Precinct Chair, #1 - C. Patrick McIlvain

“Very difficult decisions had to be made, and I am very proud of the work everyone has done to make this one of our largest endorsement rosters. We look forward to our success in the March Primary,” said Jenifer Pool, President of the Caucus, which held its PAC meeting on Wednesday evening, February 6.

The Caucus meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. The monthly meeting is held at the Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama. Visitors are encouraged to attend the monthly meeting to learn more about the Caucus. For more information about the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Caucus events, or volunteer opportunities call 713-521-1000, email info@thecaucus.org, or visit our web site at www.theCaucus.org. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC, Rose Wall, Treasurer.

Brian Thompson: Running Proud

2008-01-08T17:56:00.000-06:00

Texas has an openly gay man running for the Texas House: Brian Thompson. Pretty cool... and he's running against Dawna Dukes, one of the infamous Craddick Ds. By supporting Craddick, Dukes, a Democrat from Austin, has enabled policies that have severely hurt the GLBT community -- most notably the anti-marriage amendment, prop 2.

It's really great to see a young, competent, gay man running to defeat Dukes. The Caucus has many battles ahead of us right here in Harris county, but we should show our support and interest in Brian Thompson's cause.

Here's how Brian recently introduced himself:

My name is Brian Thompson and I’m running for Texas State Representative in House District 46. With your help, on March 4, I will become the only openly gay member of the Texas Legislature.

I am writing because in order for me to win, I need your help.

Donate
My opponent’s largest donor is a man named Bob Perry. He is the largest Republican donor in Texas, funded the infamous “Swift Boat” ads that derailed the John Kerry campaign, and he contributed $150,000 to a right-wing, anti-gay group called “Texans for Marriage.” This group was one of the vehicles used to support (and pass) Proposition 2 in November of 2005, the unnecessary and hateful Constitutional Amendment that banned gay marriage in Texas. Even though my opponent is a Democrat, she is funded by Republicans, and she continues to support, endorse and enable Republican Speaker Tom Craddick.
Since announcing my candidacy just before Christmas, we have already raised more than $10,000 from 90 community activists, grassroot Democrats, and members of the GLBT community online. Like me, these donors want real representation and change for East Austin. You can view our incredible results on ActBlue.

300!

2008-01-03T11:18:00.000-06:00

I was just informed that our Caucus army has reached a historic milestone. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus may now proudly claim 300 active, contributing members. This the largest number of members our organization has ever had. Our database of progressive contacts, who share our drive for equality, also continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, as we modernize our cataloging and voter identification methods. Furthermore, during our most recent get-out-the-vote campaign, the Caucus organized a remarkable number of new volunteers. No one could remember a time when we had so many volunteers.

I imagine that most people don't know the rich history of the Caucus. We've been working elections since 1975. Back then, our efforts were covert. Candidates met us secretly, and we promoted our goals in whisper campaigns. Today, we're heralded in the Houston Chronicle and across the progressive blogosphere. We're the oldest GLBT political activist group in the South, and, though we've had a mixed history of success, last night at our January general meeting, Ray Hill, Houston's legendary activists, spoke passionately about the confidence he has in the current leadership and vision of our organization. We're growing and winning, but, as Rick Noriega, last night's guest speaker and Democratic candidate for the U.S. senate, said, "The best is yet to come."

We have great momentum. Equality is in sight, and, with your help, 2008 will be our most successful year yet.

Join the Caucus.

Chron Credits Caucus

2007-12-14T12:22:00.000-06:00

From the Houston Chronicle:

Montrose, on the map an awkward appendage to a district that covers the
south side of the city, provided almost all of the margin of victory for
candidate Wanda Adams in Saturday's runoff election contest against
Lawrence Allen Jr.

Adams, who lives in the Hiram Clarke neighborhood several miles to the
south, had worked in the Montrose area and was backed by the Houston
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Political Caucus.

Allen never sought the endorsement of the caucus, which ran an
aggressive voter turnout program in support of Adams.

The group exploited its database with contact information for more than
30,000 friendly voters throughout Harris County.

In some Montrose precincts, Adams garnered more than 85 percent of the
vote. Allen's showing was not as strong in any single precinct in the
district.

Adams won with 57.2 percent of the 8,183 votes cast.

"I thank the citizens and voters of Montrose," Adams said. "They really
wanted their voice to be heard."

Congratulations to everyone - volunteers, screening committee members, block walkers, phone bankers - that participated in this fall's victory strategy.

Victory!

2007-12-14T11:03:00.000-06:00

The process of vetting and endorsing candidates is arduous and sometimes contentious, but when the GLBT community commits itself, works together, and, most importantly, when we speak out about our needs and our vision for the future of Houston, we win!

The Caucus was victorious in 16 of the 17 races in which we endorsed in the November general election and December runoff election, including the city council race for District D which encompasses the Montrose Area. Unofficial canvass reports from Harris County had Adams winning Montrose by about 800 total votes, receiving 88% of the vote in those precincts. The Caucus orchestrated an unprecedented get out the vote campaign that paid off big time. The GLBT Caucus also endorsed Jolanda Jones, At-Large 5 and James Rodriguez, District I for Houston City Council. With the election of this new generation of progressive, equality focused city leaders, the Caucus looks forward to helping Houston City Council move forward in granting equal rights to GLBT citizens.

Now that all the votes have been counted and things have turned out so well, I think we should acknowledge how important this election was for our organization. We grew this fall. Our screening committee invested a lot of time investigating the HISD bond. We took a big risk, being the first the civic organization to endorse the proposal, but our activism made the difference. Just like in Wanda Adam's race, Montrose and the GLBT block vote provided, in large part, the margin of victory.

I think Caucus President Jennifer Rene Pool said it best: “We are not a special interest group; we are a general interest group. That is why we endorsed in the HISD, county, and state bond elections as well. Our focus is on cleaner air, better public schools, increasing public safety, and electing quality progressive candidates. We want a better Houston for our families, and that starts by electing the best candidates.”

Join the Caucus. Support our efforts.

A Letter from Wanda Adams

2007-12-07T07:17:00.000-06:00

I am writing to humbly ask for your vote in the Runoff Election for Houston City Council District D this Saturday, December 8^th. I received the most votes in District D for the General Election, including an overwhelming majority in the Montrose, Midtown, and Museum District areas. My work is not done though. I am asking that you turn out one more time to vote this Saturday, December 8^th. With the low turn out expected in this Runoff Election, EVERY VOTE WILL COUNT!

My endorsements include the Houston Chronicle, current District D Council Member Ada Edwards, Council Member Sue Lovell, the Houston Fire Fighters, the Houston Police Officers, and the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.

Helping to create good, healthy, quality lives for Houstonians has always been my passion. Over the years, whether as a student at TSU or as an employee of this great city, I have served the citizens of Houston by working directly with the Super Neighborhoods and the civic clubs of District D to address issues of infrastructure, affordable housing, and to increase constituent services. My commitment to the environment has led me to conduct community education workshops, which educate citizens about recycling and solid waste procedures of the City of Houston. As a result of these efforts, the Mayor asked me to coordinate Houston’s “Go Green Initiative.” I believe “Experience is the Difference” in this race and I hope that you cast your vote for me, Wanda Adams, this Saturday, December 8^th.

In District D:

I have faith in our ability to create significant economic development opportunities;
I have faith in our ability to improve the environmental quality of our neighborhoods;
I have faith in our ability to increase public safety for all citizens;
I have faith in our ability to provide affordable housing options for those who dream of home ownership;
I have faith in our ability to improve the quality of the roads and sidewalks that lead them home.

These issues impact District D every day, and are the issues I will spend my time on council addressing.

For your voting locations please go to www.harrisvotes.org or for more information on me please go to www.wandaadamsforhouston.com.

Sincerely,

Wanda Adams

Block Walk for Jo and Wanda

2007-11-30T15:16:00.000-06:00

Block Walk

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Houston Stonewall Young Dems, and the Harris County Young Dems will be block walking for Wanda Adams and Jolanda Jones Saturday at noon.

We are meeting at Lanier Middle School (Westheimer @ Woodhead).

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus is the center of a growing coalition of Houstonians that have positive vision for the future of Houston. Come out and walk. Join our coalition to make Houston a better city for all our families.

Progressive Blog Round-Up

2007-11-12T06:51:00.001-06:00

It's Monday, and that means it is time once again for the Texas Progressive Alliance's Texas Blog Round-Up. This week's round-up is brought to you by Vince from Capitol Annex.

TXsharon at Bluedaze sounds an alert about an investigative report exposing The Most Toxic Substance on Earth and the Barnett Shale gas exploration.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is disgusted with UT Southwestern Medical Center's policy of using state funds to give the 'elite' special treatment while the rest of us languish.

McBlogger wants to know why Barney Frank is loving on big banks with his Kill The Mortgage Market bill, HR 3915.

Xanthippas at Three Wise Men says be on the look out for how credit card and home mortgage lenders will screw you by making you pay debts you don't actually owe.

Muse finds herself in the middle of a massive police presence and wonders if she has wandered into a manhunt. Nah, not an escaped convict, just W in town to get slobbered on by his lapdog, John Cornyn, at a fundraiser.

At Half Empty, Hal questions whether Congressmen Lantos' and Smith's excoriation of Yahoo! chiefs for releasing information to the ChiComs, is just the pot calling the kettle black.

Burnt Orange Report is all over the runoff for HD 97. Todd Hill gives an analysis of on the ground action and why Democrat Dan Barrett came in first place to secure a runoff spot in the HD 97 race this past week. Phillip Martin breaks down the numbers and price-per-vote, while also looking at some possibly illegal practices by the Republican in the runoff, Mark Shelton.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston writes about Bay Area Houston State Representative John Davis being slapped by the Ethics Watchdog. Again.

The Texas Cloverleaf's hide is chapped by the abolishment of the hide inspectors and calls for a new Texas Constitutional Convention.

BossKitty at BlueBloggin points out how the Bush administration shows their support for veterans and the troops in US Tax Dollars NOT Spent on Homeless Veterans - Words Are Cheaper.

Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal fills us in on Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson's announcement of the delay in the sale of the Christmas Mountains, as well as the reaction of Environment Texas.

Lightseeker at Texas Kaos tells that gigantic slurping sound from a few acres of scrub in north Texas was just T. Boone Pickens stealing water rights..

Vince at Capitol Annex has some reservations about the fact that the Bill White 2010 bandwagon is already rolling down the tracks.

WhosPlayin takes a look at an aspiring new "non-partisan" political party - the GOOOH party.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News had one of his (in)famous what I did election day posts.

PDiddie is fed up with Democrats like Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer, and intends to support only members of the Democratic Party such as Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards. He clarifies the distinction in "The Democrat Party vs. the Democratic Party", at Brains and Eggs.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson has video of the TCRP's Scott Medlock Discussing Williamson County, T. Don Hutto, & CCA.

Off the Kuff does a little after action review by examining his Election Day predictions to see how they turned out.

Congratulations!

2007-11-08T22:04:00.000-06:00

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC is proud to announce its exceptional successes in this November’s election. This is an extraordinary successful endorsement roster:

State Prop 15 Cancer Research For: Passed

County Prop 6 Port Bond For: Passed

HISD Bond For: Passed

Mayor Bill White: Re-elected

Controller Annise Parker: Re-elected

At-Large Position 1 Peter Brown: Re-elected

At-Large Position 2 Sue Lovell: Re-elected

At-Large Position 3 Melissa Noriega: Re-elected

At-Large Position 4 Ron Green: Re-elected

At-Large Position 5 Jolanda Jones: The highest percentage and in the Run-off

District B Jarvis Johnson: Re-elected

District C Anne Clutterbuck: Re-elected

District D Wanda Adams: The highest percentage and in the Run-off

District H Adrian Garcia: Re-elected

District I James Rodriguez: Elected with a substantial percentage difference

HISD, District 4 Paula Harris: Elected with a substantial percentage difference

HCCS Trustee, District 1 Kevin J. Hoffman: Lost by 250 votes

“We had an outstanding day on Tuesday, November 6,” said Jenifer Pool, president of the Caucus. “This is a very rare moment. The Caucus almost had 100%. Everyone who volunteered worked exceptionally hard and made all the difference. We are now immediately turning our attention to the run-offs. We have two extraordinary people we have to get elected, Jolanda Jones and Wanda Adams.”

“This is truly amazing. The Caucus almost called every race,” said Maria C. Gonzalez, vice president of the Caucus. “Now, however, we have to get-out-the-vote for Jolanda and Wanda.”

Evil Genuis: Not Just Racist... He's Homophobic Too

2007-10-22T07:05:00.000-05:00

Dr. James Watson,the famous scientist who discovered the architecture of DNA, talks about the human genome and abortion:

"If you could find the gene which determines sexuality and a woman decides she doesn't want a homosexual child, well, let her."

Dr. Watson, along with his research partner Francis Crick, won the the Nobel Prize for discovering DNA's "double helix" design. He's been in the news lately because he's now claiming that black people are genetically predisposed to stupidity. From the Sunday Times of London:

[Watson] is "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really." He claims to hope that everyone is equal, but he counters that "people who have to deal with black employees find this not true." He says that you should not discriminate on the basis of colour, because "there are many people of colour who are very talented, but don’t promote them when they haven’t succeeded at the lower level."

Yeah... James Watson is a jerk... So I've starting collecting Watson quotes for a soon to be released 2008 desk calender. Here are some highlights:

"People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would be great"
Claiming that skin color and sex drive are linked: "That's why you have Latin lovers... You've never heard of an English lover. Only an English patient."
"Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you're not going to hire them."

This Week in the Blogosphere

2007-10-22T06:50:00.000-05:00

There's been a bit of a lull here on the blog this week -- I've been extremely busy. If anyone has some interesting news or analysis they'd like to post, e-mail to thecaucusblog@gmail.com.

Anyway, let's review some of the great stuff other bloggers looked into this week:

PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has an advance of the Max Cleland-Karl Rove debate, coming up this Friday, October 26.

Diarist Scott Cobbat Texas Kaos updates us on the growing movement to hold rogue Judge Sharon Keller accountable for her callous disregard for the responsibility of the Appeals court while she displays her intoxication with its power.

State Senator Craig Estes, Senate District 30, was given numerous examples of Texas Railroad Commission malpractice, negligence, incompetence and cronyism at his recent Town Hall Meeting in Wise County. TXsharon at Bluedaze asks: Will Senator Estes Investigate the RRC's Malpractice?

Adam at Three Wise Men looks into the future to give us his expert opinion on the 2010 Texas Gubernatorial race.

McBlogger has been keeping a watchful eye on what's happening in Congress with FISA expansion.

At Half Empty, Hal ponders the question: which Republican candidate can the evangelicals support for President?

Muse vs. State Senator Eltife. A whole lotta safe sex going on or should the the State of Texas get involved in adults getting free condoms on campus?

Todd Hill at Burnt Orange Report interviews Dan Barrett, the only Democrat in the special election race for HD 97 in Fort Worth.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson reports on some unbelievable statements made by County Commissioner Cynthia Long on the children that are being detained at the T. Don Hutto facility in Taylor, Texas.

Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at a State Representative, Fred Brown (R-Bryan), who has scheduled an oversight hearing of an agency that is investigating his business partner.

Bradley at North Texas Liberal celebrates one of the first and only times Sen. John Cornyn has been on the right side of the issue: securing H-2B visas for seasonal workers and joining with Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland to help save small business... at least for another year.

Are government emails covered by open record laws? Off the Kuff takes a look.

CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme wonders if a Dallas minister will lose his church's tax exempt status by slamming Mitt Romney because 'he's not a Christian.'

Nytexan at BlueBloggin wonders why Homeland Security purchases products from China when Americans industry is disappearing and jobs are declining.

The Texas Cloverleaf looks into the pending libel and slander lawsuit against Dallas Republicans, including State Rep. Tony Goolsby.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News updated on political news and gossip in the Pasadena area. Like most gossip one item was wrong.

Think arbitration is fair? Think again. John Coby at Bay Area Houston notes that the bottom line from the data is clear. In the nearly 20,000 cases where NAF [National Arbitration Forum] reached a decision, First USA prevailed in an astonishing 99.6 percent of cases.

Refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left thinks Texas State Senator Kevin Eltife Needs Some Education.

Harris County Republicans Oppose Cancer Research

2007-10-17T12:18:00.000-05:00

The Houston GLBT political Caucus has endorsed Proposition 15, the cancer research bond proposal championed by State Representative Ellen Cohen. Houston, particularly the Montrose-Med. Center district, is known throughout the world for being at the forefront of health research and treatment. It is only right that our city do its part to help find a cure for Cancer. The new institution proposed in the bond will also be for good our economy, so why are the Harris County republicans opposing Prop 15?

Here's a snip form their press release (read the complete statement here):

It may have world cycling champ Lance Armstrong, Republican Gov. Rick Perry and former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp as cheerleaders, but a $3-billion bond proposal for cancer research hasn't won the hearts and minds of Harris County Republicans.
The executive committee of the Harris County Republican Party recently voted unanimously in opposition to Proposition 15, despite the cancer initiative's bipartisan support in Austin.
"By this stance, we in no way are implying or should it be construed that we are against solving cancer,'' said Ron Brunner, precinct chairman for the Greenway Plaza area, who raised the motion.

Ellen Cohen responded:

Today's announcement by the Harris County Republican Party in opposition to Proposition 15 is shocking and upsetting, especially coming during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The bipartisan team that worked on this legislation included prominent Republicans such as Ways and Means Chairman Jim Keffer, Health and Human Services Chair Jane Nelson, and Governor Rick Perry, who I stood with today while visiting M.D. Anderson and urging support of this measure. As a cancer survivor, and the widow of a man who battled valiantly against this disease, and the representative of District 134, I will continue to campaign strongly for this measure. I will proudly stand with Lance Armstrong tomorrow in support of Prop. 15 and will campaign for passage on November 6th. I plan on celebrating with Democrats, Republicans, and independents who realize what this investment means to cancer prevention, treatment, and the hope for a cure. I urge people of all political persuasions to support Prop. 15.

Ever since we provided the pivotal support Rep. Cohen need to defeat Martha Wong last year, the Caucus has forged a loyal partnership with her office. We're proud of her efforts in regard to Prop 15, and we're enthusiastically campaigning for its passage.

State Senator Attacks Campus AIDS Prevention Project

2007-10-17T07:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Vince at Capitol Annex for sharing this story.

Over the last several decades, our community has achieved significant victories in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Thanks, in large part, to outspoken GLBT advocates, new generations of young people understand the importance of safe sex and the risks of sexually transmitted diseases. State Senator Kevin Eltife wants to push back all this progress. He's speaking out against the U.T. Tyler Health Clinic's practice of providing free condoms to students.

Here's some of what Senator Eltife told KLTV in Tyler (watch the interview with Eltife by clicking on the camera in the upper right side of the screen):

"If it's such a good deal, why don't we talk about it, why don't we debate it," said Senator Eltife. "Let's debate it on campus. Let's get input from the parents, and the students, and the people who are supporting U.T. Health Center in Tyler and the entire system. Let's talk about it in the legislature, let's get it out on the table and discuss it. If it's a great idea and a great concept, let's get it out on the table and discuss it."

"I had no idea and I'd imagine most parents don't know either," said Senator Eltife. "I can assure you there are a lot of parents whose kids are going there who would probably not be happy about what they're doing."

Senator Eltife is concerned that state money is being directed to this program, but it's not just the state that helps pay for condoms at university health clinics. In Tyler, for instance, a local agency, Tyler AIDS services, is proud to provide a large number of condoms to the university clinic. This is the type work our community has engaged in for years. We know, all too well, that this issue is too real and too serious. It's above politics, and it must be dealt with honestly and directly.

Here's the bottom line: In this day and age, regressive, socially conservative politicians should be more concerned with all the truly serious problems facing our state. Texas is facing a tragic crisis when it comes to health care. We have more uninsured children than any other state. Rural access to health care is dwindling, and, due to ridiculously low wages for nurses, elderly Texans often receive inadequate care. All of these deathly consequential issues are staring Senator Eltife directly in the face, and he's worried about college students participating in safe sex. What a jerk!

Progressive Blog Round-Up

2007-10-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

It's Monday, and that means it is time again for the Texas Progressive Alliance Blog Round Up. This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

Barney Frank responds to GLBT activists: "Now, this is the issue: Does a political party say to its most militant, committed, ideologically driven believers in purity that they have a veto over what the party does?" Evan at The Caucus Blog responds.

BossKitty at Bluebloggin asks why are so many Texans still illiterate?

The Texas Cloverleaf endorses Karen Guerra for 16th District Court Judge in Denton County.

Burnt Orange Report highlights the hard work being done across the nation. A broad coalition has launched a campaign to override President Bush's SCHIP veto and Kay Granger is public enemy number 1 in Texas. Ads, analysis, polls, and outrage... BOR has it all.

North Texas Liberal asks, "Could Congress override Bush's veto?" Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Kennedy seem to think that SCHIP is worth fighting for. So do we.

Vince from Capitol Annex notes that Kay Granger should have known better when it comes to her recent "no" vote on the reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News cannot stop writing about conservative bloggers repeatedly attacking a family who were in a terrible automobile accident and received government health care and liked it. Maybe next time your kids are in the hospitable you'll be attacked by right-wing idiots and more slime in the right-wing noise machine.

McBlogger has a story up about a State Representative you should know.

A supervisor for CPS Energy in San Antonio has a hangman's noose displayed in his cubicle. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs posts the details, including a photo.

Muse notes that Kay Bailey Hutchinson is trying out harder helmet hair styles so that the words of mean bloggers will bounce right off her in her imaginary (or not) run for governor in 2010.

Warning from TXsharon: Calibrate your outrage meter before visiting Bluedaze to read how Bush policies have weakened the Clean Water Act so Texas water is no longer fit for drinking, swimming or fishing.

CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme notes that Presidential Candidate Tom Tancredo wants to build that d*mn fence north of Brownsville. Either you're with the fence or he'll move the boundaries so your town's part of Mexico.

Unsurprised at Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize, nor at his acceptance speech, Hal at Half Empty surprises everyone with the Moonwalking Mannequin Bird.

Rattlebrain Randy prefers a little bit of disaster - sure it may hurt his constituents, but it helps his friends in the insurance industry, notes Blue 19th.
At Texas Kaos, diarist persiancowboy invites members of the general public to sign on to the complaint against rogue Judge Sharon Keller for her callous use of judicial power.

Off the Kuff reports that State Rep. Garnet Coleman is urging AG Greg Abbott to sue to block a recent Center for Medicaid and State Operations directive that will result in the loss of CHIP coverage for thousands of children.

Stop Cornyn is fuming about Cornyn's vote against children. After voting against Texas children twice, now Junior John wants a watered down version to save face. It is time to fully fund children's health insurance.

Barney Frank's ENDA Press Conference

2007-10-12T17:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Representative Barney Frank held a press conference. The clip is below.

Here's the bottom line, as far as I'm concerned. If we leave our transgender brothers and sisters behind, they will have to wait many, many years before they are afforded their due freedom from workplace discrimination. If we stick together, we may be able to achieve equality for all of us in the very near future. If not in this congressional session, than in the next. We've waited far too long to compromise, and we must remember that transgender workers suffer the worst discrimination. We simply can't leave them behind. As much as I admire Congressman Barney Frank, on this issue, he is tragically wrong.

Caucus Allies Endorse HISD Bond

2007-10-11T19:56:00.000-05:00

Earlier this fall the GLBT Political Caucus took a bold historic step and endorsed the revised HISD bond proposal. We were the first major community advocacy group to do so. Now the bond proposal has received the endorsement of the AFLCIO and the Greater Houston Partnership.

Today, several influential public officials held a press conference to announce their support of HISD's plans. State Representatives Garnet Coleman and Boris Miles, as well as State Senator Rodney Ellis have all come to the same conclusion that the Caucus voiced several weeks ago: Houston children need the money and the projects included in this bond.

These officials are progressive leaders in Texas. They have received the support of Caucus in their elections, and I'm glad to see that they share our goal for Houston's schools. It's validating to share a point of view with these courageous leaders.

Barney Frank's House Floor Speech on ENDA

2007-10-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

This is a provocative excerpt from Barney Frank's floor speech on ENDA. What do you think?

Now, this is the issue: Does a political party say to its most militant, committed, ideologically driven believers in purity that they have a veto over what the party does? And I say that procedurally because substantively I agree with them. I have spoken on this floor and in committee for including people of transgender. I have argued that with my colleagues in private. I have argued that with the Democratic Caucus. But I also believe that I have a broader set of responsibilities than to any one group and my job is to advance the moral values that I came here to advance as far and as fast as I can and not voluntarily to withhold an advance because it doesn't meet somebody's view of perfection. And the question is, how do we relate to those people? And it has become an increasing problem for both parties.

Frankly, until recently I have felt that one of the advantages we Democrats have had over our Republican colleagues is that we were more willing to be responsible, less susceptible to the most committed minority of our party having a veto. I think from the days of Terri Schiavo and before and since, the Republican Party has suffered from that. I don't want the Democratic Party to suffer from it. Not because I want to protect the Democratic Party as an end in itself, but because the Democratic Party is the means by which these values I care about are most likely to be advanced.

And let me talk about this ideological faction that we have. There are some characteristics that they have that I think led them to this profoundly mistaken view that the greatest single advance we can make in civil rights in many, many years would somehow be a bad thing because it would only include millions of people and leave some hundreds of thousands out. And I want to include those hundreds of thousands. I have done more to try to include them than many of the people who say we should kill the whole thing, but I don't understand how killing the whole thing advances that.

Read the entire speech here.

More ENDA Clips

2007-10-10T07:28:00.000-05:00

Congressman Rush Holt talks about FISA and ENDA with Jay Lassiter from Blue Jersey.

Protesting HRC in Washington and in Arizona.

Dear Abby to Recieve PFLAG Award

2007-10-10T06:55:00.000-05:00

In July I posted an installment of Dear Abby, where a mother shared her appreciation for a gay son. Jeanne Phillips, who writes under the name Abigail van Buren, or Dear Abby, has become, over the decades, America's conscience. You can't get more main stream. Well... Today, Dear Abby's telling the A.P. that she supports marriage equality.

"I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em," the syndicated advice columnist told The Associated Press. "That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake."

"I'm trying to tell kids if they are gay, it's OK to be gay. I've tried to tell families if they have a gay family member to accept them and love them as they always have," she said Friday.

Because of statements like these and her unwaivering bold support of the LGBT community, PFLAG is honoring Jeanne with their "Straight to Equality Award" at their annual convention, to be held later this month.

Keep reading Dear Abby. 365 Gay reports that she's working on a column that addresses transgender
issues.

Blog Round-up

2007-10-07T21:58:00.000-05:00

It's Monday, and that means it is time again for the Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Blog Round Up. This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

TXsharon says, "YOU SUCK AT&T" and she can only say that because she doesn't use AT&T. Over at Bluedaze she tells why, if you use AT&T for your Internets, you can't say they suck.

Stace at Dos Centavos reports on racism and bigotry committed by a corporation and a UT fraternity.

What's really going on in Irving? Xanthippas at Three Wise Men notes there's more going on in the immigration crackdown than possible profiling and arrests.

CouldBeTrue at South Texas Chisme notes that NOW wants to know why U.S. District Judge Judge Samuel Kent was 'punished' with a 4 month vacation after the investigation into sexual harassment charges concluded.

Criticism of Hillary Clinton's laugh is no laughing matter, so says PDiddie at Brains and Eggs in HRC:LOL.

Might be time for a bit of horsetrading on the floor of the Senate, and one of Texas Kaos' regular diarists, Fake Consultant, has a bit of advice on the subject for Majority Leader Harry Reid in On Larry Craig, And Filibusters or Wanna Make a Trade?

Truth, it has been said, is the first casualty of war. The Republican-Media coalition must have declared war on Social Security, and Blue 19th exposes their lies.

Human rights advocates cheered the Williamson County Commission's vote to sever ties with the operator of the T. Don Hutto holding facility for undocumented immigrants, but Eye On Williamson's wcnews wonders if a battle within the Republican party over the county's share of the profits may have driven their decision.

McBlogger at McBlogger speculates as to the reasons Sharon Keller (Chief Justice of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals) needed to get out of work at 5 on Sept. 25th.

Vince at Capitol Annex tells us about the Texas Conservative Coalition's new Election Integrity Task Force, its new Chairwoman and its likely recommendations.

Peter at B and B writes about the quixotic attempts by a group of environmentally-conscious Republicans to get their chosen political party to care about conservation and stewardship: Republicans for Environmental Protection, all 70 of them, meet in San Antonio.

Off the Kuff looks at the ongoing dispute between the Harris County Appraisal District and the State Comptroller over how commercial properties are taxed.

In Texas Kaos dairy, Dallas and Denton drinking water at risk by TxDOT's route selection choice for FM299, Faith Chatham's shares a letter from Highland Village Parents Group activist/homeowner Susie Venable to Mayor Tom Leppert of Dallas regarding the City Water Department's failure to monitor possible MTBE contamination issues. Despite cries of running out of money, TxDOT selected the only route (of 8) which would double project costs by requiring bridges to be built across three tributaries to Lake Lewisville (drinking water source for Denton and Dallas Counties) in the area of the lake already contaminated by MTBE.

Gary at Easter Lemming updates the Pasadena Mayor Manlove resignation and his running for Lampson's seat. There are a lot of happy faces at city hall. Easter Lemming broke the story back on the 22nd.

Trinity Trickey strikes again at The Texas Cloverleaf. This time pro toll road literature features the war on trees and the fight against Angela Hunt by the powers that be. Only in Dallas.

This week's installment of GLBTube at the Houston GLBT Political Caucus Blog is a double feature: first, a sampling of clips related to ENDA; then gay republicans are running ads in order to sabotage hypocritical presidential candidates!

WhosPlayin hammers away on GOP Congressman Michael Burgess for dissing Muslims and being one of 30 boneheads to vote for giving mercenary firms like Blackwater a license to kill.

The Texas Blue looks at how the evangelical social movement isn't playing nice-nice with the Republican Party any longer, and why that is good for America.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author, syndicated columnist, political analyst and commentator, who is on a virtual book tour will stop by Para Justicia y Libertad on Oct 11 to discuss his new book The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation Between African-Americans and Hispanics.

Hal at Half Empty counted a Lucky Seven congressional candidates that want to run against Nick Lampson in Texas CD 22. He ROFLs and LMAOs.

GLBTube #11

2007-10-06T08:14:00.000-05:00

>>>Double Feature!<<<

Part 1:

First, with ENDA dominating the blog this week, I thought I'd bring you guys some clips of the main actors in the congressional debate.

Representative Tammy Baldwin talks about the ENDA fight and what its like to out in office.

Representative Barney Frank testifies about ENDA before the House Education and labor sub-committee on Health, Employment, labor and Pensions.

The Chair of that same committee, NJ Representaive Rob Andrews, discussed the ENDA fight with Jay Lassiter from Blue Jersey.

Part II

As the presidential primary battles heat up on both sides, I wanted to chronicle an interesting phenomenon that has emerged on the Republican side. Two candidates, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, have strong records supporting GLBT folks, but they have been running hard from their pasts, saying some of the most unfair, unkind statements against our community. Well, the gays are pissed.... especially the Republican ones. So they're going on the air with adds that remind everyone just how phony these guys really are.

First, the following add from the Massachusetts Log Cabin Republicans is actually running on TV air in Iowa and of FOX news!

This clip on Giuliani has been popular on the web for several months.

An Interesting Perspective

2007-10-04T11:27:00.000-05:00

Thank you Caucus President Jenifer Rene Pool for passing this on.

The LA Times sports writer Christine Daniels is a true hero for our community. She has been breaking down barriers since April when she announced to the paper that she, then Mike Penner, would begin transitioning her body to express her true gender.

Read about her transition here.

Christine offers a powerful perspective on the current ENDA fight. She is lucky enough to work in a place that rejects discrimination and celebrates Christine's heroic authenticity. Unfortunately, this is not true for many transgender workers who need protection from workplace discrimination.

From the LA Times:

ENDA: We've only just begun

The basketball expression for it is “low-bridge.” It is the dirtiest foul in the sport, the act of suddenly taking out a player’s legs as he or she leaps for a rebound, pass or to attempt a jump shot. It’s a cheap and devious move, often appearing to happen spontaneously but almost always pre-meditated -- and almost always a prelude to a fight.

That’s what happened to the transgender community during the past week. We were low-bridged. By -- of all people -- Democratic Congressional leadership that included Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi.

In a shocking upset, the transgender community picked itself off the court, dusted itself off, rubbed its newly scraped elbows and decided to fight back.

Frank, Pelosi and Co. didn’t know what hit them....
I realize I am lucky. California is one of about a dozen states with such protection for transgender employees. My friend Susan Stanton did not have that kind of backup in Florida and lost her job as Largo city manager in February despite a long and outstanding record of public service.
So I have a personal and professional stake in what’s happening to ENDA right now. So do you, if you care about the most basic rights being extended to a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend who might be transgender but afraid to tell anybody because a national ENDA is still but a concept being picked apart by some short-sighted political opportunists.

A program handed out at last month’s Southern Comfort transgender conference in Atlanta included several advertisements posted by gender-friendly corporations. One of them read:

“Whether or not it’s a choice, we’ve made ours.

“Before committing to treating GLBT individuals inclusively, some people believe that you have to answer the ‘choice or nature’ question.

“At PricewaterhouseCoopers, we believe that it’s not our business to decide.

“We accept you as the person that you are.

“Because when you can be yourself, you are happier, more fulfilled and more productive.

“We welcome among our professionals all persons committed to excellence, teamwork, and leadership.”

That sounds like the American way to me.

Read the entire editorial here.

HRC Makes Me Dizzy... and a Little Angry

2007-10-04T07:50:00.000-05:00

After feeling some relief that Human Rights Campaign had finally signed onto a letter supporting the inclusion of transgender workers in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), earlier this week it seemed like they were, unfortunately, back peddling again. Several days ago HRC refined its position to say that they do, in fact, support an all inclusive bill, but they will not openly or actively oppose a bill that excludes transgender workers. That's not good enough, as it implies a neutral position on the fate of transgender workers.

As a consequence of this position, yesterday, Donna Rose, HRC's lone transgender executive board member resigned:

The current situation regarding ENDA is nothing short of a politically misguided tragedy. A tool that could and should be a unifying beacon on the heels of the historic passage of fully inclusive Hate Crime legislation has been split. Transgender brothers and sisters again find themselves separated, isolated, and disempowered. People in positions of power have decided that their personal legacy and the promise of political expediency are more important than protecting our entire beautiful community. The time is here to make a strong statement to demonstrate to them that they are wrong.
In 2004 the HRC Board voted to support only fully-inclusive Federal legislation. That decision paved the way to my participation with the organization, and was a significant step in the healing process. Since that time we have worked together tirelessly towards a goal of Equality for all. Less than a month ago HRC President Joe Solmonese stood before almost 900 transgender people at the Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta to pledge ongoing support and solidarity. In his keynote address he indicated that not only would HRC support only a fully inclusive ENDA, but that it would actively oppose anything less. That single pledge changed hearts and minds that day, and the ripple affect throughout the transgender community was that we finally were one single GLBT community working together. Sadly, recent events indicate that those promises were hollow.
An impressive coalition of local and national organizations has lined up to actively oppose the divisive strategy that would leave some of our brothers and sisters without workplace protections. This effort has galvanized community spirit and commitment in ways few could have imagined, and it has demonstrated to those who would divide us that anything less than full inclusion is unacceptable Organization after organization has seized the moral high ground knowing that this is a historic opportunity that cannot be squandered, and that it is our moral obligation to ourselves and to generations that will follow to make a loud, clear, unmistakable statement that we are a community and we will not be divided. There is a single significant organization glaringly missing from that list. The Human Rights Campaign has chosen not to be there.

Read her complete resignation letter here.

The video below captures the speech Rose refers to in her letter:

This morning HRC has launched a "call to action." They are encouraging everyone to contact their congress members, demanding that the inclusive ENDA bill be passed.

HRC Executive Director, Joe Solmanese, released this statement in the form of a web video.

This is a stronger statement against the new, non-inclusive ENDA bill, but it still falls short of what our community expects. I appreciate HRC's efforts to help us contact Congress. Let's face it, in our community, no group has closer ties to capitol hill, but HRC has truly disappointed everyone by not showing proper leadership on this important issue. They were tragically slow to denounce the non-inclusive ENDA bill, and they have yet to release a statement that unequivocally rejects moving forward without our transgender brothers and sisters. Transgender workers need protection more than any of us.

Meeting Tonight - Meet the Caucus Candidates

2007-10-03T15:37:00.000-05:00

Meeting Tonight!

October 3, 7:00 pm
Havens Center
1827 W Alabama St

A reception will be held prior to the meeting, starting at 6:30.

Come meet our Caucus Candidates! Endorsed candidates for this November's city election will be addressing the Caucus, discussing their campaigns.

Here are our candidates:

Houston Mayor
Bill White
billwhiteforhouston.com

Houston Controller
Annise Parker
wanniseparker.com

City Council At-Large 1
Peter Brown
friendsofpeterbrown.com

City Council At-Large 2
Sue Lovell
suelovell.com

City Council At-Large 3
Melissa Noriega
melissanoriega.com

City Council At-Large 4
Ron Green

City Council At-Large 5
Jolanda Jones
jolandajones.com

City Council District B
Jarvis Johnson

City Council District C
Anne Clutterbuck
clutterbuckforcouncil.com

City Council District D
Wanda Adams
wandaadamsforhouston.com

City Council District H
Adrian Garcia
adriangarcia.com

City Council District I
James Rodriguez
jamesforcouncil.com

HISD District 4
Paula Harris
paulaforhisd.com

HCCS Trustee District 1
Kevin J. Hoffman
kevinjhoffman.net

HRC Breaks Its Silence; ENDA Vote Delayed

2007-10-02T07:26:00.000-05:00

Human Rights Campaign has co-signed a letter demanding that transgender workers be protected from discrimination. Joining with a number of other prominant civil rights groups, including the ACLU and People for the American Way, HRC denounced changing the proposed ENDA bill to exclude transgender workers in a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congress members Barney Frank and Tammi Baldwin. Since 1994, HRC has included transgender workers in their demands for equal employment rights, but they have been slower than other prominent LGBT advocates in denouncing a new version of ENDA that leaves transgender protection out.

HRC has posted the letter on their blog:

Thank you Human Rights Campaign!

The mounting pressure from LGBT groups appears to be having a positive affect. Late Monday Nancy Pelosi's office confirmed that the vote on ENDA, originally scheduled for today, will be postponed to later in the month.

LGBT groups have come out strongly against excluding transgender workers from protection.

From 365 gay:

"In this defining and morally transformative moment, our community has come together in an unprecedented way and said once and for all that we will leave no part of our community behind," said Matt Foreman the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

"We appreciate that a decision has been made to slow down this process, and we look forward to working with Congress over the upcoming weeks to educate them as to why this substitute bill strategy is seriously flawed, convince them to abandon this strategy, and instead advance a fully inclusive ENDA later this month."

Lambda Legal has analyzed the new bill, and they fear that several provisions, beyond the absence of transgender protection, make the revised ENDA language unacceptable.

"Leaving out protections for transgender people is unacceptable, and passing a bill riddled with loopholes will make it harder to achieve equality on the job," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director at Lambda Legal.
"You can't be fired for being a lesbian or a gay man, but you can be fired if your boss thinks you fit their stereotype of one."

This is a huge loophole through which employers sued for sexual orientation discrimination can claim that their conduct was actually based on gender expression, a type of discrimination that the new bill does not prohibit, said Lambda.

Here's a summary of Lambda Legal's complaints about the new bill:

As a point of clarity for the community: The recent version is not simply the old version with the transgender protections stripped out — but rather has modified the old version in several additional and troubling ways.

In addition to the missing vital protections for transgender people on the job, this new bill also leaves out a key element to protect any employee, including lesbians and gay men who may not conform to their employer's idea of how a man or woman should look and act. This is a huge loophole through which employers sued for sexual orientation discrimination can claim that their conduct was actually based on gender expression, a type of discrimination that the new bill does not prohibit.

This version of ENDA states without qualification that refusal by employers to extend health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of their employees that are provided only to married couples cannot be considered sexual orientation discrimination. The old version at least provided that states and local governments could require that employees be provided domestic partner health insurance when such benefits are provided to spouses.

In the previous version of ENDA the religious exemptions had some limitations. The new version has a blanket exemption under which, for example, hospitals or universities run by faith-based groups can fire or refuse to hire people they think might be gay or lesbian.

Read their complete press release here.

Progressive Blog Round-Up

2007-09-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

It's Monday and that means it's time for another installment of the Texas Progressive Alliance's Blog Round-Up. This week's round-up was complied by Vince from Capitol Annex.

Blue 19th wonders: Can someone ask Randy Neugebauer why he hates college students?

Evan at the Houston GLBT Political Caucus Blog asks where's Human Rights Campaign as leaders in congress are considering leaving transgender works out of ENDA because, unlike other GLBT political organizations, H.R.C. has been silent so far, and that's unacceptable.

In How are these alike? Fort Worth and Wise County TXsharon of Bluedaze warns Fort Worth residents about the dangers of Barnett Shale drilling, conflicts of interest and good old boy politics.

McBlogger goes all medieval on the Texas Transportation Commission's derriere... Like toll roads? Not McBlogger!

Texas Kaos community member Carol Gee gives a primer on terms we're all going to need to become much more familiar with in 50 Ways to Understand the Protect America Act.

Managing diabetes is a real pain, according to PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson analyzes the latest actions regarding HD-52 in Krusee's Influence And Credibility Are Gone, Time For HD-52 To Start Over.

BossKitty at Blue Bloggin notes that Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), representing the 25th District of Texas, hits Bush in the nose again, and this time its on SCHIP. She also tells about some of the antics of Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) on the vote--and how that's all about earmarks.

In a pair of posts, Nat-Wu at Three Wise Men asks if the city of Irving is practicing racist law enforcement.

Off the Kuff takes a look at State Proposition 2, which an education bond issue that should not be confused with the Houston ISD's more controversial referendum.

Over at Stop Cornyn, Matt tells us how John Cornyn has once again voted against Texas Children. Another post at Stop Cornyn notes just how out of touch Cornyn's vote was.

Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal talks about the Project Farm Team meeting, with guest speaker Vince Leibowitz, and how that organization can turn Denton County blue.

The Texas Blue, one of the recent additions to the Texas Progressive Alliance has an audio interview with State Representative Kirk England, who discusses his background and what motivated his recent decision to switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.

Vince at Capitol Annex tells us how Rick Perry's decision to order the state's two largest retirement systems to divest in Iranian-related investments could cause a special session.

Refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left gives his views about people saying elect any Democrat and why he thinks that is total BS in Rick Noriega, Dan Grant and John Edwards 3 Great Democrats To Get Elected

Half Empty'scoverage of a presentation by Hank Gilbert makes note of what a huge issue the Trans Texas Corridor is. Hal attended Hank Gilbert's informative discussion on Saturday and reports.

We've Waited Too Long to Compromise

2007-09-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

Sign this petition.

Let Speaker Pelosi know that transgender workers need protection from discrimination. Of our community, transgender workers are the most likely victims of employment discrimination. We can't allow congressional leaders to leave them out of ENDA!

Where's HRC

2007-09-28T12:38:00.000-05:00

Leaders in Congress are considering removing protection for transgendered workers from the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. I think this is unacceptable. In fact, transgendered workers face discrimination more often than anyone else in our community.

Nine of our nation's most prominent GLBT Activists organizations have come out with strong, joint statement against this misguided compromise.

Here's the statement:

Our collective position remains clear and consistent regarding the status of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. Our organizations oppose the removal of protections for transgender people from ENDA. We would also oppose any bill that did not protect transgender people.

We are shocked and upset that, according to the Washington Blade, influential members of the House of Representatives have apparently made a decision to remove protections for transgender people from the bill. If true, this decision was made without consultation with leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

While we don’t doubt the sincerity of Congressional leadership’s intent to take action and be helpful to the LGBT community, we cannot disagree more with this strategy. We will continue to work with LGBT-supportive members of
Congress to urge their colleagues to immediately drop this strategy.

Where's HRC! I hope this isn't a sign that HRC accepts this terrible turn of events. Tell them what you think about their silence.

Matthew Shepherd Act Passes Senate

2007-09-28T07:37:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Senate has passed the Matthew Shepherd Act, the land mark legislation that adds GLBT protection to the current hate crimes law. The Democrat controlled House of Representatives passed the same bill earlier this year. In 2004, the Senate passed a similar bill, but it was stripped away in conference with the then Republican lead house.

Yesterday, the hate crimes bill was added as an amendment to a must pass pentagon spending bill. The amendment was approved by a voice vote, with no dissenting votes. The final vote for passage in the bill was 60-39.

President Bush has claimed that GLBT people do not need hate crimes protection. He has not said whether he will veto the spending bill due to this amendment.

Also, Larry Craig, America's most famous and sad closet-case, voted against the hate crimes amendment. Shameful.

Hate Crimes Vote Expected Tomorrow -- Everything You Need to Know

2007-09-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

As we start to look forward to the upcoming primaries in May and the 2008 election, let's remember what a difference a Democratic majority has made. Case in point: it looks like the U.S. Senate will vote on extending hate crimes protections to the GLBT community. For over a decade progress towards equal rights has stagnated ion Congress. Now, in addition to the Matthew Shepherd Act, we look forward to ENDA passage and the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell." Be on the look out for a vote Tomorrow.

I've been hunting the web looking for interesting resources and data on hate crimes. Here are some helpful links:

The Republic of T. is an excellent blog that has been chronicling tragic hate crimes that have been committed against GLBT Americans. The author has been adding all of his articles to Wikipedia. This blog is true example of citizen journalism at its best. Check it out.
The HRC Back Story has lots of info about the current bill before Congress, including the text of the bill.
Bootstrapping Andrew Sullivan has an interesting article about the history of hate crimes legislation.
The Williams Institute has published a fascinating report that demonstrates the prevalence of GLBT hate crimes. It compares the ratio of GLBT hate crimes to hate crimes already covered by federal legislation.
Street Prophets refutes all the right wing propaganda against protecting GLBT that has been spewed out over the years.

John Edwards First to Announce HIV/AIDS Strategy

2007-09-24T22:08:00.001-05:00

Former Senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced a detailed plan for combating HIV/AIDS. He is the first presidential candidate to address HIV/AIDS in such a detailed, comprehensive way.

Read the entire plan here. Here's a summary:

Guaranteeing health insurance for every American – including HIV/AIDS patients -- the care they need when they need it and expanding Medicaid to cover HIV-positive individuals before they reach later stages of disabilities and AIDS.
*Fighting the disease in the African American and Latino communities, where the harm is now greatest.
*Calling for universal access to HIV/AIDS medicine across the world, investing $50 billion over five years to meet that goal.
Changing the policies that protect big drug companies, at the expense of people dying of HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

Here are some reviews of the plan:

"This plan is both bold and achievable, and we are thrilled to see Senator Edwards' tremendous leadership on this issue. It's exciting to see such a realistic, science-based approach to the epidemic in the US and globally."

Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance Fund
September 24, 2007

"Senator Edwards becomes the first candidate to respond to the HIV/AIDS 'Call to Action' calling on every Presidential candidate to commit to developing a results-oriented national AIDS strategy to reduce HIV infection rates, ensure access to care and treatment and eliminate racial disparities."

The AIDS Action Council
September 24, 2007

Texas Progressive Blog Round-Up

2007-09-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

Check out what's happening in the Texas progressive blogosphere. This week's installment is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

It's about one thing. TXsharon at Bluedaze tells us why we have to make it about something else.

Bill Howell of StoutDemBlog, a new member of the Texas Progressive Alliance, takes a look at Kirk England's recent party switch as well as other recent party switches in Dallas County in Rove's Permanent Majority Collapses: Now What Do We Do With All These Defectors?

Boadicea at Texas Kaos wonders if MoveOn doesn't owe John Cornyn a thank you note.

Musings discovers that the lead GOP presidential contenders are too busy for Black and Latino sponsored debates, while the local Harris County GOP claim they are home to Hispanics because of their once a year bike give away.

Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News has word on Mayor Manlove of Pasadena entering the race to challenge Lampson for Congress and the mayor's race it opens up He also has a short colorful digest of Naomi Klein promoting her book on Disaster Capitalism.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson posts on recent news that Gov. Perry and Speaker Craddick - who Krussee excoriated at the end of the legislative session--will appear at a fundraiser for him in Krusee Throws Reagan Over The Wall And Under The Bus.

Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger takes a look at some of the dumber things to come out of the right this week, like Bill O'Reilly's trip to a Harlem hot spot where he discovered that it was just like a 'real' restaurant, you know, like Olive Garden.

Off the Kuff looks at the causes and effects of Kirk England's party switch.

Refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left looks at UT football and ask a simple question - UTLonghorns or UT Thugs.

Burnt Orange Report and its diarists are following the Kirk England switchover with enthusiasm. After breaking the story on Wednesday, the entirestaff, welcomes the newest Democrat to the House.

KT at Stop Cornyn shows how Junior Senator John Cornyn is wasting time again. Instead of getting funding for CHIP or getting our troops the armor they need, John Cornyn forced a vote condemning MoveOn.org. Yet another example of failed leadership and Junior John being out of touch with Texas needs.

Evan at the Caucus Blog covered two major stories this week. First, after months of investigation, discussion, and debate, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has decided to endorse the HISD bond proposal. Second, Evan has looked into the history of the fight for a federal Employment Non-discrimination Act in the post "ENDA Deja Vu."

Bradley at North Texas Liberal discusses how Washington, D.C. almost had the vote, but lost it due to greedy Senate Republicans. Only eight Republicans could be bothered to vote for the legendary bill that would have allowed the District a voting member of Congress.

The marriage of the Republican party to theocracy is no accident. Right wing investors like Richard Mellon Scaife are molding US churches, notes CouldBeTrue at in "What does an El Paso Church have to do with the right wing" at South Texas Chisme.

It was quite a week for Senator Box Turtle; he led the Senate charge against free speech, voted against habeas corpus, and against adequate down time for our soldiers. As PDiddie at Brains and Eggs points out, he now owns the war on terror -- in addition to the war on the Constitution and all Americans. But he did unwittingly sponsor a successful fundraiser for MoveOn.org, so he wasn't a complete failure.

WhosPlayin joins a local Republican activist in opposing tax abatements for speculative real estate development in Lewisville.

Vince at Capitol Annex has been keeping tabs on the Texas Conservative Coalition and its town hall meetings across East Texas in which they propose to eliminate property taxes in favor of an expanded sales tax, and points out that at least one new candidate has already started drinking their Kool-Aid.

Hal at Half Empty was at a campaign kickoff fundraiser for Ron Reynolds who is running for State Rep in HD 27. He took videos and did a series. Links to the series is at his summary posting: Ron E. Reynolds is Running for State
Rep in HD 27.

Blue 19th notes that Randy Neugebauer can't hide his contempt for veterans from everyone. So which party was it that supported our troops? Oh yeah, the one that doesn't start with "Republican".

The Caucus Endorses the HISD Bond Proposal

2007-09-23T10:38:00.000-05:00

The decision to endorse the HISD bond was not made quickly or easily. It was made after nearly a month of investigation, discussion, and debate. Advocates, both for and against, were consulted and met with multiple times. In the end, despite reservations, the screening committee recommended endorsement, and the caucus board voted unanimously to accept that recommendation. When all was said and done, the extensive screening process (detailed below) cultivated confidence in HISD's plan, and therefore, the Caucus's endorsement is enthusiastic and highly credible.

It started with an initial screening in early August. It was clear even then that there were serious questions about the details of the bond as proposed, but, regardless, the screening committee voted to recommend endorsement. The question was then put before the membership at our August general meeting. State Representative Sylvester Turner, Council Members Peter Brown and Sue Lovell, Controller Annise Parker, and other Caucus members voiced concerns about the specific projects proposed in the bond, and, hearing these questions, the membership voted to postpone any endorsement. A special committee was formed to investigate the proposal's specifics, and the Caucus Board was given the power to review the findings of the committee and make the endorsement decision on behalf of the general membership.

Lots of voices and points of view were considered by the investigative committee. Even HISD Superintendent, Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, made a historic appearance before the committee to answer questions about the proposal. This is the first time an HISD superintendent has ever met with the GLBT Political Caucus. At this meeting, Superintendent Saavadra promised changes to the Bond proposal. He also invited the Caucus's input, and promised a seat at the discussion table to the GLBT community. At this point the Caucus decided to not make any recommendations in regard to the passage of the bond, hoping that it would be pulled from the ballot this fall. This hope was founded on the conversation the committee shared with Dr. Saavadra, but the HISD Board of Trustees voted this Monday to go forward this fall with a revised version of the plan.

Yesterday, the committee met once again with a representative from HISD. The revised proposal was presented, and many questions were answered. In general, the committee was very pleased with the changes, but most members were still upset with HISD's poor attempts at community outreach. After a lengthy discussion, the committee decided to recommend endorsement of the revised bond proposal. The Board also met yesterday, and we voted unanimously to endorse the HISD Bond Proposal this fall. I will discuss the details of the new bond and the significance of our endorsement in a subsequent post.

Ray Hill Hits the Big Screen

2007-09-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

Don't miss it!

Film Showing:

Ray Hill's Prison Show

Angelika Cinema, Saturday, Sept. 22, 3 PM

Even if you don't know it, everybody in Houston owes Ray Hill a lot. He has been one our community's most devoted and important activists. He is currently making waves all over America, as the host of our country's only radio show devoted to prisoners and their families.

"Ray Hill's Prison Show" is being shown as part of this year's Q-fest, Houston's annual GLBT film festival.

Read more about Q-fest here.

Read more about Ray Hill here.

ENDA Deja Vu

2007-09-20T09:52:00.000-05:00

We're all anxiously anticipating a rough fight for ENDA passage in the U.S. Senate this fall. We know too well how overdue this law is, but, for the first time in many, many years, we have a real shot at getting it passed. Democrats hold majorities in both houses of Congress, and the leaders of that party seem to have shed all apprehensions regarding GLBT worker rights. Let's not get our hopes up though. We've been here before.

In 1996 ENDA failed Senate passage by the slimmest margin. Amazingly ten years ago, even more than today, employment nondiscrimination looked like a done deal. President Bill Clinton had pledged to sign ENDA into law, and Representative Barney Frank lead and won an up hill battle for passage in the Republican controlled House of Representatives. Just as today, the slightest majority possible had pledged support in the Senate, and Vice President Al Gore was excited to leave the campaign trail in order to cast the tie breaking vote in the Senate. It's amazing that the same Congress that passed the Defense of Marriage Act was poised to pass ENDA also. Interestingly, that was part of the strategy. Barney Frank explained it this way:

"DOMA served as a stop-loss order for members of the Senate," says Frank. "In the past they always feared that if they voted for gay rights they would be accused of supporting a much broader gay agenda. When they voted for DOMA and ENDA, they could go home and say, `Don't tell me I voted for the gay rights agenda. I voted to ban gay marriage.' Members don't have this kind of cover this year."

Everything was in place, but something terrible happened. Arkansas Senator David Pryor was planning to support the Kennedy sponsored ENDA bill, but he was called back to Little Rock. His son, Mark Pryor, the current junior Senator from Arkansas, was undergoing an emergency operation just as the debate and vote commenced in Washington. From USA today:

A surgeon operating on a torn tendon discovered sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that is usually fatal. Pryor underwent 13 hours of surgery to have his tendon replaced in 1996. It was 15 months before he was able to walk again unassisted.

Fast forward ten years, and things seem eerily similar. Our country has made significant progress though. In 1996, general election exit polling showed that a slim majority of Americans agreed that GLBT workers should be protected from discrimination. Today, tolerance for GLBT has grown. Even Congressional Republicans fear being labeled a bigot. As their constituents have witnessed corruption, a failed foreign policy, and economic instability, regressive social policies seem trite and unimportant when compared to the many challenges our country now faces.

Here is an interesting article that fleshes out all of the details of ENDA fight in the late '90s.

ENDA Watch

2007-09-19T07:28:00.000-05:00

The A.P. reports:

Gay rights advocates are optimistic Congress will soon move one step closer to approving a federal ban on job discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender workers.

Representative Barney Frank and other knowledgeable observers feel confident that the bill will pass the house, but no one is sure about the senate. It could go either way there, and there has been no word from the president as to whether he would sign the law if passed.

Of course, this is why national politics is relevant to us. Texas is one of those states that tolerates unfairness and discrimination. Houston, pathetically, stands alone, as the only major U.S. city without a non-discrimination ordinance. ENDA would immediately change that. Every democratic presidential candidate has voiced there support for ENDA. We must get one these people elected next year. More importantly, we must defeat Senator John Cornyn. Two candidates are running against him. The Caucus knows Rick Noriega, and we know he'll stand with us. I'm sure Mikal Watts would also be far better than Cornyn on GLBT issues. So look into these fellows, and get behind one them. let's destroy Cornyn next fall.

Equality Texas has accumulated some key stats on how the rest of Texas delegation breaks down on this issue.

In 31 states, it is legal to fire someone based on their sexual orientation. In 39 states, it is legal to fire someone based on gender identity.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would make it illegal to fire an employee based solely on sexual orientation or gender identity. ENDA would reinforce the principle that employment decisions should be based upon a person's qualifications and job performance.

The bill currently has 165 co-sponsors, including seven (7) of the thirty-two (32) members of the Texas Congressional delegation: Lloyd Doggett, Charlie Gonzalez, Ruben Hinojosa, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Silvestre Reyes, and Ciro Rodriguez.

A vote on ENDA is expected in the U.S. House the week of September 24th.

A vote for ENDA is a vote for non-discrimination in the workplace. Quite simply, refusing to support ENDA is an endorsement of employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity.

Public support for ENDA is overwhelming. Polls demonstrate that the vast majority of Americans support the principle of equal job opportunities for lesbian & gay Americans (89% in a May 2007 Gallup Poll).

Twenty-five (25) Texas Representatives have yet to take a stand for equality. What are they waiting for?

Visit Equality Texas to easily contact your representative in Congress. Let the know that fairness has waited far too long.

Texas Netroots

2007-09-17T07:33:00.000-05:00

At our last general meeting the Caucus was extremely lucky to hear a presentation from Charles Kuffner, the true dean of Texas political blogging. Netroots organizing is revolutionizing progressive, political activism. Its changing the way candidates and groups campaign, fund raise, and research.

For example, I'm excited to report that U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega, a proud caucus candidate, representing South Houston in the Texas house, has raised over $72,000 on the internet since his announcement. The most interesting thing about Noriega's fund raising is that it has been fueled primarily by independent, progressive bloggers, not officially connected to the campaign. This phenomenon has allowed Noriega to accumulate over 800 small donors from all over the state, demonstrating an intense grassroots appeal that will serve him well in the coming primary election.

The Texas netroots has become a undeniably powerful force, so I'd like our Caucus to get better connected to all the excellent voices out there in the blogosphere. The Caucus Blog is a new member of the Texas Progressive Blog Alliance, and starting today, every Monday I'll post a round-up of excellent posts from all the alliance blogs in Texas.

So...It's Monday, and that means it's time for another Texas Progressive
Alliance Blog Round-Up. This week's round up is compiled by Vince from
Capitol Annex. As the TPA
welcomed aboard a few new members this week, you may notice some new names
and blogs.

Muse at Musings liveblogs Lap
Dog Cornyn’s portion of Petraeus’ appearance before the Senate Armed
Services Committee this past week and notes that he slobbers all over
himself praising the surge.

McBlogger at McBlogger goes to the CAMPO meeting on the Phase 2 toll
roads and finds lies,
damn lies and statistics as well as an Austin City Council Member who
seems hell bent on ending his political career. Is resurrection
possible? Sure... if you believe McCracken is the second coming. Spoiler
alert: McBlogger doesn't.

While on vacation, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs discovered
quite a few similarities between the Texas Legislature and the
Nevada State Assembly.

Good news brought by TXsharon at
Bluedaze: Bush
Economy Solves Obesity Problem!

Could Be True at South Texas Chisme notes that
the Republican
tactics of purging voter rolls, creating barriers to voting, and
discouraging new voter registration are moving right along and could get
serious in Bexar County.

After the demolition of yet another historic structure in Houston,
Charles at Off
the Kuff looks at what can be
done to abet preservation efforts going forward.

Adam Silva of Three Wise Men, blogging
for the UNT
Democrats, provides a detailed
analysis of competitive U.S. Senate races for 2008.

City life can be complicated-but it includes an awfully lot of
conveniences that we take utterly for granted-as long as they work. In Houston, We Have a
Problem, on Texas
Kaos, The Houston Organization of Public Employees (HOPE)
invites all of us to get a little taste, so to speak, of what it takes to
keep the fourth largest city in the nation running.

WhosPlayin notes that some Republican Members of Congress
just
don't know when to stop digging a hole in continuing to support a
failed president.

Since 9/11, an increasingly strident message of xenophobia has seeped
into both fringe and mainstream political movements. A new climate of
exclusion has formed as a result of this country's heightened anxiety
against racial, ethnic, and religious minorities. Whether or not intended
as such, new Texas Progressive Alliance member Xicno
Pwr at ¡Para
Justicia y Libertad! tells us we
are in the midst of a growing culture of hate as the number of hate
crimes in this country are on the rise.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on
the unintended consequences of the 2003 GOP redistricting scheme in Are Democrats Statewide
Prospects Improving Because Of GOP Gerrymandering?

Refinish69, another recent addition to the TPA, at
Doing My Part for the
Left examines sex
scandals and hypocrites in the Repugnant Party and Texas Stonewall
Caucus.

Have
Republicans moved in a "ringer" to challenge Chet Edwards in TX-CD
17? Vince addresses that in a post at Capitol Annex.

The Texas
Clover Leaf (a new member of the Alliance) notes that Alan
Keyes has entered the GOP race for President, but asks if he is actually
the Republican's version of Obama.

Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal
tells us about the
controversy surrounding the preservation of trees at the Trinity Trail
in Ft. Worth.

John at Bay Area Houston
tells us that Jared Woodfill, Chairman of he Harris County Republican
Party, must
think Hispanics are stupid with his recent op-ed in the Houston
Chronicle "Hispanics can feel right at home in the Texas GOP".

Jack Cluth at The People's Republic of
Seabrook notes that it would seem that we've learned nothing from the 60s.
Today, in allegedly-enlightened 21st century America, a man or woman
can be fired from their job in 31 states for the simple fact of being a
homosexual. Regardless of how you feel about the "lifestyle", how can anyone who
values liberty and freedom be OK with this...especially with Americans
dying in Iraq to "protect and defend out freedom"?

Jaye at Winding Road in Urban
Area addresses several things, including machine-gun-toting
cops in a 'brain dump,' post, The Stream
of Consciousness Just Overflowed the Toilet. (Please flush!)

Todd Hill (another new addition to the Texas
Progressive Alliance) blogging at Burnt Orange Report
tells us all about a North Texas
Tribute to Speaker Jim Wright.

Matt at Stop Cornyn tells us how John
Cornyn worked to disenfranchise minority voters while he was Attorney
General.

Don't forget to check out other Texas Progressive Alliance blogs, too:
BlueBloggin (new member!), The Agonist, Blue 19th (new member!), In The Pink Texas, Grassroots News U Can Use (new
member!), The Caucus Blog (new
member!), The Texas Blue (new
member!), Casual Soap
Box, Common Sense, Dos Centavos, Easter Lemming Liberal News, Feet To Fire, Marc’s Miscellany, Rhetoric & Rhythm, Three Wise Men, Truth Serum Blog, and Wyld Card.

Discussing the HISD Bond

2007-09-12T17:18:00.000-05:00

Our community has been engaging in a serious discussion about the HISD bond proposal that will be on this November's ballot. Tonight the committee charged with investigating the proposal will meet and hear presentations from State Rep. Sylvester Turner and representatives from HISD.

I've tried to prompt some discussion here on our blog. How will our endorsement affect the bond's chance of passage? How did the district come to its decisions on proposed school closures and consolidations? What do GLBT parents and teachers think?

Here are links to all bond related posts:

HISD + GLBT ?

HISD Bond: "It's really Two Questions"

HISD Bond: A Classroom Perspective

The blog has hosted some excellent discussion. Including this perspective from a veteran teacher:

My concern as a teacher for HISD is that we as a society are accepting less and less from our children and calling it good enough. With the creation of NCLB we ensured no child would be left behind. What does that mean for our gifted children? They are kept with the group as well. Hopefully great teachers can pull the slower children along to try to keep up with the brighter ones. In doing so, our teacher resources, money and time go to the farthest behind. HISD has eliminated the TIER system for finding our brightest kids and putting them together on a very fast paced course. Now they are only the top quarter and they are being mixed with all the others, so no one will feel bad of course. I think the bond that will support a system of dumbing down our society is not the best plan. However, this is a national plan, not just Houston . Where do we start to complain, though? All good work is grass roots at heart. Would I love to work in a state of the art school with all the wonderful perks? Of course. Do I ultimately approve of the way the district spends my money? No, not really. I do not think that will change if the bill is defeated. Administration will go right ahead the way it has been. So, I have mixed feelings and thoughts on the plan.

Here's the point of view of a younger teacher, working on a large campus simular to those consolidated schools being proposed in the bond issue:

I’ve only taught for one year, and I certainly don’t have all (or many) answers. I haven’t thoroughly researched the bond issue yet (I plan to and then post more), but I have some small insights from my past year of teaching. I teach at a large school, similar to the size of the new consolidated campuses in the bond proposal – Tinsley has around 700 students in the first through fifth grades. It’s also a Title 1 school – about 95% of the students are on free/reduced lunch and about 70 – 80% of the students are considered at-risk. The school was only opened about 6 years ago, so the facillities are almost brand-new.
The facillities are incredible, but, as I learned last year, what is really important at any school is the faculty and staff. First, teachers and administrators must believe in and be committed to student success – this is the most important thing, and everything else builds off of this. Second, teachers and administrators must have a plan for student success. This plan includes academic standards, student conduct expectations, teacher expectations… teachers and administrators should even know how they want the students to look in the hall or in the cafeteria. Third, teachers and administrators must be consistent in following their plan and get the students and parents to buy into it.

Now, how does this all relate to the HISD bond issue? In my minimal reading about it, I can already tell that it’s not going to solve all of the problems with HISD. All of my kids suddenly becoming really wealthy and being able to afford tutors and trips to Europe would probably solve the problems with HISD, but that’s not going to happen. Instead, my kids have to rely on the efforts of an underpaid, overworked HISD staff.

Here's how Caucus board member and U.H. professor Maria Gonzalez felt after hearing discussions among caucus members:

I do not invest in any conception of efficiency for education. Education is a labor intensive product, historically reserved for the elite few because nations understood it as a scarce commodity. We in this country are conducting a great experiment in attempting universal education. My answer has always been the same—more teachers, less students in classes. It is not efficient, easy, or cheap, but it is the best way to almost guarantee an educated populace.

finally, I think we should all consider the politics behind this position. Our Caucus may very well singularly decide the fate of this bond. The Caucus has a unique chance to demonstrate that the GLBT community is invested in healthy Houston schools. Even though judges in Harris county discriminate against our families; even though our own city is slow to recognize and protect our families; The GLBT community wants the best for Houston schools. If we help the district pass this bond proposal, our community will more gain a seat at the table. We'll gain leverage in the discussion on how best to refine the current plan, and we'll be better positioned to lobby the district on behalf of GLBT children in the future.

A Majority of Americans Support ENDA

2007-09-12T14:10:00.001-05:00

Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs have just released poll results showing that 67% of Americans support the passage of ENDA in the U.S. Congress. This is great, as it indicates that not supporting the bill would be a political liability for many members of Congress who have been cautious on this issue in the past.

Beyond this though, the study uncovered several other interesting trends that point to incredible progress in our fight for equal rights:

The study does not indicate that discrimination no longer exists though. 51% of gay workers cited incidents of harassment at work. In recent reports, The William's Institute has also detailed the prevalence of workplace discrimination.

You can find a more thorough discussion of the poll results here.

GLBTube #10

2007-09-08T10:40:00.000-05:00

Candidates on GLBT Rights: Then and Now

This is the second installment of a short series on each of the presidential candidates. The first episode was on Barack Obama. Today's is on Mitt Romney.

The New York Times had an interesting profile on Romney's political evolution. Click on the graphic below to read some of Romney's quotes. Perhaps most interesting is that Romney once promised to not campaign against marriage equality. Now, in an effort to burnish his conservative credentials, he speaks against marriage equality more than any other candidate.

Then:

Now:

It seems that Romney's unfortunate conversion to dark side is just as troubling to many conservatives as it is to us.

HISD Bond: A Classroom Perspective

2007-09-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hi! My name is Laura, and I’m a long-time volunteer for HERA and the caucus. I just started my second year of teaching at Tinsley Elementary. I teach through the Teach for America program. Evan and I go way back, and he asked me to contribute to the blog on the HISD Bond Issue

At the caucus meeting on Wednesday night, I was impressed by the dedication everyone who spoke expressed to the education of all students. The mission of Teach for America is that, one day, all children in this country will receive an excellent education. Unfortunately, we know that excellent education for all is not currently a reality. Wednesday night, as at every TFA meeting and my school staff meetings, I heard people asking what we can do to get closer to that goal.

I’ve only taught for one year, and I certainly don’t have all (or many) answers. I haven’t thoroughly researched the bond issue yet (I plan to and then post more), but I have some small insights from my past year of teaching. I teach at a large school, similar to the size of the new consolidated campuses in the bond proposal – Tinsley has around 700 students in the first through fifth grades. It’s also a Title 1 school – about 95% of the students are on free/reduced lunch and about 70 – 80% of the students are considered at-risk. The school was only opened about 6 years ago, so the facillities are almost brand-new.

The facillities are incredible, but, as I learned last year, what is really important at any school is the faculty and staff. First, teachers and administrators must believe in and be committed to student success – this is the most important thing, and everything else builds off of this. Second, teachers and administrators must have a plan for student success. This plan includes academic standards, student conduct expectations, teacher expectations… teachers and administrators should even know how they want the students to look in the hall or in the cafeteria. Third, teachers and administrators must be consistent in following their plan and get the students and parents to buy into it.

Now, how does this all relate to the HISD bond issue? In my minimal reading about it, I can already tell that it’s not going to solve all of the problems with HISD. All of my kids suddenly becoming really wealthy and being able to afford tutors and trips to Europe would probably solve the problems with HISD, but that’s not going to happen. Instead, my kids have to rely on the efforts of an underpaid, overworked HISD staff.

I’m sure that it will be hard for the teachers at Sherman, Crawford, and the other schools slated for closure to leave those schools. However, after a new staff is firmly in place at the new locations, I am sure that these new schools will be successful provided that they have a great principal and good teachers. I also expect that these new schools will be better than the schools they replace. Last year, I had several friends who were transferred to different schools because the enrollment count went down. Each HISD school has different rules and a different culture – it took me almost half of the year to learn some of the ins and outs of the school and to feel comfortable there. Also, teachers can’t really go into their classrooms and lock everything else out anymore – if they ever could. Whether you like the TAKS tests or don’t, they are a reality. Teachers are required to teach the same standards and therefore must collaborate and build off one another. Additionally, middle and high school teachers, and many elementary teachers (including me), teach a couple of subjects and see many classes of students. I have to communicate closely with my team in order to know how all of my students are doing – Jesus’ reading obviously affects his needs in science, social studies, and even math. For all of those reasons, I really think that keeping the same administration and staff at a school is really important.

I don’t really like the idea of schools closing – I am worried about the ensuing chaos in building new schools and hiring new administration and faculty. I am worried about building new school communities because I know from my own experience that parents and students trust teachers and administrators whom they’ve seen and known for years. I am worried about students having to commute any further from their homes because I know that many of my students walk home. However, because I believe that the most important parts of a school are the people inside of it, I know that these new schools can be better than the old ones. I also hope that their construction will save funds that my kids desperately need.

Yay! Boos!

2007-09-06T14:23:00.000-05:00

Amazing! Senator Sam Brownback was booed by a Republican audience for supporting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage! If that's not progress, I don't know what is.

Live free or Die!

HISD Bond: "It's Really Two Questions"

2007-09-06T10:25:00.000-05:00

"It seems to me that it's really two questions. Do we want to approve the bond issue and get more money to the schools? Do we trust that the money will be well spent?"

That's how caucus board member Lorna Clark perfectly summed things up late into the debate last night. Everyone at the caucus seems to agree that Houston schools need more money and better facilities, but there are serious complaints and questions about the choices of school closures and consolidations. Was history and academic performance considered in the choice to close or consolidate a campus? Why were some small schools spared when others have been designated for closure? State Representative Sylvester Turner, Council Member Peter Brown and City Controller Annisse Parker all criticized the HISD board for choosing a plan that replaces small neighborhood elementary and middle schools with large consolidated campuses. HISD trustee Natasha Kamrani argued that reorganized, consolidated schools would allow the district to funnel more resources directly to the students, reiterating the fact that many campuses have dwindling enrollment. A teacher also expressed a great need for more secure campuses and newer facilities. Parents offered there own personal accounts.

So here are the schools that will be consolidated (click on links for maps):

Seven new schools to replace outdated facilities with low enrollment, including:

New K8 school to replace Fleming Middle School and Isaacs, Ross, and Scott Elementary Schools
New school to replace Cullen and Ryan Middle Schools
New school to replace Crawford and Sherman Elementary Schools
New school to replace Allen and Kennedy Elementary Schools
New K8 school to replace Atherton and Dogan Elementary Schools and Smith Education Center
New school to replace Hartsfield and Peck Elementary Schools
New school to replace Shearn and Whidby Elementary Schools

The HISD board has been criticized for not taking in enough community feedback in their decisions. In fact, the board itself provided little to no input into the final plan for the bond proposal. After a $395 million bond referendum failed in 1996, HISD contracted an outside consulting firm, Magellan K-12, to assess and recommend new projects to update and maintain the district. Magellan produced a three phase plan, of which this year's bond proposal represents the last installment. Magellan developed the criteria, and Magellan recommended schools for closure and consolidation. The HISD Board signed onto the plan.

So how did Magellan assess the schools?

First, according to Magellan's website, they pursued an intense community outreach effort:

During this period, a community outreach program was put in place to communicate the progress of the assessment, along with the results. Great emphasis was placed on community participation and involvement, and questionnaires were sent to every principal and 11,000 teachers to solicit input regarding their educational facilities.

Of course, this initial assessment and outreach effort was completed in 1999, when Magellan was first contracted. The district has been implementing the three phase plan ever since, and now they're ready to put forward the last stage. No wonder people don't feel that they've been consulted. Maybe an outreach effort was thoroughly pursued, but that was eight years ago. Every school in the district has cycled through student populations two or three times since that initial effort. In eight years new families have entered the district, and those families initially consulted have long since seen their children move on or graduate. Even if the district initially sought out community input, it was done so long ago that many people are unaware that it ever took place.

Second, Magellan assessed the various facilities of the district. Magellan performs these sorts of assessments all over the country, including Districts in Corpus Cristi, El Paso and Tyler, Texas. They approach this task with a rubric they call the APPLE standard:

Assessment standards are detailed parameters used to inventory and assess educational facilities. These are different from Educational Specifications in that they typically cover a wide range of facility types and address a minimum expectation for the overall design of the school as well as specific requirements at the classroom level.
Magellan K12 establishes assessment standards, and then conducts a survey to inventory all of the existing conditions throughout a school. The Magellan APPLE (Assessment Program for Performance Learning Environments) Standards contain eight major categories:

Capacity: Ability of core facilities to meet needs of the student population. Core facilities may include restrooms and toilets, dining facilities, libraries and administrative areas. Capacity issues also address site utilization. It is critical to consider the programs at a particular campus and the impact these programs have on classroom inventory and student teaching stations. It is also important to evaluate the use of permanent versus temporary structures.

Support for Programs: Provision of special spaces or classrooms that support specific curriculum offerings such as music, sports, science, technology, and gifted and talented programs. Support for programs may also include enclosed play areas or multi-purpose spaces that enhance school flexibility.

Technology: Presence of infrastructure, data distribution/storage and equipment within classroom and laboratory settings. This typically does not include provision of actual computers in the classroom, but does address the ability to support emerging technology. This might include local area network cabling, video distribution systems, electrical outlets, and projection or video display screens.

Supervision and Security: Extent to which physical configurations help or hinder building operation. This includes site buffers, security fencing, sight lines, lighting and obstructions in instructional spaces that make supervision difficult or impossible.

Instructional Aids: Presence of necessary equipment within teaching spaces including teacher storage, student storage, writing and tack surfaces, sinks, demonstration tables and fixed audio/video equipment. Instructional aids might also address surface heights, counter heights and types of writing surfaces.

Physical Characteristics: Primarily size and shape of individual teaching spaces. The total area and aspect ratio, derived by dividing the shortest side of a classroom by the longest side, impact the adequacy of a teaching space. Ceiling heights might also be a consideration. Unfortunately, these criteria are cost prohibitive to remedy in most circumstances.

Learning Environment: Degree to which learning areas are comfortable, well lighted, odor free, controllable and quiet.

Relationship of Spaces: Proximity of instructional spaces to support areas like libraries, restrooms, and student dining and recreational areas. It is generally thought that dining and recreation areas should be offset or remote to reduce distraction, while learning resource centers and libraries should be centrally located close to the school's core.

Many Caucus members worried that historic school buildings would be shut down. Representative Turner wondered why schools that performed well on state tests were slated for consolidation. Looking over Magellan's APPLE standard, it is clear that history and academic performance are not considered in their assessment of a building. It is indeed an assessment of the facility only: whether the building can suitably support the programs that the school has in place; whether the building's space is being used efficiently; whether there's a fair ratio of students to space. Magellan, for better or worse, was objectively examining infrastructure only. Magellan's philosophy seems to be that innovation and efficiency trumps history, which may, in fact, be true. If a historic building is failing students and teachers, then a legacy is meaningless. On the other hand, schools are often the hearts of neighborhoods, and regardless of shortcomings, their loss may be too high a cost.

More to come...

What are your thoughts?

Also, HISD is holding their last town hall to discuss the bond proposal tonight. More information here.

HISD + GLBT ?

2007-09-06T08:58:00.000-05:00

Something very significant happened at last night's general meeting. The Caucus membership had a healthy, thorough debate on whether to endorse the proposed HISD bond issue. The Caucus has rarely expressed official preferences on such things, but, amazingly, given the growing influence of the Caucus, our endorsement decision may just forecast the fate of the bond proposal on election day.

Yes, the GLBT community may in fact have the unusual burden of deciding this issue for the rest of the city. It's a strange situation, but Houston's GLBT community votes as a block, and our endorsement card is the singular guide for GLBT voters in Houston. Our card not only prescribes, it predicts the votes of thousands of Houstonians . There are few high profile races in this year's nonpartisan city election, and turn out will be low, so our community of habitual voters may have unmatched clout.

Advocates, both for and against the proposal, recognizing the impact our endorsement, showed up to make their cases last night. State Representative Sylvester Turner, who hasn't visited the Caucus since he ran for mayor, made a surprising appearance just to speak passionately against the proposal. HISD trustee Natasha Kamrani defended the proposal, pleading for much needed dollars and pledging to reach out to the community for more input. Controller Parker and Council Members Lovell and Brown also voiced their opinions. GLBT teachers and parents also spoke up. In the end, it was a really amazing demonstration of just how knowledgeable and curious our community is.

Debate was heated. Complex questions were raised, and after nearly an hour of discussion, wisely, the Caucus took a humble approach last night, deciding to postpone the endorsement and charge a special committee to further investigate the details of the bond proposal.

So...we're taking some time, because we all see that we must be careful on this consequential decision. I'm going to do my best to post a lot of information here, so that we can get a balanced perspective.

Later today I'll post the first of probably several posts looking into this question.

Hypocrites on Tape

2007-09-01T11:48:00.000-05:00

The crimes they've committed are bad enough, but their defense is disgusting.

Here's a nice clip from Talking Points Memo:

The Sad Life of a Closeted Conservative

2007-08-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

Everyone's reporting that Idaho Senator Larry Craig has plead guilty to lewd conduct in a public restroom. The Idaho Statesman has released a story outlining a long history of allegations that clearly indicates Senator Craig is indeed a closeted gay man.

Sen. Larry Craig, who in May told the Idaho Statesman he had never engaged in homosexual acts, was arrested less than a month later by an undercover police officer who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him in an airport men's room.
The arrest at a Minnesota airport prompted Craig to plead guilty to disorderly conduct earlier this month. His June 11 encounter with the officer was similar to an incident in a men's room in a Washington, D.C., rail station described by a Washington-area man to the Idaho Statesman. In that case, the man said he and Craig had sexual contact.
Craig, 62, was elected to Congress in 1980. Should he win re-election in 2008 and complete his term, he would be the longest-serving Idahoan ever in Congress. His record includes a series of votes against gay rights and his support of a 2006 amendment to the Idaho Constitution that bars gay marriage and civil unions.

This is just one more incident in a series, where hypocritical right-wing leaders have been caught expressing their homosexuality in inappropriate, criminal ways. And it is inappropriate and wrong to harass and solicit sex from minors, as Mark Foley did. It's wrong to sexually assault sleeping strangers, as Young Republican chair Glenn Murphy did, and Senator Craig's behavior is also wrong. Harassing people in public restrooms is inappropriate, wrong behavior.

These men are hypocrites, having championed legislation that oppresses the GLBT, and because of this, they are extremely irritating. More than that though, these men are extremely sad.

It is not homosexuality that causes them to act out inappropriately, it is conservatism. If these men were removed from the repressive right culture, they would be free to pursue happy, healthy lives as openly gay men. I just think the entire thing is very, very sad.

GLBTube #9

2007-08-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

Candidates on GLBT Rights: Then and Now

The next several GLBTube's will be presented as a series. I've been hunting for footage of each candidate for president, both past and present, so that we may see their evolution on our issues.

First in the series, for no particular reason, Barack Obama.

Then: 2004 U.S. senate race:

Now: HRC/Logo debate

Part 1

Part 2

HRC Maps Marriage

2007-08-23T07:30:00.001-05:00

Human rights campaign has just released a series of national maps that illustrate our progress in the fight for marriage equality. There is one interactive map that lets you explore each state in detail (click on the image below to play with it).

Looking at all this data, I have to admit that its pretty sad. We're making so much progress. Public opinion is shifting dramatically in our favor, but a decade of conservative leadership at the national level has really done a lot of damage. In many ways they have succeeded in pushing our country further and more permanently to the right than many people would have ever wished. Of course, no one ever thought we'd be talking about marriage so soon in our fight for equality. It's a remarkable phenomenon that our country is even discussing the possibility of same-sex marriage.

Here's the data:

Whoa... No Comment

2007-08-08T08:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I reported that two openly gay men have been elected to lead the Young Democrats of America. Later that day, I stumbled upon this incredible bit of gossip.

From the Indiana blog Taking Down Words:

Glenn Murphy, Jr., the recently elected chairman of the Young Republican National Federation (also the RNC Chair for Clark County, Indiana and formerly the YRNF Secretary) has been accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping man. Immediately following the accusation, he came up with an unrelated reason to resign, and the YRNF cleansed their website of his name.

Allegedly, Murphy and another YR were drunk and crashing at Murphy's sister's house. The other man apparently awoke in the morning to find Murphy giving him a non-consensual blow job. The Clark County (Indiana) Sheriff's Department is charging Murphy with "criminal deviate conduct", a Class B felony.

It turns out that this isn't the first time Mr. Murphy has been accused of such a crime. In 1998 Murphy was investigated for perpetrating the exact same type of sexual assault on a different man. Here's the police report.

This story is just starting to break in the main stream media. Check the coverage at Indiana's News and Tribune and at the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Young Democrats Elect Gay Leaders

2007-08-07T09:20:00.000-05:00

For the first time in its history the Young Democrats of America organization has elected two openly gay men to lead. Garnering an incredable 93% of the delgate votes, Texan David Hardt was elected president. Chris Anderson, another openly gay young democrat from Tennessee, was elected executive vice president.

This is just another example of how quickly things change. When it comes democratic politics, we're out of the closet. Its interesting that the Republicans have allegedly had gay men lead their party, but they kept it secret. Democrats, at least the young ones, are excited to celebrate their talented gay leaders.

The National Stonewall Democrats congratulated Hardt and Anderson:

"Young voters are the new base of the Democratic Party, and we are proud that the Young Democrats of America support equality for LGBT families and have placed their faith in the leadership of two great Democratic leaders who happen to be gay," Jo Wyrick, NSD executive director, said in a release. "The future of our party now has an opportunity to demonstrate to all Democrats how fully engaging our community is politically viable and smart."

New Study: Gay Support = Election Victory

2007-08-06T07:52:00.000-05:00

Equality Forum has just released a study that affirms the Caucus mission: educate our community so that we may play a key role in electing pro-equality candidates.

Here's what happened in Philadelphia when the GLBT community got behind their long shot candidate:

The May 15, 2007 Democratic primary, which is tantamount to election in heavily-
Democratic Philadelphia, featured five well-known politicians: two longtime Members of Congress, a former City Councilman, a State Representative who chairs the Appropriations Committee in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and a wealthy former Deputy Mayor. The former City Councilman, Michael Nutter, spent most of the race lagging in fourth place before he surged to victory, garnering 36.6% of the citywide vote.

The Equality Forum study reviewed the votes cast in seven distinct Philadelphia gay
neighborhoods and found that Nutter garnered 74% of the vote in these neighborhoods. A review of the top 12 Philadelphia tracts identified in the U.S. Census as having the most same-sex couples residing in the same household found that Nuttter received 69% of the vote in these census tracts. The study compared the percentage of votes from the gay neighborhoods and census tracts to the percentage of votes each candidate received in the respective wards. The gay
voting divisions averaged a 17% higher percentage vote for Nutter than the respective overall ward percentage.

Spelling it OUT: Election Goals 2007

2007-08-06T06:53:00.000-05:00

If nothing else, this blog has a reported the trend towards equality in our country. All of us owe a lot to the generations of activists that had to meet secretly, court voters with hushed voices, and negotiate with officials without the leverage of public accountability.

Those days are gone, and tolerance is surging, because our community is increasingly honest and open about our issues. In that spirit, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has approved an official agenda for the 2007 city election. It's a list of specific policy goals. When we endorse candidates, it means that we believe they are the leaders that will helps us realize these goals as soon as possible.

Spelling it OUT: Election Goals 2007
The Houston GLBT Political Caucus has a vision for the future of Houston. During the 2007 campaign, our community will endorse and work tirelessly for candidates who will enable our city to realize the goals stated below. Equality and justice cannot come too soon.

We aim to cultivate a city that offers GLBT people liberty, equality, and respect. To that end, we will continue working to elect courageous school and government officials that are devoted to progressing GLBT equality.
We will work to elect a city council that will renounce discrimination in GLBT employment.
We will work to elect a city council that will provide everyone in the GLBT community with equal access to housing and public accommodations.
We will work to elect school officials that are committed to providing GLBT students with a safe, welcoming learning environment, without discriminatory curricula.

2007 General Election Endorsements

2007-08-02T16:17:00.001-05:00

Last night the Houston GLBT Political Caucus voted on candidates to endorse for the November 2007 general election. The candidates gave some great speeches, and the debate was lively and spirited about whom to endorse. There were also quite a few new faces at the meeting participating in the process, and we hope they'll all be able to make it to our next meeting in September. Below is the press release the caucus released following our endorsement meeting. Enjoy!

Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC Endorsements

“Membership Holds Annual Endorsement Meeting”

HOUSTON, TEXAS—The Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC is pleased to announce its endorsed candidates for 2007:
Controller Annise Parker
At-Large Position 2 Sue Lovell
At-Large Position 3 Melissa Noriega
At-Large Position 4 Ron Green
At-Large Position 5 Jolanda Jones
District B Jarvis Johnson
District C Anne Clutterbuck
District D Wanda Adams
District H Adrian Garcia
District I James Rodriguez
HISD, District 4 Paula Harris
HCCS Trustee, District 1 Kevin Hoffman

“We had outstanding candidates seek our endorsement and very difficult decisions had to be made. I am very proud of the work the membership has done, and we look forward to making sure our endorsed candidates get elected this fall,” said Jenifer Pool, president of the Caucus, which held its PAC meeting on Wednesday, August 1st.

The Caucus meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. The monthly meeting is held at the Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama. Visitors are encouraged to attend the monthly meeting to learn more about the HGLBTPC. For more information about the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Caucus events, or volunteer opportunities call 713-521-1000, email info@hglbtpc.org, or visit our web site at www.hglbtpc.org.
###

Partners in Crime

2007-08-02T08:34:00.000-05:00

This is a fascinating story out of Philadelphia. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

A federal judge in Philadelphia has ruled that a long-term gay couple on probation has the same right to associate as a married couple.
Senior U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz issued the ruling in a case involving two Montgomery County men, Daniel Mangini and Steven Roberts, who were convicted in 2004 of dealing 100 grams of methamphetamine.
After their release from federal prison, the U.S. Probation Office declined to allow them to live together, citing a policy that forbids felons on probation from associating with other felons unless they are blood relatives or spouses.
Under the probation department rules, they were not permitted to speak, meet or e-mail during their five-year period of supervised release.
Before their arrests, Mangini and Roberts had lived together for 18 years, shared bank accounts, and helped raise a young girl.
"Defendants were in every way a family," Katz wrote in a 10-page opinion issued Tuesday. "The Due Process Clause [of the Constitution] protects highly personal relationships of deep attachment and commitment."

Amazingly, this case is establishing an extremely important precedent. Judge Katz is affirming the equal rights of same-sex couples. The ACLU press release describes the historic impact of this decision:

After acknowledging the long-term commitment that the couple has made to each other and noting the great strides both have made in their recovery, Judge Katz ruled today that the couple can no longer be barred from having contact with each other. Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas, Judge Katz ruled that same-sex couples have the same right to form intimate relationships as opposite sex couples and that it is unconstitutional to treat same-sex couples differently.
"This is truly a great day for our clients who have been barred from having any contact with each other for more than a year," said Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania. "By honoring their commitment to each other and fighting to be together, Dan and Steven have helped to bring about ground-breaking law requiring equal treatment for same-sex couples."

In many ways, this was obviously a terrible ordeal for Mangini and Roberts. Thankfully, both men are now sober, moving forward with their life together.

I guess in this case, as far as the GLBT community is concerned, crime pays.

Endorsement Preview

2007-07-31T16:37:00.000-05:00

Endorsement Meeting

Wednesday, August 1st

Mingle with the Candidates, 6:30 PM
Havens Center
1827 West Alabama St.

Here are the candidates that have screened with caucus so far. Tomorrow we will endorse a candidate in each of the races represented below. We will continue to screen and endorse candidates from other races as we approach election day.

Click on the names to visit campaign sites or other sites featuring information and these candidates.

Houston City Controller:

Annise Parker

Houston City Council

At Large 2:

Sue Lovell

At Large 4:

Ron Green

At Large 5:

District B:

Jarvis Johnson

District D:

District H:

Adrian Garcia

District I:

Houston Community College Board of Trustees

Kevin Hoffman, HCCS district I

Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees

Position 4:

Working Out

2007-07-25T10:09:00.000-05:00

Next week the Caucus will vote to endorse candidates running for Houston City Council. The issue of employment discrimination always dominates our screening of candidates running for city office, and for good reason. Being the only major American city that does not guarantee GLBT people equal treatment in the workplace and equal, unbiased treatment when applying for jobs, Houston is sadly unique in this country.

With this in mind, I'd like to focus today's entry on two new reports that examine GLBT treatment in the workplace. The first study, HRC's "State of the Workplace for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans," shows a number of positive developments.

From HRC Back Story:

This year's report found an increase in the number of Fortune 500 employers that offer domestic partner benefits since last year - up from 250 to 267. This is also good news: almost 90% of Fortune 500 companies have anti-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation. And just how is the state of the workplace for the "T" constituency of our community? It seems that things are looking positive. Today, 25% percent of Fortune 500-ranked companies prohibit discrimination against transgender employees and applicants, compared to just 1 percent at the beginning of 2000.

The second report comes from the Williams Institute. Their report collects raw data from many different studies undertaken over the last two three decades. The Williams Institute does great work, and you can read their complete report here.

Here is a chart summarizing statistics about discrimination from the many studies they compared:

Lots of progress is being made, but, as the Williams Institute report illustrates, without government mandated nondiscrimination GLBT workers are too often treated unfairly. Some studies have found that nearly 70% of GLBT workers have gone through some form of discrimination in their careers. Studies show that transgendered people suffer even worse. There is an earning gap between GLBT professionals and straight professionals, but, of course, we all know these things. What are we going to do about it?

This year, for the first time, we have the chance to gain a majority on City Council. Come to our meeting, and help us pick the candidates that we'll back all the way to city hall.

Let's Talk About It

2007-07-24T14:59:00.000-05:00

This blog often highlights instances when GLBT issues come out of the closet and into the mainstream. Last night’s CNN / YouTube presidential debate was historic for many reasons, but I was most impressed by the unprecedented amount of attention that focused on the GLBT community. Previous debates have touched on these issues, but I can’t recall a more thorough discussion than the one excerpted below. Amazingly, I felt the most substantive, emotional, even contentious moments of the two hour debate were ignited by the GLBT questions.

Of course, I think this development is great and long overdue, but all this attention on gay marriage got me thinking. I was amazed at how brief the discussion on health care was. All and all, they barely mentioned education. Few would deny that the 2008 presidential election will be extremely consequential. Our country is caught up in a thousand trials right now, from the Iraq war to the health care crisis. I’m curious… as a member of the GLBT community, what issue is most important to you in regards to electing the next president? What should we be talking about most, the environment or DADT, health care or marriage equality? Is there one, individual issue that will decide your vote in the primary? Does that issue involve GLBT civil rights?

On anther note, this is the fifty-second post of 2007! This blog was re-inaugurated in January, and since then, we’ve tried to cover a broad array of issues, both local and national. What was your favorite post? How would change the coverage?

After fifty posts, I think we should take a little time to talk about it.

Thanks

GLBTube #8

2007-07-23T07:08:00.000-05:00

Tonight CNN will host the first ever YouTube presidential debate. I'm really looking forward to it, as I've been browsing through the questions the last few weeks, and there are some very insightful ones in the mix. Obviously, only a handful of the hundreds of questions will make it onto the broadcast, so I've embedded four of the best GLBT questions here on our blog. (Interestingly, nearly all of the GLBT related questions I found were asked by men. I wonder why. What do you think?)

I also wanted to include this clip from Human Rights Campaign. Elizabeth Edwards on GLBT equality:

"Neil and Ron" in Dear Abby

2007-07-13T08:06:00.000-05:00

Next to apple pie and the Fourth of July, it's hard to get much more middle America than 'Dear Abby.' The common-sense advice column has been running in America's newspapers since 1956, and apparently is "read by more people than any other newspaper column worldwide."

So for all the public opinion data and statistics this blog's covered the past few months about changing public opinions in the United States on acceptance of GLBT people, when 'Dear Abby' is running heartwarmingly Dear-Abbyish columns about GLBT couples and how they're being accepted by their families, that's some pretty hard evidence that public opinion is on our side. Take a look below for the column from yesterday's Houston Chronicle.

Dear Abby:

My husband and I raised our two sons and two daughters. One son and both daughters married well. Our other son, "Neil," is gay. He and his partner, "Ron," have been together 15 years, but Neil's father and I never wanted to know Ron because we disapproved of their lifestyle.

When I was 74, my husband died, leaving me in ill health and nearly penniless. No longer able to live alone, I asked my married son and two daughters if I could "visit" each of them for four months a year. All three turned me down.

When Neil and Ron heard what had happened, they welcomed me into their home and even removed a wall between two rooms so I'd have a bedroom with a private bath and sitting room.

They also include me in many of their plans. Since I moved in with them, I have traveled more than I have my whole life and seen places I only read about in books. They never mention the fact that they are supporting me or that I ignored them in the past.

When old friends ask how it feels living with my gay son, I tell them I hope they're lucky enough to have one who will take them in one day. Please continue urging your readers to accept their children as they are. My only regret is that I wasted 15 years.

GRATEFUL MOM

Dear Grateful Mom:

You are indeed fortunate to have such a loving, generous and forgiving son. Sexual orientation is not a measure of anyone's humanity or worth. Thank you for pointing out how important it is that people respect each other for who they are, not for what we would like them to be.

You could have learned that lesson long ago, had you and your husband contacted Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (1726 M St. N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036; www.pflag.org) when you first learned that Neil was gay. Among other things, the organization offers support groups and education for parents who need to learn more about gender issues.

We're Here, We're Queer, They're Used to It

2007-07-12T09:08:00.001-05:00

The Economist reports:

The last full census, in 2000, counted nearly 600,000 same-sex couples. Five years later, the American Community Survey (in which the Census Bureau quizzes a statistically representative sample of 1.4m households) estimated that that number had increased by 30%, to 777,000.

The increase was most pronounced in the Midwest, with Wisconsin showing an 81% jump in the number of same-sex couples and Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and Indiana also among the ten fastest-growing states in this respect. What this means, perhaps, is that gay America is becoming more like Middle America. “Much of the stereotype around gays is a stereotype of urban white gay men,” says Mr Gates. “The gay community is becoming less like that, and more like the population in general.” Gay couples are still more likely than straight ones to live in cities, but the gap is smaller than popularly believed, and closing. In 1990, 92% of gay couples but only 77% of American households were in what the Census Bureau calls “urban clusters”. By 2000, the gay figure had fallen to 84% while the proportion for households in general had risen to 80%, a striking convergence.

Over the last several days, the Caucus has been screening candidates seeking to win offices in this November's city elections. We're talking to candidates from all over the city, not just Montrose, and as we look forward to elections in 2008, we're even planning on targeting state rep. districts outside the 610 loop. As the above article describes, GLBT families exist everywhere, and we can demonstrate our influence everywhere. I truly believe we're fast approaching the threshold of significant change. We owe so much to the previous generation of activists. Those queers got out there, everywhere, and now everyone's used to us.

Unfortunately, we still don't have equality, but Houston and America is ready, so let's get to work.

GLBTube #7

2007-07-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the fight for equality gets a little bit dirty (wink, wink) …

Ex…Ex…Ex… Exposed, ex ex-gay, Michael Busse, comes out about leaving Exodus ministries. Amazingly, Busse and his partner were both founders of the organization. They met and fell in love while trying to convert people away from homosexuality.

Turn the Other Cheek… No! That’s not pillow talk; that’s biblical. This story’s pretty amazing. On Saturday, July 7^th, evangelicals from across Tennessee marched through Nashville’s GLBT neighborhood, condemning homosexuality and abortion. GLBT residents did not respond in kind to the hateful intrusion. Instead OutLoud, a local advocacy group, offered the marchers cold water and hugs. There peaceful efforts made national news, drowning out the impact of the prejudiced march. Here’s a great clip recording the events:

Truth or Dare… Bill Graham, a retiring minister of the Canadian Parliament, reflects on his 23 years of service. Graham’s discussion of the gay marriage debate is very illuminating.

Mos and Microsoft

2007-07-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money

Cascade Investment LLC, the private investment firm of Bill Gates, the worlds richest man, has put 26 million dollars behind PlanetOut!

(I found this photo over at Seattelest, and I thought it was just too good to leave out.)

The Nasdaqu traded stock of PlanetOut, the umbrella company behind The Advocate, Out Magazine, and gay.com, has struggled since going public in 2004, but, oh, how quickly things change. It seems that Gates, certainly one of the world's most savy and insightful business leaders, sees great potential in GLBT media. I suspect this is just another indication of growing trend I describe in previous posts: more and more, the growth GLBT tolerance positively correlates with economic growth.

What does this mean for us? Now is the time. We have momentum. We have powerful advocates, like Bill Gates. Let's be bold in our activism.

Patriotic Party with the Next Mayor of Houston

2007-06-29T12:20:00.001-05:00

I know... She hasn't officially announced anything, but the Houston GLBT Political Caucus is so proud of City Controller Annise Parker, so excited that she may be the first openly homosexual mayor of a major American city, that we just have to celebrate. This year's annual July 4th fundraiser will be held at the home of Annise Parker.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW - WHILE THEY LAST!

Over the last several elections, the caucus has achieved some historic victories. Our organization is healthy and growing. We have ambitious goals and a clear vision for the future of Houston - Houston led by Annise Parker. Annise Parker has proven herself over many years of service to our city, and we at the Caucus have been dreaming about her mayoral election for a long, long time. Rest assured, we're going to work harder than we've ever worked to get her elected, but...

Like you need equality,
WE NEED YOUR MONEY!

Here are all the details:

Wednsday, July 4th, 3:00 - 6:00
The home of the Honorable Annise Parker
1942 West Lamar, Houston, TX

Delicious BBQ!

Tickets are $50

R.S.V.P. TODAY

Annise Parker and Sue Lovell Join the Clinton Campaign

2007-06-28T08:15:00.000-05:00

Houston may proudly count itself among the few American cities that have openly gay leaders in their municipal governments. City Controller Annise Parker and City Council Member Sue lovell have offered Houstonians great leadership, and those of us in the caucus can proudly say "we knew them when." Both are past presidents of our organization, and today both have placed themselves in Hillary Clinton's corner, as she competes for to be first women President of the United States.

In a press release commemorating the stonewall riots, Clinton announced yesterday the formation of a 65 member LGBT campaign steering committee. All members of the committee have individually endorsed Clinton, and Parker and Lovell are included in the list. They're in good company too, as the committee is comprised of many of our nation's most prominent LGBT elected officials and community activists. You can view the complete list here.

The list of supporters on the steering committee demonstrates the history of friendship that Hillary Clinton has had with this community and the depth of her support among LGBT leaders. It includes people like former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Eldie Acheson, who went to college with Hillary Clinton, and Neel Lattimore who worked for her as First Lady as well as film/TV writer and producer Greg Berlanti who met her last week and signed on as a supporter immediately. The list also includes prominent LGBT activists who have been leaders on issues important to the community, including three retired members of the military who have worked to overturn the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, advocates in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the attorney who argued and won the landmark Supreme Court case, Lawrence v. Texas.

Last week I posted that John Edwards had announced a second list of LGBT backers and the endorsement of Garnet Coleman. Yesterday, Edwards campaigned in Houston with Coleman and Chris Bell, another caucus candidate. As Pride month comes to a close, nearly all of the democratic presidential candidates have released some sort of statement demonstrating their LGBT support. You can read Barack Obama's statement here and Bill Richardson's statement here. In this race, the Democrats are embracing our community like they never have before. Elizabeth Edwards even campaigned at the San Francisco Pride parade, becoming the most prominent candidate or spouse to ever participate in the festivities. As far as I can tell, none of the Republicans have mentioned us, except to affirm their belief in heterosexual marriage.

Of course, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has no official position and will have official position on the presidential race. We're exclusively focused on cultivating equality in Houston and across the state Texas, but this blog was created to be forum for our community to discuss politics at all levels. When local leaders from our community, like Annise Parker, Sue Lovell, or Garnet Coleman, make an endorsement, I think that we should talk about it here.

Now that we're in the summer lull, before the city races get going full throttle, I'd love to get a discussion going about all this. What do y'all think about the race so far?

This is How Equality Happens

2007-06-27T12:09:00.000-05:00

This is how equality happens: one race at a time. Listen to this NPR piece from this morning's All Things Considered. GLBT activists are making the difference in key local and state races all over America. This quote sums up our growing influence in Houston and nationally:

A new force is emerging in American politics: gay political donors who target state-level races. Last year, they funneled millions of dollars into dozens of carefully selected campaigns. Their goal: to elect gay-friendly governors and state lawmakers.

Congratulations! Today, Melissa Noriega has been sworn in as a Houston City Council member! After working tirelessly throughout the spring, the GLBT community can celebrate the inauguration of a new friend on council, and we can also celebrate the end of the hateful, anti-equality tenure of Shelly Sekula-Gibbs and Tom Delay. Noriega has gained broad support across the city, but no community campaigned more diligently than ours. I don't think any knowledgeable observer would deny that.

We're changing Houston, and we're changing this country. In our fight for equality, we're fulfilling the American promise.

Join the Caucus, contribute, and help us make difference.

Another Encouraging Public Opinion Poll

2007-06-27T08:16:00.000-05:00

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation just released this amazing new poll:

A majority of Americans believe that gays and lesbians could not change their sexual orientation even if they wanted to, according to results of a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday.
It's the first time in a CNN poll the majority has held that belief regarding homosexuality.
Fifty-six percent of about 515 poll respondents said they do not believe sexual orientation can be changed. In 2001, 45 percent of those responding to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll held that belief. In 1998, according to a CNN/Time poll, the number was 36 percent.

With this report, like many of the others I cited here, I'm most impressed by the quick pace of change. In just ten years, 20% of Americans have come to understand that sexual orientation is not a choice. That's truly amazing. We've made such incredible progress. Just imagine... in ten years, its possible that three quarters of our country will understand the truth about sexual orientation.

We can even accelerate the pace of progress. This poll shows that the tipping point has been reached. Our community needs to be out spoken, direct and honest about our goals and our need for equality. That's what the caucus' political activism is all about. In the upcoming city election, we should campaign like we've never campaigned before. We have the momentum, and we have a platform.

Join the caucus. Contribute. Help us make Houston a welcoming home for everyone.

Proud Edwards

2007-06-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

You might be wondering why John Edwards has been getting more coverage on this blog than any other candidate. I regularly check the websites of all presidential candidates, both Democrat and Republican. I've signed up to receive almost everyones e-mails, and, up to now, John Edwards is the only candidate that headlines his LGBT support. I don't imagine that too many of us in the Caucus have decided who we're supporting in the primary, but Edwards is obviously proud to have LGBT backers, and that means a lot to me. I assume that the other Democrats are receiving endorsements from our community as well, but they aren't publicizing them, and I find that a little troubling.

Just this week, Edwards announced yet another impresive list of LGBT endorsers:

Kevin Jennings, New York LGBT Community Activist

Jeffrey Davis, New York LGBT Community Activist, Managing Director of Lehman Brothers

Gregory G. Simoncini, Commissioner of Illinois Human Rights Commission, former Board Member of National Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, former Board Member of Lambda Legal

Stephen Handwerk, Board Member of National Stonewall Democrats and Co-Chair of Louisiana Stonewall Democrats.

Jeff Anderson, former Co-Chair of John Kerry for President National LGBT Finance Committee

Jeff Soukup, Board Member of Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, former President and COO, PlanetOut Inc., and former Co-Chair National Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund

Pam Cooke, Board Member of National Stonewall Democrats

Also, on the same day that he posted the list above, John Edwards was in Austin. While visiting our state he announced that several prominent Texas Democrats have gotten behind him. Most importantly to us, State Representative Garnet Coleman, the featured speaker at our last meeting, has formally endorsed John Edwards for president. That really impresses me.
Here's what Coleman had to say:

"We need a Democrat in the White House in 2008 to fix the damage done by the Bush Administration and put our country back on track," said state Representative Garnet Coleman. "John Edwards is the best Democrat to take back the White House and restore America to its place of leadership."

Here's the complete list of Texas endorsers:

Current Elected Officials

Dallas Mayor Laura Miller - Dallas
State Senator Kirk Watson - Austin
State House Democratic Leader Jim Dunnam - Waco
State Representative Trey Martinez-Fischer, Vice Chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus - San Antonio
State Representative Garnet Coleman, Immediate Past Chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus & Chair of the Texas Legislative Study Group - Houston
State Representative Joe Farias - San Antonio
State Representative Stephen Frost - New Boston
State Representative Mark Homer - Paris
State Representative Paula Pierson - Arlington
State Representative Craig Eiland - Galveston

Former Elected Officials:

Former U.S. Representative Max Sandlin - Marshall
State Senator Babe Schwartz - Galveston

Other Prominent Texans for John Edwards:

Charles Soechting - Former Texas Democratic Party Chairman - San Marcos
Hank Gilbert - 2006 Commissioner of Agriculture Democratic Nominee - Tyler
Jim Marston - Director, Environmental Defense Texas * - Austin
Enrique Moreno - El Paso
Frank Herrera - Former Chair, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund * - San Antonio
Mikal Watts - Possible 2008 Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate - San Antonio
Liz Carpenter - Austin
Karen Dulaney Smith, Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees - Austin*

* For Identification Purposes Only

GLBTube #6

2007-06-12T07:18:00.000-05:00

The good, the bad, and the ugly… You figure which is which.

Overview of GLBT Issues from the 80th Legislature

2007-06-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

Last night's Caucus general meeting was really excellent. Members had the great pleasure of hearing presentations from three of our champions in the state house, Garnet Coleman, Ellen Cohen, and Hubert Vo.

Representative Coleman has put together a thorough summary of GLBT related activity from this year's session. This was just one of many excellent messages that Coleman has sent out this spring through his GLBT e-mail blast. I thought everyone would appreciate finding out what happened, and, more importantly, what didn't happen up in Austin this year.

Dear Friend,
Through a lot of hard work, the GLBT community has made tremendous strides over just the past few years in educating the public about equality and fairness for GLBT people, and that showed in the 80th Texas Legislature. Fourteen pro-GLBT issues were filed this session, compared to just one anti-GLBT bill. In contrast to last session, action on the House floor, while rare, was generally positive for GLBT-related legislation. There are still a number of narrow-minded members hostile to GLBT issues, but many members, particularly freshmen, have voted for positive GLBT-related legislation when it's had a chance to get to the floor.

The 'Dignity for All Students' Budget Amendment by Coleman Late this March, I authored an amendment to the budget that required all schools to report data on incidents of bullying and harassment against GLBT students in Texas. Every student in Texas has the right to a quality education without fear of harassment or bullying at school. My amendment simply would have required schools to report on incidents of harassment at schools, because knowing what kind of harassment is going on at school would even further clarify the need for the legislature to do something to stop it.

The Coleman "Dignity for All Students" data collection amendment passed the House, with nine Republicans joining sixty-seven Democrats in voting for the amendment, although it was ultimately stripped in conference committee and did not become law.

Legislative Intent on the rights of residential tenants I was proud to establish legislative intent on a piece of legislation this session with Rep. Rafael Anchia to expand housing protections for GLBT Texans. Rep. Anchia authored HB 3101, which expanded rights and remedies for residential tenants in Texas. Rep. Anchia and I had an exchange read into the record for legislative intent establishing that if a landlord refuses to rent to a person for a particular reason (including the person's orientation) without including that reason in a list of eligibility criteria for renting, then the landlord would have to return any deposit that person put down on the apartment.

GLBT Texans should not have the rug pulled out from underneath them and lose their deposit on an apartment if a landlord decides not to rent to them without informing them of their renting criteria, and this legislative intent I established will ensure no Texans have to face that circumstance.

Rep. Hochberg's Juvenile Hate Crimes Legislation This session I joint-authored H.B. 1078 with Representative Scott Hochberg, which allowed for a finding of conduct constituting a hate crime in a juvenile proceeding. Texas' current law defines hate crimes for crimes committed by adults, including crimes motivated on the basis of a person's sexual orientation. However, the law does not define hate crimes committed by juveniles, even though nearly one-third of all hate crime offenders are juveniles. The tragic attack on David Ritcheson in Spring last year only emphasizes the need for such legislation.

H.B. 1078 passed out of committee on a unanimous vote in April, although it was never set for debate on the House floor.

Unequal Legal Treatment under 'Romeo & Juliet' statute Texas law regarding statutory rape currently unfairly discriminates against GLBT young people. Texas law allows for a three-year overlapping time frame between two young persons who have sexual relations, to prevent cases in which an eighteen year old senior is charged with statutory rape for dating a seventeen year old junior (this is often referred to as a "Romeo" exception). But that exception only applies when the two young people are of the opposite sex, so GLBT young people don't get the exception.

This February I authored an amendment to repeal that unfair treatment in the law. The amendment was defeated, but I promise to remain vigilant on this issue through the interim and next session as well.

Montrose Management District While GLBT Houstonians live all over the city, Montrose has long been a cultural and social home to Houston's GLBT community. Along with Representative Ellen Cohen and Senator Rodney Ellis, this session I passed HB 4091, which expanded the East Montrose Management District to include West Montrose and added additional members to the board.

The Montrose Management District invests in neighborhood improvements and infrastructure projects to improve quality of life and spur economic development in Montrose, and I was proud to author and pass HB 4091 this session.

Stopping Prison Sexual Assault Sexual assault against prisoners is a problem in Texas; at least 36% of all instances of sexual assault against prisoners in the United States occurred in Texas, not including the countless number of cases which go unreported. Sexual assault in prison can lead to increased cases of HIV, increases in long-term health care costs both within and outside of prison, and can have terrible physical and psychological effects on victims of sexual assault. Unfortunately, GLBT prisoners are often singled out more than others as victims of sexual assault in prison.

HB 1944, which I authored and passed this session along with Senator Rodney Ellis, creates an ombudsperson in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Office of Inspector General to ensure impartial resolution of instances of sexual assault.

Health care for children in foster care Current law in Texas allows children in college to remain on their parents' health insurance until age 24, but for foster children, the State of Texas serves as their parents. I passed an amendment this session to allow foster children who are attending college to remain on Medicaid until age 23. Certainly this amendment benefits all children in foster care, but now GLBT youth who have "aged out" of the foster care system can have health coverage until they leave school.

The Davis Amendment to Rep. Charlie Howard's "Religious Viewpoints" bill The far-right still has a strong grip on state government, and this session we faced Rep. Charlie Howard's "religious viewpoints" bill, which was meant to codify religious freedoms in schools. The bill required every event at which students assemble for school administrators to provide a "limited public forum" for students to express their religious viewpoints. I strongly believe in respecting students' rights of speech, but Rep. Howard's bill essentially would require schools to let students proselytize at any student assembly at which attendance was mandatory.

Rep. Yvonne Davis of Dallas had a very simple amendment to Rep. Charlie Howard's bill. It stated that a student's speech at one of these "limited public forums" could not discriminate against other students on the basis of their "sex, race, age, sexual preference, or religious beliefs." Rep. Davis' amendment was a good attempt to ensure that these "limited public forums" did not turn into platforms for bigotry or hatred against other students. Twenty-three Republicans and sixty-five Democrats voted for the Davis amendment, although it was ultimately stripped in conference committee and did not become law.

Anti-GLBT Legislation The sole anti-GLBT billfiled this session, HB 1017 by Rep. William Zedler was aimed at banning gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in our public schools. GSAs provide a strong support network for GLBT youth in what may be a difficult time in their lives. Fortunately, HB 1017 never even received a hearing from the Public Education committee, and I would thank both the GLBT community and my colleague on the committee, Representative Scott Hochberg, for their hard work in helping to kill this bad piece of public policy.

Fortunately, not a single anti-GLBT amendment made it to the floor this session. Last session the House passed an amendment banning gays and lesbians from being foster parents in Texas. Despite ample opportunities to do so, no amendment like that hit the floor this session. Changing hearts and minds isn't inevitable; it's happened
because the GLBT community has worked so hard to educate people about ending discrimination and bigotry in our state. I believe that hard work translated this session into the inaction on legislation that would diminish the rights of GLBT Texans. (In particular, Equality Texas, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus and Randall Ellis at Legacy Community Health Services have done excellent political and advocacy work to advance GLBT issues this session).

Tom Craddick's grip on the flow of legislation Despite the change in membership that has made the Legislature a less intolerant place for GLBT issues, Speaker Tom Craddick and his leadership team stifled or stopped many of the positive changes members voted for this session. My amendment and the Davis amendment were stripped from their respective bills in conference committee, and Rep. Hochberg's juvenile hate crimes bill was never set for debate on the floor. Additionally, many of the pro-GLBT bills filed this session never received hearings from the committees to which they were referred.

Speaker Tom Craddick has shown his hostility to GLBT issues as speaker, allowing measures to come to the floor like a constitutional ban on gay marriage and a ban on gays and lesbians serving as foster parents. More generally, Tom Craddick has shown hostility to individual rights and freedoms in his three terms as speaker. Recently, he declared he has "absolute power" over all motions on the floor of the house and refused to recognize motions to let the members vote on whether he should remain speaker. Contravening the wishes of the majority of the House through declarations of absolute power is one of many reasons why I believe the Texas House needs a new speaker.

Conclusion I hope this information is helpful to you in covering how the 80th Texas Legislature treated GLBT legislation session. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to respond to this e-mail or call my district office at 713-520-5355. I promise to you that I will continue fighting for equal rights for GLBT Texans in the legislature and providing leadership without fear.

Sincerely,

Garnet Coleman

An interesting Metric for Growing Tolerance

2007-06-05T11:11:00.000-05:00

According to Prime Access Inc., an marketing agency that produces an annual report on advertisement revenues in the gay and lesbian press, corporate America recognizes that tolerance for GLBT in is surging significantly.

Here are some of the report's key findings. You may read the entire report here.

Compared to a decade ago, advertising growth in gay and lesbian press continues to out pace advertising growth in consumer magazines as a whole. For the gay and lesbian press, 2006 advertising spending is up an impressive 205% since 1996, compared to an increase of 47% for all consumer magazines during the same ten year period.
Over 183 Fortune 500(registered trade mark) brands were active in gay consumer markets as of 2006, up from 150 in 2004. There were only 19 such brands in 1994
The combined circulation of all publications constituting the gay and lesbian press is now 3,777,488, an increase of 10.4 % versus a year ago.

I think those findings are pretty amazing. Prime Access president Howard Buford gave Market Watch the following statement regarding the report:

"This year's report confirms how, in just one decade, gay and lesbian consumers have gone from an overlooked niche to an audience that Fortune 500 companies are working overtime to reach," said Howard Buford, president of Prime Access, in a release accompanying the report. "The numbers make it clear that corporate America recognizes and values both the spending power and influence of gay consumers."