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Activists plan 2nd annual Dallas Harvey Milk celebration May 26

Posted on 17 May 2013 at 2:42pm
Participants hold candles as they listen to speakers Tuesday, May 22, during Dallas’ first-ever Harvey Milk Day celebration at the Legacy of Love Monument. (John Wright/Dallas Voice)

Participants hold candles as they listen to speakers May 22, 2012, during Dallas’ first-ever Harvey Milk Day celebration at the Legacy of Love Monument. (John Wright/Dallas Voice)

Dallas activists are having a Harvey Milk celebration again this year.

The event will include speakers, music and a staged reading of “Dear Harvey” by Patricia Loughrey, which will be the first time the play has been staged in Dallas in any form.

GetEQUAL TX regional coordinator Daniel Cates, who is directing it, said he hopes to mount a full production later in the year.

“This is a beautiful piece and one that I am excited to bring to Dallas,” he said in a statement. “Harvey’s message of hope is one that all people, LGBT and not, should hear. This will be an inspiring evening.”

“Dear Harvey” is an ensemble piece created though interviews with people who actually knew Milk, his personal and political writings, newspaper stories and letters written to him from across the nation.

The cast includes the the Rev. Carol West of Celebration Community Church in Fort Worth, Lynn Walters, executive director of Hope for Peace and Justice, Jeffrey Harper, Mark Calloway, Todd Whitley and Alan Dudley of the Cathedral of Hope Theatre Ministry, and local activist Natalie Johnson.

The 2nd annual event planned by GetEQUAL TX and Hope for Peace and Justice will be 7 p.m. Sunday, May 26, at Cathedral of Hope’s Interfaith Peace Chapel.

“It is important for us to celebrate and remember our history as LGBT people. No one is going to tell our story for us, we have to do it ourselves. We owe it to younger generations to let them know where they come from and how far they can go,” Cates said.

Tickets to the Dallas Harvey Milk Celebration are available here for a suggested $15 All proceeds benefit programs of Hope for Peace and Justice and GetEQUAL TX.

— Anna Waugh

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Equal Scouting Summit to take place next week when BSA discusses gay ban

Posted on 17 May 2013 at 10:30am

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Scouts for Equality and the Inclusive Scouting Network are holding a national Equal Scouting Summit next week while the Boy Scouts’ National Council debates whether or not to allow gay youth.

The event will bring together national leaders and discuss how to make the BSA more inclusive moving forward. Jennifer Tyrrell, Zach Wahls, Greg Bourke, Will Oliver and Eagle Scout Dave McGrath, who is biking 1,800 miles with his son for equality, are among the speakers.

The Voice of the Gay Scout project will also be a part of the summit. Gay Scouts are encouraged to send letters about what they would say to members of the BSA’s National Council. Scouts and allies will bring the letters to the National Council and read them aloud. Letters can be sent to voice@inclusivescouting.net.

The summit is May 22-24 at the Great Wolf Lodge, 100 Great Wolf Drive in Grapevine.

For more information or to RSVP, go here.

— Anna Waugh

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Rawlings calls anti-gay flier at council meeting ‘just plain unacceptable’

Posted on 16 May 2013 at 2:03pm
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Mayor Mike Rawlings

Below our post about an anti-gay flier distributed at a Dallas City Council meeting on Wednesday, one commenter suggested that Mayor Mike Rawlings is fostering an environment conducive to hate by not being more outspoken in support of LGBT equality:

“I urge all readers to contact the Mayor’s office and voice your displeasure with Mayor Rawlings’ apathetic and cowardly approach in addressing LGBT equality,” Mack Clark wrote. “Stories like this illustrate how imperative it is that Mayor Rawlings act as a leader and speak out against those who spew hatred and defame the Mayor’s LGBT constituency. Mayor Rawlings is obviously in bed with these hatemongers, thus his hesitance to proclaim otherwise. This is outrageous.”

A review of the video from the council meeting shows that two council members — Dwaine Caraway and Angela Hunt — had a chance to speak against the flier before Rawlings adjourned the meeting without addressing the matter. Caraway suggested that the mayor undertake a review of the rules governing public comments at council meetings, and Hunt seconded the suggestion, calling the flier “disgusting.” Curious what the mayor’s thoughts were, I reached out to Rawlings’ office today.

“The behavior Richard Sheridan displayed yesterday at the end of the city council meeting was disrespectful, discourteous, and inappropriate and will not be tolerated,” Rawlings chief of staff, Paula Blackmon, wrote in an email. “The city attorney’s office is reviewing speaker guidelines so that this type of action will not happen again. It is just plain unacceptable.”

I also asked if Rawlings has decided how he’ll vote on a council resolution backing marriage equality and LGBT employment protections, but Blackmon didn’t respond to that question.

— John Wright

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San Antonio religious leaders threaten lawsuits to end city’s DP benefits

Posted on 16 May 2013 at 1:07pm
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Philip Sevilla

Two religious leaders are threatening lawsuits if the city doesn’t stop offering domestic partner benefits in light of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s advisory opinion saying they violate the state Constitution.

Pastor Gerald Ripley of Voices for Marriage and Philip Sevilla of Texas Leadership Coalition addressed the San Antonio City Council Wednesday, threatening lawsuits in order to stop the benefits from being offered if the city doesn’t end them by June 30, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

“Lawsuits will be filed if necessary,” Ripley said.

“We cannot allow this in San Antonio. We are not San Francisco,” Sevilla said.

City attorney Mike Bernard told the newspaper the city won’t change its policy until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in two key marriage equality cases.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has supported the benefits and said last month Abbott’s opinion to take away the benefits would hold Texas back.

Meanwhile, Fort Worth officials aren’t changing anything to the city’s DP benefits program because of Abbott’s opinion, according to an employee newsletter sent out yesterday.

— Anna Waugh

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DGLA endorses Kingston in runoff

Posted on 16 May 2013 at 12:37pm

Kingston.PhilipThe Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance has endorsed Philip Kingston in the District 14 Dallas City Council runoff. Kingston faces Bobby Abtahi in the June 15 election. Abtahi has the backing of Stonewall Democrats. DGLA originally endorsed Jim Rogers, who finished third among seven candidates and out of the runoff on May 11.

DGLA PAC chair Damien Duckett said his organization believes Kingston has the same sort of independent spirit as incumbent Angela Hunt, who is stepping down due to term limits.

“It allows her to stand up on the council even when it’s not popular,” he said. “He made the PAC feel he’ll be that same sort of councilman.”

In deciding on the endorsement, PAC member Nell Gaither recused herself from the discussion because she had previously endorsed Kingston.

Duckett called the decision between Abtahi and Kingston difficult because PAC members like both of the candidates but felt Kingston was the stronger of the two.

Duckett said the group was impressed with Kingston’s performance at the DGLA forum held in March at Sue Ellen’s.

“One of the messages I tried to deliver at the forum was you can’t be the District 14 rep without reaching out to the LGBT community,” Kingston said.

Four of the seven candidates in the race skipped the forum.

“I like that group and I’m really excited about the endorsement,” Kingston said.

— David Taffet

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Hateful anti-gay flier prompts Dallas City Council to review speaker rules

Posted on 15 May 2013 at 7:41pm

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On Tuesday we wrote about an anti-gay flier attacking Dallas City Council candidate Leland Burk that was found in a newspaper box in Preston Hollow on Election Day. We also mentioned that a copy of the flier had suspiciously been included in an email sent out by fellow District 13 candidate Rich Sheridan a few days later. Well, as if we needed any more evidence that Sheridan was responsible for the flier, he was distributing an even more hateful version of it at City Hall today, according to The Dallas Morning News’ Rudy Bush. The latest flier, shown above, is a distortion of Dallas Voice’s April 26 cover showing the three openly gay City Council candidates this year, with X’s through their faces and 6′s on their foreheads.

“God’s voice was heard in Dallas Saturday. No openly gay LGBT City Councilmember!!” the flier states, referring to the fact that all three gay candidates lost their races.

Sheridan, who received just 28 votes out of 10,350 that were cast in the District 13 race, also left a threatening, profanity-laced voicemail for a People Newspapers reporter, attacking him for failing to mention in his coverage that Burk is gay. But it was his actions at City Hall today that got the attention of officials. According to The DMN’s Bush, Sheridan was distributing copies of the flier to the audience during the City Council meeting when he gave one to gay former Councilman Craig Holcomb, who later stood up to address the council.

“If I were quiet that would be wrong,” Holcomb said. “It allows that kind of thought to flourish. It allows the person to think that is acceptable thought, and it is not acceptable.”

In response to Sheridan’s flier and Holcomb’s comments, Councilman Dwaine Caraway asked Mayor Mike Rawlings to change the rules so that speakers can address the council only once a month, to limit the amount of hatred that can be spewed by people like Sheridan. Councilwoman Angela Hunt seconded Caraway’s suggestion.

Of course, council members could also send a strong message to Sheridan and other haters by unanimously approving a resolution backing marriage equality and LGBT employment protections that they’re scheduled to vote on in June.

Watch video of the meeting by going here and clicking on Open Microphone Speakers (Part 2 of 2). Holcomb is the final speaker.

— John Wright

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TX House passes anti-gay amendment allowing student clubs at universities to discriminate

Posted on 15 May 2013 at 5:06pm
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State Rep. Matt Krause

The Texas House passed an amendment Wednesday afternoon that would allow student clubs at universities to discriminate against people for membership.

The motion passed 78-67 after a motion to table it failed.

Fort Worth Republican Rep. Matt Krause’s amendment mandates that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board work with institutions to “ensure that each institution does not implement a policy or otherwise engage in a practice that requires a student organization” to accept members who “demonstrate opposition to the organization’s stated beliefs and purposes.”

Krause tacked it onto SB 215 and argued the amendment was about “protecting free speech” in deciding who can join a club. Others said it wasn’t appropriate to decide for universities how organizations on campuses should be handled and called it discriminatory.

Krause originally filed the amendment as HB 360, which didn’t make it before the House floor for a vote. That bill originally stated clubs could discriminate based on race, gender and sexual orientation. A compromise bill later passed out of committee preventing clubs form having to abide by universities’ nondiscrimination polices.

According to Equality Texas, if enacted, Krause’s amendment “would allow officially-recognized student organizations who receive taxpayer funded support from a university to discriminate against a potential member based on race, religion, veteran status, HIV/AIDS status, gender, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression if any attribute of the student ‘demonstrates opposition to the organization’s stated beliefs and purposes.’”

State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, said during today’s debate that the amendment is discriminatory and takes away freedom from students to join whatever club they wanted to.

“You don’t lose your freedom a mile at a time. You lose it an inch at a time,” Dutton said. “This is another attempt to take away some of the freedoms we have.”

Daniel Williams, field organizer for Equality Texas, said the amendment “barely squeezed through” and had bipartisan opposition. He said the amendment can still be dropped from the legislation as a committee creates a compromise bill that combines the Senate and House version. That bill then goes to another vote.

“There are still many steps left in the process and we will continue to work with our allies in the House and Senate,” he said. “I am very hopeful that this amendment will not become law.”

To see how House members voted on Krause’s amendment, go here.

— Anna Waugh

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Texans Garry Brown, Kristopher Sharp frontrunners in Victory Fund contest

Posted on 15 May 2013 at 4:30pm
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Garry Brown

Two Texans are among 16 LGBT candidates running in Victory Fund’s Onward to Victory contest for those thinking about running for public office or interested in working on an LGBT candidate’s campaign.

The winner gets an all-expenses-paid spot at Victory Fund’s candidate and campaign training in Atlanta from May 30-June 2. The winner will be announced on May 20.

In third place, as of this writing, is Garry Brown.

Brown is running for Travis County commissioner. If elected, he would be the first LGBT county commissioner elected in Texas. He has worked as a congressional aide to Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett and currently serves as public relations director for Travis County Constable Sally Hernandez.

In first place is Kristopher Sharp.

Sharp was recently elected vice president of the University of Houston—Downtown student body despite homophobic attacks against him. He has no planned upcoming races but has plans to continue his political career.

To vote, go here.

— David Taffet

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LGBT advocates tell DART board to ‘jump on’ adding DP benefits

Posted on 15 May 2013 at 2:21pm
Damien Duckett

Damien Duckett

LGBT advocates are continuing to press DART’s Board of Directors to vote to add domestic partner benefits now instead of waiting until July to make a decision.

Transgender activist Pamela Curry addressed the board Tuesday night during public comments. She highlighted the issues customers, including herself, have had with bus drivers and other DART employees. She said the way to improve the quality of employees DART hires is offer competitive benefits.

“If you want to attract the best and brightest, you have to treat your operators, you have to attract the best and the brightest, and the way you do that is you make sure everyone gets the benefits for their family,” she said. “Just because their family doesn’t look like yours doesn’t mean it’s not a family.”

Continue reading “LGBT advocates tell DART board to ‘jump on’ adding DP benefits” »

— Anna Waugh

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ACTION ALERT: Anti-LGBT legislation surfaces as session winds down

Posted on 15 May 2013 at 11:44am
State Sen. Donna Campbell

State Sen. Donna Campbell

The Texas Senate on Tuesday passed SB 1218, which would prohibit anyone from obtaining a marriage license with a document that lacks a photo, including an affidavit of sex change.

Daniel Williams, field organizer with Equality Texas, said the bill’s author, state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, stated that her intent with the bill was to require a photo be shown to get a marriage license.

However, removing an affidavit of sex change from the list of documents that can be used to obtain marriage licenses could bar transgender people from marrying people of the opposite sex.

“Donna Campbell’s bill is targeting communities that aren’t likely to have forms of ID,” Williams said.

Williams said Equality Texas is working to slow down the bill’s process. It still has to pass a House committee and make it onto the House calendar for it to be voted on by midnight on Tuesday, May 21, which is the last day for the House to consider Senate bills.

Meanwhile, anti-gay Fort Worth Republican Rep. Matt Krause has filed an amendment to SB 215 that would allow student organizations at universities to ignore the school’s nondiscrimination policy. Krause originally filed a bill with the same intention, but it died last week when it failed to make it onto the House calendar.

Williams said the amendment “has a really decent chance of passing” because Krause is gaining support for it based on students having free speech.

“It’s not about protecting free speech. It’s about tax-funded hate speech, ” Williams said.

Williams said constituents should contact their state representative and ask them to vote against the amendment when it’s considered today or tomorrow. You can find your representative here.

— Anna Waugh

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