Perry threatens funding veto if Travis County DA Lehmberg doesn’t resign

Posted on 11 Jun 2013 at 12:01pm

Rosemary Lehmberg

Gov. Rick Perry is using his power to threaten a veto of funding for the state’s Public Integrity Unit unless Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg resigns.

Lehmberg, who’s openly gay, is over the unit responsible for investigating wrongdoing by state officials, but her integrity came into question when she was arrested for driving while intoxicated in April. After her arrest, she apologized and said she wouldn’t resign. Instead, she said she would seek treatment for her behavior.

She was sentenced to 45 days in jail, but was later released after serving half the sentence for good behavior.

Perry’s announcement Monday is one of several attempts to remove Lehmberg from office. Attorney Kerry O’Brien filed a request to have her removed shortly after she was arrested, but it was later dismissed.

Now former prosecutor Rick Reed, who ran against Lehmberg in 2008, has filed a criminal complaint, alleging that she engaged in various criminal acts while in custody. Lehmberg allegedly threatened and spat at offices and was belligerent during arrest.

Perry has been accused of using the funds to force Lehmberg out because he wants to fill her position with a Republican. He has until Sunday to veto bills by the Legislature.

— Anna Waugh

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Thanks for the wake-up call, Mike

Posted on 11 Jun 2013 at 11:31am

CBS 11 aired this story last night about what we first reported Saturday — Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano’s last-ditch effort to get an LGBT equality resolution on the June 12 City Council agenda.

As you’ve undoubtedly heard by now, Mayor Mike Rawlings is vehemently opposed to the council considering the resolution, and he apparently convinced City Attorney Tom Perkins to take the position that the mayor is not absent — and therefore Medrano is not acting mayor — even though Rawlings is in South America.

Now I’m no attorney, but does this not seem like a pretty awful legal opinion? If Rawlings is not absent when he’s on another continent, where does he have to go to be absent? Antarctica? Mars? Though these may sound like good places for Rawlings, one has to wonder what the point is of even having a mayor pro tem or deputy pro tem, if they’re never going to be needed.

Anyhow, as we reported yesterday, LGBT advocates are planning to converge on Wednesday’s council meeting to express their disapproval of the council’s failure to take up the resolution. But personally, I think we should also take the opportunity to thank Rawlings.

We should thank him for giving us a wake-up call about the lack of support for the LGBT community at City Hall, and more importantly, we should thank him for galvanizing us around this issue — and mobilizing us to action. Although this is only a city resolution, we have much bigger fights ahead.

Let’s face it, the U.S. Supreme Court isn’t going to hand us nationwide marriage equality later this month, and the justices certainly aren’t going to hand us employment protections. The reality is, we’re going to have to continue to fight for equality city by city and state by state, so why not draw a line in the sand right here and right now in Texas?

After all, if we can’t prevail against a patsy like Rawlings in what amounts to a scrimmage, how are we going to go up against the state Legislature for the real thing?

Watch Channel 11′s report below.

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— John Wright

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TX high school student comes out in commencement speech

Posted on 10 Jun 2013 at 5:03pm

Continuing what has become a national trend this year, Belton High School Salutatorian Mitch Anderson (above) came out during his commencement speech last Thursday, according to KTEM News Radio 14. Belton is just south of Temple on Interstate 35 between Waco and Austin. From KTEM:

The ceremony took place at the Bell County Expo, in Belton on Thursday, with the largest graduating class in Belton High School’s history. But the young teen said he was undaunted by the massive crowd. …

He said no one, not even his parents and close friends, knew he was gay prior to the speech. So far, the teenager said reaction has been positive.

“I’ve received so much support and kindness,” Anderson said of fellow classmates and others. “Knowing that [people] found the speech inspirational has been really amazing.”

Anderson said his parents knew nothing of his plans to come out that night, and have were extremely supportive afterwards.

“[My mom said] ‘I love you’,” and I said “I love you too,” he said. “Dad hugged me.”

The station also posted the full text of Anderson’s speech. Read it by going here.

— John Wright

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AUDIO: Tom Leppert records robocall backing Bobby Abtahi

Posted on 10 Jun 2013 at 12:45pm

Bobby Abtahi, left, and Philip Kingston

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE ROBOCALL

Some District 14 residents received a robocall from anti-gay former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert last week in support of City Council candidate Bobby Abtahi, who faces Philip Kingston in a runoff June 15.

But the Abtahi campaign is denying that it played any role in recording the Leppert robocall or even knew about it.

“We did not record that,” Abtahi campaign manager Kurt Watkins said.

Watkins said the call was done on Leppert’s own initiative and Leppert has not endorsed Abtahi despite the robocall.

The call highlights Abtahi’s work as a community prosecutor for the city while Leppert was mayor.

“I personally worked with Bobby,” Leppert says in the robocall. “And I saw his role as a city prosecutor the work he did protecting our communities. He made a big difference.”

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— David Taffet

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Hundreds march in support of Dallas equality resolution (photos, video)

Posted on 10 Jun 2013 at 12:24pm

GetEQUAL TX and Hope for Peace and Justice rallied at City Hall on Saturday to demand an equality resolution be placed on the Dallas City Council’s agenda. Love is Stronger was the theme for the protest.

More than 100 people gathered at 6 p.m. on City Hall Plaza. Several people, including straight allies, spoke before the group marched across Downtown to Razzle Dazzle Dallas, which took place at Main Street Garden and opened at 7 p.m.

Before leaving City Hall Plaza, GetEQUAL TX regional coordinator Daniel Cates drew a line with chalk on the ground and compared it to William Travis drawing a line in the sand at the Alamo.

Cates said Mayor Mike Rawlings had gone too far in calling the equality resolution a waste of time and asked everyone to cross the line with him.

The march headed from City Hall west to Griffin Street, then north to Main Street, before traveling the final four blocks to Main Street Garden.

Along the route, people in cars honked and waved. People in restaurants ran out to take pictures and some along the route joined the march.

No protesters or detractors made themselves known along the route. One group of 10 street preachers reading from the Bible on Main at Akard Street stood silently as the procession passed.

Inside the park, the rally continued on the main stage. Several speakers, including Midway Hills Christian Church Senior minister the Rev. Arthur Stewart and Congregation Beth El Binah Rabbi Steve Fisch, addressed the crowd.

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Dallas among top LGBT sports cities

Posted on 10 Jun 2013 at 9:55am

Our cover story last week was about Athlete Ally, the new national nonprofit dedicated to promoting LGBT inclusion in sports. Coincidentally, marketing firm Target 10 released its rankings, at right, of the top 10 LGBT Sports Cities in the U.S., based on criteria such as overall LGBT population, number of LGBT sports leagues, etc. As you can see, Dallas is in a three-way tie for 10th. It’s safe to say Big D would have ranked much higher if one of the local pro teams hosted an LGBT night, worth five points. But since an unsuccessful gay night at a Rangers game in 2003, it hasn’t been tried. It’s unlikely the Mavs — whose owner, Mark Cuban, graced our cover last week — would do this given most of their games are sold out anyway, but perhaps FC Dallas (whose goaltender Chris Seitz was also featured in the story) would give it a try?

— John Wright

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PIC OF THE DAY: ‘Love is stronger’

Posted on 09 Jun 2013 at 8:54am

Hundreds of people marched from Dallas City Hall to Main Street Garden on Saturday in support of marriage equality and to protest the Dallas City Council’s failure to take up a pro-LGBT resolution. We’ll have more photos and video from the event shortly, but we wanted to go ahead and post this one sent over by organizer Daniel Cates of GetEQUAL TX.

— John Wright

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BREAKING: Dallas mayor says he’s not absent even though he’s in Brazil, blocks LGBT equality resolution

Posted on 08 Jun 2013 at 11:07am

Mayor Mike Rawlings

Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano, an LGBT ally who is acting mayor because Mike Rawlings is traveling overseas, sent a request to the city secretary Friday afternoon to place an LGBT equality resolution on the council’s June 12 agenda.

As you can see from the memo below, the city secretary then forwarded Medrano’s request to Rawlings and City Manager Mary Suhm. However, the LGBT equality resolution doesn’t appear on the June 12 agenda that was posted to the city’s website later Friday, apparently because Rawlings — who opposes the resolution — has convinced the city attorney to take the position that Medrano doesn’t have the authority to place it on the agenda.

Paula Blackmon, chief of staff for Rawlings, said early Saturday that questions about why the resolution doesn’t appear on the agenda should be directed to the city manager and the city secretary.

“They manage the agenda,” Blackmon said.

Pressed about whether she had any knowledge of what transpired Friday afternoon, Blackmon gave an identical response.

Agenda items must be posted 72 hours before the 9 a.m. Wednesday council meeting, which means the effective deadline is normally 5 p.m. Friday because the city secretary’s office is closed on weekends. However, the resolution could still theoretically be added to the agenda Saturday.

What this boils down to is a complicated legal question. Only the mayor and city manager can place items on the agenda. However, the mayor pro tem assumes the mayor’s duties if he’s absent.

According to Chapter 3, Section 11 of the city charter, “The city council shall elect one of its members as mayor pro tem, who shall perform the duties of mayor in the case of the absence or inability of the mayor to perform the duties of office, who shall, during that time, be vested with all the powers belonging to the mayor. The council shall also elect one of its members as deputy mayor pro tem to act in the absence of both the mayor and the mayor pro tem and to exercise the powers of the mayor during that time. (Amend. of 11-8-05, Prop. No. 13)”

Rawlings is apparently taking the position that even though he is in Brazil, he is not absent. The city charter does not define “absence.” It’s sad that Rawlings is going to these lengths to avoid having to vote on the LGBT equality resolution, and this maneuver should only add fuel to the fire beneath tonight’s march and rally at City Hall.

Medrano couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

More to come …

Memo

— John Wright

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Today marks the 15th anniversary of the murder of James Byrd Jr.

Posted on 07 Jun 2013 at 2:22pm

James Byrd Jr.

Today is the 15th anniversary of the murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper. Three men picked Byrd up in a bar and after they left, beat him, hooked him by a chain to the back of their pickup and dragged him to his death. Because of the horrific nature of the crime, the story received international attention.

After Byrd’s death, Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby Executive Director Dianne Hardy Garcia met with the Byrd family. She had been working almost a decade tracking hate crimes, attending the trials of those indicted on murder charges in bias cases and lobbying the Legislature to enact a hate-crime penalty-enhancement law.

Hardy Garcia explained to the Byrds that a hate crime bill would pass if it didn’t include sexual orientation. Byrd’s mother asked if gays and lesbians were targets of hate crimes. Hardy Garcia showed her the statistics.

“No family should have to go through what my family went through,” Mrs. Byrd told Hardy Garcia.

The Byrds became staunch allies of the LGBT community and insisted sexual orientation remain in the bill.

Despite the national attention the Byrd case brought to Texas, the Legislature blocked any attempt to pass a hate crime bill in 1999 as Gov. George W. Bush campaigned for president.

However, the 2001 Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Law and Gov. Rick Perry signed it into law. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed an LGBT-inclusive federal hate crimes law, called the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

The three men involved in the murder were arrested. Lawrence Brewer was executed. John William King is on death row. Shawn Berry is serving a life sentence.

Fox 26 Houston talked to members of the Byrd family and discussed the background of the murderers on the 10th anniversary of Byrd’s death:

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— David Taffet

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Tom Sweeney, original owner of the Round-Up Saloon, dies

Posted on 07 Jun 2013 at 11:25am

Tom Sweeney, counting money thrown into the Texas flag during the Pride parade in 1993.

The remains of The Round-Up Saloon after the 1989 fire

Tom Sweeney, original owner of the Round-Up Saloon, died this week. The bar opened July 11, 1980. Current owners Alan Pierce and Gary Miller bought it from Sweeney in 1998.

Sweeney began the bar’s tradition in 1987 of carrying the giant Texas flag in the Pride parade used to collect money that was donated to AIDS organizations.

In 1989, a fire at the Dallas Gay Alliance office, which was next door to the Round-Up, destroyed the DGA office, the Round-Up and TapeLenders. The bar reopened in its current location in the summer of 1990.

Sweeney moved the club to Maple Avenue for a year to a building that was most recently The Brick before being razed a year ago. He rebuilt the club on Cedar Springs Road in its original location.

After selling the club, Sweeney moved to Norman, Okla., to be near his sister, Patsy. The funeral is today.

Watch a video below about the 30-year history of the Round-Up Saloon:

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— David Taffet

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