We support Bobby Abtahi in the June 15 runoff to represent District 14 on the Dallas City Council.  We believe Bobby is the candidate best able to support our neighborhoods and community by listening to our concerns and working positively with others to find solutions that keep us safe and improve our quality of life.

We believe Bobby is the only candidate with the ability to build coalitions and get a majority vote on serious issues.  We believe Bobby will be more than just an ally but a real leader who will carry on the proud tradition of District 14 leadership on LGBT issues.

We have worked hard in the trenches to advance the cause of LGBT rights and are proud of our achievements some of which include:

• Elected the first openly gay member of the Dallas City Council

• Originated and passed diversity training and liaison programs for the Dallas Police Department and the LGBT community

• Passed a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting LGBT city employees

• Passed a city  ordinance prohibiting discrimination against LGBT persons  in  housing, employment and public accommodations

• Implemented domestic partner benefits for city employees

• Secured Federal funds program improvements at the AIDS Resource Center (ARC)

• Secured city of Dallas grants for HIV/AIDS education

• Served on the Ryan White HIV Planning Council allocating $10 million annually for HIV services and education

• Married legally in the United Methodist Church by ordained Methodist ministers.

Bobby’s commitment to our community and values is personal. As a Persian-American, Bobby knows from his own experience what it means to be discriminated against. As the brother of an out lesbian, Bobby believes passionately that his sister  should be entitled to the same rights that he enjoys.
We are proud to endorse Bobby in the June 15th runoff election and hope that you will join us in electing a bright young leader who will bring a new voice to the Dallas City Council.
Veletta Lill, Craig McDaniel, Chris Luna, Ed Oakley, Gary Fitzsimmons, Craig Holcomb

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 7, 2013.

Unfortunately for Haberman, most younger gay men today no longer feel a personal connection with Stonewall or Milk.

Gratitude, yes. Obligation, no.

This apparently angers Haberman. Otherwise, he wouldn’t appear so bitter when faced with a positive movement inside the Republican Party toward tolerance and acceptance, a movement that gay Republicans like myself have been working on for quite sometime while rage-blinded activists like Hardy threw stones.

The sadness is that for people like Haberman, being gay has become nothing except activism, agitation, argumentation, demonstration and character defamation. And when that’s all being gay means to you, finally being accepted by your former foes can leave you feeling awfully empty, and instead of being encouraged, you find yourself cross-armed in the corner pouting by yourself.

It’s no wonder Haberman wishes for us to huddle with him in that corner. It must be terribly lonely.

Russ Hargraves
Oak Cliff

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition April 12, 2013.

I’m a single gay man so one might think that I have no stake in the current discussion of marriage equality in our country. Of course, I beg to differ. I know and love same-gender couples who have proven with their history over the span of time that their relationships are as stable as heterosexual marriages.

On another level, when the discussion of marriage equality is broadened out to include equality in general, every person in this country, gay or straight, is gathered into the same big tent and that’s when we must certainly all partake equally of the meal.

America really must stop following political and religious leaders down the rabbit hole when they claim that gays and lesbians and our marriages would tear away at the foundation of traditional marriage. Think this through logically rather than emotionally: Each marriage, gay or straight, succeeds or fails on its own merits and lies solely upon the shoulders of those united by it.

I do, however, worry that the young people I see at the rallies may have stars and hearts in their eyes. We must remain clear headed about the seriousness of marriage and keep in mind that there will be no special rainbow exit from it.

Steve Walters
Dallas

Texas can learn from ‘Crazy Mary’

Thanks for the excellent, sensitive piece about “Crazy Mary” (March 22).  The picture in my mind is Mary, lying on her right side on the DART bench in front of what is now Hunky’s on Cedar Springs, facing JR.’s, her body curled with the worn-out soles of her tennis shoes bent toward me.  I so wished for a camera to capture the 2-inch circle of her dusty dark skin centered and framed by large concentric circles of rubber sole — white and blue.

That picture has been in my mind for years.  I wish I had an actual photo that could be blown up into a giant, obnoxiously brilliant electronic billboard to illuminate the Capitol in Austin and strategic spots throughout Texas.  Our smug “no-new-taxes” voters and their pandering politicians would rather strut and brag.  They feel no shame at Texas’ miserable standing in its care for the mentally ill — or their daily celebration of ignorance toward sex education, women’s health, education and other issues that have gone begging for years.

Yes, “Crazy Mary” is an icon, revealing the way with the soles of her feet for the people of Texas to examine their souls. Mary’s bare feet show the evil and greater expense when sick people are treated inadequately.  The “no new taxes” tribe in the

Legislature and governor’s office must recognize the higher, long-term cost of doing little or nothing to solve serious problems.

We all need to picture Mary’s feet to gain perspective and appreciate a vital concern for the poor and unfortunate.

Woody Wood
Dallas

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 29, 2013,

Stonewall Democrats’ recent endorsement of Delia Jasso over Scott Griggs in the District 1 Dallas City Council race must be based in something other than the candidates’ commitment to gay rights.  Just like the last election where veteran Angela Hunt was rejected for James Nowlin, this election presented the group with not one, but two vocal champions to our causes, and one got a slap in the face.

Forty percent of Griggs’ appointees to boards and commissions are openly gay. By choosing out citizens to represent him, Griggs lets other parts of the city know that his district is a place where gays and lesbians have a voice and a seat at the table in matters that impact us all. His is a real record we all should be proud of and he is a real friend who doesn’t deserve such disregard.

When presented with two candidates that support the gay community so wholeheartedly, perhaps the Stonewall Democrats should explore a third option and remain neutral — if only for their own good. Continuing to offend such fervent supporters of our community is wrong and threatens the group’s continued relevance.
Michael Amonett
Dallas
via Email

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 15, 2013.

My partner and I have been Dallas residents since August 1960, and recently celebrated 52 years of continuing successful enterprise, having achieved national and international renown as arts and antiques dealers and designers. Although we incurred tremendous difficulties in establishing ourselves and our business, we chose to be “out and proud” in a society which harbored extraordinary prejudice and blatant discrimination against homosexuals, especially those few of us who so publicly presented ourselves personally and professionally.

For those who did not experience such incredible hardships, it’s utterly impossible to know and fully appreciate the almost insurmountable obstacles and devastating struggles the LGBT citizenry of these United States have endured to attain the phenomenal accomplishments which presently exist in 2012. While we have made these hard-won advancements, there remains a vast amount of equally daunting challenges we must yet overcome to fully achieve our rightful equality promised by our founding Constitution. Prominent among these remaining goals is our right to marry the person we love.

Because my partner and I are so actively dedicated to the present and future advancement of the LGBT cause, we look forward to receiving the weekly publication of the Dallas Voice which claims to be “The Premier Media Source for LGBT Texas.” Indeed, the Voice is a tremendous advocate and invaluable asset to our community, and a very real blessing for which all of us must be extremely proud and immeasurably grateful.

Therefore, it was with great interest that we read the 60 pages of the Friday, Oct. 26 issue. While it was customarily informative and enjoyable, we were amazed and shocked to find almost no mention of our President Barack Obama and the incredibly vital election which is only a few days hence.

Aside from the full-page advertisement paid for by Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, we found only an inconsequential and rather vacuous article and a miniscule poll which reported (in infinitesimal print) that Obama received 78 percent of 184 measly votes cast responding to the question, “Who do you think will win the presidential race?” Oh, and lest forget, there was a half-page article on Page 4 reporting about a Republican state senator who less-than-wholeheartedly claims support for three measures advocated by Equality Texas, but is “not there yet” when it comes to the issue of marriage equality.

When I telephoned the offices of Dallas Voice on the following Monday morning, both the senior editor, John Wright and the publisher, Robert Moore graciously received my call. I passionately explained that I found it incomprehensible, wholly reprehensible, and utterly indefensible that the Dallas Voice had failed to feature, if not justifiably devote the issue and its cover to the immediately upcoming election of the first and only president to insist on LGBT rights and marriage equality as a fundamental accomplishment of his presidency a cause which is avidly rejected by the majority of voters and actively opposed to by the Republican Party.

In fact, President Obama knowingly and bravely risks re-election to strongly advocate gay rights and pointedly includes LGBT equality in his campaign. President Obama fought mightily to accomplish repeal of, “don’t ask, don’t tell”( a landmark piece of legislation), and proudly announces re-election promises to provide greater support for the LGBT citizenry of these United States.

If anything, we all should be marching in the streets for President Obama and doing whatever we can to ensure his re-election. It is imperative for each and every one of us to enthusiastically support this incredibly important cause which is absolutely vital to the future of the LGBT movement. Although this upcoming election is historic on many levels and for countless reasons, it marks the most important event of our extraordinary movement. If you have any doubt whatsoever please refer to the firmly established campaign platforms of the state and national Republican Party.

In my telephone conversations with the Voice, my admonitions and insistencies were polite but firmly dismissed, while explaining that the publication considered its coverage of President Obama and his re-election had been sufficient in part due to the voter apathy of our local LGBT community! While I certainly find this reasoning impossible to believe, it is nonetheless the primary and essential obligation of “The Premier Media Source for LGBT Texas” to inform and inspire our community to commit ourselves to the single greatest cause for the advancement if LGBT equality.

Charles Paxton Gremillion
Dallas

When Covington talks about all of those who came before us, ushering in “Sunday Fundays” and braving the society at large by “enter(ing) the bars through the back, off dark alleys,” he tragically forgets that many of those people were conservative-minded gay people who would shudder today to hear the president  berate success and demonize business. As a small business owner myself, this is particularly troubling.

Other political facts make Covington’s piece even more confusing. Never mind that when it came time to fight “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the only organization to bring a suit against the government wasn’t the Stonewall Democrats but the Log Cabin Republicans. It was Barack Obama’s Justice Department who was directed, for political purposes, to defend the law. And the Human Rights Campaign still endorsed him.

The irony of his lecture on freedom is that Mr. Covington can never be truly free because his sense of freedom extends no further than his sexuality. What a pity.

Russ Hargraves
Oak Cliff

I own a small apparel business called You Can’t Steal My Happy. I have been selling online and at local speciality stores around Dallas including Skivvies in Oak Lawn.

Thanks in large part to the gay community I have been enjoying brisk sales as many people enjoy the upbeat message of You Can’t Steal My Happy. What’s unique about this business is that I am a straight man and most of my clients are gay. I am grateful for their support and I am even taking part in Dallas Pride in September.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a screen printer that I have used over the years that they were not interested in printing my Pride shirts as they felt it did not fit into their mission statement. I was shocked as I have used them for other projects and I became friends with them.

I understand they have the right to run their business as they choose, but it was the first time I could really relate personally to what the gay community is sometimes subjected to in this day and age. I really would have expected this response from a business 10 years ago, but not in today’s world. This experience has made me more determined then ever to help bring equality to the human race. Below is the email, but I am withholding the company’s information as I am not interested in calling them out. They are actually good people, but they are still living in a narrow-minded world. I will not let them steal my happy!

Robert,

After talking it over with our boss and co., we have come to the decision that we will have to respectfully decline the job. As a business and an organization, we don’t feel that this particular T-shirt project/group falls in line with what our company stands for or our mission. If you would like to know more about it, I know John would be open to sitting down and talking with you about it, but at this time, we will not be able to help you. I hope this finds you well and that you can understand. Thanks for your continued support in our business and for allowing us to serve you.

Robert Hearn
Grapevine
Via email

Rob Schlein column amounted to hate speech; DV should apologize

I was shocked to see the misleading headlines on both the front cover and page 6 of your June 15 issue indicating an “evolution” in the “platforms” of both major state political parties.

I was then quite distressed to find page 15 of the same issue almost completely devoted to an expression of self-hate by Rob Schlein, described as “president of the Metroplex Republicans of Dallas.”

As journalists, it is difficult to understand how you reconcile the headline “TX party platforms evolve on LGBT issues” with a platform that continues to state: “We affirm that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit.”

If Mr. Schlein does not understand that this statement is totally unacceptable, then you, your headline writers, and your copy editors certainly should.

It is a non-starter, an acknowledgment reinforced by the party spokesman within your article that we are not welcome in that party.

At a time in which the national and state Republican parties have ramped up their hate rhetoric not only against the LGBT community, but also against women and people of color, no responsible publication, gay or otherwise, should be promoting the sad self-hate of a shill like Mr. Schlein.

Mr. Schlein and Mitt Romney have blood on their hands as they expose GLBT youth to the hate speech of the remnants of a once respectable national and state party.

The fact that they attempt to cloak themselves as responsible citizens makes them more dangerous than either the KKK or the Westboro Baptist Church.

At the very least, you should apologize to your readers for publishing Mr. Schlein’s column and pledge to never again provide a forum for hate speech.

David Johnston
Dallas

Don’t let Chisom mess overshadow good work being done in S. Dallas

AIDS Arms Inc. is concerned about the news released last week about the Anthony Chisom AIDS Foundation and its South Dallas AIDS Walk that began in 2010.

We know there are always many sides to any situation and that more information will undoubtedly be forthcoming.

Even so, we are hopeful that the news last week does not negatively impact the reputable sponsors, donors, walkers and beneficiary organizations who were involved with Mr. Chisom based on a good faith belief that solid stewardship, accountability and transparency were present and active.

We are also saddened of the impact on the many vulnerable people living with HIV who depend on all of us in AIDS service organizations across North Texas to provide positive and transparent services and leadership on their behalf.  We hope that the reported accountability problems facing Mr. Chisom’s foundation are quickly responded to, resolved and that the commitments made to all of its participating individuals and organizations are fully met.

Last week’s report regarding Anthony Chisom Foundation is also concerning because of AIDS Arms’ strong and permanent service in South Dallas.

We know the world, and particularly the HIV world, has grown much smaller over the past years. What happens at or impacts one organization touches us all.

Public perception, future volunteer and financial support, and the perpetuation of stigma within some community circles toward people living with HIV and AIDS — these all can potentially be impacted in negative ways regardless of the direct relationship we all may or may not have to Anthony Chisom AIDS Foundation.

We hope that does not happen as there are so many positive and accountable organizations and activities happening in South Dallas and beyond to help people live better, fuller lives with HIV and to prevent others from acquiring the disease.  Good work is happening in many places by many people, and we all need that to continue.

AIDS Arms’ Peabody Health Center has been an active, positive presence in South Dallas since 2001, offering outpatient medical care, case management, medication assistance and free HIV testing.

Neither AIDS Arms nor our partner organizations would want anything to compromise the good work happening at Peabody and other AIDS service organizations in South Dallas.

While Kirk Myers of Abounding Prosperity may consistently report it is the only organization with a permanent presence in South Dallas, AIDS Arms has owned and operated Peabody Health Center for nearly 12 years and certainly we have provided in-home HIV case management and support to thousands of people in South Dallas since 1986.

We proudly serve nearly 2,000 HIV-positve individuals and thousands of at-risk individuals living in South Dallas today and will continue to do so in positive ways. Many other AIDS service organizations are active in South Dallas as well, and we know they all want to continue to have community support to keep their good work active for people in need.

Raeline Nobles
Executive Director
AIDS Arms Inc.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 22, 2012.

I read with interest Dallas Voice’s interview with John Irving (“Our best gay ally, in one person,” May 11), especially given the subject matter of his most recent novel. However, I was dismayed at the interviewer’s characterization of the novel’s protagonist, as “legitimately bisexual — not merely experimenting.”

I didn’t realize that we needed to sit in judgment of the sexual orientation and expression of bisexuals, as either legitimate or illegitimate, any more than we need to do so for gays, lesbians, transgender persons, or anybody along the LGBT spectrum.

As folks from Alfred Kinsey on down have shown, as well as our own personal experiences, sexual orientation is a continuum. An individual doesn’t have to be an exact “Kinsey 3” and make sure they get their ticket punched precisely evenly between both genders to keep their bisexual “legitimacy” card.

Not to be overly picky, but as we are often reminded in all of our quests for equality in society, words mean things.

I’d like to see the Voice remain the high-quality news and information source that it has been, and not engage in stereotypes about the bisexual community.

“Boss” Dave Hines, Dallas leatherman
Dallas
Via email

All are welcome at Oak Lawn UMC

“Are you a gay church?”

This question was asked to me over the phone on the morning of Sept. 18, 2011, the morning of the Alan Ross Freedom Parade. Oak Lawn United Methodist Church has, for several years, had a float in the parade, distributed  free water bottles to attendees, and welcomed crowds to gather on our campus for the parade. I was appointed to Oak Lawn earlier in the summer, so this was my first parade. I proudly walked with other members of our congregation in support of our community and our place within it.

On April 26, the Dallas Voice published an article by David Taffet called “Local Methodists keep up fight for LGBT inclusion.” The article focused on issues surrounding the United Methodist Church’s General Conference, our official decision-making body, which met recently in Tampa, Fla. The Conference would hopefully reconsider, and possibly reverse, the UMC’s stance on homosexuality, which is considered, vaguely, “incompatible with Christian teaching.” United Methodist pastors may not preside at same-sex unions, nor may they be “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals.”

The article mentioned a couple who left Oak Lawn UMC 22 years ago after a contentious sermon delivered here. The only other mention of Oak Lawn was a line which read, [today it is] “’amazingly diverse in its people’s culture and lifestyles.’” No reference for the quote was offered — neither I, nor any staff member, nor, as far as I know, anyone from Oak Lawn, was asked to contribute to the story in any way. Had I been asked to contribute, I would have said something similar to what I say every Sunday before the congregation: “We are proud to be a place where everyone is valued and respected as a child of God, made in God’s own image.” I have heard several people say how much they appreciate this. The thing is: No one coached me on that. My first Sunday here I literally stood up to welcome folk to church and those words came out. I did not plan it in any way. It’s who Oak Lawn is. It’s important for everyone who calls Oak Lawn home for their heart to know this.

The General Conference decided to maintain our positions on homosexuality again this year. I grieve this decision. It is sure to be debated again at the next General Conference in 2016. As a United Methodist elder, I am obligated to abide by our Discipline and will do so. However, individual United Methodist congregations and members are free to disagree with this and any other stance — for example, we officially oppose capital punishment, but a majority of United Methodists support it. We are currently in the middle of a sermon series on issues in the news. The series will end Sunday, May 20, with a discussion of marriage equality.

“Are you a gay church?” the person asked on the morning of the Alan Ross Freedom Parade. “No,” I said. “We are a people church. Everyone is welcome here.” Our goal is to create a truly inclusive congregation: gay and straight, conservative and liberal, longtime Christian and newly baptized. If you have been looking for such a place, please join us for worship soon — services are held every Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Frank Drenner, senior pastor
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church
Via email

Obama is all talk, no action

President Barack Obama’s words were very nice to hear. But actions must speak more loudly. Did he call for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act in the party platform? No. Did he call for legislation federally for same-sex marriage? No. Did he sign an executive order banning LGBT discrimination for federal contractors? No.

So, yes, the words sounded pretty, but my objection to Obama is that it is only WORDS. My other objection is that he is using LGBTs like pawns on a chess board for his own gain. I don’t like feeling manipulated.

BACK IT UP!

Rob Schlein, president, Metroplex Republicans
Dallas
Via Instant Tea

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 18, 2012.