Judge John Roach Jr.

A lesbian mom plans to comply with a Collin County judge’s order saying her partner must move out under a “morality clause” that was included in a divorce settlement with her ex-husband, according to a statement from her attorneys.

The statement released Monday afternoon also indicates that Carolyn Compton’s ex-husband unsuccessfully sought to have her jailed for violating the morality clause by living with her lesbian partner.

Compton has custody of two children from her marriage to Joshua Compton, and she shares a home with her partner of three years, Page Price.

The morality clause says Compton cannot have anyone in her home between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. if it is “an intimate dating relationship” but they are not married. Under Texas law, Compton cannot marry Price.

Joshua Compton reportedly went to court to enforce the morality clause after hiring a private investigator to spy on his ex-wife.

Republican Collin County Judge John Roach Jr. issued an order May 7 giving Price 30 days to move out. Roach reportedly rejected Joshua Compton’s attempt to have his ex-wife held in contempt, fined and jailed for each of the 181 alleged violations of the morality clause. Nevertheless, the judge’s order has prompted an outcry against him since Dallas Voice broke the story on Friday.

Attorneys for Compton and Price issued a statement Monday saying the couple plans to comply with the order even though it is an unconstitutional violation of their right to privacy under case law including Lawrence v. Texas. The attorneys also requested that unlike Roach, the press respect the couple’s privacy since the case involves children. Their full statement is below.

Statement of behalf of Carolyn Compton and Page Price:

On behalf of our clients, Carolyn Compton and Page Price our firm is issuing this statement related to Ms. Compton’s latest family court hearing. Ms. Compton’s ex-husband filed a Motion for Enforcement of Permanent Injunction and Order to Appear against Ms. Compton. The enforcement was related solely to a morality clause injunction which prohibits the parties from having an overnight guest (of any sex) with whom they have an intimate dating relationship while the children are present during the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Mr. Compton requested that the court find Ms. Compton in contempt, jailed, and fined for each of his 181 alleged violations. We are pleased with the Court’s ruling in our favor that found the morality clause was too ambiguous and not clear enough to hold Ms. Compton in contempt by jail. The Court did not put Ms. Compton in jail, fine her, or order her to pay fees in this case so far.

We are disappointed, however, that the Court decided to clarify the morality clause in an attempt to make it enforceable. The Court ordered Ms. Compton to comply with the clarification within 30 days. This has the effect of kicking Ms. Price, Ms. Compton’s partner of more than two years, out of the home they share. Ms. Compton and Ms. Price plan to comply with the Courts clarification order, even though it will be disruptive to their family and has the potential of being harmful to the children.

The new language anticipated by the court is no less problematic and we believe it to be unconstitutional under right to privacy cases, parental right cases, and the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. We believe a sweeping permanent injunction like the one entered here cannot be justified in light of today’s law. We believe that a so-called “morality” clause, like the one the court intends to enter, is a burden on parents, regardless of their sexual orientation, that takes away and unreasonably limits their ability to make parental decisions of whom their children may be around and unreasonably limits what the United State Supreme Court has identified as the liberty of thought, belief, and expression.

Ms. Compton and Ms. Price would like for the press to respect their privacy with this matter, since there are children involved, the case is ongoing, and there is a potential for appeal. If you have any follow up questions please contact Barrett A. Stern and Michael D. Dement of Dement Roach & Stern PLLC.

Barrett A. Stern
Michael D. Dement
Dement Roach & Stern PLLC

Kessler Park United Methodist Church has made its stance on inclusion in the Boy Scouts clear to its members today.

The church posted on its Facebook that it hoped the National Council votes this week to “adopt the resolution eliminating heterosexuality as a requirement for a youth’s participation in scouting.”

Troop 5 is charted by the church and is one of the oldest troops in Dallas. Methodist churches are the second-largest sponsors of troops nationwide.

“Our church, we would assert, has long experience attempting to reconcile diversity, security, and godliness,” the post reads. “We believe that Christ’s teachings, as well as the Scout Oath and Law which flow from Christ’s words, call us to welcome all persons of good will in the training of children to become wholesome adults.”

The BSA National Council will vote on the resolution to only admit gay youth at its meeting later this week.

Read Kessler Park UMC’s full statement below.

As the charter organization of Boy Scouts Troop 5 and Venturing Crew 5, Kessler Park United Methodist Church wishes to take a clear stance in anticipation of the National Meeting of the Boy Scouts of America on May 23: The BSA’s 1,400 voting delegates should adopt the resolution eliminating heterosexuality as a requirement for a youth’s participation in scouting. In the wake of that vote, BSA’s leadership should proceed apace to draft a subsequent resolution eliminating heterosexuality as a requirement for an adult’s participation as a volunteer in scouting.

As the single digit implies, Troop 5 is one of the oldest scout troops in Dallas; and Oak Cliff, the community in which KPUMC operates, was one of Dallas’ first neighborhoods to benefit from racial desegregation and openly gay residents. Our church, we would assert, has long experience attempting to reconcile diversity, security, and godliness. We believe that Christ’s teachings, as well as the Scout Oath and Law which flow from Christ’s words, call us to welcome all persons of good will in the training of children to become wholesome adults. As a practical matter, we witness on a daily basis the contributions that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans-gendered individuals make to our community. Oak Cliff would be measurably less without them; our church would be measurably less without them.

The members of Kessler Park United Methodist Church entrust our pastor David Carr to respond to any questions on this matter from the press, the BSA, or concerned parents. Rev. Carr can be reached at (214) 942-0098 or dpcarrs@gmail.com. Please note that KPUMC, not Troop 5 or Crew 5, has issued this statement.

Jenna Skyy

Joe Hoselton, known on stage as Jenna Skyy, announced at GayBingo that Saturday’s show was her last. Skyy has hosted GayBingo for more than seven years.

Johnny Humphrey, event manager at Resource Center Dallas, said he knew Skyy planned to take some time off, but didn’t know ahead of time it would be her last show.

“She will be missed,” Humphrey said. “We’re proud of the productions she’s done.”

Hoselton called the change good for everyone. He said he spoke to the GayBingo performance group, Something Fabulous, ahead of time.

He said he’ll miss doing the show but made the decision because of the time commitment.

“I discovered Jenna through that show,” he said.

Hoselton said the schedule to produce the monthly show at GayBingo included weekly Sunday rehearsals in addition to prop building days and costume sewing nights.

Cost was another factor. He spent almost $500 on the two costumes made specifically for that month’s theme.

He called GayBingo a “great opportunity” and said he hopes other entertainers will take advantage of it.

“It’s a way to contribute something through your art,” he said.

Hoselton said Jenna won’t be retiring. She’ll continue entertaining at the Rose Room.

“And I’m going to throw my hat back into the competition circuit,” he said.

Jenna was Miss Gay Texas 2011 and second alternate Miss Gay America 2012.

For next month’s GayBingo, Humphrey said he’s working with several groups to put on a good production and is not necessarily looking for Skyy’s permanent replacement to begin in June.

I’m thrilled to be here and be a part of the Dallas Voice team. I’ve written a few articles for the Voice before and am looking forward to working for them this summer.

So some info about me. Despite how young I look, I’m actually 22. Yes, I know I’ll be thanking divinity for my great genes later on. Haha!

I’m a creative writing major at the University of North Texas and am seeking a minor in social sciences with a concentration in anthropology. I’m from a military family so I was always studying people and culture in order to learn how to best try and fit in.

Additionally, just last week I was accepted to the Lambda Literary Writers Retreat for Emerging LBGT Voices. It’s a huge opportunity and is from July 28-Aug. 4, the week after my internship is finished. I’ll need some help getting there, though.

If you can make a donation, it’s 100 percent tax-deductible and every dollar helps! Even if all you can donate is a dollar, it helps. I only have to raise $300. I’m an aspiring author and my manuscript, The Black Night Rave, is under consideration at Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin Group) and has been requested by a few agents. If I get to the Lambda Literary Retreat, this will definitely be a huge plus and garner some notice for my work. So, please help me? In turn, my work would help bring us closer to total inclusion and acceptance into society.

I look forward to hearing from and connecting y’all!

Follow me on Twitter, add me on Facebook, and check out my blog as well! I am launching my blog tomorrow and will update it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Make sure you bookmark the page to keep up with all the zany, fun, hilarious and outright amazing things that happen on my road to getting published, and for tips on how to break into various forms of publishing and tricks of the trade.

In Chicago, IML is something almost everyone knows. The abbreviation stands for International Mister Leather, and it’s a contest that is in its 35th year. What started as an event in the Gold Coast bar in the 1970s has become one of the biggest private conventions to hit the Windy City each year. It fills hotels on Michigan Avenue and brings thousands of leathermen, leatherwomen and their admirers to town — and that is big business.

This year, I have the honor of being a judge at the event, and so this week, my partner and I board the Amtrak Texas Eagle for a trip to Chicago and a five-day flurry of events that make up the contest. It should be a lot of fun and for me, a lot of work. Still, spending time interviewing 50-plus hot leathermen from around the world is something I can suffer through.

What is interesting to me is the place IML holds in Chicago. It is an event that is recognized by almost everyone in the city, and it has become part of Chicago’s culture and character. In Chicago the yearly arrival of thousands of leatherman and leatherwomen is something seen as part of the city’s character. It wouldn’t be spring in Chicago without it!

Though it was never intended as something with a political purpose, by its sheer size and visibility it has become a significant part of the struggle for equality. Now, before you go dismissing this as hyperbole, let me explain.

Back in the 1980 when Dallas held its second Gay Pride Parade a lot of people came to watch and gawk. The community organizers had hoped that this event, only the second since 1972, would get noticed, and they wanted to put on a good face. There was much discussion whether drag queens and leather folk would be appropriate in the parade, since it was pretty much a given that the press would concentrate on these colorful images.

Though leather was not very visible that landmark year, in later years the presence of leathermen and women has become a staple of the parade, along with a barrage of fabulous drag queens and lots of attractive men and women in various states of undress.

The old idea of trying to make the LGBT community look just the same as the rest of the world is no longer an issue. Sure, most of us fit in to the fabric of our city and don’t draw attention, but some of us still take pride in our differences. That diversity is what gives our community a culture and identity. The visibility of that diversity is what has helped the broader community understand and embrace us.

The act of visibility is a political act. Being out, being different and being unashamed to hide is a political act. Because of that visibility, the people of Dallas have come to understand that everyone is not the same. Though that seems to be self-evident, believe me it is not. Growing up in the segregated Dallas of the 1950s, I used to think everyone was white. There was a whole city within a city that was invisible. Now I find it disturbing to be in an environment without people of all races. Diversity just feels better to me and that’s why visibility is so important.

So as the train pulls into Chicago, and I go to join my leather brothers and sisters for the weekend, I wish everyone in Dallas the best. This week is the anniversary of Harvey Milk’s birthday and a great time to make yourself visible. It’s a political act almost as profound as voting.

And for almost as long, it has been a lightning rod for hate groups.

Disney does not officially sponsor Gay Days (though, as a regular attendee for many years, I can tell you they don’t oppose it), but that hasn’t stopped homophobic groups like the American Family Association and spinoff One Million Moms from accusing the House of Mouse and gays of “expos[ing] and desensitiz[ing] children to this lifestyle by same-sex couples holding hands, hugging and kissing.” Let’s ignore for a minute that “holding hands, hugging and kissing” is also what parents do with the kids, and couples of all ages do in public on a daily basis without causing a stir. Still, OMM is urging its supporters to email Disney and demand they not “go along” with Gay Days.

Of course, I don’t know how Disney could stop it: You show up with money and a ticket, they let you in — they are a business. But that doesn’t stop OMM.

It has, however, spurred a straight Texas mother, Darcy Christ, to act. (Don’t you just love her last name? Christ is on our side!) Earlier this month, Christ started a Facebook fan page to get folks who believe in love to oppose OMM and their rants against gays. She’s also teamed with Outloud Enterprises, which has established a page where you can sign a letter to Disney voicing your support for inclusion.

And, of course, you can show your support simply by attending Gay Days and spending money. For some reason, that seems to work.

Jason Smith

The case of a gay Tyler man who sued the Texas Attorney General’s office for employment discrimination comes before the Court of Appeals in Austin this week.

Vic A. Gardner worked for the AG’s child support division for about three years. He received excellent performance reviews until an office Halloween costume party, the suit alleges. When he attended dressed as a geisha girl, his supervisor determined he was gay.

Once his sexual orientation was assumed by the supervisor, he was repeatedly disciplined until he resigned in February, according to his attorney, Jason Smith of Fort Worth.

In a sworn affidavit, the supervisor admitted he had a religious objection to Gardner being gay.

“You are who you are, but try not to be so out,” Smith said his client was told.

Knowing Gardner’s father was a Baptist minister, the supervisor asked Gardner at one point how he could do that to his father.

In October 2010, a lower court judge ruled the AG had immunity from prosecution and dismissed the case. Gardner appealed in November 2010 but withdrew his appeal in January 2011.

Gardner’s new appeal is asking the court to order a jury trial. The AG contends all Gardner can do is ask for reinstatement. Smith said his client is entitled to lost wages and more.

Since he lost his job, Gardner worked at Dillard’s, but then suffered a heart attack and had no health insurance. He’s now back at work.

Smith believes his client is entitled to compensation for the medical bills that would have been covered by his state health insurance and for mental anguish that may have led to the heart attack.

When Democrat Dan Morales was attorney general, he added sexual orientation to the department’s nondiscrimination policy. Republican Greg Abbott removed that protection after his election in 2002. Abbott also has intervened to block same-sex couples legally married in other states from obtaining divorces in Texas. And he recently issued an opinion saying he believes domestic partner benefits offered by local governments violate the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

“It’s fair to say the attorney general has not been an advocate for gay and lesbian rights,” Smith said.

Despite a lack of specific protection in law based on sexual orientation, government agencies are barred from discriminating against gay employees under the constitutional principle of equal protection. Smith said pointed to the Mica England case, which prevented the Dallas Police Department from asking about sexual orientation on its employment application and disqualifying applicants based on the answer. He said the case also shows the need for a statewide employment nondiscrimination law that protects LGBT people.

“Discrimination against gay employees is prohibited under the Texas Constitution, which protects all Texans right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness just as God made them,” Gardner claims in his appeal. “Moreover, the Texas Supreme Court recently held that individual government actors are not immune from damages for violating an individual’s rights under the constitution.”

A spokesman in the AG press office said the office typically doesn’t comment on pending lawuits.

The AG questions whether sexual orientation was a motivating factor in the case, according to a deposition.

Lambda Legal indicated this week that they would file a brief in the case based on equal protection and on higherd scrutiny for sexual orientation discrimination.

Smith asked members of the LGBT community to attend oral arguments on May 22 to show support. He said Texas has an open courts system and he believes judges note when the public takes an interest in a case.

The docket is called for 9 a.m. and three cases will be heard that day. He said he expects to present his case at about 10 a.m. but urged anyone interested in coming to arrive earlier. The court is in the same building as the attorney general’s office: Price Daniel Sr. Building, 209 W. 14th St., Room 101, Austin.

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.

For tickets to Pam Ann, go here.

Indigo Girls, the lesbian folk band, plays at the McKinney Arts Center on Friday night, but there are lots of other gay-friendly things to do closer to downtown.

Also on Friday, photographer Alex Remington opens his one-man show of Dallas landmarks, Architectura, at the ilume Gallerie; it will play there through June. And Dallas ComicCon bursts into the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas for a weekend of events.

On Saturday night, the Turtle Creek Chorale holds its annual Turtle Ball, this time at Trinity Groves, the new development near our fancy Calatrava bridge.

This is the last weekend to see Re-Designing Women at the Rose Room, as well as Fela! at the Winspear. And it’s your only chance to see Pam Ann, pictured, in her one-woman comedy act at the Majestic. But you still have time to catch Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Fair Park and the Dallas Theater Center’s Fly By Night at the Kalita.

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.