Tag Archives: El Paso

Gay El Paso House candidate Mary Gonzalez to visit Dallas for LGBT fundraiser next week

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Mary Gonzalez

Mary Gonzalez, an openly gay candidate for Texas House from El Paso, will be in Dallas on Thursday, May 3 for a fundraiser sponsored by the Texas Equity PAC, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and Annie’s List.

Of the four known openly LGBT candidates for Legislature in 2012, Gonzalez arguably has the best chance to become only the second out lawmaker in the state’s history and the first since Glen Maxey, who served from 1993 until 2001. Texas is one of only 18 states that lack an openly LGBT legislator, and according to the Victory Fund, no state has ever passed relationship recognition without one.

Gonzalez is one of three candidates in the May 29 Democratic Primary  in El Paso’s District 75 who are vying to replace Rep. Chente Quintillia, who isn’t seeking re-election.

“The oldest of eleven children, Mary Gonzalez is a natural born leader,” an invitation for next week’s fundraiser reads. “Before putting herself through college to eventually become a PhD candidate and Adjunct Professor, Mary spent her adolescent years advocating for underserved colonias in her hometown of El Paso. Now, Mary is putting her education and experience to work for the people of El Paso and is poised to become Texas’ only LGBT voice in the state legislature. Come meet this remarkable young woman and catch a rising star on her way to the Capitol!”

The fundraiser will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the home of Equality Texas Executive Director Dennis Coleman and his partner, Gregory Pynes. Other hosts include Cece Cox; Jack Evans and George Harris; Scott Green and Garrett Warren; Chris Luna and Kent Mecklenburg; Karl Meyer and Craig McCartney; Dr. Mark Parker and Eric Johnson; and Andy Smith and Paul von Wupperfeld.

The suggested donation is $100, or become a host for $250.. For more information or to RSVP contact Chuck Smith at 512-474-5475 ext. 2 or chuck@texasequitypac.org; or Michael McCall at 202-567-3304 or michael.mccall@victoryfund.org.

—  John Wright

2 El Paso teens get 10, 12 years for brutal attack outside gay nightclub; others await trial

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The Old Plantation in Downtown El Paso.

Two 17-year-olds have been sentenced for their roles in a brutal beating of an El Paso man outside a gay nightclub in May, the El Paso Times reports.

Ruben Arturo Valenzuela pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison.

Esteban Alfaro was sentenced to 10 years in prison in January after a state district juvenile court found him guilty of assault.

Valenzuela and Alfaro were two of the five attackers believed to have beaten Lionel Martinez, then 22, with baseball bats outside of the Old Plantation nightclub in Downtown El Paso.

Martinez suffered severe injuries and remained in intensive care for several weeks. While he is not gay, his family wanted the assault labeled as a hate crime because the teens believed Martinez was gay. His sister, who he was waiting for at the club, witnessed the assault and told police that the teens shouted anti-gay slurs at Martinez. El Paso police linked the attack to gang violence.

Manny Portillo, 19, pleaded guilty in early April and is awaiting sentencing.

Ivan Gallardo, 18, and Roman Olvera, 20, are scheduled for trial this summer.

—  Anna Waugh

Don’t miss this El Paso Times profile on pioneering gay luchador Cassandro

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Today, Texas Monthly’s Jason Cohen pointed us to this piece from the El Paso Times about the out, cross-dressing wrestler Cassandro. The profile, by Paul Imison, came out earlier this week.

Imison takes a look into Cassandro’s legacy as the first openly gay luchador as well as gives fascinating insight to the world of lucha libre.

This got me curious to see if Cassandro had ever wrestled here in Dallas. There is a slight lucha libre scene here that takes place in area bazaars and malls. While researching local appearances (any help would be most welcome), I did come across one wrestler with flair in a video taken from a match at the Irving Bazaar. Watch him in action with his opponent and the men in the crowd after the jump, as well as video of Cassandro in action.

Continue reading “Don’t miss this El Paso Times profile on pioneering gay luchador Cassandro” »

—  Rich Lopez

Victory Fund endorses 28-year-old out lesbian Mary Gonzalez for Texas House in El Paso

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Mary Gonzalez

The Washington, D.C.-based Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has endorsed 28-year-old rising star Mary Gonzalez, one of four openly LGBT candidates for Texas Legislature in 2012. And that’s good news because the Victory Fund only backs candidates the group believes are viable.

As we noted in our story about Gonzalez and the other out candidates two weeks ago, Texas is one of only 18 states that lack an openly LGBT legislator. And, according to the Victory Fund, no state has passed same-sex relationship recognition without one. In other words, we need a seat at the table in Austin.

After the jump, read an excerpt about Gonzalez from our recent story. You can also read about her on the Victory Fund page, but it looks like you’ll have to go to Gonzalez’s campaign website to make a contribution. You can also follow Gonzalez’s campaign on Facebook.

Continue reading “Victory Fund endorses 28-year-old out lesbian Mary Gonzalez for Texas House in El Paso” »

—  John Wright

Tom Brown Ministries named anti-gay hate group as El Paso pastor files appeal of recall ruling

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Pastor Tom Brown

Just as El Paso pastor Tom Brown filed an appeal this week to the Texas Supreme Court, his Tom Brown Ministries was labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Brown filed an appeal Wednesday of a court’s ruling rejecting his effort to recall El Paso Mayor John Cook and two other council members over their support of domestic partner benefits for unmarried city employees.

This was just as the Southern Poverty Law Center was issuing its annual list of anti-gay hate groups. The 27 groups, up from 17 last year, includes Tom Brown Ministries.

Brown’s group is the second anti-gay group in Texas to be declared a hate group by the SPLC after the San Antonio-based Bethesda Christian Institute.

The El Paso City Council approved DP benefits in 2009, but were overturned in a ballot measure led by Brown’s El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values in 2010.

City Council voted to restore DP benefits last year, prompting Brown to begin a recall effort. While a county judge ruled in Brown’s favor after the recall was challenged in court by El Paso Mayor John Cook, the appeals court overturned the decision in February.

While Brown may have filed with the Texas Supreme Court, an attorney for Cook previously said the odds of the court taking the case are slim.

—  Anna Waugh

VICTORY: Appeals court blocks recall of El Paso officials who voted in favor of DP benefits

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Friday's ruling was a major setback for anti-gay Pastor Tom Brown, who may also face criminal charges.

In a victory for supporters of LGBT equality, a Texas appeals court has rejected an effort to recall El Paso Mayor John Cook and two other council members over their support of domestic partner benefits for unmarried city employees.

Texas’ 8th Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Friday that recall organizers, led by anti-gay Pastor Tom Brown, broke the law in gathering petition signatures for the recall election, which had been scheduled for this spring.

After the El Paso City Council first approved DP benefits for gay and straight city workers in 2009, Brown spearheaded a ballot measure that overturned them in 2010. Last year, after the City Council voted to restore DP benefits, Brown’s group launched its recall effort, which was challenged in court by Cook. A county judge initially ruled against Cook, but the appeals court overturned that decision.

The El Paso chapter of PFLAG issued a statement Friday saying: “It is with jubilation that the recall election, supported by Christian bigots, has finally reached the finish line. The judges clearly saw that this attempt was purely done out of hatred, disguised as the word of God.”

Brown and others may also face criminal charges based on the appeals court’s ruling, which found that his Word of Life Church violated a statute prohibiting corporate political contributions to recall elections. The court also found that Brown’s group, El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values, illegally raised money in support of the recall when it wasn’t registered as a political action committee.

Brown said recall organizers will appeal the ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, but an attorney for Mayor Cook believes it’s highly unlikely the high court would take the case. Cook, who cast the deciding vote in favor of restoring DP benefits last year, reportedly has spent $225,000 on his lawsuit seeking to block the recall. The mayor said he now plans to seek monetary damages against Brown’s group.

—  John Wright

WATCH: Hunx’s “Always Forever”

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Seth Bogart, neé Hunx (of Hunx and His Punx) has released the video for his leadoff single “Always Forever” from his upcoming solo album Hairdresser Blues. Hunx gets cubed in the video with split screens and time-lapse photography. He even pays a bit of homage to Nirvana, replicating the Nevermind cover. Hairdresser Blues is set to be released Feb. 28.

It looks like Hunx will be coming to Texas in today’s announced tour dates. Three dates in Texas include Houston at Fitzgerald’s, April 17; Austin at Mohawk, April 18 and El Paso at M’s Lips, April 19. Sadly, no Dallas date.

Watch “Always Forever” after the jump along with a trailer of the entire album featuring major crotch shot action.

Continue reading “WATCH: Hunx’s “Always Forever”” »

—  Rich Lopez

Gay man robbed, beaten, pummelled with rocks in hate crime outside El Paso bar

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A gay man was beaten and robbed in an apparent hate crime Sunday night outside a bar in central El Paso. Emilio Moreno, 23, was leaving the Rumors bar when two attackers jumped him in an alley. Moreno’s brother, Gerardo Agguire, told KFOX Channel 14 that the suspects — who have not been caught — were hitting Moreno with rocks:

His brothers said the two men beat him up, took his wallet with six dollars in it, his class ring and even his jacket, before leaving him for dead.

“I  believe it was ahate crime because they were beating him up and calling him homosexual slurs,” said Gerardo.

Neighbors who live next to the alley heard the commotion and called an ambulance. As of Tuesday night, Emilio is at UMC, being treated for various facial injuries including a broken nose.

“He said to me he wishes he would have died, and I asked him why, and he said so justice can be served and police would take it seriously,” said Gerardo.

The El Paso Times reports that police are treating the incident as a hate crime, because of the assailants’ use of anti-gay slurs. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at 915-832-4400 or Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477.

Last May, after a brutal hate crime outside another gay bar, LGBT advocates held a rally at the courthouse and said El Paso police hadn’t done enough to address violence in the area.

—  John Wright

The New York Times on El Paso benefits fight

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Pastor Tom Brown

The New York Times on Sunday took a look at the battle over domestic partner benefits in El Paso. The one thing about the story that stood out to me — in addition to some of the extreme anti-gay rhetoric — was this passage:

While some groups have organized in support of the three officials, the city’s gay community has been noticeably quiet.

Tony Ramos, a retired Army sergeant who works on a statewide H.I.V. and AIDS prevention program, said the gay community was taking a wait-and-see attitude. “For most of us here,” Mr. Ramos said, “being gay is not an issue.”

But he predicted that gay El Pasoans would band together to fight for those who had supported them.

“People are tired and they are fed up,” Mr. Ramos said. “And they do not appreciate El Paso being painted as such a backwards type of city.”

Let’s hope Ramos is right, and the LGBT community in El Paso does stand up. Furthermore, let’s hope the LGBT community around the state and across the nation stands up behind it.

The story notes that of the 19 El Paso employees who signed up for DP benefits, only two are gay. But make no mistake — anti-gay hatred was behind the 2010 ballot measure that overturned DP benefits, just as it is behind the effort to recall the city officials who voted to reinstate them.

National LGBT groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force raise a lot of money out of Texas. This seems like one of those times when they need to put some back in.

—  John Wright

Southwest issues follow-up statement on Leisha Hailey incident

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The Internet is out at the house (screw you, AT&T), so I’m attempting to post this from my phone (wish me luck). Below is a follow-up statement from Southwest Airlines regarding Monday’s incident involving Leisha Hailey. Note that the statement says the incident occurred in El Paso, as opposed to St. Louis, as previously reported. I can’t post the link here, but what is it about El Paso and same-sex kissing? Anyhow below is the statement. I’ll try to get more when I’m back on the grid in the a.m.

Updated Information Regarding Customers Removed from Flight 2274

Additional reports from our Employees and Customers onboard flight 2274 during a stop in El Paso on Sunday now confirm profane language was being used loudly by two passengers. At least one family who was offended by the loud profanity moved to another area of the cabin. Although we have reports of what Customers characterize as an excessive public display of affection, ultimately their aggressive reaction led to their removal from the aircraft. We do not tolerate discrimination against anyone for any reason. In this situation, their removal was directly and solely related to the escalated conversation that developed onboard the aircraft.

Our tenets of inclusion and celebration of diversity among our Customers and Employees—including those in the LGBT communities—anchor our Culture of mutual respect and following the Golden Rule. The more than 100 million people who fly Southwest each year reflect the great diversity of our country and our Company — and ALL are valued and welcome. In fact, we’ve been recognized as a leader in diversity throughout our 40 years of service.

Our Customer Advocacy Team reached out to extend goodwill and a full refund for an experience that fell short of the passengers’ expectation.

—  John Wright