Tag Archives: lesbian

Travis Co. DA Rosemary Lehmberg gets 45 days in jail for DWI charge

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Rosemary Lehmberg

Rosemary Lehmberg

Lesbian Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated this morning and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Lehmberg said she planned to plead guilty to the class-A misdemeanor charge after she was arrested last weekend. Now in her second term, she said she plans to remain in office.

As Travis County DA, Lehmberg is over the Public Integrity Unit, which is responsible for investigating wrongdoing by state officials.

While Lehmberg apologized for her actions and said she would take whatever sentence she received, attorney Kerry O’Brien filed a request to remove her from office on Wednesday. He cited a law that allows for the removal of district attorneys for intoxication on or off the job, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

O’Brien is alleging incompetence and misconduct in his petition, which mentions Lehmberg was combative while in police custody, shouted curse words, and kicked and spit at officers.

—  Anna Waugh

Former Baylor star and top WNBA pick Brittney Griner comes out

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Brittney.Griner

Ex-Baylor basketball player Brittney Griner came out yesterday during an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Griner, who was among the top picks in Monday’s WNBA Draft, discussed sexuality with the paper with fellow top picks Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins.

When asked about why more women come out in sports than men do, Griner said she didn’t know why and added that being out is about being who you are.

“I really couldn’t give an answer on why. It’s just so different,” Griner said. “Being one that’s out, it’s just being who you are. Again, like I said, just be who you are. Don’t worry about what other people are going to say because they’re always going to say something. But if you’re just true to yourself, let that shine through. Don’t hide who you really are.”

Griner said it wasn’t too difficult for her to be honest about her sexuality, even with her celebrity status.

“It really wasn’t too difficult. I wouldn’t say I was hiding or anything like that,” Griner said. “I’ve always been open about who I am and my sexuality, so it wasn’t hard at all. If I can show that I’m out and I’m fine and everything’s OK, then hopefully the younger generation will definitely feel the same way.”

Griner attended Nimitz High School in Houston before receiving a full scholarship to Baylor University. She is the first NCAA basketball player ever to score 2,000 points and block 500 shots. Had she come out during her career at Baylor, the anti-gay school may have taken away her scholarship or kicked her out.

She’ll start her WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury in May.

Watch the interview below.

Continue reading “Former Baylor star and top WNBA pick Brittney Griner comes out” »

—  Anna Waugh

Queer rappers God-Des & She drop new CD at Sue Ellen’s Friday

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Frank Ocean is a pioneer, Frank Ocean is great, but he’s not the only — or first — hip-hop star to come out. Ever since Austin-based rappers God-Des & She burst onto the music scene following a featured track on The L Word, the lesbian duo has had a following, both in the lesbian and hip-hop communities.

It’s no wonder why: With their sexually explicit lyrics (c’mon — when lesbians sing a song called “Lick It,” you don’t have to wonder what they are referring to) and in-your-face boldness, these Texas tornadoes give an urban, edgy profile. Add to that some gender-bending (for the record: The hardcore butch rapper is God-Des; the zaftig lipstick-and-dress-wearer is She), good airplay on MTV and Logo, and a campaign to get them on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, and you understand why they have a fan-base.

Their fourth album, United States of God-Des & She, is set to drop Feb. 5, but you can get a preview of it when the duo take to the stage at the Vixin Lounge inside Sue Ellen’s for a CD release party Friday. Doors open at 9 p.m., and God-Des & She will mount the stage at 11. And when we say mount … well, let’s just say you never know what to expect from those two.

Tickets available at SueEllensDallas.com and God-DesandShe.com.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

WATCH: Lesbian shares story behind ‘Keep Denton Queer’ group

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Kat Ralph

Kat Ralph and her friends started a Facebook group a few weeks ago to combat an anti-gay experience at a local bar.

They launched “Keep Denton Queer” to share positive and negative experiences at local businesses. Ralph said she eventually wants to create ally stickers for LGBT-friendly businesses. In the meantime, she’s already created a starter website and is working with a local printer to make T-shirts.

Ralph recently spoke about her experience that led to the group’s creation on the CW33.

Watch the video below.

Continue reading “WATCH: Lesbian shares story behind ‘Keep Denton Queer’ group” »

—  Anna Waugh

Lesbian TX House candidate says she changed conversation despite defeat

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Ann Johnson

Lesbian attorney Ann Johnson lost her bid to replace freshman incumbent state Rep. Sarah Davis in Houston’s House District 134.

Johnson trailed in votes throughout election night, ending with 45 percent of the vote to Davis’ 56 percent with about 7,500 votes separating them.

Johnson would have been the second openly LGBT woman elected to the Texas Legislature after El Paso’s Mary Gonzalez.

But while Davis’ record appears to be anti-gay because she voted to ban LGBT resource center at state universities, Equality Texas has said that she expressed an interest in working with them again after collaborating with them on the anti-bullying bill last session.

Johnson told Dallas Voice that she was proud of her campaign and volunteers. She said her campaign deserved credit for the shift in focus to public education and healthcare in the race, two items which Davis started to speak more about because of Johnson.

“I think we ran a great race. We had a tremendous outpouring of support from volunteers who were out phone banks, block walking and standing out at the polls in support of our campaign,” Johnson said. “There was a great shift, I believe, that happened in this district and even Rep. Davis began to speak about trying to be independent and make these issues that we were discussing a priority. I think that’s a credit to the support that we had and the campaign that we ran. I’m excited with what we’ve been able to do and creating a new conversation for priorities in Texas.”

—  Anna Waugh

E. Texas woman arrested for tricking friend into crazy lesbian relationship

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Angela Buchanan

An East Texas woman made national headlines this week in the wake of her arrest last Monday for online impersonation after she pretended to be her doctor and advised her friend to have sex with her.

The story originally reported by The Lufkin News is convoluted and confusing, and contains an editor’s note that it “contains language that could offend some readers.”

Here’s the gist: Angela Buchanan, 30, is believed to have posed as a gynecologist and messaged her 51-year-old friend online under the name “Doc.” Under the online persona, Buchanan advised the friend that she had a pre-cancerous mass that could be delayed or cured by hormone production from sexual activity.

The women had been friends for seven years, and the friend told police she had been lesbian since she was 13 but “no longer identified with the lesbian community because she now feels it is morally wrong.”

Continue reading “E. Texas woman arrested for tricking friend into crazy lesbian relationship” »

—  Anna Waugh

Houston Chronicle endorses lesbian House candidate Ann Johnson

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Ann Johnson

Houston’s Ann Johnson received the endorsement of the Houston Chronicle on Monday.

Johnson, a Houston child advocacy attorney who is an out lesbian, faces Republican incumbent Sarah Davis, whom the Chronicle described as speaking about “politics with a fiery passion, but her passion often seems aimed more at Washington than Austin.”

The endorsement attributes Davis’ victory in the swing district of 134 to tea party turnout two years ago.

Johnson has highlighted the distinct differences between herself and tea party-backed Davis on issues like healthcare and education.

She (Davis) successfully navigated the minefield of wedge-issue votes that defined the previous legislative session — voting no on the sonogram bill, for example. But voters deserve a representative who doesn’t just avoid bad votes, but leads on good ones. We believe Democratic challenger Ann Johnson can be that sort of leader.

Read the full endorsement here.

—  Anna Waugh

Female dancer stabbed by ex-girlfriend at Station 4 following Dallas Pride

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A female dancer at Station 4 was stabbed by her ex-girlfriend following an argument inside the gay nightclub early Monday.

The woman, 23-year-old Melissa Yung of Bedford, was working as a dancer at the club at 3911 Cedar Springs Road when her ex-girlfriend approached her shortly before 2 a.m., Sr. Cpl. Sherri Jeffrey, a spokeswoman for DPD, told Instant Tea.

The two began fighting and the ex-girlfriend cut Yung with an unknown object, causing serious bodily injury, according to a Dallas police report. She sustained a major cut on the left side of her neck, as well as cuts on her chest and abdomen, the report states.

The suspect was wearing all black and fled the club in an unknown direction, according to the report.

The dancer was treated on scene and told police she was going to go to a hospital in North Richland Hills and refused transport by Dallas Fire-Rescue. A friend took her to the hospital.

Jeffrey said the ex-girlfriend has not been identified, as police are still trying to interview Yung for more information. Jeffrey said it is still unclear what started the fight and what object the woman used to stab Yung.

Rick Espaillat, media director for Caven Enterprises Inc., confirmed that Yung was working as a dancer at Station 4 when she was assaulted by an ex-girlfriend. Contract-labor dancers are regularly hired for the club, Espaillat said. He said staff responded immediately and police were called, but the ex-girlfriend fled and could not be located.

“We regret that there was an injury inside the club; we work hard to provide a safe environment for our guests,” he said. “This appears to be a relationship assault, not a random crime, and we appreciate the prompt response of the S4 staff and City of Dallas emergency services. We’re confident that this will be thoroughly investigated and resolved in the courts.”

—  Anna Waugh

YFTCC exceeds fundraising goal for reward in lesbian couple’s shooting

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 More than 60 people laced up their bowling shoes Saturday to help Youth First Texas Collin County score almost $400 more than expected for its fundraiser.

The group raised $1,379.84 during the event in Plano, after planning the event a few weeks before to raise $1,000, YFTCC member Kris Wong said.

Wong wanted to help fund a Crime Stoppers reward to help find the shooter who shot lesbian couple Mollie Olgin and Kristene Chapa in Portland, Texas, in June.

The event was the biggest fundraiser YFTCC has ever organized and the first event Wong has headed up, she said.

“I was pretty ecstatic about it,” she said, adding that she was thrilled with the community’s support.

Wong teamed up with Dallas activist Cd Kirven at the Dallas vigil for the couple. Kirven had expressed a desire to raise a reward and Wong said the event was already planned as a social, so it was turned into a fundraiser.

The teen couple’s attack resonated with Wong, who said she couldn’t imagine if one of her friends was shot or killed.

“It’s sad because they’re my age and they’re too young for, we’re too young for that, because we just started getting out into the world for it to end so quickly,” she said. “It kind of hits home.”

While Wong hopes the money helps catch the shooter as an incentive for those with information to come forward, if the money doesn’t get used, she said it will be donated to YFTCC for future events and causes.

—  Anna Waugh

Dallas fundraiser for out lesbian House hopeful Ann Johnson raises almost $3K

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Ann Johnson speaks at a fundraiser July 24 at Stoneleigh P in Dallas about changes she wants to make to education and healthcare if elected to represent Houston’s District 134 in the state Legislature. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

A cozy crowd gathered Tuesday to mix and mingle with out lesbian Ann Johnson, the Democratic candidate for Houston’s House District 134, at Stoneleigh P restaurant in Dallas.

New Leaders Texas hosted the fundraiser for Johnson that drew about 40 people. New Leaders Executive Director Kathleen Thompson said the event raised $2,645. Johnson faces one-term incumbent Republican Sarah Davis in November. If Johnson wins, she and El Paso’s Mary Gonzalez would become the first two openly LGBT women in the Texas Legislature.

Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs introduced Johnson, noting their similarities in age,  attending law school in Houston, working with their fathers, and both taking on incumbents, as Griggs did last year.

He said that Texas has Republican 2-1 majority in the state Legislature, but electing Johnson is a step toward changing that imbalance.

“In Texas, we can decide what we want to be and we can go be it,” Griggs said. “This is a moment to start to make that change, to start to make a difference.”

Johnson’s father, Jake Johnson, was a state representative in the 60s and worked on Barbara Jordan’s campaign. Jordan was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate since 1883 and was the first black female from the South elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Johnson’s mother is former Civil District Judge Carolyn Marks Johnson.

“I am fortunate that both of my parents taught me the honor of public service,” Johnson told the crowd Tuesday. “Houston has this incredible history of making a difference and being diverse.”

While she did not touch on her sexuality, focusing on her two major campaign issues of education and healthcare, Johnson had her partner Sonya at her side Tuesday proudly talking about the campaign trail.

As a cancer survivor, Johnson expressed her desire to back healthcare funding for all Texans, saying affordable healthcare and education are areas where Texas can go from one of the worst states to one of the best.

Texas ranks 43rd in the U.S. for graduation rates, 45th for SAT scores, a fact that Johnson said she’s focusing on changing if elected by providing better funding to public education.

“I have vision to take us from worst to first,” she said. “If we go from worst to first, we can create a public education system that we can be proud of.”

More photos and video below.

Continue reading “Dallas fundraiser for out lesbian House hopeful Ann Johnson raises almost $3K” »

—  Anna Waugh