Tag Archives: lesbian couple

Florida trying to cash in on NY marriage law

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South Florida, and especially Fort Lauderdale, is expecting a gay honeymoon boom with the beginning of same-sex marriage in New York, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce is running a contest and winners will get a five-night stay at the Royal Palms Resort & Spa or the Atlantic Resort & Spa.

Very nice. Glad Florida wants the gay bucks. But why would a New York couple celebrating their wedding — and new rights — honeymoon in Florida?

After a hard-fought battle to win the right to marry, then another month-long wait to marry, then after entering their names in a lottery to find out how soon they can get one of those precious marriage certificates — why would a couple leave a place where they finally have gotten their rights and travel somewhere that offers them no rights just a few hours later?

Continue reading “Florida trying to cash in on NY marriage law” »

—  David Taffet

Discrimination at Dollywood?

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Now, I am and long have been a huge fan of Dolly Parton. Going to Dollywood would be almost a religious pilgrimage for me. My best friends says when he dies, he wants to be cremated and his ashes scattered over Dollywood.

And Dolly herself has never been shy about her love and support for the LGBT community. In fact, just last Friday we had an interview with Dolly in Dallas Voice leading up to her concert at the Verizon Theatre on Tuesday night.

So I was greatly surprised — and felt a significant wrenching in my heart — when I saw this news headline this morning from WBIR.com, the NBC affilliate in Knoxville.com: “Lesbian couples claims discrimination at Dollywood.”

According to the story, lesbian couple Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton recently took some friends’ children for a day of fun at the theme park nestled in Dolly’s hometown area of Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Odom was wearing a T-shirt that said “Marriage is So Gay,” and when they got to the gate, the attendant told her she would either have to change shirts, or turn that one inside-out so the message wasn’t visible. When she asked him why, she says, the attendant told her, “This is a family park.”

Continue reading “Discrimination at Dollywood?” »

—  admin

Anti-gay measures filed in Texas House

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Dennis Coleman

As deadline looms, Chisum files bill to give AG more time to intervene in same-sex divorce case; Workman files resolution urging Obama to defend DOMA

DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

Just before the Texas Legislature’s deadline for filing new bills passed last week, one anti-gay measure and one hostile resolution were filed in the House of Representatives. It was the first time in six years that anti-gay measures have been introduced.

Rep. Paul Workman, a freshman Republican who represents the southwest corner of Travis County, introduced a resolution to urge U.S. President Barack Obama to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. In February, the president directed Attorney General Eric Holder to stop defending DOMA in court.

So far the resolution, known as HCR 110, has no Senate counterpart bill.

Equality Texas Executive Director Dennis Coleman said a resolution doesn’t need a committee hearing before going to the floor. The resolution was added to the LGBT lobby group’s tracking list, but Coleman did not express concern.

“So far, we don’t see it as having any traction,” he said.

Rep. Warren Chisum, whose district covers part of the Panhandle and is known as one of the most conservative members of the House, has filed a bill to give the Texas attorney general more time to intervene in same-sex divorce cases.

The move comes after Texas AG Greg Abbott tried to intervene in the divorce of a lesbian couple in Austin but was declared ineligible by an appeals court because he had missed the deadline.

This bill would give that office up to 90 days after a divorce is settled to intervene.

Coleman laughed and said, “It was introduced because [the attorney general] missed the window. We want to give him more time so he doesn’t miss the window again.”

Coleman said that it was interesting that a legislature that was elected to get government out of people’s lives was considering bills that interfered more when it came to the lives of gays and lesbians.

Known as HB 2638, the bill has no co-sponsors and has not been referred to committee yet. A Senate counterpart was not been filed.

Now that the filing period for new bills has ended, Coleman said his organization’s main concern is amendments that could weaken pending legislation or add anti-LGBT measures to other laws.

Anti-bullying bills

Several bills addressing bullying have been introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives. But not all those bills have gained ringing endorsements from LGBT activists, while the two that had advocates most hopeful have been stripped of language enumerating protected categories.

Sen. Wendy Davis and Rep. Mark Strama authored identical bills that have been amended and are now known as CS (Committee Substitute) SB 242 and CS HB 224. A House committee has already heard the bill. Coleman said that most of the testimony supported the bill and only two groups spoke in opposition.

Coleman said that as a result of the recent LGBT Lobby Day, Rep. Alma Allen of Houston has signed on as a new co-sponsor. He has spoken to others in both the House and Senate about adding their names.

Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston introduced another anti-bullying bill in the House known as Asher’s Law, in memory of Asher Brown, a Houston 13-year-old who committed suicide last September.

Asher’s Law would mandate creation of suicide prevention programs for junior, middle and high schools. It requires training for counselors, teachers, nurses, administrators, social workers, other staff and school district law enforcement to recognize bullying and know what to do to stop it. A report would be submitted to the legislature by Jan. 13, 2013.

The bill also defines cyberbullying in state law for the first time.

That bill was placed in the public health committee. Dennis Coleman liked that the legislature was treating suicide as a public health issue and thought the bill had a good chance to move to the House floor from committee.

He said legislators favoring anti-bully laws have told him that they need to continue to hear from constituents, especially from teachers and principals.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 18, 2011.

—  John Wright

Jodi Picoult talks up new lesbian-themed book tonight on Mombian

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The lesbian mom blogsite Mombian posted today that big time author Jodi Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper, 19 Minutes) has gone Lisa Cholodenko-like on her newest book Sing You Home. The story details the account of a lesbian couple striving to have a child. OK, so it’s not quite The Kids are All Right, but maybe there’s a trend brewing of lesbi-parenting and mainstream audiences. First it was girl-on-girl kissing, now it’s mom-on-mom nurturing that intrigues audiences.

Her website calls it a multimedia experience. The book includes a CD of music and spoken word to accompany the story. There’s even a trailer for the book. Now we just have to wait for the movie. Unfortunately, her book tour doesn’t stop in Dallas. At least not with the current itinerary.

But you can listen to Picoult tonight as she appears on Mombian’s podcast to talk up the book. This is what they say:

I’m very excited to invite you to a special event here at Mombian: a live, streaming interview and chat tonight with #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult about her latest novel, Sing You Home, the story of a lesbian couple and their attempts to have a child.

I’ll have a fuller review coming up in my Mombian newspaper column soon, so I’ll say little here except that I do recommend it, not least because Picoult avoids the clichéed “search for a donor” plot of most stories about lesbians trying to get pregnant. Instead, she takes a different approach, giving us a tale that deftly blends the personal and political. The book also includes a CD of original songs with words by Picoult and music by Ellen Wilber, who will be performing on the Webcast.

Join us here at Mombian tonight, Monday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST for the Webcast, part of the Literary Salon Series of Picoult’s publisher, Atria Books. The interview, moderated by book reviewer Bethanne Patrick, will be broadcast from an event at New York City’s Andaz 5th Avenue Hotel to celebrate the novel’s release. There will be a chat window going, too, so you can share your own questions and comments.

That’s 6 p.m. our time.

—  Rich Lopez

WATCH: Channel 5 shines a very favorable ‘Spotlight’ on the LGBT community in N. Texas

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A while back Dallas Voice received a visit from some folks at NBC 5, who interviewed Publisher Robert Moore and Senior Editor Tammye Nash about the newspaper’s role in the LGBT community.

To be perfectly honest, no one around here was quite sure what the segment was for, but thanks to a tip from Rafael McDonnell at Resource Center Dallas, now we know: It’ll be part of a program called Spotlight, which airs at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Channel 5. On Spotlight, “North Texas correspondents come together in order to spin narratives from real-life stories involving persons who contribute to their community,” according to the NBC 5 website.

We also found a site dedicated to the show, where they’ve posted several of the segments about the LGBT community. In addition to Dallas Voice,  there are segments on Youth First Texas, transgender Dallas Police Officer Deborah Grabowski, a Haltom City lesbian couple that adopted a child; the Dallas Diablos; three LGBT-affirming churches in Oak Cliff; gay filmmaker Marlon T. Riggs; and LULAC #4871 President Jesse Garcia.

We know, it seems like a lot, but each segment is only a few minutes long, and they’re all well done.

Major kudos to NBC 5 for putting these together, but you don’t have to wait till Sunday to see them. We’ve posted all of the segments, in the same order they’re listed above, after the jump.

Continue reading “WATCH: Channel 5 shines a very favorable ‘Spotlight’ on the LGBT community in N. Texas” »

—  John Wright

Lesbian couple turned away by Justin chapel to marry Friday at Cathedral of Hope

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The Country Abbey in Justin

Earlier we noted that no Valentine’s Day marriage equality demonstration is planned for Dallas this year, so perhaps this is the next best thing.

PR guru and former Dallas Voice staffer Kris Martin sends along word that two local women who were turned away by a private wedding chapel last year for being lesbians plan to tie the knot on Friday in a ceremony at the Cathedral of Hope.

Tina Shaft and Tiffany Fenimore have been together for 10 years and made news in June when they were turned away by the Country Abbey in Justin as well as by other locations, according to Martin. Now, the Cathedral of Hope and community businesses are donating a chapel and services to make the couple’s dream wedding come true.

Christopher Thomas will officiate the wedding on behalf of the Cathedral, and the couple and their three children will sit for “No H8″ campaign photographs following the ceremony.

The ceremony is open to the media and will be at 3 p.m. Friday at the Cathedral’s Interfaith Peace Chapel, 5910 Cedar Springs Road in Dallas.

—  John Wright

BREAKING: Texas appeals court upholds gay divorce, rules against AG’s office in Austin case

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Angelique Naylor

A state appeals court has upheld a divorce that was granted to a lesbian couple in Austin last year, saying Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott lacks standing to appeal the divorce because he intervened in the case too late.

“Because the State lacks standing to appeal, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction,” a three-judge panel of Texas’ 3rd District Court of Appeals wrote in its decision posted earlier today.

Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins granted a divorce to lesbian couple Angelique Naylor and Sabina Daly last February. Naylor and Daly married in Massachusetts in 2004 before returning to Texas and adopting a child. Abbott’s office appealed Jenkins’ decision, arguing that judges in Texas cannot grant same-sex divorces because the state doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.

Abbott’s office won an appeal last year of a same-sex divorce in Dallas, where the 5th District Court of Appeals ruled in his favor.

Jennifer Cochran, an attorney who represented Naylor, explains on her blog that the Austin appeals court’s decision doesn’t address the constitutional issues related to gay divorce:

The Appellate Court dismissed the appeal for “want of jurisdiction” finding that the State was not a party of record and thus lacked standing to appeal.

So what’s this mean? Well this particular divorce was granted and upheld by the appellate court because the AG intervened after the divorce was granted orally by Judge Jenkins and because neither party raised constitutional challenges to the Family Code or the Texas Constitution.  If either party had, the appellate court would have most likely found that the AG did have standing and would have addressed the constitutional arguments in addition to the procedural ones.  So, we will leave the constitutional challenge for another day (or case).

Abbott’s office could now drop its appeal, request that the entire 3rd District Court of Appeals hear the case, or appeal the three-judge panel’s ruling to the Texas Supreme Court.

According to the Texas Tribune, Lauren Bean, a spokeswoman for Abbott’s office, said the decision “undermines unambiguous Texas law.”

“The Texas Constitution and statutes are clear: only the union of a man and a woman can be treated as a marriage in Texas,” she said, adding, “The Office of the Attorney General will weigh all options to ensure that the will of Texas voters and their elected representatives is upheld.”

More to come …

—  John Wright

Courting the voters for the title of emperor

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Man, woman vying for emperor of United Court of the Lone Star Empire continue organization’stradition of fundraising

DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer taffet@dallasvoice.com

Jimmie Tucker is running against Terry Youdan to become Emperor XXXVI of the United Court of the Lone Star Empire. If Tucker wins, this will not be the first time a woman has become emperor.

Youdan explained that candidates run for the position they’re most comfortable filling, and that the Fort Worth court has had a lesbian couple serve as emperor and empress.

No one is running for empress this year in the Dallas court.

According to UCLSE President Don Jenkins, the court will probably have a regent empress, appointed by the board, to serve in that position.

Jenkins estimated that UCLSE stages shows at least 40 weeks a year, including multiple shows some weeks. And, he added, the court has given in the neighborhood of $1 million to a variety of organizations through the years.

Each emperor and empress is required to attend at least five of the six coronations held by other courts in Texas. They must also attend at least three out-of-state coronations.

The group is active with other organizations, like the Texas Gay Rodeo Association. Jenkins was recently grand marshal of TGRA’s Big D Rodeo.

Serving as emperor can become expensive. Jenkins followed his husband as court royalty. He estimates that they spent $40,000 during their reigns traveling to events including more than 30 coronations.

Jimmie Tucker
Jimmie Tucker

Jimmie Tucker
Tucker has been a member of the court for four years. Previously, she held the National Leather Association title of South Central Leather Woman 2006.

“I just love giving back to the community,” Tucker said to explain why she became involved in the court.

Tucker’s most recent show at the Dallas Eagle netted about $500 that she is donating to Health Services of North Texas.

In addition to performing, Tucker said she and her wife bake Tucker Inn Cookies. She auctions off boxes of Hello Kitty, pink flamingo or high-heeled shoe cookies for $40 to $50 a box.

But despite her love for baking, Tucker said she isn’t sure that “June Cleaver in leather” accurately describes her.

“I’m a leather dyke,” she said. “I’m butcher than some.”

Tucker said that if elected, she would like to see the court do more together as a family.

Tucker participates in Beyond Vanilla and other educational events with National Leather Association.

Terry Youdan
Terry Youdan

Terry Youdan
Youdan also has been a member of the court for four years.

“I love the group,” he said. “I want the opportunity to give of myself and to the community.”

At his shows, he’s been raising money for Youth First Texas, Resource Center Dallas’s nutrition programs and AIDS Services of Dallas.

Youdan said the only Texas city he hasn’t attended coronation in  is Corpus Christi, but he’s been to each of the others several times and is looking forward to visiting the other courts.

As emperor, he would like to add a volunteer coordinator and get the court even more involved with other groups.

He said that they’ve served Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners but he’d like them to do more of that on a regular basis.

Voting
Voting began Oct. 21 at the Hidden Door and continues on Oct. 22 at the Dallas Eagle from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. On Oct. 23 votes can be cast the Gay and Lesbian Community Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Anyone living in the empire may vote. That area includes Dallas and all surrounding counties with the exception of Tarrant, which has its own court. Voters must show a drivers license to show county of residence and be of legal age.

The winner will be announced at coronation at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Stemmons Freeway on Oct. 30. The evening is billed “Denim & Diamonds, A Night of Big Band and Country Swing.”


More information is available at DallasCourt.org.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 22, 2010

—  Kevin Thomas

More suicides? Lesbians found dead in Canada

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Chantal Dube, left, and Jeanine Blanchette

The Canadian LGBT news site Xtra is reporting that the bodies of two young lesbians have been found in a wooded area in Orangeville, Ontario after the two apparently committed suicide.

Girlfriends Jeanine Blanchette, 21, and Chantal Dube, 17, reportedly made “goodbye” phone calls to two friends, and left goodbye letters behind for family members. The friends immediately reported the calls to police, by Blanchette’s family said didn’t take the threat seriously enough or look hard enough for the two young women, choosing to believe instead that Blanchette and Dube had run away together and would come back home before long.

Police have said autopsy reports won’t be available for several weeks, but one of Blanchette’s family members said they believe the two young women deliberately overdosed on prescription medications. The families have also said they do not believe the girls’ deaths had anything to do with their sexual orientation, according to a report in The Toronto Star.

The girls’ bodies were found by a member of Blanchette’s family. The family, frustrated over what they saw as a lack of response from police, contacted a psychic for help and then formed their own search party.

Xtra points out that these deaths come in the wake of suicides by six teenage boys in the past month who had been the victims of anti-gay bullying.

—  admin

Donations needed for Tenn. lesbian couple who lost their home in possible anti-gay arson

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“Love thy neighbor as thyself” — it is one of the most well-known verses in the Christian Bible. Now you have a chance to put that Scripture into action and help a lesbian couple in Vonore, Tenn.

The evening of Sept. 4, Carol Ann and Laura Stutte had gone into Nashville for dinner to celebrate the fifth anniversary of leaving Oklahoma to move into what they called their “dream home” just outside Vonore. But then they got the call from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office telling them their dream was going up in smoke: Their house was on fire.

As they drove up to the smoldering remains of their home, they saw the insult that had been heaped on top of injury: Someone had painted the word “Queers” in big, black letters across the white wall of their detached garage, which had not been destroyed by the fire.

The two women believe that the fire was the latest — and worst — in a string of anti-gay incidents that have plagued them since shortly after they moved into the house, things like having nails strewn across their driveway and the lug nuts on their boat trailer loosened. Plus, Carol Ann told KnoxNews.com, there were the threats and insults from a neighbor who once told them this “joke”: What’s better than a dead queer? Two dead queers.

The neighbor, Carol Ann said, had also told them she would burn their house down.

For five years, Carol Ann said she and Laura chose to just “turn the other cheek” and try to “keep the peace.” But in August, they reached a breaking point and reported the ongoing harassment and vandalism to the sheriff’s department. (Go to KnoxNews.com to see video of the two women talking about the fire.)

Sheriff Bill Bivens said his department has not determined whether the fire was a hate crime, but is definitely investigating the possibility. The Tennessee Bomb and Arson Investigative is also looking into the fire.

Carol Ann, a 47-year-old landscaper, and Laura, a 48-year-old nurse, have said they will never rebuild on that same site, and are too afraid to return to Vonore. For now, they are staying in a safe house at an undisclosed location. Carol Ann’s 26-year-old daughter, Kimberly Holloway, had been living with them at the home in Vonore. She is now staying at a separate safe house location.

For several days after the fire, the Stuttes didn’t talk to anyone about what had happened. When they finally did go public, the community responded. A special fund has been set up for them at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville (yes, that is the same church where a man opened fire during a children’s production of “Annie” back in 2008 because he was angry over the church’s liberal bent). Ben Byers with Tennessee Equality Project’s Knoxville committee said a benefit concert is planned, and the Maryville chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is accepting contributions of clothing and toiletries for the women and dog food for their three dogs who survived the fire.

If you want to help, you can contact either the church or the PFLAG chapter. If you want to send a message of support, you can do that at the “We Support The Stutte Family” Facebook page.

—  admin