Last night the Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus (ALGPC) and Stonewall Democrats of Austin (SDA) made their endorsements for the upcoming Primary elections. The endorsements were as follows (endorsements were the same for both clubs except as noted):
US House of Representatives CD10 - Ted Ankrum
US House of Representatives CD21 - Lainey Melnick
US House of Representatives CD25 - Lloyd Doggett
Governor - Bill White
Lt. Gov - Ronnie Earle
Attorney General - Barbara Ann Radnofsky
Agriculture Commissioner - Hank Gilbert
Land Commissioner - Hector Uribe
Railroad Commissioner - Jeff Weems
SBOE District 5 - Rebecca Bell-Metereau
SBOE District 10 - Judy Jennings
State Rep District 48 - Donna Howard
State Rep Distict 49 - Elliott Naishtat
Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals - Kurt Kuhn
Judge, 147th District - Cliff Brown
Judge, 201st District - Amy Clark Meachum
Judge, 299th District - Karen Sage (SDA)
Judge, 299th District (dual) - Karen Sage, Mindy Montford (ALGPC)
Judge, 331st District - David Crain
Judge, 353rd District - Tim Sulak
Travis County District Clerk - Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza
Travis County Clerk - Dana Debeauvoir
Travis County Treasurer - Dolores Ortega Carter
Commissioner Precinct 2 - Sarah Eckhardt
Commissioner Precinct 4 (dual) - Raul Alvarez, Margaret Gomez
County Court at Law 3 - John Lipscombe
County Court at Law 6 - Brandy Mueller
JP, Precinct 1 - Daniel Bradford
JP, Precinct 2 - Karin Crump
JP, Precinct 3 - Susan Steeg
JP, Precinct 5 - Herb Evans
What is it like to be gay in Aggieland? Much of how that question is answered depends on your perspective. After interviewing several undergraduate and graduate students that either identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, I found that there where shared experiences but different opinions on being a member of the GLBT community at Texas A&M. I interviewed several people from across the spectrum of the GLBT community.
Texas A&M University is known as being one of the most conservative universities in the country, and it is also known as one of the least tolerant universities of alternative lifestyles. In the Princeton Review's most recent college rankings Texas A&M ranked as the campus with the most conservative students and the fifteen least accepting of alternative lifestyles. Although, over the last three decades Texas A&M has made strides in becoming a campus more accepting of alternative lifestyles. Some of the most important improvements have been made in the resources available to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) students.
I sat down with one of the most active members of the Texas A&M GLBT community and discussed his experiences. Lowell Kane has been the program coordinator of the GLBT Resource Center since it opened in September of 2007 and is one of the advisors for the student organization GLBT Aggies (GLBTA). One of the most knowledgeable people not just about the current GLBT community, but also the history of the GLBT community at Texas A&M, he provided me with a wealth of knowledge and perspective about being gay in Aggieland. Kane came to Texas A&M for graduate school in 2005, and described his experience as a member of the GLBT community in Aggieland as "a mixed bag."
As many BOR readers may have noticed, I was out of state for 3 weeks last month working in Kalamazoo, Michigan on a ballot initiative where voters were asked to asked to affirm a prior city commission non-discrimination ordinance which would have expanded basic job, housing, and public accommodation protections to citizens based on sexual orientation and gender identity. I returned home from that successful effort last weekend to further good news in that the Fort Worth City Council voted 6-3 on a measure to expand a similar set of city protections to include gender identity.
Fort Worth Star Telegram: The vote dealt only with one facet of the proposals: expanding the city's anti-discrimination ordinance to include transgender people. The ordinance already prevented discrimination based on race, sex, religion or sexual orientation.
A lot of the debate, though, centered on broader proposals, some of which the council has already tacitly approved. City staffers will be trained on dealing with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and the Police Department has appointed a liaison to the community.
Other recommendations will require further study, including offering domestic-partner benefits and expanding the city health insurance plan to cover gender reassignment procedures, including sex changes.
The vote itself included organizing by both the gay community and counter-protestors. The view below from the Dallas Voice highlights the nature of the debate outside of the council. The most interesting parts are closer to the end when the pastor of a 80 member congregation gets interviewed about his more interesting thoughts on "victims, sissies and sodomites" before getting questioned about whether his congregation meets in a double-wide trailer.
The Austin GLBTQ youth and staff at Out Youth along with key organizations and leaders in the gay and Jewish communities are responding to a violent attack last Saturday on an Israeli gay youth center by hosting a candlelight vigil tonight, August 9th at 7:30pm, on the steps of Austin City Hall.
"The crimes against queer identified youth in Tel Aviv is an all too clear reminder that our fight for equal rights and protection is not only a national but global one. The hearts of our youth go out to the spirits of those that died and to their families, friends and others who were most affected by this awful event," said Out Youth teen Gardiner Brown.
News of this tragedy has shaken the Austin Jewish community. Shelly Prant, Jewish Community Center Executive Director at the JCAA said, "This news saddens our community. We will join with others holding vigil in remembrance of those lost in Tel Aviv and offer prayers for those left to live with the remnants of this violent act."
WHO: Hosted by Out Youth. Co-sponsored by Equality Texas, Soulforce, TENT, PFLAG, Waterloo Counseling Center, ALLGO, Project Transitions, Congregation Agudas Achim, and the Jewish Community Association of Austin.
WHAT: Candlelight Vigil in Remembrance of Slain Gay Teens in Tel Aviv
Could House Resolution (HR) 1283 end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that has discriminated against gays by not allowing them to serve openly in the military? Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) believes that it should and that it will. HR 1283, which is entitled the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009, would replace "the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as `Don't Ask, Don't Tell', with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." If passed HR 1283 would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (Section 654 of title 10, United States Code), however, it would not "require the furnishing of dependent benefits."
Congressman Murphy announced Wednesday that he is taking over the lead sponsorship of the bill, which was filed in March by Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D-CA). At the press conference, Murphy announced the launch of a nationwide tour "Voices of Honor," sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers United
"My time in Iraq taught me that our military needs and deserves the best and the brightest who are willing to serve- and that means all Americans, regardless of their orientation. Discharging brave and talented service members from our armed forces is contrary to the values that our military fights for and that our nation holds dear."
The Houston Area Stonewall Democrats conducted its endorsement meeting for the Houston City Council races yesterday. Candidates had to receive a vote of 70 % or more of the voting members present to gain the HASD endorsement. The following campaigns are officially endorsed by HASD:
At-Large 2 - Sue Lovell
At-Large 3 - Melissa Noriega
At-Large 4 - Noel Freeman
District A - Lane Lewis
District F - Mike Laster
Phillip McNutt, President of HASD, said "We appreciate the efforts of all of the various campaigns that screened with Stonewall. We thank each one of them. Houston will be represented well with the depth of candidates running for the various positions. We are PROUD to put solid Stonewall support with each of our endorsed candidates!"
HASD has previous endorsed the following candidates in an earlier endorsement screening.
Mayor - Annise Parker
Controller - Ron Green
District H - Maverick Welsh
Maverick Welsh is currently involved in the Special Election to fill the District H seat vacated by Adrian Garcia. Election Day for District H is this Saturday, June 13. The remainder of the municipal endorsement including that of Mayor will be held this November.
Regarding the night of Friday 3-10-2009. “The staff and management at Union Bar are very apologetic for the misunderstanding that happened at their place of business. Union Bar in no way refuses entry to any persons due to sexual orientation, race, gender or religion. We do have a capacity of 117 persons as set forth by the City Of Houston and The Fire Marshal. We follow this guild line to the letter for guest and employee safety. This was the main factor or refusing entry Friday night. Persons have booked parties 6 to 7 weeks in advance and have limited of RSVP so their guests have the right to entry first. The Guest in question was allowed to bring his 50 RSVP guest. His party showed up at 10 with approximately 200 guests and could in no way accommodate that. We offered to take all 50 guests and he demanded that we let in all. Accordance to city code we could not allow this. At no time was the staff of Union Bar rude or uninventive to their needs while inside. At 10pm we were almost at capacity and the enclosed pictures will show that (1) We were almost full (2) We had a very high numbers of male guests that were not turned away.”
We would be open to speak with the GL community on this and help prove to the G&L committee that we are a gay friendly bar!
If you have any questions please contact Union Management for further assistance.
Their note highlights a conflict of stories from the accounts of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. I cannot speak to what happened Friday night, as I was not there. What happens -- if anything -- from here on out, I can't say. But I think that for the Houston GLBT Political Caucus to say they had "nearly 100" and for the Union Bar to say that they showed up with 200 is a dramatic difference in the facts.
However, I think it is a positive sign that the Union Bar responded relatively quickly to the uproar over last night's incident, and it is encouraging to see that they are willing to talk about this more going forward. And there may be a place for them to speak up going forward --
Equality Texas believes that last night's events shine a light of importance to legislation they are trying to pass:
Refusal to Open Doors to Gay and Lesbian Patrons Reveals Need to Pass HB 2215 Public Accommodations Nondiscrimination Law
It was a dark and rainy night in Houston Friday. Despite being contacted in advance about the first ever “Guerilla Gay Bar,” a tongue-in-cheek event that has been popular in other cities in which GLBT individuals come to traditionally straight bars to interact with other communities, members of the Houston gay community were refused entrance to the Union Bar.
Equality Texas board Vice-Chair Rob Scamardo and Equality Texas Legislative Committee Chair Rob Caballero were both unable to gain entrance to the bar. Rob Caballero was in the front of the line with Guerrilla Gay Bar organizer Joel Atkins and asked why they were not being allowed in. They were told they wanted to keep a ratio of females to males. Meanwhile women who identified upon questioning that they were with men were waived through. Reasons of keeping a good female/male ratio were hollow as at that time the bar was fairly empty. More details of the night's events are outlined in the Houston GLBT Political Caucus' press release - http://tinyurl.com/HGLBTPCpressrelease
This type of service refusal exemplifies the need for the passage of a statewide law that would prohibit discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Representative Jessica Farrar's HB 2215 would do just this. Whether it is Houston or whether it is Midland, no one should be refused service from a business just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. In the 21st century, it is time that I walk into a restaurant, bar, or business establishment without worrying about being denied service.
Perhaps the bill provides a good opportunity for Union Bar and other small businesses around the state to show that they are, indeed, open and welcoming to all men and women (of legal age) in Texas. As I said before, we'll have to see what happens next...
HOUSTON - City Controller Annise Parker earned an early endorsement in the race for Mayor of Houston from the Houston Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Political Caucus tonight.
"Annise Parker is the most qualified candidate to lead Houston as our nation struggles through a severe economic crisis," said Caucus President Kris Banks. "Like the rest of our city, the Houston GLBT community is bracing for tough times in the coming months and years. We need a steady, experienced hand to guide us.'
"Parker's proven leadership and record of fiscal responsibility and sound economic policy will ensure that Houston can continue to fund our most important priorities - public safety, stronger neighborhoods, infrastructure and quality city services.'
"With this endorsement, our members send a strong message: Qualifications matter now, more than ever. And no one is more qualified than Annise Parker to lead our city though tough economic times."
Many of you are aware that the passage of CA's Propostion 8 on Nov. 4 ignited a firestorm of activism among members of the LGBTQ and straight allies. At this point, there is a lot of momentum toward increasing public visibility of the need for marriage equality and raising public awareness that this is a civil rights issue. To that end, JoinTheImpact.com organized nationwide protests at city halls a few weeks ago; we had 2,000-3,000 people attend here in Austin.
Now, Join The Impact is organizing a canned food drive that will specifically support faith-based food banks in cities nationwide. The goal of this is to demonstrate, in a meaningful, community-building way, that the LGBTQ community and supporters have a positive impact on our city - specifically to some folks who might still be a little skeptical.
I get really excited about initiatives that build bridges among different faith communities and other groups, so I was disappointed to see that no one had signed up to organize the Austin chapter of this effort. So... I signed up! However, we need tons of help.
- First of all, please check out the details on the national website.
- Then, join our Austin facebook page and invite anyone you think might be interested.
*** We especially need business/bars/etc. that can volunteer to put out a box for collection.
- We also need a location to store items collected until the donation day on 12/20, and someone with a truck who can help deliver on that day.
- Most of all at this stage, we need publicity! Blog, twitter, and email this to everyone you know. Once it gets off the ground, I'll be harping on all of you to donate cans - hopefully along with a small army of volunteers. :-)
Back when I was at UT, I was co-director of the (then) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, & Ally Affairs Agency of Student Government at the University of Texas at Austin (GLBTAAASGUTA). It's now the Queer Students Alliance but regardless of that, one of the ongoing issues that we tried to tackle or at least get moving again was the problem of Domestic Partner benefits at UT.
The charge has been taken up again, with a report issues to put numbers and facts to the argument.
Daily Texan: Hundreds rallied at the Texas Union Patio for the event organized by UT's Pride and Equity Faculty Staff Association, which represents gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender University employees. UT does not provide health care benefits to non-spousal dependents or employees with same-sex partners on the grounds that Texas law prohibits such extensions.
The association presented a 70-page report on the lack of domestic partner benefits to the administration in April, but in August, UT President William Powers and lawyers from the UT System and University told the organization they were not in a position to help employees seeking extended partner benefits
A broad coalition of administration, faculty, and political supporters were there, including the University's State Representative Elliott Naishtat.
Naishtat said that of the many rallies hosted by the GLBT community at UT that he had attended, this was the best-attended.
"In order to draw the best and brightest faculty, staff and researchers to the University of Texas and to retain and recruit them, the University has to be competitive with other colleges and universities," Naishtat said.
...
At UT, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender faculty's health care packages offer $8,000 less in compensation than packages offered to straight, married faculty, according to the report.
"They're being discriminated against simply because they aren't married," Naishtat said. "So providing equal benefits is necessary and fundamental to meeting UT's commitment to diversity."
Naishtat said a bill that will be drafted for the 2009 Texas legislative session would eliminate the legal issues that hinder UT from extending benefits.
If passed, the bill will alter the language in the section of the Texas Constitution that prohibits UT from providing benefits to same-sex partners of employees. The insurance code states that the University can only provide benefits to a dependent, whom the code defines as a spouse. Naishtat's bill will add the phrase "or other qualified individual," and UT could then define who may be included in this category of individuals.
Off the Kuff noted some highlights from the main report which just go to show how simple, cheap, and logical equality would be on this issue. Seriously, members who oppose this in the legislature need to realize that they this isn't a "values" debate about ones feelings about same sex partners, but about making Texas' flagship school and system competitive with our peer education institutions.
In 2006 the Pride and Equity Faculty/Staff Association (PEFSA) was established as a University Resource Group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) employees at The University of Texas at Austin. As a result of concerns regarding workplace equity for GLBT faculty and staff, a PEFSA subcommittee was formed. The committee conducted research, benchmarked peer institutions, and interviewed faculty and staff on campus. After this yearlong study, the committee produced a 70 page report containing questions and answers regarding domestic partner benefits (DPB). The following summarizes the major findings of the report and the recommendations by PEFSA to the President of UT Austin.
Findings
1. UT Austin does not provide benefits to partners of faculty and staff members unless the relationship qualifies as a "marriage" according to Texas law. The consequences are an inequity in compensation and an inherent message that domestic partners are 'less than.' As a result, UT Austin is losing faculty and staff.
Recruitment and retention: Tenured faculty and seasoned staff are leaving the University and potential hires are declining offers from UT due to the lack of benefits for Domestic Partners.
Equity: Research indicates that a married employee enjoys significantly greater overall compensation than their non-married counterpart even though both perform identical work. The estimated difference in compensation for a faculty member earning $80,000 per year is $8,108.
Diversity: Because UT Austin does not offer DBP it undermines both its own non-discrimination policy and its ability to create and foster a diverse workforce.
2. The estimated cost to UT Austin to add DPB is .0058 of the current budget amount for health insurance expenditures.
3. Although Texas has a constitutional amendment limiting the definition of marriage to one man and one woman, other universities with similar state laws offer DPB to their faculty and staff.
4. The Board of Regents is not prohibited from providing DPB and is obligated under the Texas Education Code and Texas Insurance Code to provide benefits competitive with those offered by peer institutions and businesses with whom UT competes for employees.
8 out of 10 peer institutions provide DPB
304 universities including all Ivy League schools offer DPB
