About Proposition 8: Texas Constitutional Amendments

by: Katherine Haenschen

Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 08:45 AM CDT

Early voting is on for the Constitutional Amendments election. Yesterday and today, Burnt Orange Report is providing some information about the 11 propositions on the ballot. Our aim is to give a broad sense of how different Texas entities perceive these amendments. In the table below, we've compiled their yea, nay, or no-endorse. Sources are all linked at the bottom. Friday, BOR will issue our official endorsements on some or all of these amendments. For more on the Amendment process, see the post on Amendment 1.

Proposition 8: Authorizing the State to Contribute Resources to Veterans' Hospitals
"Texas now has nine inpatient veterans' hospitals ... The state does not currently have the authority to contribute to a veterans' hospital operated by the federal government. This proposed amendment would allow Texas to partner with the [VA] and local communities to establish additional health care facilities." --League of Women Voters Guide
Source:	Endorsement:
Austin Chronicle:	YES. "We frankly can't believe it takes a constitutional amendment to get this done, and even the sponsors weren't sure."
El Paso Times:	YES. "Even though the hospitals are federally funded, state resources could be used to enhance and improve the facilities. Our veterans deserve this."
Fort Worth Star-Telegram:	NO. "Prop 8 says it would be OK for the state to contribute money, property or other resources to help build and operate VA hospitals. But the Legislature also passed a law to do the same thing whether Prop 8 is approved or not. Doesn't that make Prop 8 unnecessary?"
Houston Tea Party Patriots:	No Endorsement.
Sen. Kirk Watson's "Watson Wire:"	YES. "Most immediately, this would allow the state to help build a veterans hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, as required by a law that took effect earlier this year."

We'll wrap these up in the late afternoon and evening tonight. Endorsements by the Burnt Orange Report staff will follow on Friday.

Sources:
League of Women Voters Guide (PDF)
Austin Chronicle Endorsements, October 16, 2009
El Paso Times, October 18, 2009
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Endorsements, October 16, 2009
Houston Tea Party Patriots, October 15, 2009
Sen. Kirk Watson's Watson Wire, October 12, 2009

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Austin chapter of the National Food Drive for LGBTQ Equality

by: tuckerma

Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 05:37 PM CST

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. :-)

All help and suggestions are welcome!

Many thanks, friends.

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Prop 8 Activism Hits Austin

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Wed Nov 26, 2008 at 07:59 PM CST

Yes on Prop 8 donors in Austin are whining that their donations are being aired publicly and people are making note of that. Specifically, they are upset over Warren and Derrick's "blacklist" which highlights the 20 anti-gay Yes on Prop 8 donors in Austin.

This is the type of activism though that's making waves, taking note from the AmericaBlog model of, you know, getting shit done on your own. Already, Warren and Derrick have had the Austin Regional Clinic and Dell issue statements to iterate that the donations of their employees do not reflect their business views.

On top of that, the effort has hit the local press with an article in the Austin American-Statesman and on drive time radio. This is great and I love this quote from the Statesman from one of the Yes on 8 donors about this effort.

For Austin attorney Roger Hepworth, who gave about $10,000 to the Yes on 8 campaign, the backlash first came in the form of what he called a "hateful" e-mail to him and other employees of his firm, Henslee Schwartz.
...
The firm also is on the "anti-gay blacklist" created by Clark.
"I think irresponsible for them to smear an entire law firm that had no knowledge of any donation I made," Hepworth said. "It's unfair to target a company for something a person has done."

There is a difference between targeting an entire company because a mid or low level employee gave a donation and when a senior partner, CEO, or founder makes a donation. Along those lines, I received this comment via e-mail.

Given as the Texas anti-marriage amendment passed only after the preamble guaranteed Texas GLBT citizens could be made "equal" by paying legal fees roe documents to secure contractually what others receive by right, the presence of an attorney on this list is especially troubling. Certainly all Texas GLBT citizens should be aware this firm (Hepworth is a founding partner and formerly a name partner) does not wholly appreciate the rights we need to secure.

Here's the "blacklist" of donors yet again.

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Overturn Prop 8 Rally at Austin City Hall Draws Over 1,000

by: tuckerma

Sat Nov 15, 2008 at 06:31 PM CST

(There was over 1,000 people at the rally today which was entirely grassroots driving. Great speakers, diverse, lots of energy and support. Really impressed. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)

At 12:30 today there was a huge rally at City Hall in Austin in opposition to Prop 8, which was an amendment to California's constitution that prohibits same-sex marriages. The proposition passed on election day with 52.5% of California voters in support; many attribute its passage to out-of-state financial influence, including at least $14 million from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons).

Protests were held nationwide at 1:30 EST today at city halls in hundreds of cities, including all across Texas. I'm a terrible estimator of crowd sizes, but I can comfortably say there were well over a thousand people decked out with signs and shirts in front of Austin's own City Hall this afternoon. This group was large and diverse: there were many members of the LGBT community and a lot of straight families and other supporters.

Unfortunately, there was very little local media coverage present. I saw KXAN arrive almost an hour after the event started, and heard that there were some folks from the local Fox affiliate there. A guy next to me was calling all the stations but not getting much response. Otherwise, I didn't see much - certainly not the big line of news trucks nearby that I expected (apologizes to anyone overlooked; this is simply an account of what one person observed). However, there were tons and tons of people snapping photos that will likely end up online soon, so perhaps it's a triumph of citizen journalism. Be on the lookout for these - including my own flickr photo stream.

The organizers lined up a great set of speakers for about an hour, including a lesbian couple who were married in California and now face the prospect of their marriage being nullified, a ten year old with lesbian parents, a gay man who was not protected under the law when his longtime partner was killed by a drunk driver, and many others. At one point, we were all led in a vow to fight to overturn Proposition 8 and to be "out and proud". After the conclusion of the program, the crowd was really fired up. Many people left at this point, but many others still at the City Hall Plaza began waving signs at passers-by, most of whom waved and honked in reply. At about 2:00, a spontaneous march began. Several hundred of us walked all the way to the Capitol, then on an improvised route around downtown on 5th and 6th streets, Congress Avenue, and other areas for about an hour. There was absolutely no MSM coverage of this portion of the event. We were shouting "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right!" and "What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want it? Now!" all over downtown - drawing cheers, waves, and honks from motorists. Throughout the entire event, I did not see a single counter-protester or endure a harassing comment. At most, there was an occasional disgruntled-looking driver.

Austinites should be proud that the local protest at our City Hall drew such a massive response from queers and straights alike who support equal rights for all and have pledged to fight Proposition 8.

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Overturn Prop 8 Rally at City Halls Across Texas Saturday

by: tuckerma

Fri Nov 14, 2008 at 04:05 PM CST

(This is Saturday at City Hall in Austin at 12:30. More info here. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)

There are events going on nationwide tomorrow in protest of California's passage of Proposition 8, an amendment to the CA state constitution that bans same-sex marriages.

In Austin, there will be a major gathering in front of City Hall at 12:30. The turnout is expected to be large - as of 4:16 pm on Friday, 792 people are already "confirmed guests" on the Houston/Austin facebook page alone! My workplace seems to be abuzz about it. Everyone who supports this issue is encouraged to turn out, bring friends, and make signs in support of marriage equality.

Check out the Texas page here. It includes events listed in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, the Valley, Denton, and Lubbock.

There have been protests going on all over California since the election, but this is the first time that we in Texas have had an opportunity to participate, to my knowledge. How exciting!

Join the Impact!

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