Moni's Thoughts About The EQTX Gala

I'm back in Casa de Monica after traveling a grand total of 3315 miles by air and bus from IAH to San Francisco, the SFO to Austin nonstop 'Nerd Bird' and back home to Houston from the ATX on the 'Bougie Bus.

Y'all might have heard I was blessed to receive another award, this time courtesy of Equality Texas, the Transgender Activist Award.

Hopefully EQTX will name that award for some pioneering trans Texan in the future.

Yes it was quite special to receive it on the same night as the Texas LGBT legislative caucus founders were honored along with my feisty Emmy Award winning niece Kai Shappley and her mom Kimberly Shappley     Kai and Kimberly received the Glen Maxey Activism Award

Reps Mary Gonzalez (D-El Paso), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas), Julie Johnson (D-Carrollton), Celia Israel (D-Austin) and Erin Zweiner (D-Driftwood) were honored with EQTX's LGBTQ Leadership Award

Rep Sarah Davis (R-Houston) was given the EQTX Profile In Courage Award  while the Legacy Awards went to retiring state senator Jose Rodriguez (D-El Paso) and Rep Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) 

Got a little pissed when they mentioned  Rep Thompson and the state James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill that I have been pushing since 1999 to include trans Texas people . 

My first state lobby day trip to Austin twenty years ago was for trans inclusion in the state's James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill, and I'm still pissed about how we got cut out of it twice. 

It was a fact I made clear to the assembled audience during my acceptance speech, and after the awards ceremony was over, one of the EQTX board members came to me afterward and apologized for that decision he helped to make back then that cut Texas trans folks out of that much needed bill.

That moment aside, I did enjoy meeting the new EQTX CEO Ricardo Rodriguez, seeing the EQTX team again, my ATX fam,  Dallas Councilman Omar Narvaez and all the wonderful conversations I had that night.

I must do another trip to Austin before the 2021 session jumps off.

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Chilling On Forty Acres

After a three and half hour nonstop flight on the United  'Nerd Bird' from San Francisco to Austin, I'm back in the Lone Star State to participate in tomorrow night's Equality Texas 30th Anniversary gala.

It's also nice to do an Austin trip that doesn't involve me going to our state capitol building or spending an entire day there.

Austin still needs to do something about their horrid traffic, like expand their light rail system (hint hint).  Took me nearly two hours to get from ABIA to my hotel on the UT campus.

Nope, that not a typo.   I'm staying at the AT&T Conference Hotel that is on the University of Texas campus near the iconic UT Texas Tower.   My room has a view of Lavaca Street, not that I'll be in it much.

And even better, I have a 7 Eleven two blocks away from me, so Slurpees will be demolished while I'm inside Travis County.

Hope i get to see some of my ATX fam while I'm here, and see y'all at the gala tomorrow night.

Headed To Austin Again!

Well, for once I'm doing an ATX trip that doesn't involve me spending most of my day at the Pink Dome.   But it's a little unique in how I'm getting there.

For the first time in 20 years, back in my Air Marshal days, I'm flying to Austin for an event.   It's also the first time I will fly into Austin Bergstrom Airport, which opened back in May 1999 and has been expanded since then to house 34 gates. 

It used to be Bergstrom Air Force Base until it closed in 1993.  Austin's tiny local airport on the north side of town was generating increasing citizen noise complaints, and the city asked to Air Force to consider making Bergstrom a joint civilian-military field.  Those requests were rejected until the base closed. 

Bergstrom was also where Air Force One repeatedly flew into from Washington DC when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and enjoying time on his nearby LBJ Ranch in Johnson City, TX.

The city of Austin eventually acquired it, demolished all the old base structures except the runway and the circular 12th Air Force HQ building that got converted into a hotel. 

The main terminal at the ABIA airport is named after trailblazing Texas legislator Barbara Jordan, and there's a statue of her in it. 

Most of the time when I go to Austin from Houston I'm rolling past the airport on TX 71 either as a bus or car passenger.   But since I was in a United hub city in San Francisco and I needed to be in the ATX, decided to save myself a trip and just fly nonstop to Austin instead of flying back home to IAH,  heading to downtown Houston, then taking a nearly 2 hour bus ride back to the ATX.

It was going to be a 'Bougie bus', AKA a Vonlane, but still, why do that to myself?

I will be taking the bus back home to Houston when I'm done up here

What is that business?   I'm here for the 30th anniversary gala for Equality Texas that's happening on Saturday night, and they're giving me an award.

And yes, I will have room on my trophy shelf for it.

That 30th anniversary gala will happen at the AT&T Conference Center in downtown Austin on Saturday night, and looking forward to seeing and spending some time with my ATX family 

Equality Texas 30th Anniversary Celebration On November 16

Equality Texas was founded 30 years ago in 1989 as a statewide advocacy group for TBLGQ Texans.
And like HRC, I was one of its harshest critics, especially after the 1999 and 2001 Texas legislative sessions when trans folks were cut out of the James Byrd Hate Crimes Act.

While it has had a problematic history incorporating the trans community in that mission during its first decade of operation, the organization has evolved to become one of the Texas trans community's staunchest allies in the fight against the TBLGQ oppression  that the TXGOP tries on a regular basis to impose on us.

Equality Texas is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and in another of of those interesting full circle moments that life and two decades of advocacy can bring you, I'm going to be honored by an org i once criticized.

On November 16 I get to make another trip to Austin, but this one doesn't involve me going to the Pink Dome to visit with state legislators.  The next scheduled Texas legislative session doesn't happen until January 2021 unless Gov Abbott calls a special session between now and then

This eight trip to the ATX this year will this time be for me to attend the EQTX anniversary event.

While there I'll receive from them a Transgender Activist Award for the work I've done at the state level.  The event will be held at the AT&T Conference Center's Zlotnik Family Ballroom, and starts at 6 PM CST.   

And looks like I'll need to write another speech.   

Looking forward to seeing my ATX fam at that event and hopefully spend some quality time with other peeps I know there before I have to head back to Houston.

Testifying For HB 1513

Been resting after spending  ten days away from Houston for BTAC and another trip to state capitol to testify in favor of a trans positive bill.

After the 9 AM CDT press conference, I spent  the rest of the day visiting a few House and senate offices to kill time before the 2 PM scheduled start of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee meeting was scheduled to start. 

But because we're mercifully getting close to the end of this Texas legislative session, the House session didn't adjourn until 6 PM, with the committee meeting not starting until 6:30 PM

By the time I and Claire Bow, Danielle Skidmore, Ash Hall, and Leslie McMurry finally got to testify it was two hours later. 

Only one hater from Texas Values showed up, but it wasn't who I expected.   Instead of Jonathan Saenz doing his hatemongering personally, he sent a Black woman to try and fail do the job.

Sadly, the bill was left pending in committee despite our compelling testimony as to why trans Texans should be added to the Byrd hate Crimes Act.   That means if it doesn't pass out of committee and by the full House by Friday, it dies for this session. 

While I'm disappointed by that result,  Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) has made it clear he will introduce that bill when the next session takes place in 2021.

And I and my Texas trans community will be there in force when it's time to testify in favor of it

Moni's Back In Austin Again!

While BTAC 2019 concluded yesterday, still couldn't go home just yet.   I hopped a Megabus from Dallas down I-35 to come to Austin for the fifth time this session.

An opportunity presented itself to go on legislative offense for a change when I was notified that HB 1513 was scheduled for a hearing in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today.

HB 1513 would add gender identity and expression to the Texas James Byrd Hate Crimes Law, and it is something that is long overdue.

It's authored by Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) with Reps Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) and Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City)  signing on as co-authors

I came to the ATX after BTAC ended because there's a 9 AM CDT press conference being held by Rep Coleman that I'm speaking at this morning.    I'll also be signing up to testify in favor of the bill when it has its scheduled hearing at 2 PM in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.

The committee is chaired by Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Ft Worth) with her Vice Chair being Rep Bill Zedler (R-Arlington)

The members of House Jurisprudence are Reps Keith Bell (R-Forney), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas), Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), Phil King (R-Weatherford), Joe Moody (D-El Paso), Andrew Murr (R-Junction), and Rep. Leo Pacheco  (D-San Antonio)   

You may wish to call their offices and politely ask them to vote in favor of HB 1513.    I'll do my best to make the case when the hearing starts at 2 PM CDT in room E2.112 why they should do so.

That hearing will be broadcast, and you can check it out on the Texas House legislative website. 

Houston GLBT Caucus Hosts 2nd Annual Advocacy Day

If you are in the Houston area, and looking for an opportunity to chat with your state legislators, your opportunity to do so will take place on (no joke) April 1.

The Houston GLBT Caucus along with their partner organizations United We Dream, Transform Houston, Your Houston PAC, the New Leaders Council and Indivisible Houston will head to Austin on April 1 for their second annual Houston's Advocacy Day at The Capitol

If you're wishing to register for the lobby day and be in the ATX for it, here's the link to register.

Bus will leave the Montrose Center at 6 AM on Monday from the Montrose Center at 401 Branard St to head to the Pink Dome, and return to H-town at 8 PM

So if you wish to lobby your state reps, register now, because the Caucus and all these amazing orgs would love to have you there in Austin with them and your fellow citizen lobbyists,

If it's Monday It's Austin, Tuesday It's San Antonio

One of the things about odd numbered years is that going into them, I know I'll be doing a lot of travel inside and outside of the state of Texas.

An odd numbered year on the calendar means that the Texas Legislature is in session, and I'll be doing a lot of scheduled and unscheduled trips to Austin to lobby or testify for and against bills.

Monday afternoon was one of those unscheduled trips, as TENT's ED Emmett Schelling invited me to come to the ATX to do battle against SB 17.

It is the unjust bill sponsored by Sen.Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) that would allow anyone with a professional license to discriminate against people based on their 'sincerely held religious beliefs' and not face repercussions for doing so.

Translation, it's the 'religious freedom' BS once again.   Perry is also the conservafool who stated that 'being Christian in America is like being Jewish in Nazi Germany.'

Yep, that was the level of conservaidiocy we were taking on Monday.

That meant for the fourth time this session I would make the 175 mile trip from Houston to Austin to handle some political business under the Pink Dome.  This was the first time this session I would get to testify for or against a bill.

In case you're wondering, my personal record for Austin trips during a session is eight, set during the 2017 session.  I 'missed a ninth trip because I was handling San Diego Comic Con business during the special session, and Senate State Affairs called for a hearing on SB 6 while I was on the Left Coast.

The joke running around in the Texas activist community about me not being there for that ninth time is that the TXGOP heard I was leaving the state for a few days and decided to call that SB 6 hearing while I was in Cali because they didn't want to see or deal with me calling their conservaazzes out

Emmett, his family, Brad Pritchett, Lou Weaver and I piled into a minivan and rolled from Houston late Sunday afternoon for the hearing that was scheduled to take place at 9 AM the next day in the Senate State Affairs Committee.

But interestingly enough, this hearing took place on the floor of the Texas Senate chamber since as you probably guessed, committee hearing rooms are hard to get this time of year.

You can watch here as I said my piece along with other Texans opposed to it about that unjust bill.   It was also nice to spend some quality time talking to peeps in the community like Ashley Smith, Claire Bow, Finn Jones, Ash Hall, Fran Watson and my high school classmate Lawrence Allen, Jr

He was with his Omega Psi Phi frat brothers for their advocacy day, and also sits on the State Board of Education.  It was also nice bumping into Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, Rep. Ron Reynolds, Rep Shawn Thierry, and spending some quality time with my own state senator Borris Miles.

In case you're wondering, he's opposed to SB 17

The next day instead of going back to Houston, since I was riding with Emmett and had nothing important scheduled back home, I made the short drive down I-35 south with them to San Antonio.

It was actually the first time I'd done the drive to San Antonio from that direction, and noted all the home and other construction going on along I-35.

While I was in Bexar County, Emmett, Andrea and I stopped by the northwest San Antonio campaign office of Frankie Gonzales Wolfe, who is running for the District 8 seat on the San Antonio City Council against an unpopular incumbent.

Frankie, should she be successful in doing so on May 4, would become the first out trans person elected to public office in the Lone Star State.  She'd also become if it happens the first trans Latina elected to public office anywhere in the United States. 

Was happy to hear that her campaign is starting to pick up positive momentum in the Alamo City, but our trans sister could still use some donation dollars from y'all who pride yourselves on helping to build trans political power.

So after allowing for some time for Andrea to hang out with her mom Elsa, and grabbing a bite to eat to allow for San Antonio rush hour traffic to die down, we hit I-10 east for the journey back to Houston and to get a few days of rest before it was time for me next Monday to head back to Austin for another lobby day.

And nope, I didn't get to destroy any Slurpees in either Austin or San Antonio despite the plethora of 7 Eleven locations in both cities.

Well, maybe next time.

TENT Trans Lobby Day Today

I'm chilling with my peeps in Austin after a relatively uneventful travel day.  I did have to wait two hours before I got into my hotel room.  I got here at 11 AM, and like my hotel, many of the ATX hotels are packed not only because of the legislative session, but also because SXSW is about to kick off this weekend

So after I grabbed something to eat, I had to kill two hours wandering the downtown streets of Austin.   I happily discovered during my wandering to familiarize myself with the general hotel vicinity there's a 7 Eleven near the hotel.

I'm halfway to my free Slurpee.

I'm here for the TENT Lobby Day, and I'll be speaking before we start heading into the Pink Dome to talk to our legislators.   The registration for the event closed on March 4 with 276 people signaling their intention to be here, so looking forward to seeing if we get more than that.

Also looking forward to seeing our trans family from across the Lone Star State

Our legislators know we're here because we've already made the local ATX news.   It's also interesting for me because it's exactly 20 years to the day I first made the trip to Austin as a rookie citizen lobbyist to participate in my maiden trans lobby day. 

I'm also doing so with a heavy heart because back home in Houston, the private memorial service for Sarah DePalma, the founding executive director of the Texas Gender Advocacy Information Network (TGAIN), and the proto org of TENT, takes place today. 

Our trans elder and my activist mentor died several weeks ago at age 67.

Here's the schedule for today's TENT Lobby Day

8-9 AM - Check in at FUMC Family Life Center (1300 Lavaca St), parking is available in the Capitol garage and will be within walking distance of all events. It is also handicap accessible and so is the FUMC Family Life Center)

9-10:00 AM - Lobby Day Training

10:35 AM - Pick up lunch, walk over to south steps of the Capitol

11:00 AM - TENT Rally

12 PM - Join NASW Rally

1 PM - Lobby Day Visits begin

5 PM - Lobby Day Ends

Hope I'll see as many of you peeps and allies handling your trans human rights business.

Heading To The ATX Again

If you're saying to yourself, 'weren't you just in Austin last week?', you would be correct.   I was there for a quick in an out trip to speak during an Equality Texas press conference on the south steps of the Texas Capitol.

And yeah, got my Slurpee before I headed back to H-town.

This time I'm heading back to Austin to take part in the Trans Education Network of Texas (TENT) trans lobby day that is also cosponsored with the Texas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

This lobby day is happening nearly 20 years to the day I made my first ever Texas lege trans lobby trip in 1999 organized by TGAIN, the forerunner org of TENT.

Same Pink Dome, but a different Texas legislative configuration.   Even Austin is way larger population wise than when I first started coming to lobby the Lege.

We have a long list of good bills to support, but are also concerned about the bad ones like SB 15, that would kill already passed non discrimination ordinances in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Plano, Carrollton and El Paso and prevent cities from enacting those laws

We also for the first time have an official Texas LGBTQ Legislative Caucus this session, and looking forward to talking to the members of it in addition to my own state rep and state senator.

My behind is already in bed as you read this because I have a 7:35 AM Megabus departure from downtown Houston to get to our state capitol, and the alarm is set for 5 AM CST

I sure hope the route we're going to take to Austin is via I-10 west to TX 71 because I despise going there via US 290.

Despite our schizophrenic weather lately, the bluebonnets are starting to bloom along TX 71 as well

My ETA there is 10:40 AM, so hope we get there on time.   Once I get there, I'll have the opportunity to catch up with what the Texas Lege is doing and on Thursday see my Texas trans fam from across the Lone Star State. 

Danielle Skidmore Gets Endorsed By Texas Equity PAC

Danielle Skidmore is one of the wave of trans candidates in this 2018 election cycle who are   #TransformingPolitics by running for various offices across the country and making history in some cases while doing so..

Skidmore is running for the District 9 seat on the Austin City Council, taking on incumbent Councilmember Kathie Tovo, who has been there since 2011.

Some good news in this ongoing Austin city council race for her. 

She has been endorsed by the Texas Equity PAC, the political action committee for Equality Texas.  The Texas Equity PAC seeks to elect pro-equality candidates like Danielle in local and state races.

Danielle was obviously thrilled to get the endorsement, and had this to say about it.

"I am honored to receive the endorsement of a group that has supported Mary González and so many others who inspire my fight for equality. We have a chance to make history here in Texas, but can't do it without the support of every day Texans contributing what they can to carry us to victory!" 

Danielle is not accepting PAC money for this council race, so if you wish to support her, you can send donations for her campaign via this link.

Here's hoping I hear some more good news from the ATX concerning her campaign on November 6.

Run Danielle Run! Another Texas Trans Person Is Running For Office

The record breaking year of Texas TBLGQ people running for public office continues as Danielle Skidmore has decided to run for the Austin City Council's District 9.

The seat is currently held by Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who is running for reelection and has held the District 9 seat since 2011.

I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle last year as part of the team of trans Texans and allies working hard to kill SB 6.

She has appointed Alicia Roth Weigel as her campaign treasurer, but won't be able to officially file to run for the central Austin city council seat until July 23

Skidmore is an engineer who also serves on Austin's LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission 

If Skidmore is successful in the race this November, she'd become only the second openly trans elected official in the Lone Star State and the first ever in the city of Austin, which has a statewide and national rep as a liberal progressive enclave.

I wish her the best of luck, and I'm eager to see if Danielle gets to make that history later this year.

Not Surprised Austin Terrorist Bomber Was White Male

Color me not shocked to discover that the terrorist bomber that caused fear all over the city of Austin killed two people and wounded three others was a white male.

Maybe that explains the reluctance of the media to call the series of bombings a terrorist attack.

23 year old Mark Anthony Conditt of Pflugerville, TX blew himself up with an explosive device as SWAT officers were closing in on him.

Austin PD and the FBI tracked him to a hotel parking lot in Round Rock, TX, 18 miles  north of the ATX where they found him .inside his vehicle.   The officers on the scene wanted to wait for backup before engaging him but Conditt drove off.

Conditt stopped on the side of the I-35 frontage road and as a SWAT officer approached the car Conditt detonated an explosive device, killing himself and injuring the SWAT officer approaching the vehicle.  Shits were fired at the car in response.

After being cricket chirping silent about the terror attacks for weeks, White Supremacist in Chief Trump finally commented on the terror attacks by congratulating the officers for their 'excellent police work'

No words from Trump to the families who lost loved ones to the bombing like Draylen Mason or Anthony House, or those who are recovering from their injuries.

Then again, why expect someone like 45, who cares about no one but himself,  to have empathy for others?

Austin can exhale a bit, but officials are warning there may still be some bombs he shipped or mailed before he killed himself, so they are advising people to be alert

But once again, just proves the point the Republicans an the conservative movement tried to suppress in 2009 that domestic terrorism in the United States has a right wing, white male face.   

JonCasey Rowell Convicted In Monica Loera Murder Case

Good news out of Austin! 

After several hours of deliberation by a Travis County jury, JonCasey William Rowell was found GUILTY in the killing of Monica Loera at approximately 4:40 PM CST.

Rowell was charged with first degree murder by APD when he was arrested for the January 22, 2016  killing of Loera at her north Austin home.

After several days of testimony in the trial which started with jury selection last Monday, the Travis County jury hearing the case went into deliberation at noon CST today.

The case was observed by members of the Austin trans and gender non conforming community and friends of Loera.   

They will be in the courtroom tomorrow morning at 9 AM CST when Rowell is sentenced and we hope it will be a punishment that fits the heinous crime.   He is facing 99 years in jail.