Houston's Not A Gay City? Yeah, Right

Happened to see The Advocate article that declared the 15 gayest cities in America. based on categories such as population, gay elected officials,  gay weddings within a 50 mile radius, gay friendly congregations, gay.com registrations and Tegan and Sara performances in the last five years?

What's a Tegan and Sara?

Houston didn't make this list?    A city with the largest gayborhood outside of San Francisco, a nighttime pride parade, a highly organized trans community with 4 IFGE Trinity Award winners, a powerful GLBT political caucus which is a 'must get' endorsement for any liberal progressive politician in Houston and currently has a lesbian mayor isn't on this list?

You're kidding, right?   Then again, Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Dallas and Chicago weren't on it either.    

Creating Change Conference 2011

Next to IFGE and the Southern Comfort Conference in the ATL,  the Creating Change one gets the Moni Two Snaps Up Seal of Approval.

It's known as the National Conference on LGBT Equality, but in the TBLG community it's known by the moniker Creating Change.    It's the event the Task Force puts on, and if you're a budding GLBT activist or a veteran, this is the conference that you want to come to and learn how to be a better one.

I attended my first Creating Change when they held it in Oakland in 1999.   I had the pleasure of seeing then Oakland mayor Jerry Brown do a welcoming speech at the initial plenary session and meet many of the TBLG people fighting for Kentucky that a few years later I'd be working with on various projects..  Since then either my work schedule or cash flow have been a barrier to me attending it, but eventually I will get to do another one.

One of the things I haven't liked is that they changed the date of the event from late fall to February, which means that if they have it in a cold weather city, the weather will be at its winter worst and you run the risk of it getting snowed out.

This year's host city is Minneapolis and it's running from today through February 6.   And right on cue the Midwest is dealing with a nasty snowstorm that is impacting air travel and ground transportation for the folks trying to get there.

But that's the weather breaks.    Hopefully it'll clear and the folks who are traveling to the Twin Cities to participate in it can do so.

To my TransGriot readers who are headed to Creating Change or who are already there, stay warm, get your learn on and have a wonderful time.    Hope to see y'all at the 2012 event

GL Community, Live Up To Your Own 'Dallas Principles'

At a meeting held in Dallas, TX from May 15-17 a group of GLBT activists got together to compile what have become known as the Dallas Principles  


The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action.   
In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now.  Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

In light of those compiled lofty principles, the trans community would submit that they have already been violated.   The passing of a DADT repeal that left transpeople behind and an attempt to return to making another push for gay marriage issues which only benefits a narrow slice of the BTLG rainbow community leaves many transpeople with the impression that the Dallas Principles are just more of the same old same old BS.   .  

Many members of the BTLG community see jobs and securing employment rights as one of the important issues the community needs to make a serious push on.     It's why many of us were more than a little pissed that momentum on the passage of the Employment Non Discrimination Act was shelved in favor of passing the DADT repeal that violated Dallas Principles 2, 3 and 7. 



In 2001 Dallas Principles 2 and 3 were violated when trans people were cut out of a GLBT rights bill in Maryland and the James Byrd Hate Crimes Law in Texas.    

And it looks like they are about to violate Dallas Principles 1, 2, 3 and 7 in Maryland.again. 



Maryland Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola of Montgomery County introduced SB116 the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act ,   The legislation would permit same gender couples to marry but would not require churches to perform the unions.    The Maryland House version of that same gender marriage bill is scheduled to be introduced by Maryland House Majority Leader Kumar Barve of Montgomery County.

Equality Maryland, the majority leaders and other lawmakers and same-sex couples will promote the twin bills at a press conference in Annapolis.

No word yet on when the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act is going to be filed in the Maryland legislature this session.   Seeing that the GL Community Noise Machine has been beating the communications drums lately for all marriage all the time,  I would strongly suggest that you trans peeps living in that state if you want to see trans rights become a reality there while you have a friendly legislature and a governor in place to make it happen to become agents of your own liberation.

Start leaning on Equality Maryland and your friendly neighborhood legislators to introduce and pass the law you transpeeps need to improve your lives there.

And yeah, when it comes to transpeople, it's past time for the GL community to start adhering to the Dallas Principles they demand that others to live up to.