The Fight To Keep HERO- October 15

I've pointed out that the HERO haters are predominately conservative Republicans who live in the 'burbs and are sticking their noses in Houston human rights business.

Part of the reason they are doing so is because the Texas and Harris County GOP is 'scurred' about what term-limited Mayor Annise Parker will do politically once she turns the mayors office over to her successor in January.

Well, got more evidence of Texas GOP interference in Houston human rights business with the announcement that Texas Lt Governor Dan Patrick dropped $10,000 for the anti-HERO efforts.

There was also a surprising donation from Bob McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans.   While he has been a heavy donor to GOP causes in the past, you would think that he would have stayed out of this HERO fight seeing that his  team is slated to host the Super Bowl in 2017.

But to the consternation and disgust of many longtime Texans fans like myself, McNair has revealed himself to be an enabler of  human rights oppression.

And that's aggravating not only to me, and the Houston LGBT fans of the Texans, but all Texans fans who support Prop 1 staying in the Houston city Code of Ordinances.

While I'm pissed off at Bob McNair, the real threat is people like Ben Hall and Bill King, who are running for mayor, and Herlinda Garcia and Kendall Baker who are running for council.

ALL of them oppose the HERO.  Baker and Garcia have lent their voices to the reprehensible radio ads that are blanketing Black radio stations in town and we have been asking Houston Unites since August to hit back hard against.

That unchecked ignorance has filtered down to the community, and who is going to pay for it?   Black LGBT people, and specifically Black trans people from the violence that will be directed at us because of those straight up lies being told by Hall and his transphobic friends.

Hall has been lying through his teeth about the HERO, and produced the bathroom commercial that is desecrating our airwaves right now.

And Baker is particularly slimy because his azz was spewing anti-trans predator venom last year during the HERO passage battle as one of Dave Welch's kneegrow sellouts while his behind was getting fired from the city for being a sexual harasser.

Once again, who are the sexual predators?  They are repeatedly proving themselves to be you good predominately white and conservative 'Christian' folks.

As I have repeatedly  reminded you, the most dangerous bigots are the ones who have the power to write legislation, and it is vitally important that we not only ensure that Prop 1 passes, but we also elect people to the mayor's chair and City Council who will protect, defend and make HERO better, not kill it.

Early voting is starting Monday people/   Let's handle our electoral business.


   

The Fight To Keep HERO- September 30

We are one day closer to the October 5 deadline to register to vote for this upcoming civic election in which unfortunately, our Houston human rights law was forced onto the ballot by partisan GOP politics.

The HERO haters are desperately attempting their fear and smear tactics in their last ditch effort to try to hoodwink and bamboozle people into voting against their own civil rights.

56% of the discrimination complaints received by the Houston office of the Inspector General since the passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance on May 28, 2014 have been race related with another 17% of the complaints received by the OIG have been based on sex.

And the ongoing discriminatory mess with the Gaslight Club has shown a bright spotlight on why the City of Houston needs a local remedy to deal with local discrimination since the state of Texas does not have a non-discrimination law, federal law does not cover everyone, and filing federal anti-discrimination lawsuits is expensive and time consuming... .  

Rather than wait for Houston Unites to come up with an action plan for discussing HERO, Black Houston activists concerned about th lack of action in our communities have begun to mobilize and do the work necessary to deliver affirmative votes for it from our neighborhoods.

They have started the African Americans For Prop 1 Facebook page in order to provide a rapid response to anti-HERO lies, tell the truth about what HERO does, and provide information about upcoming events in the Houston Black community.



The bottom line is that the HERO oppostion has been since  last May disseminating lies about HERO unchallenged.  This election will probably be decided in Black neighborhoods, and we must get accurate information to our people to counteract the right wing lies.

This site is just part of a grassroots effort to do precisely that.

The Fight To Keep HERO-September 25, 2015

We are creeping close to some critical dates in our ongoing battle to keep HERO here in H-town, and need to point them out.

October 5 is the last day to register to vote for the upcoming November 3 election.   So if you haven't registered to vote and wish to participate in the mayoral election and vote YES for Prop 1, then you need to bust a move and handle your electoral business.

The other critical date is October 19, which is the first day of early voting, and continue until Friday October 30.

I also had the delicious pleasure of watching karma kick HERO hatin' mayoral candidate Ben Hall in the behind.  The Harris County Republican Party finally threw this useful fool under the bus and stared calling him out not only for his previous HERO support, but being a sustaining Democratic Party member who has made large contributions to Democratic Party candidates

Couldn't happen to a nicer sellout.

This is also the first TV commercial from Houston Unites, the umbrella coalition that is fighting to keep HERO in the Houston Code of Ordinances.




Nice commercial, but not enough to combat the toxic anti-trans rhetoric being pimped by the other side and is their only play to defeat HERO.

Last night I had the pleasure of being interviewed by local political blogger Charles Kuffner about mine and other Black SGL leaders concerns about the alarming lack of outreach to Houston's Black media and lack of canvassing in Black neighborhoods that will probably decide this election  

As soon as it's posted on Off The Kuff, I'll share it with you.

The Fight To Keep HERO-September 21

'Black ministers in Houston have been particularly outspoken against the ordinance, and, by all accounts, they've been highly effective. Their parishioners and congregants need to show a little independence. They need to read the ordinance themselves, consider the experience of other cities and apply a little common sense to the issue.'-Houston Chronicle, 'Time to be HERO-ic' , September 20, 2015


While I was in Washington DC for the National Black Justice Coalition's just concluded OUT on the Hill Black LGBTQ/SGL Leadership Summit, one of the questions I and my fellow Houstonians attending the conference frequently had to answer while I was inside I-495 was 'What's going on with the HERO?

And what was my answer to the inside the Beltway folks and other Black LGBT peeps like me about it?  "It's 50-50 whether we keep HERO or it gets repealed"

As many people I've talked to about the Houston Unites campaign know, I haven't been happy about the way this has been run since the opening August press conference.  One of the communities that will be critical in determining whether the HERO lives as it should or dies will be the Houston Black community. 

My problem with Houston Unites not only is the lack of will to utterly destroy the trans predator myth, but the problematic lack of consistent pushback in the Houston Black community in the face of negative anti-HERO ads aimed at the Black community being played unchecked on Majic 102 and Ben Hall owned KCOH.

I also have a problem with the failure so far to go on offense concerning the opposition lies that a HERO that covers 15 categories is a 'LGBT ordinance', Federal law already covers everyone and HERO isn't necessary (no it doesn't)  and we need to repeal it so we can 'rewrite it to cover everyone'.

I have also been scratching my head at the ongoing human rights malpractice as to why Houston Unites hasn't pointed out the consequences of what WILL happen to Houston economically if Prop 1 isn't approved.

Note to the HERO haters.  The ordinance already covers every Houstonian, and you need to stop telling the lie that it doesn't   Why shouldn't we have a local, non expensive alternative to combating local discrimination besides filing an expensive federal lawsuit?
Houston Unites needs to be bolder and as relentless in taking the message to Black media outlets and the Houston Black community that HERO protects us from local discrimination as our opponents have been since last year in aggressively demonizing the Houston trans community and putting out disinformation about the ordinance.

It's way past time to rebuke these Houston pastors who repeatedly violate the Ninth Commandment. You do not have to be nice and 'take the high road' against an opponent who wants to oppress you. doesn't care about facts, and is willing to throw their own human rights and the human rights of an entire city under the bus just to get a win and as a bonus for them, satisfy their irrational faux faith based hatred of the Houston LGBT community at the same time.

Neither can it all be on the Houston Black community to find out on their own that some of their ministers are lying to them. That strategy ain't working. Houston Unites is going to need to spend some money NOW just like you're doing for other Houston demographic communities on ramped up media and canvassing efforts targeted specifically to council districts Districts B, D and J for starters.

You're welcome.

The situation also can't continue of the Houston Black LGBT community going it alone on our underfunded education efforts.  We could use some money and air time to get our message out there to our people.    

I and other Houston Black LGBT people who busted our azzes to pass this much needed ordinance are NOT happy about the silence of the local NAACP, Houston area Black politicians. and the local Urban League chapter for starters to get behind Proposition 1,  It would also be nice and deeply appreciated if Houston Unites hires folks from the demonized Houston Black LGBT community to talk to our community as only we can to blow up those lies.

Houston Unites, it's  past time for you to be HERO-ic too.  If you want to win on November 3, you'll do that ASAP.   

First Post-HERO Suspension Council Meeting Today

Should be a hot time in the Houston City Council chambers later this afternoon, and I'm not talking about the weather that will bring us our first 100 degree day of the summer.

The Houston City Council has a 2 PM session on Tuesdays for public comment on whatever issue you wish to bring to their attention.   And with the suspension of the HERO happening no thanks to the Texas (Republican) Supreme Court, this first public comment session since the unjust ruling will probably be a lot more contentious than usual.

People in LGBT Houston are highly pissed off about what happened to a human rights ordinance we fought tooth and nail last year to get passed, have been mobilizing for action in defense of it, and will be there to let their voices be heard.  

And I don't doubt the out of town faux faith based opposition and their kneegrow useful fools will also be in attendance urging City Council to kill HERO.

And unfortunately due to some other pressing matters, i won't be at City Council for the fun, but will be there in spirit and catching the replay of the session on cable TV later.

To all the peeps signed up to speak in defense of our human rights law, give the haters hell for me and I'll see y'all at the next Tuesday session.

Fayetteville, AR Passes New Civil Rights Protection Law

Was wondering if in the wake of the exposure of the Duggar hypocrisy, that Fayetteville, AR would revisit the marrow repeal of the previous TBLG inclusive law and work on passing a new one.

They have and did.

After almost four hours of discussion last night that favorably commented on it by a 32-20 margin, ,Fayetteville City Council members voted 6-2 to pass the Uniform Civil Rights Protection Ordinance and send it to the voters for a September 8 special election.   The new ordinance won't go into effect until it passes at the ballot box.

Work on the new ordinance started immediately after the controversial repeal vote in December that featured Michelle Duggar's transphobic robocall.  The new ordinance incorporates several existing laws like the Arkansas Anti-Bullying Act and the Fair Housing Act. It also borrows language from the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993, which defines “employer” as a person who employs nine or more employees in the state.

Besides the citizens that spoke favorably for it, it also has the support of one of the groups who initially worked to defeat the original law, the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce.

If passed, the new law will prohibit business owners and landlords from firing or evicting someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It will also provide protections for use of public accommodations, including restrooms.  

City Attorney Kit Williams believes that he can defend it, despite the passage of Act 37, the deceptively named  Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act .  It bans cities and counties from enacting or enforcing “an ordinance, resolution, rule or policy that creates a protected classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained in state law.”

And as usual (boo hiss)  Churches, religious schools, daycare facilities and religious organizations of any kind are exempt from it.

We'll have to stay tuned to see what the next chapter brings in terms of whether this stays on Fayetteville's law books. 

Because Fayetteville is the home of the University of Arkansas, not having a human rights law on the books is bad for business and recruiting, especially with the Razorbacks being  a member of the SEC, I'm betting it will.

H-Town Discrimination, Your Time Has Expired

With the rapid approach of the one year anniversary on May 28 of the passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), I've been going down a pleasant memory lane about that struggle to pass it.

I was proud to have fulfilled one of my civil rights dreams and be part of the team that fought tooth and nail, endured long council sessions, and did the  work that got  HERO passed.

For me, it began with the first of a series of TransGriot post I wrote starting in September 2013 in which I stated that I wouldn't accept any HERO that wasn't trans inclusive.  

But I wasn't just sitting behind my computer.  I was also taking my unapologetically Black trans behind to City Council starting in January 2014 to repeat what I said on the blog. 

Then it was being present for several packed and contentious hearings in late April and May with plenty of drama, ups and downs, two coming outs and the amazing feeling of joy when the 11-6 City Council vote for passage of it happened.

O course the haters tried to gather signatures for a repeal referendum, fubared that badly, then tried to sue their way towards getting that referendum.  

Never mind the fact their lack of reading comprehension about the clearly laid out rules for collecting signatures is why their riddled with fraud petitions were rejected by the city on August 4 and they failed in court.twice.

The HERO is finally being implemented, and note to Steve Riggle, we still haven't had ANY Houston bakers being forced to bake swastika cakes.  Neither have we had epidemic levels of cross dressed predators invading Houston feminine bathrooms.

If you're looking for sexual harassers and child predators, you need to look in your own pastoral ranks.   I'm sick and tired of you children and grandchildren of pointed hood wearing segregationists hiding behind the Bible to express your deep seated need to oppress people you don't like.

The people I have major  contempt for are the cookie chomping ministers and their sheeple who opposed the passage of HERO simply because it included sexual orientation and gender identity as two of the 15 categories it covered, and sold us out to kill your conservaazzes.

It was also hurtful to see people who share my ethnic heritage regurgitate right wing talking point and collude with the same individuals in the Texas conservafool movement that oppress the entire Black community

The bottom line is contrary to the lie you, Dave Welch and your kneegrow sellouts kept trying to pimp during the HERO fight, the fraud ridden collection of signatures for a ballot initiative and the runup to the trial is that we already had an election concerning HERO, and it was in November 2013. 

Guess y'all had selective memory about the fact the then proposed ERO was an election issue not only in the mayoral race that Mayor Parker won, but at the city council level races.   The candidates who supported implementing a non-discrimination ordinance won at the ballot, and the ones like Ben Hall who opposed it (and still does) lost.

But what we do have is a local remedy to address any discrimination happening in the Houston city limits in 15 categories, and if you faith based oppressors and your kneegrow auxiliaries don't like that because it covers the Houston TBLG community, too bad.

H-town discrimination, your time has expired, and I'm glad that my hometown has a human rights ordinance that covers me and all Houstonians.

HERO Protects You!

Since some of you or your friends and relatives may be going to church services this morning in which the lying sack of feces  pastor isn't being truthful about what the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance actually covers, here's this handy graphic that you can show peeps the 15 categories the much needed human rights law covers.

Remember, only you can prevent sellout pastors from bamboozling you into believing a human rights law doesn't cover you.

And once again Steve Riggle, no bakers in the Houston city limits have been forced before or since the May 28 passage of the ordinance to bake a swastika cake.

Upcoming Texas Non-Discrimination Ordinances Discussion

Too bad I will miss this event on November 7 sponsored by the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston , South Texas College of Law AMICUS, Social Sciences & The Law Society and the ACLU Student Organization

It will be a timely and fascinating discussion on non-discrimination ordinances in the state of Texas with a concentration on our own fight to implement the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that was passed back in May.

And note to those Houston area human rights hatin' preachers, there have still been no bakers forced to bake swastika cakes in the Houston city limits.

The panel will feature Houston City Attorney David M. Feldman, Attorney and human rights advocate Susan L. Hays, Founding CEO of First Person Christina Canales Gorczynski,  South\Texas College of Law Professor Richard R. Carlson, and ACLU Texas Legal and Policy Director Rebecca Robertson.

That's definitely shaping up as an interesting panel for this human rights discussion, and it will take place at the Joe M. Green Auditorium on the South Texas College of Law campus at 1301 San Jacinto St. in beautiful downtown Houston from 1:00-5:00 PM CST

Attendance is free, but you must RSVP slaghlaw@gmail.com by November 5 to attend.

CLE's will also be offered, but you need to be a member of the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston to receive those credits.   Membership is $20 for attorneys and $10 for non attorneys at the reduced rate in effect for the rest of 2014.

HERO Updates, Notes and News- July 24

It's time for another HERO news update.  

Since my last one, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is a few days short of being two months old on Monday.  It's still in effect, our opponents are still hatin' on it, and  no Houston bakers have been forced to bake swastika cakes. 

We are still in signature verification mode on the haters petitions to force a referendum on the HERO, and yes they are the jacked up convoluted mess we thought they would be.

Speaking of those signatures, another verification work group event is jumping off from 3-9 PM today sponsored by the GLBT Caucus.  Location for it is 4617 Montrose Blvd, Suite C222.   You can stop by at anytime that you're available during those hours and bring your laptop or fave computing device.

On Tuesday the Meyerland Democrats held their monthly meeting in which the guest speaker was none other than Mayor Annise Parker and the city council  members who passed our long awaited human rights ordinance.  They received a well deserved standing ovation from the assembled crowd for their efforts.    During that meeting Ashton Woods announced the anti-HERO petitions were now online and public record

Out of the closet you come H-town transphobes and homophobes

Since there was a lot of shady and illegal behavior by the faith-based haters in collecting these petitions, you may wish to check and see if your name wasn't placed on them illegally.   If you didn't sign that petition but find your name on it, you can submit an affidavit and mail it to city secretary Anna Russell's office.

In addition to the petition check event tonight, the Houston African-American SGL, trans and bi community and our allies will hold a HERO Civil Rights Strategy meeting at Resurrection MCC starting at 7 PM CDT.

I'm looking forward to it, and according to the organizers, invitations to African-American political and community organizational leaders were sent out.  

We'll see who shows up because intersectionality works both ways, Houston Black community.   You don't get to gripe and point your critical fingers at the Houston LGBT community asking the justified questions of why LGBT peeps aren't showing up for your issue concerns and you hypocritically not reciprocate when we ask you to show up for one of our events to discuss our concerns as unapologetically Black TBLG people. 

This initial community meeting will provide an overview of the HERO, its history and the 15 categories of people it protects.  It will discuss the opposition and their arguments.  It will outline who is providing the most opposition  It will cover the attacks against the transgender community do some myth busting.

We'll also at that meeting come up with strategies for coalition building, stress the importance of participation by communities of color, and how can we better educate our community about the HERO so the don't get hoodwinked and bamboozled should it go to a referendum into voting against their own human rights.  

I got an opportunity last Thursday along with Noel Freeman, Christina Gorczynski and Daniel Williams to appear on a Houston Media Source TV presentation concerning the HERO.   The second half of it Christina and I got to battle King HERO Hater Dave Welch and HERO opponent (why?) Kathy Blueford-Daniels. 

Thanks to Fran Watson and Durrel Douglas for the invite, and I understand there will be more of these HERO shows on HMS-TV soon.

Next Monday will be the HERO forum sponsored by one of our oldest African-American newspapers in town, the Forward Times.   Mayor Parker and several council members were invited to participate, and I plan to be there along with a few friends in the CWA Hall that evening located at 1730 Jefferson St.   

It's scheduled on the deadline day for the City Secretary's office to complete their anti-HERO petition count, and we'll probably know at that time whether the haters succeeded or failed in putting the HERO on the ballot.   Still have time to submit your questions to the Forward Times for the upcoming forum at forwardtimes@forwardtimes.com   
 
And yeah Majic 102, still waiting for pro-HERO people to be invited on Sunday Morning Live to tell the truth about the ordinance. 

The struggle to keep the HERO continues.

HERO Updates, Notes and News-May 25

We are in the middle of the Memorial Day weekend and counting down to that marathon May 28 council meeting that will hopefully result in us celebrating the addition of Houston to the long list of cities that protect the human rights of all their citizens.

The Houston Newsmakers show segment that Amelia and I taped Thursday aired this morning at 10 AM.   I'll post the video for it in a future HERO update when it becomes available. 

I took some time before the Trans Town Hall to go attend the Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr statue and plaza unveiling and dedication that started at 11 AM.   Unfortunately the speechifying dragged on so long that when I left a little after 1 PM civil rights warrior Rev Dr. Joseph Lowery was just getting to the mic.

In addition to Rev. Lowery, Martin Luther King III was there along with Houston based US Reps Sheila Jackson-Lee and Rep Al Green, Councilmembers C.O. Bradford, Dwight Boykins and Michael Kubosh, and local civil rights legend Rev William Lawson.   Many of us from Team Pass The HERO were there in full effect to watch the historic event.

With the unveiling of the statue, Houston is now one of three US cities (Atlanta and Washington DC are the others) with statues and plazas dedicated to the memory of the Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr. 

I ended up at Grace Lutheran Church a little before 3 PM for the town hall in which we were graced with the presence of Councilmember Ellen Cohen and Councilmember Dwight Boykins.   Both were given  standing ovations by those of us in attendance and given an opportunity to speak    

Councilmember Cohen had just finished speaking on MSNBC about the HERO and took time out of her busy day to check out our event before she had to leave for another one.  

Councilmember Boykins answered the assembled crowd's questions and listened attentively to our concerns about the HERO.

We made the point that for the TBLG community, this is intensely personal and these are our very lives and human rights we are fighting for. 

I also let him know on behalf of the African-American community I was not happy about the continued demonization of trans people by Rev. Max Miller and friends that has now filtered down to street level.  I've also been bothered by the silence of many African-American leaders and the local NAACP about it. 

Since I mentioned it, here's the video of Councilmember Cohen's MSNBC appearance 



FYI  Councilmember Boykins, Houston NAACP and other African-American political/community leaders and institutions.  The offer I and others made to do Trans 101 for you and your orgs still stands.
 

The town hall was facilitated by Daniel Williams of Equality Texas and featured a trans historic first.  This town hall was the first event jointly sponsored by the Houston Chapters of Black Transmen, Inc and Black Transwomen, Inc  

And based on some of the chococentric anti-trans ignorance running rampant in the African-American community that was unleashed by the faith-based haters, BTMI-Houston and BTWI-Houston are going to be quite busy rolling it back and getting the truth of our trans lives out there..  

Speaking of chocolate flavored anti-trans ignorance, here's an example of the uphill battle that Tye and I as the chairs of the BTMI and BTWI Houston chapters will have combating the lies as we seek to build allies and educate our African-American community on trans issues.

This is a screenshot of a comment from Demetria Smith, who was one of the 12 candidates who ran in the recent 2013 city election cycle for the District D seat now occupied by Councilmember Boykins.    

Demetria, when you repeat ignorant statements that are proven transphobic lies about my trans community, that's a problem.    

Will be interesting to discover if we have more trans bigot eruptions and hate sermons epicentered on Second Baptist and Grace KKKomunity Church

The struggle the pass the HERO continues.
 

HERO Updates, Notes and News-May 21

In our latest edition of HERO updates, notes and news we discovered that the Riggles weren't the only ones sowing transphobic hate speech from the pulpit on Sunday.   Pastor Ed Young of the Second Baptist megachurch was also stooping to that level to torpedo the HERO

Councilmember Michael Kubosh came out of the closet to declare he was a NO vote and while at the Sunday Riggle hate rally at Grace KKKommunity Church declared 'God put him in that council seat to oppose the HERO'. 

Silly me, thought it was a majority of the city of Houston's voters. Guess the Michael Kubosh campaign slogan next year will be: 'Fighting AGAINST You LGBT Houstonians'.


For those of you needing ammo to destroy the bathroom meme the haters are beating into hamburger, here's a Media Matters story that points out what we already know.  Laws like the HERO don't lead to the parade of horribles the christopimps are pushing to their low information sheeple. 

As a matter of fact Dave Welch and his Pastor's Council fools already tried to go there in April 2010 when Mayor Parker signed the executive order extending protections to trans* city workers

They lied then, and they are lying now.

Because I got so fed up with all the anti-trans hatred being pushed by the anti-HERO pastors, wrote this post to push back against it.   And speaking of pushback, I got asked along with Amelia because of all that off the charts faith based trans hate to do an interview on KPRC-TV 2 to discuss our local trans community uninterrupted by the haters.  The show will tape tomorrow and air Sunday.

Keep those calls coming to City Hall.

The Truth About The Houston HERO Haters

Pretty much sums up the attitudes of the opponents on the other side and a nauseating talking point we have heard repeatedly cited over the last three hearings.

City Council HERO Hearing Today

After dealing with the hate preachers last Wednesday, the HERO now goes before the full Houston City Council and another public comment meeting.that promises to be just as contentious as the April 30 committee meeting was.

Round Two of the battle to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance kicks off at 1:30 PM CDT today and it promises to be just as contentious and ugly as it was last week during the Quality of Life committee hearing.

It's clear the strategy of the Pastor's Council haters is to let the Black ministers and other sellout people of color do their dirty work, and we need Houston SGL, trans and bi people of color to stand up and speak out against this cynical racist play.


You know I'm already in council chambers to watch the fun and do battle with the faith based haters, and will talk about it later.

And if you want to watch the proceedings, Moni's going to make it easy for you to do and just click on this link.

I Find That HERO Bathroom Language Disturbing

We have had 15 drafts, a standing room only contentious Quality of Life committee hearing which was several hours of attacks on the trans community and an upcoming session before the full city council tomorrow.  

But they still haven't fixed in the HERO that problematic bathroom language in Article IV, Section 17-51 

Sec. 17-51. Prohibition against discrimination in public accommodations.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any place of public accommodation or any employee or agent thereof to discriminate against any person on the basis of any protected characteristic, except as required by federal or state law or court order.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any place of public accommodation or any employee or agent thereof to deny any person entry to any restroom, shower room, or similar facility if that facility is consistent with and appropriate to that person’s expression of gender identity. It shall be a defense to prosecution for discrimination on the basis of gender identity under this article, however, if the defendant had a good faith belief that the gender or gender identity of the person discriminated against was not consistent with the gender designation of the facility. For purposes of this section, a defendant has a good faith belief if the manner in which the person represented or expressed gender to others (e.g. behavior, clothing, hairstyles, activities, voice or mannerisms) is not consistent with the gender designation of the facility the person attempted to access. Nothing in this section shall require construction of a new bathroom, shower room, or similar facility.

(c) It shall be a defense to prosecution for discrimination on the basis of disability under this article that the alleged discrimination resulted from a condition or structural feature for which a variance had been received. It shall also be a defense to prosecution for discrimination on the basis of accessibility that the place of public accommodation is in compliance with applicable state or federal law relating to accessibility.

Translation, if this is allowed to stand, it would allow gender policing to happen and the trans community in Tyjanae Moore type situations would have no recourse or way to punish people for harassing us.

Not no but HELL NO on this. That language in Section 17-51 (b) needs to go. 

The Dallas ordinance passed in 2002 doesn't have any bathroom language and as of this writing 12 years later hasn't had any increase in bathroom predators dressed in drag.    
 
Once again I have to call out the fact to Mayor Parker and Councilmember Ellen Cohen that the bathroom language in this HERO sucks and they need to forcefully tell the Pastor's Council where to go with their bathroom predator lies.

Just a gentle reminder to Mayor Parker that members of the Houston trans community were the foot soldiers and worker bees for many of your citywide campaigns for council, controller and mayor. We honored you with an Apogee Award at the 1998 Houston TG Unity Banquet for your leadership as a city council member on the 1998 non-discrimination ordinance.

We had your back when you needed us.  Now that we trans Houstonians need you to lead again on our issues since we don't have one of our own trans people on council yet, you want someone else on council to offer an amendment? 

Mayor Parker, we trans Houstonians need you and Councilmember Cohen to be the drum majorettes for justice we thought we elected to those positions.   Lead from the front and kill the HERO Section 17-51 (b) bathroom language.

It says above the doors to the entrance to council chambers 'The People Are The City'.  Transgender Houstonians are part of the 2.2 million people who live here and make up our sprawling southeast Texas metropolis.   It's way past time the ordinances in the city we love protected us from anti-trans discrimination.  We're tired of being demonized and humiliated for using the bathroom and there is no justification for it.

I and my fellow trans Houstonians want the same first class human rights you demand for yourselves with no excuses, no obfuscations and no delays.  We've waited long enough for the HERO to pass.

But before it possibly does, that odious bathroom language in Section 17-51 (b) must go.

'The People' Includes LGBT Houstonians, Too

Over the entrance to the city council chambers in our art deco designed Houston City Hall are the words 'The People Are The City'.

It's a reminder to the councilmembers and the mayor sitting at that curved desk with those nice green leather chairs who they are ultimately accountable to.

And the people in that slogan also includes the Houston TBLG community.

We trans, bi and SGL people are part of the 2.2 million denizens who live, work and play in the 628 square miles of Texas soil we call Houston.

It is past time our human rights are respected and protected in the city we love just as much as the haters.  I and my fellow LGBT Houstonians want the same first class human rights you demand for yourselves with no excuses, no obfuscations and no delays.   We've waited long enough.   Your specious religious beliefs do not trump my human rights. 

This Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is needed and long overdue. to combat the discrimination we face as LGBT people.   That discrimination is even more pronounced for trans people, and worse for trans, bi and SGL people of color who face anti-LGBT discrimination combined with racism.

Yes, the people are the city of Houston.  As we will continue to emphatically point out as our opponents resort to fear and smear tactics to oppose the HERO, 'the people' includes trans, bi, lesbian and gay Houstonians, too.

HERO Rally and Quality of Life Committee Hearing Today

The battle to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance continues as we have a public hearing on the HERO at 2 PM CDT today.

The Houston LGBT community and our supporters will gather on the steps of Houston City Hall for a rally that will start at 1:15 PM prior to the start of the Quality of Life Committee that will be conducting the hearing in city council chambers.

After this committee hearing, the HERO will go before the full council on May 7.

and for consideration by the full council on May 7. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/04/25/religious-freedom-free-speech-threatened-by-houstons-lgbt-ordinance/#sthash.HiuT4HJU.dpuf

and for consideration by the full council on May 7. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/04/25/religious-freedom-free-speech-threatened-by-houstons-lgbt-ordinance/#sthash.HiuT4HJU.dpuf

I'm expecting our Pastor's Council haters to be there in full in effect bearing false witness and pimping their usual lies of how this will 'stifle their free speech',  'suppress their religious freedom' and fling the bathroom meme for good measure.   

Naw conservafools, you don't get the special right to discriminate.   I'm already mad you peeps are exempted from the provisions of this ordinance, so don't even try to go there.


Should be fun to watch the haters squirm.

Now The H-Town Fight For Equal Rights Begins

We Houston activists, public officials and TBLG leaders have been anxiously awaiting the release of the language in the proposed Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

The Mayor's Office finally released the initial draft of the Equal Rights Ordinance at 2:30 PM followed by a press conference in which Mayor Annise Parker answered questions about it.

http://www.houstontx.gov/ordinancefeedback/equalrights_ordinance.pdf

Got people analyzing it now. but on first glance the ERO prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.    It covers city and private employment, housing and has the public accommodations language the trans community wants in it.

Now comes the fight to pass it.   It will take nine city council votes to pass in and finally add Houston to the long list of over 180 cities that have already done so.   If we are successful in accomplishing that task, out job then becomes pivoting to successfully defending our hard won ERO from the misguided people on the wrong side of the moral arc of the universe.  

We have every confidence in H-town that we can and we will build the broad based coalition necessary to accomplish both tasks.   

Houston is a world class city.   It's way past time our human rights laws reflected that.   The fight to make that happen begins today.

TransGriot Update:  The City of Houston's Quality of Life Committee chaired by Councilmember Ellen Cohen, will be meeting on Wednesday, April 30th, at 2:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall (901 Bagby St).  There will be discussion on the City's Equal Rights Ordinance, and public comments are accepted.

I Find The Proposed Houston HRO's Lack Of Citywide Employment Protections Disturbing

I'm hearing disturbing chatter coming from my human rights sources here in Houston concerning the proposed Houston Human Rights Ordinance that is supposed to be unveiled later this month.

I'm hearing that the proposed ordinance will cover city employment and public accommodations but not cover private employment citywide and I'm about to go into Maya Wilkes mode over that. 

If it is true and the reporting I'm seeing from Lone Star Q seems to back that up, that is unacceptable to me as a transperson of color who represents the group that gets the disproportionate share of anti-TBLG discrimination aimed at them in Houston and that is facing 26% unemployment.  .

The Izza Lopez case emphatically demonstrated along with the harassment and 2010 arrest of Tyjanae Moore for using the women's restroom in the downtown Houston Public Library branch why a comprehensive human rights ordinance is needed and necessary.

And as I stated in the September 2013 post, I will not accept trans human rights crumbs in Houston and will fight with ever fiber of my being to ensure that any human rights ordinance passed in my hometown has  citywide job protections and public accommodations language .       

When I spoke in favor of a comprehensive human rights ordinance for my hometown in January, enshrining the unjust Houston status quo into law because you are 'scurred' of a referendum that is coming from the right wing haters anyway no matter what kind of human rights ordinance you pass is not the vision I had in mind for our human rights ordinance along with TBLG Houstonians.  

And it would human rights malpractice for me as a Houston based human rights advocate to NOT to call this injustice out. 

It takes nine votes to pass anything on Houston City Council, and we're one vote shy of passing an ordinance with citywide job protections with four undecided councilmembers.  Three of them that are alleged to be noncommittal share my ethnic heritage, so Houston Black SGL, trans and bi community, time to get busy expressing ourselves.    


This is the question that was asked by the Houston GLBT Caucus of Mayor Parker when you came asking for the caucus endorsement last year: 

Would you be willing to introduce a non-discrimination ordinance, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing, and public accommodation, that provides reasonable exemptions for small businesses, religious organizations, and federally exempt residential property owners?

This is how you answered it at that time.

Mayor Annise Parker:  YES

And Houston City Council members, when the Caucus asked:

If elected, would you publicly advocate for and vote in favor of a non-discrimination ordinance, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing, and public accommodation, that provides reasonable exemptions for small businesses, religious organizations, and federally exempt residential property owners?

The Houston City Council members and candidates for council answered:

Jerry Davis: YES
Ellen Cohen: YES
Dwight Boykins: YES
Ed Gonzalez: YES
Robert Gallegos: YES
Mike Laster: YES
Larry Green: YES
Steve Costello: YES
David Robinson: YES
C.O. Bradford: YES
Jack Christie: YES

So mine and other inquiring Houston LGBT minds wanna know, what's changed your minds since you were asking for our votes last year? 

If you councilmembers wish to see the language of the proposed HRO before committing one way or another I can understand that.  But if you have already have seen that language and it's as bad as I'm hearing, then it's time for some profiles in political courage.

Note to Maverick Welsh, Houston LGBT Caucus president:  I'm not liking the incrementalist chatter coming out of your mouth either. 

Welsh added that the Caucus will still support the proposed ordinance if it doesn’t include citywide employment protections. “I don’t think the perfect has to be the enemy of the good,” he said.in a Lone Star Q interview.

'The perfect' as you called it Maverick is 'Necessary for our survival' when seen from the viewpoint of trans, bi and  SGL people of color disproportionately affected by anti-GLBT discrimination in this city.  

We want a Houston HRO that FIXES the problems we face, not locks the wretched status quo of discrimination in place so you Mr Welsh and your like minded peeps can sip appletinis at the next Houston HRC gala and declare a win     

We still have time to ask for what people in the Houston TBLG community expect in a long overdue Houston Human Rights Ordinance:  that it fix the problem and it has enforcement teeth.

Thanks to the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats for the form so you can click on this link and do precisely that.   Here's the contact information for Houston City Council members so you can also respectfully express yourselves and ask for that comprehensive Houston Human Rights ordinance we elected them to enact.

So we're asking politely (for now) Houston City Council to fix it.   We only get one shot at this, so let's do it right the first time, pass the Houston Human Rights Ordinance the entire community can get behind, then work to defend it from Dave Welch and his haters.   

Mayor Parker Discusses TBLG Inclusive Human Rights Ordinance

During Mayor Annise Parker's State of the City address she gave to a crowd of 1600 members and guests of the Greater Houston Partnership on Wednesday, she outlined many of the issues that she'll be tackling during her final term as Houston's leader. 

She also addressed the one question that has been on the minds of TBLG Houstonians ever since San Antonio's contentious passage of their trans inclusive human rights ordinance last September made Houston the largest city in the state and the only one of the top five population US cities that doesn't have one:  What's up with the LGBT inclusive non-discrimination ordinance she's been talking about for months now and even mentioned in her third inauguration speech back on January 2? 

You know as a native Houstonian I believe it's past time we do so, and have already spoken to Houston City Council twice urging them to pass such an ordinance.

That's why she discussed during the GHP speech and in the press conference afterward the long needed Human Rights Ordinance, which will prohibit discrimination in city employment, contracting, housing and public accommodations.  It will also add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes of people and will create a seven person Human Rights Commission that hears complaints and refer them to the proper authorities

Mayor Parker is expecting that ordinance to be rolled out sometime next month, and as you probably guessed, the usual H-town conservahaters in Dave Welch and the Houston Area Pastor Council are already trying to scuttle it.

But we are just as determined in liberal progressive H-town to pass it, and the fun will begin when we finally see the initial draft of the proposed ordinance next month.