Antonio Hernandez

Antonio Hernandez AUSTIN, Texas: — A Republican Texas lawmaker plans to introduce a tough immigration measure similar to the new law in Arizona, a move state Democrats say would be a mistake. Rep. Debbie Riddle of Tomball said she will push for the law in the January legislative session, according to Wednesday's editions of the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle. blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/

GLBT Civil Equality: David Greer

Carl, As you know, GLBT Civil Equality is an issue near and dear to me. Hopefully, my suggestions will be received in the spirit that they are intended; that is, that GLBT civil equality runs the risk of becoming a political "hot potato" the closer these issues come to the mid-term elections. All letters should be COPIED to the POTUS because the Whitehouse is quietly BACKING AWAY from the President's COMMITMENT TO END DADT THIS YEAR, AS PROMISED. The most logical means of repealing DADT is to insert the necessary language into the Defense Authorization. The House Armed Services Committee will be addressing the authorization in the next two weeks and the Senate Armed Services Committee will be addressing it in the next three weeks. WE CANNOT RISK LOSING A DADT REPEAL BY FORWARDING STAND ALONE LEGISLATION. Health Insurance Reform was attached to defense spending and that was an issue irrelevant to national security. On the other hand, what could be more RELEVANT to national security than retaining hard working, dedicated patriots/service members that are being expelled in numbers that rival the Bush Administration's (see SLDN for numbers)? Getting the repeal of DADT in the Defense Authorization Act will require SIXTY VOTES to have it removed via filibuster by the Republicans and Blue Dog coalition. Failure to do so and leaving it to stand alone legislation will kill DADT in its tracks. The SLDN (Servicemembers Legal Defense Network) has started sending daily letters from discharged service members to the Whitehouse. This campaign started YESTERDAY (4/27). Here is a link to the campaign: /www.sldn.org/blog/ Our President campaigned that he would be a "fierce advocate" for GLBT Civil Equality, going so far as to make the bold statement that GLBT Equality would be AS IMPORTANT TO HIS ADMINISTRATION as health care (insurance) reform, the economy, "bail outs", job creation, etc. That means that we should have seen SOME movement/support from the Whitehouse in the first fifteen months. What we have seen is the signing of the Matthew Shepherd Act and the extension of SOME benefits to GLBT federal employees (a fraction of 1% of GLBT citizens nationwide). Yes, signing the Matthew Shepherd Act was important, but it is important to keep in mind that this legislation was LARGELY COMPLETED before last November's election. To learn more about this administration's lack of willingness to move proactively for the GLBT community and to learn more about recent events, specifically regarding DADT, please reference these recent articles: This first link is a "mother lode" of information, in that it is the main "hub" of Towleroad's coverage of DADT (note: there are articles that HRC will take great exception to, particularly the articles regarding Dan Choi and GetEQUAL, both of whom are far more proactive in getting the message to the Whitehouse than HRC.) http://www.towleroad.com/dont_ask_dont_tell/ http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0410/Dont_Ask_advocates_worry_about_timeline.html?showall# http://www.rollcall.com/news/45597-1.html http://www.lgbtpov.com/2010/04/rep-barney-frank-on-enda-dadt-and-how-lgbts-should-lobby-like-the-nra/ http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Washington_D_C_/View_from_Washington_Why_Wait/ http://www.dcagenda.com/2010/04/26/pelosi-plans-dont-ask-repeal-vote-this-year/ http://web.me.com/natashadillon/DADTRepeal/Political_Targets.html http://web.me.com/natashadillon/DADTRepeal/Talking_Points.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexander-nicholson/the-lgbt-communitys-raise_b_551932.html Our once-in-a-generation window of opportunity could come to a close in the upcoming mid-terms. WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO "WAIT" any longer. The time for action is NOW. We are in danger of completely losing our majority in the House and current polling shows that we should expect to lease at least FOUR seats in the Senate. Are we willing to wait another generation to be treated equally? I'm not. Respectfully, David Greer Austin County

HRC Houston Gala

HRC Houston Gala Project Equality HRC Gala in Houston Annual HRC Houston Gala Dinner May 22, 2010: HRC Houston Gala Dinner at the Hilton Americas. Become a Dinner Sponsor Donate to the Silent Auction Register as a Table Captain Buy a Recognition Page

This is the 13th annual Houston HRC Gala.

Lane Lewis

Lane Lewis is the 42 year old elected Democratic Executive Committeeperson for Precinct 0448 in Oak Forest, in the heart of Senate 15. He is an educator and neighborhood activist and was recently a candidate for Houston CIty Council District A taking the Republican to a run-off and in the process garnering the support of the Democratic Party, elected officials, labor leaders and neighborhood activists. Lane is now running to become Chair of Senate 15 along with his ticket mate, Tarsha Hardy of Precinct 0164 who is running for Secretary. Neither of these offices have incumbents seeking re-election. This is the ONLY party position that Lane is running for and he solicits and needs your support. A MESSAGE FROM LANE LEWIS Candidate, Senate District 15 Chair Dear all, It has been several months since the end of my bid for the honor of representing the City of Houston’s District A. During my travels across District A, I met countless individuals and families that where excited about the prospect for the future; they were also concerned that their interests were not being represented and wanted to be more involved in having their voices and concerns heard. I encouraged them to get involved on a local, state, and national level. Heeding this advice, I am running to serve as your Senate District 15 Chair. In order to win we must organize. We must identify our priorities, ask how we make those priorities heard, and how we get individuals elected that speak to our priorities. The answers are simple, but the solutions are complicated and difficult: it will take time, organization, and dedication from District 15 residents. Our priorities can be identified through regular District 15 meetings; we will be heard through a new web site; and we will expand our database of volunteers and voters while creating a PAC to fund our activities. I ask you for your vote this Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 2:00 pm, at Chateau Crystal, 2517 South Gessner, Houston, TX. 77063. All precinct chairs elected during the March primary or April run-off must be sworn in at this meeting to vote. I look forward to seeing you and thank you in advance for your vote of confidence. Sunday May 2, 2010 2:00 p.m. Chateau Crystal - 2517 South Gessner, Houston, TX. 77063 (near the intersection of Westheimer and Gessner in Woodlake Square) Sincerely, Lane Lewis Candidate for Senate District 15 Chair

Convention 2010

Dear Convention Delegate or Alternate, As the Convention draws closer, we want to let you know about some great opportunities available to you and your club, organization or business. The deadline to submit a Caucus Request Form is Friday, April 23rd at 5pm. If you are interested in hosting a Caucus at this year’s Convention please do so now. Due to the limited meeting space at the American Bank Center, submission of a Caucus Request Form does not guarantee meeting space will be provided, so the sooner you return your caucus request form the better. Exhibit Booths are a great way to show your pride for your county or senate district, or share your issue agenda with Convention attendees. Booths are for sale at a discounted price for Democratic clubs and organizations. They are not only an excellent way to promote your Democratic club or organization, but are great advertising for any business. To reserve your Exhibit Booth today, please fill out and return the Exhibit Booth Application. Finally, a word about Program Ads: they provide a level of exposure second-to-none and are a great way to advertise for your local Democratic club or an upcoming event! Every Convention guest receives a program, making them the key piece of memorabilia attendees keep. Ads range in size from 1/8 page to an entire page. Buy your ad by returning the Program Ad Application. Please note that Booth and Program Ad rates will increase by $100.00 effective May 15th. We hope you’ll take part in some of these fantastic Convention opportunities. Don’t forget to check our website for updated information – including the tentative Convention schedule, details on the Silent Auction, and info for Texans who want to be Convention volunteers. If you have any questions, feel free to call the TDP Convention staff at (512) 478-9800. We look forward to seeing you in Corpus Christi! Your friend and fellow Democrat, Boyd L. Richie Chairman Texas Democratic Party P.S. Want to interact, get news and share your views at Convention in a whole new way? Sign up for our new text message program – when you arrive in Corpus Christi, you’ll already be connected to receive the latest updates, take instant polls and more. Sign up today!

Equality Texas

-- PLEASE FORWARD FAR & WIDE, Thanks --

Texas Conference of the Equality Across America Network

Unite and Fight: Strategizing for LGBT Equality

May 21-23, 2010 -- Austin, Texas -- Austin Community College, Eastview campus
eaaTexas.org* http://eaatexas.org>
&
Harvey Milk Day March & Rally, Texas State Capitol, Saturday, May 22nd

The fight for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equality is heating up.
Come join other activists and Equality Across America as we debate, discuss,
and strategize how we can carry on the fight here in Texas. Our one single
demand: EQUAL PROTECTION in all matters governed by civil law in ALL 50 STATES!

Confirmed featured speakers:

Nik Maciejewskihttp://equalityacrossamerica.org/about/Bios.html#b6>

(Equality Across America interim governing board),

Zoe Nicholson http://www.onlinewithzoe.com>

(author and longstanding activistfor women's and LGBT equality),

and more TBA.

Registration is $15 or $10 with student ID.
Registration is free for volunteers (volunteer assignments are first-come, first-served).

Details (registration page coming soon):

http://eaaTexas.org

Co-sponsored by: GetEqual-Dallas, Equality Across America-Houston, Equality
Now-Austin Community College, Equality Rising-Austin, International
Socialist Organization, jaysays.com, Join the Impact-Austin, Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (UT Austin), Queer LiberAction-Denton, Queer
People of Color and Allies (UT Austin), Qwee, Texans for Peace, Travis
County Green Party, and a growing list of activist organizations.

To get involved or co-sponsor, email: texasEAAconference@gmail.com

Click here http://equalityacrossamerica.org/conference> to find out more
about the Equality Across America network and
its 2010 regional conferences.



"The work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on." -- Sen. Kennedy, August 2008

The Mayor of Castro Street

When it comes to being queer, there is a sixth-sense that lets you know you are different early in life. I can speak to it personally. And Harvey Milk was no different in realizing and yet hiding his sexuality since childhood.

If you saw the movie, you have to read the book. And if you didn't see the movie then you really have to read The Mayor of Castro Street, -by Randy Shilts.

I remember discovering this title on the spine of a book that was not to remain on the shelf for long. I was browsing in a bookstore near the street that is Jose Castro's namesake in San Francisco This street now possesses a permanent honorary mayor. I purchased the book and took it with me on the return flight back to Houston.

I read about Harvey's childhood and high-school years on the plane, and about the harassment by the Chicago police. These were the days when you could be arrested for indecent exposure for being shirtless in a public park. Archaic laws were selectively enforced, such as a law stating that male swimmers had to wear swimsuits extending from the navel to the thigh. (As mentioned by Randy.)

Events became history quite dramatically in the late 1970s. Diane Feinstein announced "Today San Francisco has experienced a double tragedy of immense proportions. As president of the Board of Supervisors, it is my duty to inform you that both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot."

Randy writes that Harvey new about the active gay liberation movement in pre-Hilter Germany circulating petitions for equality. And Harvey new, of course, the ultimate fate of homosexuals in Nazi Germany. And he knew about the fate of the Jews.

Harvey guarded the secret of his sexuality throughout much of his life. There was constant and open antisemitism in addition to the burden of the secret of his sexuality.

Randy Shilts gives us a view into that era; Harvey grew up during World War II, after all. He went to college during the 1940s and graduated in the early 1950s. See Far from Heaven, a movie that portrays the forced-closeted lives, lives dictated by homophobia, of homosexuals during the 1950s. I will never forget the scene with Frank's weeping as he tells his wife he was arrested for "loitering" in that movie. (Frank was closeted and cruising at that point in his life.)

Returning to The Mayor of Castro Street: Harvey's jaunts into New York City, starting at a very young age, were motivated by his love of music. The trips provided him the opportunity to discover gay romance, and, the means to its end; Central Park. "Four years later Seventeen-year-old Harvey Milk was arrested in a similar sweep in a Central Park cruising area: the police arrested the shirtless men they found there whom they suspected were gay, charging them with indecent exposure. They ignored the family men standing nearby with their shirts off but their children in tow." -Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the making of the male gay world.

We read about the urban environment necessary, at that time, to pursue a gay life. And we are taken back to the cruising of the 1940s. This was a time when Judy Garland was still performing. Men would be arrested for "loitering" around public restrooms.

One can only imagine living with Harvey's double-bind.

Pleasure can be discovered accidentally. This was a time when it almost had to be. That is only one part of the tragedy in Harvey's life. There is pleasure mingled with sadness.

There is the pre-history that ends up being so important to the final occurrence of history on that fateful day in the late 1970s. The events appear to happen so suddenly.

Randy writes the story of the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the U.S. Harvey had been shunted into paddy-wagons along with other harassed homosexuals in New York, long before his political career began. He would be concerned about gay rights later in life.

Harvy Milk lived in New York, and then San Francisco. He worked as a teacher but was fearful of being outed.

The Black Cat Bar was a bar in San Francisco. "The Black Cat was at the center of a legal fight that was one of the earliest court cases to establish legal protections for gay people in the United States. " - wikipedia.

Oscar Wilde said: "Its and odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city and posses all the attractions of the next world."

Randy's book mentions the Briggs Initiative in California.

The Mattachine Society: in New York, part of the Gay Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, was an early group whose purpose was to protect and improve the rights of homosexuals. It was inspired by a petition for presidential candidate Henry A. Wallace.

And the Band Played on, Conduct Unbecoming, and Familiar Faces Hidden Lives are Randy Shilts' other books.