Wall Street Journal: Powerful Profile On Houston's Out Mayor Annise Parker

 

 

 

Mayor Annise Parker by Terry Shaffner

In an article by journalist Matthew Kaminski, the Wall Street Journal wrote a love letter to open lesbian Houston Mayor Annise Parker. The long article focuses on her extraordinary leadership in leading Houston to being an "American Boomtown".

Here is an excerpt:

'Redneck white city down in Texas."

That's how Houston Mayor Annise Parker sums up the caricature of her town, and she wants everyone to know it's bunkum. Houston is "a really cool city," she says. "Open and entrepreneurial and welcoming." It's also booming.

The mayor herself is a walking testament to the cosmopolitan contrarian reality of modern Houston. Annise Parker is a Democrat in a deep-red state, the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. She's a social liberal who's also a former oil-industry executive with a pro-business attitude running what may be the nation's least-regulated metropolis.

Houston's recent track record is startling. For the calendar year ending in February, it saw the fastest pace of job growth (4.5%) among the country's 20 largest metropolitan areas. (With a population of 2.1 million, it's the fourth-largest U.S. city.) In 2011, the last year such data are available, Houston had the fastest-growing large metropolitan economy, at 3.7%.

Add to that a cost of living that is 7.8% below the U.S. average—New York is 53.4% above the average—and you can see the attraction for waves of new arrivals. Housing costs run a third less than the average in the 29 largest metro areas. Adjusting for these lower costs, Houston has the highest per-capita income of any city in the nation.

The mayor, who is 56, and I are discussing the city's makeover at one of its hottest new restaurants. Underbelly, Ms. Parker's choice for lunch, is in the Montrose neighborhood where she lives. "This was a huge lesbian bar," she says, before the neighborhood turned "trendy" and places like Underbelly moved in. As diners fill the capacious restaurant, Ms. Parker notes that Houstonians eat out more often than anyone else in America.

Like Texas as a whole, Houston sells itself as "business friendly," and Ms. Parker ticks off the attractions—ease of permitting, unobtrusive regulations and low taxes. She also supports Houston's limited restrictions on land use, which some here call its real secret sauce. Without zoning, Houston can adjust to shifting market demands—whether for townhouse complexes or retail outfits—faster than most any other city. It looks unwieldy to anyone of the urban-planning persuasion, but it also keeps prices down.

Tory Gattis, who writes the Houston Strategies blog, says: "I'd argue we may be the most libertarian city in America. Live and let live; strong property rights; not much corruption; small business culture."

The economic dynamism has demographic consequences. A couple of years ago, Ms. Parker says, she argued with New York filmmaker Spike Lee over whose hometown was "the most international city in the U.S." The debate isn't as lopsided as it might seem to a non-Houstonian.

The city has surpassed New York as the country's most racially and ethnically diverse, according to a study last year by Rice University. One in five residents was born outside the U.S. The city attracted the second-highest number of new, foreign-born residents in the first decade of this century, after the more populous New York. A Manhattan Institute report last year named Houston and Dallas the country's least segregated cities.

Hispanics are hardly the only newcomers. The Korean, South Asian and Chinese communities are a backbone of the small-business community. European expatriates work in energy and at the Texas Medical Center—which, this being Texas, touts itself as the world's largest.

No ethnic group makes up a majority, and Hispanics, whites, Asians and African-Americans are evenly represented. Houston's "melting pot" makes it "impossible for any one group to dominate another," says Fred Hofheinz, who was mayor in the 1970s. Leave the politics of ethnic and racial division to other places.

Stephen Klineberg, who led the Rice study, argues that in some 30 years all of America will look like Houston today. Conservatives and liberals can both find something to like in Houston's post-racial, post-ethnic present.

The Mayor also speaks about marriage equality:

Situated on a bayou and close to Louisiana, Houston mixes the South's hospitality and the West's independent streak and tolerance of differences. Ms. Parker cites these qualities to explain her political career. "The vast majority of Houstonians are pragmatic and they judge me for what I do, not what I am."

She is a former president of the Houston GBLT Caucus and militated for gay rights in the 1990s. In her various stints as an elected city official, she emphasized financial matters and played down social issues. At least her mayoral victory, she says, got Houston a bit of attention for defying typecasting by outsiders.

"I'm not a spokesperson for the gay community," she adds. Gay marriage is personal. "I've been with my life partner for 22 years." They have three children. "I want to marry her."

Ms. Parker is holding out for Texas to legalize gay marriage. "I may be old and creaky, but it's gonna happen," she says. "This is a war we've already won. There are still battles left to fight. . . . mopping up operations."

Anything, they keep telling you, is possible here.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE>>>>>>

History on Film: Massachusetts Has First Same Sex Marriages(May 17, 2004)

Today is the anniversary of the first day of marriage equality in America. On May 17, 2004, by order of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, same sex couples were able for the first time in America get legally married. Little did the nation know how common place this moment would become across the nation. Watch the video and remember fondly a great historic moment for LGBT citizens around the world.

Join LGBT Americans For Quinn! Help Elect The First Woman and LGBT Mayor Of NYC!

 

 

 

I am personally asking you to simply go to this site and in one minute add your name to those endorsing City Council Speaker Christine Quinn for Mayor of New York City!

There are those who suggest the power of having an open lesbian mayor of New York City is just not important.  They want you to believe that electing our own and electing the first woman mayor is no longer a historic event. That we have elected other mayors in other cities so we essentially have 'been there, done that'.  

They are wrong.  

That would only be the case if City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wasn't qualified to be Mayor and hadn't really delivered big time in the marriage equality battle in New York State.

Quinn has used the power of her office time and time again to force others to support not only marriage equality but also other issues that lead to full equality for LGBT Americans. She went far beyond what any expected of her in that role.

The National Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Emily's List have both endorsed her candidacy believing she would become a not only a powerful symbol but also a critical person in the LGBT and feminist struggle for full equality. As Mayor in  the world's most powerful city, home to the United Nations and most of the nation's media, her ability to help us move forward in our battle to achieve total freedom and equality for LGBT Americans would be unparalleled.

Please join LGBT for Quinn by clicking here.

This year we have candidates running for Mayor in Seattle, Minneapolis and New York City. Each and every one of them is important in our battle for equality. Having worked over thirty years to elect LGBT people to office, I am here to tell you that each and everyone of these campaigns are critical in our struggle.

While we appreciate and value our straight allies that hold office, we have learned time and time again there is simply no replacement for having our own elected. We have seen it in battle after battle, legislature after legislature and city by city.

While I don't always agree with Christine Quinn 100% of the time, the fact of the matter is that I would not agree with any candidate 100% of the time. There is no question that she has the experience and will do an outstanding job as mayor.

There is also no question, that if Christine Quinn is elected mayor of the nation's largest city and the world's most powerful one, that it would be historic and critical to the future of LGBT Americans.

All we are asking for is that you join LGBT for Christine Quinn by simply clicking here.

Capitol Hill 'Roll Call' Wonders If LGBT Inclusion Will Kill Immigration Reform

 

 

In Roll Call, journalist Alexander Bolton writes about the fears on Capitol Hill that including LGBT Americans in the proposed immigration reform will kill the legislation. Republicans are vowing to kill it in the House of Representatives if an amendment by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is included which would add LGBT Americans to the bill.

Of course, House Republicans have already indicated that they are likely to kill immigration reform if it includes a path to citizenship! Guess they are just looking for a good scapegoat!

Bolton reports:

A proposal to expand gay rights is threatening to splinter a fragile, bipartisan agreement on immigration reform and kill a pillar of President Obama’s second-term agenda.

The Senate Gang of Eight, which crafted the immigration legislation, pledged to fight off “poison pill” amendments that would derail the bill. But one controversial proposal has already divided the group.

An amendment sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) would allow U.S. citizens in long-term same-sex relationships to sponsor foreign partners for green cards.

It is potentially the most troublesome amendment of the more than 300 proposed changes that have been filed by members of the Judiciary panel.

Republican members of the Gang of Eight have stated bluntly to their Democratic partners that this will sink the bill if adopted during the committee’s deliberations.

The markup begins on Thursday, which is the one-year anniversary of Obama’s decision to embrace same-sex marriage.

“If that’s in the bill, that will kill the bill,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the gang. “This bill has got to get broad support to have a chance in the House, and with that provision it will not have broad support. A lot of the coalitions that are behind it will go away, and so I think that’s pretty much understood.”

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), a Democratic member of the group, declared Tuesday he is a strong supporter of the amendment but stopped short of saying how he would vote if it comes up in committee. “I support it and hope we can find a way to resolve it. It’s a fair thing to do,” Durbin said.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a Reid lieutenant and another member of group, is a co-sponsor of legislation that served as the template for the amendment, the Uniting American Families Act.

Durbin and Schumer are members of the Judiciary Committee and either one could strike down Leahy’s amendment by voting with Republicans against it.

Democrats control 10 seats on the panel to the Republicans’ eight. The other Democratic members of the panel are expected to back the Leahy measure.

Leahy also filed an amendment exempting the immigration status of same-sex couples from restrictions established by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) if a state or another country recognizes their unions.

Durbin and Schumer are leading contenders to someday replace Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) as Democratic leader. They have come under pressure from prominent Democratic fundraisers and gay-rights advocates to support the Leahy legislation.

“It will be interesting how Durbin and Schumer vote because they have huge [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] constituencies and citizens in their states, and I can’t imagine them not supporting the Leahy amendment,” said David Mixner, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and political strategist. “Since when do we separate a whole group of American citizens and say, ‘These rights apply to everyone, but not LGBT citizens.’”

Mixner said it would be a “moral outrage” if the Senate passed immigration legislation that discriminated against same-sex couples.

Leahy is one of the biggest allies of gay-rights advocates, who do not want him to succumb to colleagues who would prefer the amendment not come up for a vote.

READ ENTIRE COLUMN HERE........

Tales of Two Cities? LGBT Mayors In Seattle and Tel Aviv?

 

 

While the races for mayor by openly LGBT candidates both in New York City and Minneopolis have gotten some attention, there are two more exciting races for mayor for the LGBT community. There are openly LGBT candidates running to head the cities of Seattle and Tel Aviv.

In Seattle, legendary state legislator Ed Murray (photograph above), after serving over twenty-five years is now running to head the Northwest's largest city - Seattle. Murray who was one of the first openly LGBT persons to serve in the Washington legislature has vast experience in finance, education and transportation. He was one of the key players in making marriage equality the law in Washington. It would be hard put to find a more qualified candidate. You can support Ed by clicking here.

Across the ocean in Israel, Nitzan Horawitz (photograph below) is an openly gay member of the Israeli Parliament - The Knesset. The elections are this October. If elected, he will be the first openly LGBT mayor in the history of Israel. His main issues are transportation, urban plight and cost of living. (H/T: Queerty.com).

Imagine by this November we could have openly LGBT mayors in Berlin, Paris, Tel Aviv, New York City, Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston. Who would ever thought that would be possible just ten years ago?

Five Questions For........Harvey Fierstein

 

 

 

Perhaps more than anyone on Broadway, Harvey Fierstein has pioneered the way for actors on the Great White Way to be open about their sexuality. Consistently over the years he has shown great courage and sometimes at great cost. Despite the risks he took being out and proud, he is one of the most successful actors/writers on Broadway.

Harvey was born in Brooklyn to conservative Jewish parents. His mother, Harriet was a school librarian and his father Irving was a handkerchief manufacturer.

The deep voice became a trademark and was perfect for the stage. In 1982, as an out gay man, Fierstein burst unto the stage in a big way writing and acting in the famous Torch Song Trilogy.  For that production, he won two Tony Awards for Best Actor and Best Play. The play was a huge hit and later turned into a movie. The film won him a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor.

"Tony" loves this man! He won a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles in 1983. He was also nominated as the writer for the Broadway hit "Newsies". Who can forget this Tony Award winning performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (below)? Currently he has received another nomination this June for Kinky Boots for Best Book of a Musical!

Harvey also has won an Emmy Award for narrating "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" and an Emmy nomination for his appearance on 'Cheers' Most importantly who can ever forget his role in the hysterical "Mrs. Doubtfire" with Robin Williams?

The list of films, television appearances and voice overs can go on and on. Harvey has never stopped working, acting and writing. For so many people, like myself, Harvey is one of the great heroes of the LGBT community. He stood tall and proud when so few in the entertainment industry were out. He is a pioneer and role model for young LGBT actors. He proved you could be a success and out in show business.

If you need evidence of his articulate bravery watch the interview by Barbara Walters at the end of this article done in 1982!

Harvey is special, a beautiful man and one of the great legends.

Here are the "Five Questions For Harvey Fierstein"

1. You came out at a time when most all performers were deeply in the closet. How do you think it impacted your career for better or worse?

I am more than aware that I fucked a lot of commercial opportunities that may have been available had I been, shall we say, circumspect. However, I never considered money or fame as goals. To me they were by-products of a life in the arts. I can't say that I haven't watched fellow closeted artists getting big gigs and wondered if they did it right and I wrong. But living ingenuously was simply never an option. I guess I was just brought up right. (Or wrong)

2, Do you believe there is any professional reason for an actor to stay in the closet today? What advice would you give someone in the industry who is closeted?

Every career is completely individual. Different for every one of us. I have no crystal ball. I give young gay actors the same bullshit advice that old farts have been handing out since the dawn of time, "You get one life. LIve it, as hard as you can, full out, and with no regrets. Don't leave anything in the locker room."

3.. You are one of the hardest working people in show business as a Tony Award winning Actor and Playwright. What projects have been the most challenging to you over the years?

What you would call challenging I would call joyous. I LOVE to get in there and get dirty and create and try stuff… To me the "challenging" work are the bullshit jobs you take to pay the rent. It's a real challenge to sit around a movie set for twelve hours just to get in front of the camera and say, "Would you like a cocktail?", and then go home.

4. As a living legend yourself, what was it like to work with icon Director Jerry Mitchell and Cyndi Lauper in the new amazing Broadway hit 'Kinky Boots'.

Jerry and I had already worked together on Broadway's HAIRSPRAY and several other incarnations of the same.We knew we wanted to do something new together. Cyndi and I had talked about writing a show together years earlier. So I guess when we finally all got together to work there was some relief that the wait was over. I love them both. We are family. We created a beautiful joyous miraculous baby together that will, I have no doubt, be around years after we are gone. Working don't get better than that!

5. What is the most embarrassing or funny incident to happen to you as an actor?

I was touring as TEVYE in the road company of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. We were in Toronto and I was told, just before the curtain went up, that two of my favorite performers were in the house; legendary Captain Von Trapp himself - Mr Theodore Bikel, and the original star of MAMA MIA! - Louise Pitre. I entered the empty stage to begin the show with the famous monologue to the audience when suddenly I felt something wrong. I put my hand to my face and realized that the dry winter air had given me a very bad nosebleed. So there I stood, center stage, the audience waiting…. I pulled out my handkerchief, held it up to my face and went on with the show making certain that the audience never saw the blood gushing from my nose. Unfortunately, neither did they see much of a performance! Both of my idols left the theater without visiting me. But i could never fault them. They didn't know. Somehow I am both ashamed and proud of that

This is an extraordinary interview with Barbara Walters from 1983! You must watch this amazing man educate a nation when most people were still deeply in the closet! LGBT Americans should never forget contribution in our epic struggle for freedom!

Is It Wrong To Ask If An LGBT Organization Should Still Exist?

 

 

 

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay"

-Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson 

Over the last few years, LGBT Americans have experienced amazing change and the tide of victory appears to be on our side. Many of our institutions or agents of change have done a remarkable job in bringing us to this point in our history. If the Supreme Courts surprises us and give us a broad based ruling on marriage equality, then that change will be monumental.

Increasingly the communtiy should be reviewing our institutions/organizations and, with thoughtfulness and sensitivity, discussing if they still have a purpose to exist. Unfortunately, the mere suggestion sends people into spasms of indignant outrage and the idea is viewed as divisive That is a serious mistake.

No one is saying that the battle is over or that there is no longer a need for institutions/organizations to fight the war. In fact, only a fool would not recognize that even with the most profound Supreme Court decision there will be tons more to do. The question is not if work needs to be done but what work and who will be the effective agents of future change.

Recently The Atlantic ran article by James Kirchick questioning if LGBT Americans still need to raise millions for GLAAD since he believes the cultural war has been won. While he seem to be more upset of their anti-conservative stances than their work, he raised some interesting points for further discussion. Even if we deeply believe an organization should continue, we should never be afraid of discussing its purpose, budget and future.

Kirchick writes:

What a difference 25 years makes. Not only are media representations of gays plentiful, they are almost overwhelmingly positive, which is perhaps why GLAAD curiously removed the above sentence from its website. The entertainment industry, for many years a "celluloid closet" (in the words of the late gay film historian Vito Russo), is exuberantly pro-gay. Being gay isn't just OK these days, it's positively cool. From Broadway to Hollywood, the message is one of uncompromising acceptance of gay people. The list of celebrities and television shows affirming a gay-positive message is endless, from Lady Gaga and her mantra of "Born This Way" to hit television shows like Modern Family and Glee. Meanwhile, popular television journalists like CNN's Anderson Cooper and NBC News' Pete Williams face no barriers for being openly gay, a far cry from what it was like to work in the news industry just half a generation ago. The media's reaction to NBA player Jason Collins' coming out on the cover of Sports Illustrated has been almost exclusively supportive; just witness the hostility heaped upon Howie Kurtz, who was fired by The Daily Beast for a blog post in which he erroneously stated that Collins "didn't come clean" over his previous engagement to a woman. As far as the mainstream media, movies, television, and popular music -- the monitoring of which is GLAAD's raison d'etre -- goes, homosexuality has gone from the love that dare not speak its name to the love that won't stop talking. The best thing the organization could do is dissolve -- not because it is actively harmful, but rather because it is a victim of its own success.

Simply put, gays have won the culture war. Social historians can debate when exactly this happened. (Was it Ellen DeGeneres' "Yep, I'm Gay" Time cover? Or, as Vice President Joe Biden recently suggested, the popularity of Will & Grace?) Rather than being attributable to one instantaneous incident, however, today's mainstream acceptance of homosexuality came about gradually, assisted by the fact that most people today personally know someone who is openly gay. While the Stonewall Riots of 1969 may seem like a long time ago, in the full sweep of American history, no other social movement has progressed so far and so fast as that of gays.

With the incredible changes taking place in our society, politics and institutions, it is essential for us to review our organizations in order to plan effectively for the work that needs to be done over the next couple of decades. Merely adapting in order to survive never has an effective strategy.

LGBT Americans should not fear or shy away from such discussions. After all, we have been extraordinarily successful so far in advocating change and now is not the time to fear change.

Republicans: Blame The Gays......

 

 

 

What to do? What to do?

The Republicans know they have to pass some sort of immigration reform or they run the risk of even greater backlash from Hispanic voters in the mid-terms. The 'Gang of Eight' arrived at a proposal with Senator Marco Rubio giving his considerable blessing. There was one problem. Even Senator Rubio expressed doubt that any immigration reform legislation worth a damn would ever be passed by the right-wing Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Fortunately for the Republicans, 'The Gang of Eight' removed LGBT Americans from the legislation. Evidently, our rights and freedom are viewed as the 'kiss of death' by our elected representatives in Congress. Equally fortunately, LGBT citizens are no longer rolling over and playing dead every time someone denies them their rights and are insisting that we be included in the historic legislation.

Anyone who knows a bi-national LGBT couple knows of the pain, fear and economic uncertainty that dominates their lives. If they were able to get married like straight Americans there would be no issue since they could easily settle in America. An immigration bill without addressing this horror would indeed be hollow and divisive.

Senator Rubio, never one to miss an opportunity, has changed his tune and now proclaims that if all Americans are included in the legislation then it will be defeated. He wants us to forget that he had already proclaimed that the crazies in the House would never pass serious immigration reform. After all, the good Senator has a new excuse.

When failure is at the door just blame the gays.

Thank God! After all, if we can blame earthquakes, hurricanes, Newtown, Boston and every other ailment in America on LGBT Americans, while not just add immigration reform. Hell, most likely, even the Catholic Church would withdraw their support of the legislation if all Americans are treated equally.

Guess what Senator Rubio?

Not going to work this time. Not only are LGBT Americans on to this disgrace but so are Hispanic Americans who are shocked that over a quarter of a million LGBT Americans are not included. The two communities stand side by side - powerfully - to say 'oh no you don't!"

Unionists In Northern Ireland Kill Sinn Fein's Marriage Equality Bill

 

 

The pro-British Unionist Party blocked marriage equality from becoming a reality in Northern Ireland. The Sinn Fein Party sponsored the equality legislation which also was supported by The Green Party, SDLP and the Alliance Party.

Irish Central reports:

However the combined unionist vote of the Democratic Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist party defeated the bill by 50 to 45.

Pro-gay marriage advocates now expect a court challenge against the ban in both Britain and at the European Court on the grounds that it is allowed elsewhere in the United Kingdom, reports the Guardian. Amnesty International stated the prospects of a gay couple taking a legal case to the European Court of Human Rights is now a distinct possibility.

Sinn Féin Assembly member for South Down Caitriona Ruane stated: "Attitudes in Ireland are changing because people do not want to see people discriminated against.

"The gay community has said enough is enough. They are standing up for themselves and their communities."

She claimed young gay people were turning to suicide because of rampant discrimination and bullying. "If they don't have an alternative voice to the vitriolic gay-bashing they will internalise it," she said.

All the main churches, Protestant and Catholic, opposed the bill. But the gay Christian lobby group “Changing Attitudes Ireland” condemned the unionist veto.

Church of Ireland minister Canon Charles Kenny, the secretary of Changing Attitudes Ireland, stated: "The year is drawing nearer when the love and justice expressed in the gospels will win out and sweep away the faith-based prejudice against gay and lesbian couples."

Democratic Unionist finance minister Sammy Wilson said the unionist parties would always vote to defeat "reckless" legislation.

Jason Collins Stands On The Huge Shoulders Of LGBT Sporting Pioneers

 

 

At times in the last couple of days, it seems as if the entire world is celebrating (and even somewhat relieved) that at last an active sporting star in the major leagues has come out of the closet. Jason Collins has captured the heart of not only the LGBT community but a nation. This man represents all that is the best in the LGBT community.

However there are two important points to be remembered over the next weeks:

1. Mr. Collins is newly out of the closet and he will likely make a misstep doing this remarkable new journey. Please be patient with him and offer a helping hand to show him the way instead of critiquing him. His new found freedom will be tempered with new found ways, responsibilities and knowledge. Cut him so slack and give him your support.

2. Mr. Collins reached this point on the shoulders of so great sporting legends. He is not the first athlete to come out. He is just the first still playing in one of the three major male sports of baseball, football and basketball.

The list of brave souls who have pioneered the path for Jason Collins is impressive.

-National Football League player Dave Kopay came out of the closet in 1975.

-Tennis player Billie Jean King in the early 1980's.

-Baseball player Glenn Burke was known by his team to be gay and died of AIDS in 1995.

-Olympic Diver Greg Louganis (above)who came out as both gay and HIV Positive. One of the bravest and nicest men I have ever met.

-Olympic Decathlon Track Star Tom Waddell (above)who was founder of the Gay Games.

-National Basketball Player John Amaechi who was not playing when he came out but was the first NBA star to say "I am gay".

-Tennis star Martina Navratilova (below) who came out and was an activist in the struggle for freedom.

-Baseball Player Billie Bean who played in the major leagues and came out when he retired.

These are just the tip of the iceberg of our sports heroes. The names of Orlando Cruz, Matthew Mitcham, Jerry Smith, Garth Thomas, Robbie Roberts, Ian Roberts Johnny Weir, Esera Tualo, Megan Rapinoe and so many, many others come to mind.

The list of those who made Jason Collins possible can go on and on. Check it out here.