Tag Archives: Texas

Texas Values head Jonathan Saenz has sent a letter to Dallas County Clerk John Warren, warning that no matter how the Supreme Court rules, issuing a same-sex marriage license will be a criminal act. Hit the link and read the letter. (Tipped by JMG reader Rob)

Adams is the former head of the Texas Republican Party. UPDATE: The clip has been removed from YouTube.

Fascinating story on Politico. It begins: Nathan Smith, who styles himself the “foreign minister” for the Texas Nationalist Movement, appeared last Spring at a far-right confab in St. Petersburg, Russia. Despite roaming around in his cowboy hat, Smith managed to keep a low-key presence at the conference, which was dominated by fascists and neo-Nazis railing against Western decadence. But at …

Via the Associated Press: The Texas Supreme Court effectively upheld the Austin divorce of a same-sex couple Friday, turning away Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and arguments that the state can’t dissolve a marriage it didn’t recognize in the first place. The court, which is entirely stocked with elected Republicans, ruled in a 5-3 decision that the state lacked standing to …

Via the Weather Channel: Tropical Storm Bill is headed toward a landfall this morning along the Texas coast and is poised to deliver more torrential rain and flash flooding to flood-weary parts of the South. The peak storm surge will occur as the center moves inland this morning, coinciding with an early morning high tide along the Upper Texas and …

“With the Supreme Court due to rule on marriage any day now, Presidential ‘candidate’ Rick Santorum says he would fight back against a pro-equality ruling. He says that states allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry is a violation of his religious freedom, which is an argument a lot people made about interracial marriage in the 60s. So do couples …

Via San Antonio’s WOAI: Social conservative groups, including the Texas Eagle Forum, Texas Values, and a group called Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, specifically want Abbott to recall lawmakers to consider a bill that would prohibit county clerks from issuing same sex marriage licenses. A 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case, Harris v. McRae, held that states cannot be required to …

Clip recap: A bill to allow North Carolina officials to refuse to serve any couple they don’t like is several steps closer to passing, even after the governor vetoed it. Texas is coming up with new excuses for refusing to issue marriage licenses. And with a federal ruling on marriage due any day now, Judge Roy Moore continues to speak …

“Important stand-alone bills protecting state sovereignty over marriage (HB 4105 by Rep. Cecil Bell, Jr.) and protecting religious freedom of child welfare providers and adoption agencies (HOME Bill, HB 3864 by Rep. Scott Sanford) were never taken up for votes in the Texas House, despite overwhelming support among members. Had these bills been scheduled for votes by the leadership of …

Via the Austin Statesman: If the U.S. Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir plans to be ready. The clerk’s office, which issues and records marriage licenses from its location at 5501 Airport Blvd., plans to offer extended evening and weekend hours to accommodate the pent-up demand from gay and lesbian …

LGBT groups are spiking the ball. A fringe element in the Legislature certainly had its sights set squarely on the LGBT community this session. But we are very happy, after more than 10,000 office visits in the Pink Dome by Equality Texas staff, that all these blatantly discriminatory bills failed to pass. We’re also happy that we were actually able …

You knew this was coming.

Nearly two dozen anti-LGBT bills failed in the Texas legislature in recent months. Now that the hate clock has run out, Texas Values head Jonathan Saenz is blaming the Texas Chamber of Commerce, which came out against several of the bills.

Via the Associated Press: Divisive efforts by Texas Republicans to defy the U.S. Supreme Court if same-sex marriage is legalized ended Wednesday night with conservative finger-pointing and opponents feeling relieved. The first session under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will end next week without a measure that gay rights activists considered one of the harshest in any U.S. statehouse: restrictions that …

From the Houston Chronicle: A Democratic state senator has dredged up anti-gay marriage legislation that advocates thought was dead this session, attaching the language to an uncontroversial county affairs bill under the noses of his fellow Democrats. While gay rights advocates decried the move, the bill’s original sponsor in the House said he would never let his legislation pass with …

Earlier today Texas state Rep. Cecil Bell’s bill to super-triple-extra ban same-sex marriage was revived when it was attached as an amendment by Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio. Texas Values is so pleased that they’ve photoshopped Lucio into the photo of Bell cutting the “celebration” cake marking the tenth anniversary of the Texas ban on same-sex marriage. That anniversary doesn’t …

Texas state Rep. Cecil Bell has followed through on his promise to attach his previously failed House bill as an amendment to a Senate bill. The deadline for new House bills passed last week before the chamber could get to Bell’s item. HB2977 authorizes certain fees for Texas counties and presumably that was “germane” enough to gain today’s committee approval. …

“Because the media and the cultural and political elites continue to self-enforce the Sharia without the consent of the American people by refusing to show any depictions of Muhammad or showing what it was in Texas that had jihadists opening fire, we are running an ad featuring the winning cartoon by former Muslim Bosch Fawstin from our Muhammad Art Exhibit …

Watch it live. As I reported earlier today, there could be much more to this bill than a simple affirmation of the rights that clergy already have. And we’re also expecting Rep. Cecil Bell to try to tack on his “disobey SCOTUS” amendment. UPDATE: The bill passed nearly unanimously and without the promised attempt by Cecil Bell.

Michelangelo Signorile interviewed notorious Texas state Rep. Cecil Bell this week, grilling him about his quixotic pursuit of legislation that Bell believes would allow his state to defy the US Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. Listen to the clips below in which Bell expounds on states rights and refuses to answer Signorile when asked if sodomy should still be illegal. …