A new ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court makes clear that it violates federal law to fire an employee on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Now Texas lawmakers want to guarantee similar protections for LGBTQ Texans in housing, health care and other spheres. by Emma Platoff and Cassandra Pollock, The Texas Tribune…
Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton’s Letter to City of Austin Supersedes Local LGBTQ Hiring Law
On May 12, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a letter of warning to the mayors and county judges of the Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio metropolitan areas saying that local officials could not impose stricter Covid-19 restrictions than those mandated by Governor Greg Abbott. However, in a letter to the City of Austin and…
Texas LGBTQ Advocates Aren’t Worried About Challenges to Austin’s Nondiscrimination Ordinance
The advocates say lawsuits challenging the city’s code prohibiting employers from discriminating against an “individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability” won’t hold up in court. By Matt Zdun, Texas Tribune After two conservative Christian groups filed lawsuits against the city of Austin over the past week challenging…
Don’t Build Amazon’s HQ2 Facility in Austin or Dallas Says LGBT Campaign
A national campaign, dubbed No Gay? No Way!, has been started to urge Amazon not to locate its HQ2 facility in states that discriminate against LGBT people. That includes Texas where Austin and Dallas have been selected as finalists for the company’s much-sought-after second headquarters. Amazon began its search last year saying it would spend…
The Art and Activism of San Antonio Native Donald Moffett
As a little-understood plague decimated the gay community, San Antonio-born artist Donald Moffett had a life-changing experience when he heard about Larry Kramer’s call to action in March 1987 at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York, the founding moment for the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, best known as ACT UP.…
Out of the kitchen: Chuck Hernandez
“I do like to cuss and drink beer. “I’m thinking it must be some kind of convergence,” speculates Chuck Hernandez. He’s referring to the fact that the day after our interview he will be joining City dignitaries at the ribbon-cutting for his new restaurant, O’liva, at Plaza de Armas across from City Hall. And that…