Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) has filed House Bill 1748 that would make it a misdemeanor for a transgender person to use a public restroom that matches their gender identity and would punish business owners who would allow them to do so. Punishment for breaking Riddle’s bathroom law would be up to one year in…
Activist’s birthday fundraiser marks 5th year
Ana Alicia Perez says she’s often asked what possessed her to turn her annual birthday party into a fundraiser. Her response: “I don’t want want or need anything, so donate instead.” Over the past five years, Perez’s birthday events have helped support a pet rescue group, the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, the Children’s Hospital, Battered…
Lesbian couple in Austin get marriage license, wed at county clerk’s office
Updated: Feb. 21, 2015, 11:35 a.m. The Austin American Statesman reports that a lesbian couple in Austin got married this morning after a state district judge ordered the Travis County clerk to issue the women a marriage license. The couple was married by a rabbi in front of the county clerk’s office. This first same-sex…
Town Hall to address housing discrimination
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has played a leading role in administering the Fair Housing Act which was adopted in 1968 and prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing to racial minorities, women, and other groups. The Fair Housing Act does not expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender…
A community that’s about inclusion: Interim Police Chief Anthony Treviño
Anthony Treviño, the former chief of staff to outgoing police chief William McManus, was named interim police chief last December and began his new assignment January 1. Treviño, is a native San Antonian and an Air Force veteran who has been with the SAPD for 20 years. He started out as a patrol cop and…
Travis County judge rules Texas marriage ban unconstitutional
The Austin American Statesman is reporting that a probate judge in Travis County, Texas has ruled that the state’s ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional. According to the American Statesman’s report: [Judge Guy] Herman ruled as part of an estate fight in which Austin resident Sonemaly Phrasavath sought to have her eight-year relationship to Stella…
Faith Advocacy Day planned at state capitol
(Via Equality Texas) — Clergy, faith leaders and people of faith from across the state will gather at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 17, to issue calls – rooted in faith and Texas values – for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. The event, Faith Advocacy Day,…
Previtera supporters try to smear Bernal with anti-LGBT flyer
A group of supporters of Republican candidate Nunzio Previtera, calling themselves Tejanos Against Politicos, is distributing a flyer to voters in Texas House District 123 that shows two men kissing and former City Councilman Diego Bernal, Previtera’s Democratic rival in the race, depicted as “El Diablo,” the devil. The text of the flyer reads: Diego…
Abbott endorses anti-LGBT Previtera in District 123 race
Governor Greg Abbott rolled into San Antonio on February 11 to offer his endorsement of Nunzio Previtera, the Republican anti-LGBT candidate who’s running against Democrat Diego Bernal in the race for Texas House District 123. The governor spoke to a group of about 150 people who gathered at a local pizzeria off Blanco Road saying,…
Chris Hill named 50th King Anchovy
Christopher Hill, architect, developer and owner of the Esquire Tavern, has been chosen as San Antonio’s 50th King Anchovy. Hill will reign over this year’s edition of Fiesta Cornyation on April 21 through 23 at the Charlene McCombs Empire Theater. Hill was recently in the headlines after he announced he is seeking approval from the…