The Human Rights Campaign officially opened a field office in San Antonio on Sunday, March 5 with scores of activists on hand for the occasion. The office, located at 315 9th Street in San Antonio, is one of four field offices HRC is opening in the state. The others are located in Austin, Houston and…
News
SA Already Losing Business Because of Texas Anti-Trans Bill
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. The big business argument against the anti-trans bill brewing at the Texas legislature has been that businesses and organizations will stop coming to a state whose leaders openly discriminate against a whole group of people. While Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick, the bill’s main pusher in Austin, has called…
The Trans Teacher: Brandon Beck Educates Texas
When his kindergarten teacher asked the students to line up by gender, Brandon L. Beck was confused. Did he belong in the line for boys or girls? He was assigned female at birth, but preferred acting like the boys, despite the ridicule. It was the late 1970s, and very little was known about being transgender.…
SA Town Hall to Address Texas Bathroom Bill
A local television broadcaster is sponsoring a town hall discussion about Senate Bill 6, also known as the bathroom bill, which is currently under consideration by the 85th Texas Legislature. The Sinclair Broadcast group, which own local stations Fox 29, News4 San Antonio and the CW35, is organizing the town hall at the Tobin Center…
Texas Conservatives Are Still Fighting Marriage Equality
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. On Wednesday, March 1, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments over a lawsuit that not only targets the rights of married gay couples in the state but also seeks to blunt the impact of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that granted marriage equality nationwide in the…
Activists Denounce Lawsuit that Seeks to Block Benefits to Married Same-Sex Couples in Texas
Texas LGBT activists have filed amicus briefs in a case pending before the Texas Supreme Court (Pidgeon v. Harris) where the City of Houston’s ability to provide spousal benefits to married same-sex couples is being challenged. The case, brought against the City of Houston by anti-LGBT lobbyists Jonathan Saenz and Jared Woodfill, would specifically block…
Charges Dismissed for Former Club Essence Dancer Accused of Florida Murder
Charges have been dismissed for a male stripper and porn star who in past years performed at Club Essence in San Antonio and who has spent the last three years in jail awaiting trial for the September 2010 murder of a man in Florida. San Antonio-born John “Champ” Snavely was charged with the murder of…
Ron Casola, Founder of Live Oak Singers, Has Died
Ron Casola, founder and artistic director of the Live Oak Singers, an LGBT and allies chorus, died on February 21 after a battle with Alzheimer’s. Casola moved to San Antonio from Phoenix in 2013 to be near his family after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. In an interview with Jade Esteban Estrada in the San Antonio…
SA Activists Set to Protest Reversal of Protections for Trans Students
A decision by the Trump administration to rescind protections for transgender students has hit home with San Antonio LGBT activists who are ready to take to the streets to protest the decision. The rescinded policy originated with the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. It emphasized there is no “medical or mental health diagnosis or…
Syphilis and HIV Rates Remain High Among SA’s Gay and Bi Men
The incidence of syphilis and HIV has increased over the past three years among San Antonio’s gay and bisexual men according to data provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The rate of syphilis and HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) increased in Bexar County from 2014 to 2015, the…