By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune December 4, 2017 Denying the city of Houston’s request, the U.S. Supreme Court will not review a June decision by the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled that the landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage does not fully address the right to marriage benefits. The high court on Monday announced it…
Eric Alva Marries Danny Ingram
In a ceremony on September 21 at the Bexar County Courthouse, retired Marine Staff Sergeant Eric Fidelis Alva married David Daniel (Danny) Ingram, an Army veteran and former technical analyst at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The couple was married by Judge Genie Wright with a small group of friends and family present to witness…
Trump Judicial Nominee from Texas Says Trans Kids Are Part of ‘Satan’s Plan’
One of President Donald Trump’s nominees for a federal judgeship in Texas is a notorious homophobe who supports conversion therapy, says marriage equality will lead to polygamy and bestiality, and maintains that trans kids are evidence of “Satan’s plan.” Jeff Mateer currently serves as the first assistant attorney general of Texas, a position he has…
Texas Supreme Court Throws Out Ruling That Favored Same-Sex Marriage Benefits
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune June 30, 2017 Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lower court ruling that said spouses of gay and lesbian public employees are entitled to government-subsidized same-sex marriage benefits. The state’s highest civil court ordered a trial court to…
Senate Approves Recusals for County Clerks, Judges Objecting to Same-Sex Marriage
By Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune April 11, 2017 The Texas Senate on Tuesday gave initial approval to a measure allowing county clerks to recuse themselves from signing marriage licenses for same-sex couples because of religious objections. On a 21-10 vote, senators approved Senate Bill 522 by Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, under which a county commissioners…
Del Shores ‘Very Sordid Wedding’ Makes Texas Premiere in SA
Writer Del Shores once again brings together the zany characters of conservative Winters, Texas in his hilarious new film, “A Very Sordid Wedding,” which makes its Texas premiere in San Antonio at The Playhouse on April 15. The film is a sequel to Shores’ “Sordid Lives,” which started as a play in 1996 and went…
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…
Texas Supreme Court to Hear Case Attacking Benefits of Married LGBT Couples
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court changed its mind about hearing a case threatening the rights of married gay couples in the state. The case, brought against the City of Houston by anti-LGBT lobbyists, would specifically block same-sex spouses of government employees from receiving any health benefits (benefits…
Donna Campbell Among State Republicans to Support Anti-LGBT Benefits Lawsuit
State Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) was among 50 Texas Republican lawmakers to sign a “friend of the court” brief that claims the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision does not give married same-sex couples in the state the right to spousal benefits or the right to live with each other, among other benefits. Others who…
Attorney María Salazar Is a Voice for the Vulnerable and a Builder of Bridges
María R. Salazar was 5 years old when she held her first important job. “I was the water girl,” she recalled of working at a tender age in the beet, onion and potato fields of Idaho, where her parents toiled as migrant workers. “Whenever it would get really hot, I would take the jugs out…