State Representative Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) has filed a bill, dubbed the “Free to Believe Act,” that would legalize discrimination against transgender people and married LGBT couples. In an email to its supporters, Equality Texas warns the bill, HB 1035, “would legally protect discrimination in healthcare, in social services, in the workplace, in access to housing,…
Alamo City Opera’s ‘As One’ Will Dispel Every Misconception You Have About Opera
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Starring Liz Bouk and Jose Rubio, the contemporary opera As One tells the story of Hannah Before and Hannah After, the sole protagonist on her journey of self-realization and transition. Since its premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014, the 75-minute chamber opera has become one…
Transgender Awareness Forum Scheduled in Advance of Premier of Opera ‘As One’
Since its New York premiere in 2014, Laura Kaminsky’s chamber opera As One has earned significant buzz while challenging the often-overstuffed confines of opera itself. Counted by Opera America as “the most produced new opera in North America” and dubbed by the Los Angeles Times as “the every(wo)man transgender opera,” it employs a minimalist cast…
Suspect Arrested In Choking Death of Dallas Trans Woman
Police have arrested a male suspect in the murder of a Dallas trans woman after finding items belonging to the victim in his car during a traffic stop near Huntsville, Texas. On May 17, Jimmy Eugene Johnson III was charged with capital murder in the death of Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon, who was found in critical…
Luther’s Cafe to Screen ‘Transpose’ Documentary
Luther’s Cafe will host a screening of Transpose, a documentary that examines the challenges transgender people face as they go through their transition and seek to forge ahead with their new lives. The film is a project of Arttitude, a Dallas-based nonprofit organization which serves to unite the LGBT community “with the goal of inciting…
Lambda Legal Settles Case of Trans Woman Who Suffered Abuse in Texas Prisons
Lambda Legal has settled a lawsuit in the case of Passion Star, a black transgender woman who experienced repeated rapes, physical assaults and an attack with a razor while she was incarcerated in all-male prisons in Texas. The agreement, which was announced on March 15, includes a monetary settlement and an update to the state…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Opposed Controversial “Bathroom Bill,” State Legislator Says
By Emma Platoff, Texas Tribune March 13, 2018 Editor’s note: This story has been updated throughout. Gov. Greg Abbott himself was opposed to the controversial “bathroom bill” that dominated debate at the Texas Capitol for much of 2017, according to a state representative involved in keeping the legislation from passing the Texas House. State Rep.…
A Bungled Strategy in the Case of Kenne McFadden’s Death
San Antonio’s transgender community is angered and bewildered at how the man who admitted to pushing a local trans woman into the San Antonio River, where she drowned, was found not guilty of criminal conduct in a probation hearing. Mark Daniel Lewis was indicted for manslaughter last year by a Bexar County grand jury for…
Protest Planned After Judge Rules Kenne McFadden’s Death Not a Crime
LGBT activists are planning to protest after a local judge ruled that the actions of a man who pushed a transgender woman into the San Antonio River, thus causing her to drown, did not constitute criminal conduct. State District Judge Joey Contreras’ ruling took place during a probation revocation hearing for Mark Daniel Lewis who…
Houston Trans Woman is 28th Murdered in U.S. This Year
A transgender woman, who was gunned down at the corner of Brandon and Red Bud Streets in Houston’s Sunnyvale neighborhood on December 13, has become the 28th trans person murdered in the U.S. in 2017. Twenty-six-year-old Debarione “Brandi” Seals was in her car around 6 a.m. Neighbors told Fox 26 they heard a series of…