Murder in Puerto Rico: Following up on yesterday's story about the possible hate crime in Puerto Rico, a number of blogs reported today that a 28-year old suspect was taken into custody. The Justice Department now says that it is "monitoring the situation," although some LGBT leaders are demanding more than that. They want the Justice Department to be actively involved with the investigation. There will be a vigil tonight in San Juan and in New York City.
The Houston Mayoral Election: Over the weekend I wrote about the anti-gay campaign against Annise Parker, a lesbian running for Mayor of Houston. Since then, The Houston Chronicle has published an editorial condemning these tactics. It reads:
A band of socially conservative activists and ministers has injected intolerance into Houston's mayoral election. As reported Saturday by the Chronicle's Bradley Olson, the group plans to discourage voters from supporting City Controller Annise Parker in the Dec. 12 runoff because she is a lesbian, and because they're worried about a “gay takeover” of City Hall. Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council, told Olson, “The bottom line is that we didn't pick the battle, she did when she made her agenda and sexual preference a central part of her campaign.”
That's a lie.
While Parker has never made a secret of her sexuality, the campaign debate and agenda to date have been wholly defined by the issues facing the city and the comparative qualifications and experience of the candidates.
Parker's opponent, former City Attorney Gene Locke, has stated that he favors overturning a city charter amendment that bars Houston from extending benefits to the domestic partners of city employees, a bolder stance than that taken by Parker.
But Locke has also been courting the support of Dr. Steven Hotze, a conservative power broker and apparently one of the prime movers behind the effort to smear Parker. Hotze was the man behind the 1985 Straight Slate, a roster of City Council candidates he recruited to run on an anti-gay platform. (They all lost.)
According to a Hotze mouthpiece, he's thinking about stirring up his distasteful stew with a mailing inspired by Parker's sexuality.
Houston deserves better. Our city has a well-earned reputation for tolerance and openness. We don't need inflammatory appeals to folks' worst instincts.
We've been here before. In 1997 a small-minded ballot initiative would have ended the city's affirmative action program that helped minority and women contractors. Mayor Bob Lanier went on the air in an ad that bluntly stated his opposition to a proposal that would “turn back the clock to the days when guys who look like me got all the city's business.”
Lanier couldn't have been more clear: Discrimination is just not right.
It was a powerful moment of leadership. The referendum went down to defeat, and news outlets around the country marveled that a “wealthy white developer” had taken the lead on affirmative action.
It's time for another such moment of leadership.
Saturday afternoon, Gene Locke issued a statement rejecting “the style of campaigning that was the subject of an article in the Houston Chronicle.” He urged the people of Houston to choose a new mayor based on the issues and avoid being “swayed by divisive rhetoric.”
The rhetoric of people like Steven Hotze and Dave Welch carries a high cost. Their support should not be purchased at the price of bigotry.
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