Another reason to keep the faith (maybe)

Remember when civil unions were a threat to civilization?  When some politicians in Vermont lost their jobs because they supported civil unions -- even though they were required to recognize same-sex couples by the court?  Now, about ten years later, comes this poll from Texas.  John Wright from  The Dallas Voice writes the following about Texas, arguably one of the most socially conservative states in the union:

Sixty-three percent of Texans support some form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples, whether it be marriage or civil unions, according to the results of a University of Yexas/Texas Tribune poll released today. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they support same-sex marriages, while 35 percent said they support civil unions. Only 30 percent said they oppose both marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples, with an additional 7 percent saying, “Don’t know.” The poll of 800 registered voters has a margin of error of +/-3.46 percent. These new poll results show an increase in support for relationship recognition since a poll conducted by the Texas Lyceum Association last June. The Lyceum poll found that 57 percent of Texans favored some form of relationship recognition, with 32 percent backing civil unions and 25 percent favoring marriage. According to the new poll, the number of people supporting civil unions and same-sex marriage has increased 3 percent EACH over the last eight months. If this rate of increase were to continue, a majority of Texans would support same-sex marriage within five years.

And yet....why do I suspect that if civil unions went to the ballot in Texas, it would lose?  It's the extraordinary PR/Propaganda machine of the far right.  They are brilliant.  They are ruthless.  They are shameless.  And until we accept this and stop relying on the goodwill of people to vote the right way, we will continue to come up short.  Maybe it's time for us to not only run a campaign for us, but also a more calculated campaign against these tactics and what they stand for. 

Political news

Many blogs are reporting that openly gay mayoral candidate Annise Parker has been dealing with homophobic attacks and that top supporters of her opponent, Gene Locke, have been funding these attacks.  Locke has denied any connections but according to the latest finance reports, two members of Locke's finance committee both gave $20,000 each to the PAC of conservative political activist Steven Hotze, who has a long history of opposing LGBT candidates. The Houston Chronicle reports that Holtze sent a mailer to voters last week urging them not to vote for candidates who were “endorsed by gay lesbian political action committee."  Parker has a slim lead over Locke in the polls.  We should know this Saturday who wins.

Could there be an openly gay Speaker of the House of Representatives in California?  It's looking more and more like a possibility, although we've certainly learned that when it comes to gay candidates and appointments, anything can happen at the last minute.  According to Capitol Weekly, "First-term Assemblyman John Perez, an ally of organized labor and cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has secured commitments from members of his caucus that could make him the next Assembly speaker."  The vote could tale place as early as next week.  If it happens, Perez will be the first openly gay speaker in any state history.