http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/07/09/whats-the-matter-with-texas Comments On: What's The Matter With Texas? by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2009 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:01 -0800 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:15:00 -0800 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Fort Worth Star Telegram

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1…

FORT WORTH -- Seven protesters were removed from Tuesday night's City Council meeting after they repeatedly demanded to be moved up on the agenda to speak about last month's police raid at the Rainbow Lounge.

"Hear us now! Hear us now!" five men chanted in a hallway outside City Council chambers. The men, believed to be members of Queer LiberAction, a Dallas-based gay rights group, were led out of the building by city marshals.

Inside the meeting, the group's founder, Blake Wilkinson, repeatedly interrupted Mayor Mike Moncrief.

"We're sick and tired of being put on the last of the list," Wilkinson said.

Moncrief, at one point banging his gavel to try to regain order, attempted to explain the "house rules" to Wilkinson, stating that the agenda would not be changed but that everyone who wished to speak would be heard.

Speakers representing Fairness Fort Worth, which formed after the June 28 raid on the Rainbow Lounge, a gay nightclub, were scheduled to speak before the council later in the meeting.

"Nobody is trying to put anybody last on the list for any reason," Moncrief insisted. "We have every intention of being here as long as you are. We're not going anywhere. Neither is this staff. We're here to listen to everyone who is here to speak to us."

When Wilkinson kept interrupting, Moncrief gave him a choice of either staying and participating in the meeting or being forced to leave. When he did not quiet down, Moncrief ordered city marshals to remove him. Two marshals then escorted him out by the arm.

A second man was also escorted out of the chambers after repeatedly interrupting the meeting.

Some in the audience applauded the men's removal.

Police chief's update

Earlier Tuesday, in the pre-council meeting, Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead gave the council an update on his investigation of the incident, when officers with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Fort Worth police department conducted an inspection at the Rainbow Lounge and made six arrests, injuring one patron.

The episode has galvanized Fort Worth's gay community and grabbed national headlines.

Some key points from Halstead's presentation:

-- Internal affairs investigators have conducted interviews with 33 attendees at the Rainbow Lounge and expect to complete the investigation in about 30 days.

-- The Fort Worth police department considers the investigation a priority, taking some internal affairs investigators off other cases to focus on the Rainbow Lounge incident, he said.

-- Halstead expects to update the police department's policy regarding bar raids, after taking input from the community.

"I don't want a police officer to say, 'I've never been in that bar. Let's do an investigation,'" Halstead said.

Soon after the bar incident, Halstead said he decided he needed a police officer to serve as a liaison to the city's gay/lesbian/bisexual community, just as the department has people serving in a similar position for other minority communities. Officer Sara Straten, a neighborhood officer in north Fort Worth and 17-year veteran of the department, volunteered for the position.

"I plan to work hard to heal the community as a whole, both the police department and the GLBT community," Straten told the council.

Moncrief and council members praised Halstead, but said they still wanted the U.S. attorney's office to review the police investigation.

"While June 28 was a difficult day, I'm pleased to hear that we are moving forward and not backward," Moncrief told Halstead. "This city is an inclusive city. This is not an exclusive city."

Both Fairness Fort Worth and the ACLU encouraged their supporters to attend the council meeting. Many were expected to speak their mind to the council. John Nelson, an attorney with Fairness Fort Worth, arranged to make a citizen's presentation about the incident and the investigation.
Posted by Religion_Kills]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:03:51 -0700 The Stranger Please do not make the assumption that all el pasoans are this way- we actually have a pretty diverse population here and most people have grown up tolerant of others;is probably a product of being a city of immigrants. Unfortunately as in all other places you do have the religious zealots that use their "values" to spew their hate all over the rest of us. personally i pity the people that are ignorant enough to be so bigoted that they cannot leave others in peace.
btw i am not gay i am just all for being good to everyone. :)
Posted by ms christi]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:56:49 -0700 The Stranger Posted by CG]]> Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:09:41 -0700 The Stranger Posted by sdot]]> Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:16:05 -0700 The Stranger Posted by paintedlady]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:57:03 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Fnarf]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:25:10 -0700 The Stranger Posted by ryang]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:31:10 -0700 The Stranger Posted by I'm blushing...]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:42:48 -0700 The Stranger Posted by jade]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:29:55 -0700 The Stranger yes.
but I impress myself mightily!
Posted by fucking jerkwad]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:03:02 -0700 The Stranger Forget it.
You are totally correct but you are spitting in the wind.
Slog is all about prejudice and bigotry and hate.
Texas is the nigger of Slog.
Posted by David Duke is jealous of Dan]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:01:25 -0700 The Stranger
What are you? A jilted wannabe lover of Dan's? A fired Stranger employee?

Cripes Sake, Dude. You've seriously wandered into the realm of "Beyond Pathetic." Your personal vendetta has become annoying. The only person you're impressing is "you."
Posted by Frau Blucher]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:53:32 -0700 The Stranger Posted by paintedlady]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:56:21 -0700 The Stranger
#2 Civic Center Plaza, 10th floor of City Hall, El Paso, Texas 79901
Phone: (915)541-4145
Fax: (915)541-4501
E- mail address: mayor@elpasotexas.gov

Posted by LKLK]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:13:07 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Ackham]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:43:59 -0700 The Stranger
Perhaps he was born in Texas and raised in Canada.


Posted by kim in portland]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:37:17 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:02:02 -0700 The Stranger Posted by TVDinner]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:50:47 -0700 The Stranger
1- Make the cops issue the summons for "illegally being gay" or whatever BS they are trying to sell and/or insist on a copy of whatever paperwork they have to write, so that you have something you can show the relevant media and elected officials and use to get the cop/guard fired.

2 - As the nice ACLU lady pointed out, they have to use the same standard of lewd for everyone. If they want to kick out a gay couple for kissing, they have to kick out every couple that kisses. Hold them to it.
Posted by ontuhontehunotehu]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:48:03 -0700 The Stranger Posted by kim in portland]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:37:38 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:36:52 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Baconcat]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:27:23 -0700 The Stranger
although the gay community appears small in el paso, the city saw it's first pride parade earlier this year. this incident is a huge black eye for the city, particularly during a time when it seemed to be adopting a more progressive stance.
Posted by denise6]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:18:37 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Irena]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:17:10 -0700 The Stranger
although the gay community appears small in el paso, the city saw it's first pride parade earlier this year. this incident is a huge black eye for the city, particularly during a time when it seemed to be adopting a more progressive stance.
Posted by denden6]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:16:57 -0700 The Stranger