Integrity News

Did any of you ever watch the old soap opera Dallas? I’ve never seen an episode, but I appreciate the irony of naming two clubs in Dallas’ gay neighborhood after characters from the show - J.R.’s and Sue Ellen’s. Anyway. The daytime soap drama is nothing compared to the brouhaha that has developed between the local chapters of Stonewall Democrats and Log Cabin Republicans. For the record, I am a member of Log Cabin, but I am also friends with Jesse Garcia, president of the Stonewall Dems and we are both members and officers of the local LGBT council of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The whole situation started when Texas State Representative Dan Branch was invited by Log Cabin to speak at our July meeting. Rep. Branch, to put it mildly, has not voted in favor of any so-called gay issues since taking office. He voted in favor of a gay adoption ban and voted to have the anti-same-sex marriage amendment placed on the ballot for Texas voters to decide on.

I wholeheartedly agree with other gay groups being upset about his vote in favor of banning adoptions and foster care by gay people. But the vote on the same-sex marriage amendment could be open for discussion. If the legislators enact laws that are polar opposites of what the people want, then it could backfire against their reelection efforts, so on a highly controversial issue - like same-sex marriage - why not give it to the people to decide on? Voting to send it to the people to make the decision isn’t necessarily anti-gay. The truly sad part about the same-sex marriage amendment in Texas is that a lot of gay people didn’t bother to go to the polls, but the anti-same-sex marriage crowd did. So guess who won. If more gay people were politically motivated, they would be able to make positive political changes in their lives, but if they’d rather sit at home and watch Project Runway, then they have no right to complain.

All the commotion over Rep. Branch’s visit to the Log Cabin has created a lot of Letters to the Editor of the local LGBT newspaper, the Dallas Voice. I sent one in as well. Here are links to the Letters section and the text of my letter:

4 July 2008, 11 July 2008, and 18 July 2008

A lot of people are upset about Log Cabin Republicans of Dallas inviting Texas State Rep. Dan Branch to speak at their July meeting.

Branch doesn’t have a voting record that would make many gay people want to talk to him. He has voted for laws that would ban gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents or adoptive parents and against same-sex marriage.

Thinking a little more about politicians with a bad record when it comes to gay issues, the first one to pop up in my mind is Bill Clinton. After all, wasn’t it during his administration that both “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act were passed?

Yes, DADT came about in 1993, and then DOMA was signed into law in September 1996. Hhmm. September 1996. That would have been about two months before Clinton was re-elected to office — and many gay and lesbian Americans voted for him.

I think blind loyalty to any political party will lead to being taken for granted. Many in our community continue to support the Democratic Party, but for all their rhetoric, what have Democrats actually given us? Don’t we have rights just because we are Americans? When I go to the polls, I may vote for a Democrat, or a Republican or a Libertarian. But no matter what party they belong to, they have to earn my vote first.

Let Log Cabin talk to Dan Branch. Someone has to talk to him. He needs to see the faces of the people whose lives are affected by the decisions he makes.

If we ignore the politicians who vote against us, we have no one to blame but ourselves for failing to remind them that we are here, we are Americans and our lives are affected by the decisions they make.

Pepe Johnson
Dallas