Tag: Texas

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Dallas Wedding Venue Kicked Off Wedding Planning Website For Dissing Gay Couple

A Dallas area wedding venue has been dropped from a major wedding planning site for turning away a gay couple’s business.
Jeffrey Cannon & Aaron Lucero (image via Facebook)

A Dallas area wedding venue has been dropped from a major wedding planning site for turning away a gay couple’s business.

Jeffrey Cannon and Aaron Lucero had been dating for three years when they became engaged last summer.

The couple decided they wouldn’t make a rush to the alter as Lucero is a teacher. “We knew we wanted to wait over a year just because of all the stresses of starting the new school year,” Lucero told OUT.

They had opened a couples profile on the popular wedding planning site, The Knot, which helps connect wedding vendors with possible clients.

So, after spending some weeks doing online research for options for their big day, the couple set out last Saturday to check out possible venues.

But at the end of a day of viewing venues, the couple received an email from The Venue at Waterstone, just outside of Dallas. The couple had visited The Venue that day and it was their leading choice for their wedding.

The owner of the wedding company, Lyle Wise, shared with the couple that the business was founded 27 years ago after he had a vision ‘from God.’

Writing that “The design for marriage that we hold to is based upon the design [God] set forth which is a representation of the bride of Christ joined to the groom,” Wise informed Lucero and Cannon that The Venue does not host same-sex weddings.

“Though we do not host LGBTQ weddings or receptions,” added Wise, “we are more than happy to converse and further explain our beliefs and the love God has shown us as well as how He is conforming our lives to himself.”

The couple posted the email to their Twitter account.

Note: nowhere on the website for The Venue does the company state it is a religious-based organization.

Lucero told OUT the email felt like “a punch to the gut.”

Cannon chose to respond to the email sharing with Wise that they, too, grew up with a religious background.

“Our prayer is that God will one day open your hearts as well so that you will be able to welcome all of His children into your beautiful venue,” wrote Cannon.

“Until that day comes however, we would petition you to please make your faith known to the public on your website and with Knot.com so that other same sex couples do not have to go through the same rejection that we have gone through with you,” he added.

After the denial, the couple decided to reach out to other venues and disclose they were gay in an effort to avoid any further awkward situations.

It turns out two of their appointments set for Sunday cancelled on the couple upon receiving the news saying they were not ‘well-equipped’ to host same-sex weddings.

Now, The Knot has a strict policy about discrimination which includes LGBT people.

In a June 2018 Instagram post, The Knot’s CEO Mike Steib, wrote, “When we learn that a vendor has violated these terms of service, we will remove the vendor’s storefront and refund his or her money.”

“We love our couples, and all of our couples deserve a marketplace free of unfair prejudice,” he added.

The parent company for The Knot, XO Group, issued a statement to OUT, which read, “Our company supports everyone’s right to marry the person they love and prohibits any vendor on our site from discriminating against a couple based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.”

OUT has since confirmed that The Venue at Waterstone has been banned from The Knot.

Lucero admits the action by The Knot was appreciated, but he says the website should be more transparent about vendors’ positions on same-sex weddings.

“They have the power to make a difference, not just by kicking companies off their market place, but by using their influence and power to really make a difference,” he told Out.

Apparently, companies can get a badge for their profile on The Knot that shows they welcome same-sex couples, but the website doesn’t offer a way to filter or search for those LGBT-inclusive businesses.

Brittny Drye, editor-in-chief of Love Inc. Magazine, says even though the U.S. is years past the legalization of marriage equality nationwide, there are still many wedding vendors who are not open to working with same-sex couples on their big day.

“While most are, I still receive responses from many who are not, even in progressive cities like New York and San Francisco,” says Drye. “Enough for me to know that we still have a long way to go.”

(h/t OUT)

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Texas: Gay Couple Hospitalized After Late Night Hate Crime In Austin

Tristan Perry (L) and Spencer Deehring (R)

A gay couple was attacked in an apparent hate crime early Saturday morning in Austin, Texas.

Tristan Perry and Spencer Deehring were walking to their car around 2:45am after celebrating a friend’s birthday at Rain nightclub in downtown Austin.

The couple passed a man on the street who called them a homophobic slur. They told local news station KXAN they believe it was because they had been holding hands.

Deehring says he responded to the slur by saying something along the lines of “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”

At that point, Deehring says the man called out to his group of friends who were previously unseen. The mob began to follow the couple as they headed to their car.

The group began “yelling every expletive you can think of,” says Deehring, who told them, “I don’t have anything more to say to you guys, we’re just going home, leave us alone.”

And that’s when Perry was punched in the face suffering a broken nose and falling to the ground. While down, another in the group kicked Perry in the back of his head.

Deehring attempted to defend his boyfriend by tackling the men, but was knocked unconscious after being punched by members of the mob.

A bystander walking by may have saved their lives as the attackers fled upon being seen. The bystander called 911 and waited with the men until police and an ambulance arrived. Both men were hospitalized.

Perry was treated for a cut on the back of his head, a broken nose, chipped teeth, and multiple bruises. He continues to experience memory lapses.

Deehring suffered several lacerations, bruises to the back of his neck and head, and swelling to his jaw and mouth.

The president of the Austin chapter of PFLAG, Anna Nguyen, told KXAN that while she has seen violence targeting LGBTQ people in Austin in the past, “It feels as if lately the frequency has ratched up quite a bit.”

“I think Austin as a community needs to step up its game and prove it’s one of the most LGBTQIA-friendly cities in the country by deed, and not just by words,” she added.

Statistics released last November by the FBI show an increase of LGBT-related hate crimes in Texas when comparing data from 2016 to 2017.

The couple has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the medical costs.

On the GoFundMe page, after explaining the attack that landed them in the hospital, they write:

Today I ask for your help with the burden we have been given of medical expenses related to this experience. Both of us were transported in an ambulance and given emergency trauma care at a local hospital. Due to this we expect our bills to exceed the thousands of dollars due to receiving comprehensive radiological care. And we ask for your love and support during our difficult time. Any help you can give is immensely appreciated. Always spread love and positivity. End hate.

They also shared their story on Facebook wanting people to realize attacks like this can happen to anyone.

Additionally, as a result of sharing the news of the attack, Deehring came out to his family and loved ones.

Grateful for the support they’ve received since the attack, the couple say they have a message for others.

“Spread love, end all this hatred, end all this closed-mindedness always watch your surroundings, always be aware of your surroundings, don’t walk alone,” says Perry.

And Deehring adds, “Be aware of your surroundings, but don’t change who you are as a person, don’t ever change who you are as a person and don’t be afraid to go out there and explore the world, just as you are.”

Watch the report from KXAN below:

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Houston Chronicle Endorses Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke Over Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Ted Cruz (L) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (R)

The editorial board of the Houston Chronicle, the hometown newspaper of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, has endorsed his Democratic opponent, Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

With eyes clear but certainly not starry, we enthusiastically endorse Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate. The West Texas congressman’s command of issues that matter to this state, his unaffected eloquence and his eagerness to reach out to all Texans make him one of the most impressive candidates this editorial board has encountered in many years.

Despite the long odds he faces – pollster nonpareil Nate Silver gives O’Rourke a 20 percent chance of winning – a “Beto” victory would be good for Texas, not only because of his skills, both personal and political, but also because of the manifest inadequacies of the man he would replace.

Ted Cruz — a candidate the Chronicle endorsed in 2012, by the way — is the junior senator from Texas in name only. Exhibiting little interest in addressing the needs of his fellow Texans during his six years in office, he has kept his eyes on a higher prize.

He’s been running for president since he took the oath of office — more likely since he picked up his class schedule as a 15-year-old ninth-grader at Houston’s Second Baptist High School more than three decades ago. For Cruz, public office is a private quest; the needs of his constituents are secondary.

RealClearPolitics’ average of polls shows Cruz ahead of O’Rourke by 7 points.

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Texas: Rep. Beto O’Rourke Raises A Record $38 Million For Senate Race

Sen. Ted Cruz (L) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (R)

Democratic senatorial candidate Rep. Beto O’Rourke has raised more than three times the amount of incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz for the upcoming midterm elections.

From The Texas Tribune:

U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, raised $38.1 million for his U.S. Senate campaign in the third quarter, a new record for the largest fundraising quarter ever in a U.S. Senate race, according to his campaign.

The haul more than tripled Republican incumbent Ted Cruz’s fundraising for the past three months, which Cruz has said was over $12 million. O’Rourke has consistently raised more than Cruz in the race, but this is the widest gap yet.

The $38.1 million is by far the largest amount raised in a quarter by a Senate candidate, surpassing Republican Rick Lazio’s record of $22 million in 2000 for his bid against Democrat Hillary Clinton in New York.

Cruz currently averages a 7 point lead in the polls according to RealClearPolitics.

And according to the most recent Texas Senate Quinnipiac poll, Cruz leads O’Rourke, 54%-45%.

Plus, Cruz’s favorability is +8 (52-44) while O’Rourke has a divided 45%-47% (-2) favorability rating.

Although, I see RCP doesn’t list this new poll from Reuters/IPSOS that shows O’Rourke leading by 2 points.

Could the tide turn at just the right time?

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News Round-Up: October 3, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Look at that concentration, look at that beefy bicep. Fitness guru Ramses Principe (above) is getting over Hump Day like a boss!

• After traveling to San Francisco, a gay man contracted bacterial meningococcal meningitis which resulted in the permanent loss of his hearing, temporary inability to walk, and his vision for a period. Still coping with the hearing loss, the man was recently fitted for cochlear implants. The first thing he heard when the device was turned on was his longtime boyfriend proposing to him.

• Folks in Minnesota now have a non-binary option when specifying gender on their driver’s license. Along with “M” for male and “F” for female, Minnesotans will also have “X” to choose from representing non-binary.

• After the New York Times’ bombshell investigation into Donald Trump’s wealth, New York state tax officials are looking into allegations that Trump may have committed tax fraud over the years.

• Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke leads GOP incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz by three points in a new poll tracking the senatorial race down in Texas.

• Check out the trailer for Reach starring Garrett Clayton (Hairspray Live!) as “Steven Turano,” a socially awkward band geek who shares with a pro-suicide group that he’s planning on killing himself due to bullying by his father and a school bully.

However, when Clarence, the new kid in school, befriends him, Steven’s plans are sidetracked and he forms stronger relationships with his father, friends, and teachers.

Reach will be in limited theaters and VOD October 19.

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Billboards In Texas To Showcase Anti-Cruz Trump Tweet

The race for Ted Cruz’s U.S. Senate seat keeps getting more and more heated as polls show Cruz in almost a dead heat with Democratic challenger, Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in three decades.

Last week it was reported that an activist group is raising money to place anti-Cruz billboards in the state quoting a 2016 Donald Trump tweet which claimed Cruz was “all talk, no action.”

Trump has now announced that he would be holding a “major rally” for Cruz in Texas next month.

Several recent polls have shown Cruz and O’Rourke in a dead heat, though the deep-red state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in three decades.

In related news, possible 2020 presidential challenger Michael Avenatti says he will hold a competing “resistance rally” in Texas at the same time as the Cruz/Trump event.

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News Round-Up: August 7, 2018

(Fran Dullon via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Spanish fitness model Fran Dullon is living this summer out LOUD. #woof

• Aryeh Cohen, a 44-year-old rabbi from St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis was arrested in a sex trafficking sting earlier this year after chatting and sharing explicit photos with someone claiming to be a 16-year-old boy on Grindr. He was apparently grooming the boy for sex.

• An Indiana judge has ordered a school district in Evansville, Ind., to allow a 17-year-old transgender student to use restrooms that align with his gender identity just days before the beginning of the school year.

• An anti-LGBT group is calling for a boycott of Britney Spears over her support for LGBTQ rights.

• Texas’s Hood County Clerk Katie Lang still won’t issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

• Charlotte Rae, who played the wise and wonderful “Mrs. Garrett” on the long-running sitcoms Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life fame passed away at the age of 92. After a long career on the Great White Way, the two-time Tony Award nominee moved into successful longevity television.

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Today’s Cover Of The New York Daily News

Headline of the NY Daily News today reads, "With yesterday's Texas massacre, there have now been more students or teachers killed by guns in U.S. schools than active-duty military deaths in 2018."

The headline of today’s New York Daily News reads, “With yesterday’s Texas massacre, there have now been more students or teachers killed by guns in U.S. schools than active-duty military deaths in 2018. No headline can do this justice.”

From the accompanying article:

The frontlines of American warfare are now in America’s classrooms.

More people have been murdered in schools so far this year than have been killed while serving in the U.S. military, according to depressing statistics.

Accounting for the 10 people shot to death at a Houston-area high school Friday, 31 people — an overwhelming majority of whom were students — have been killed at schools since Jan. 1, according to data compiled by the Washington Post. Twenty-nine U.S. service members have been killed in the same timeframe, including both combat and noncombat deaths, according to the Pentagon.

Previous years, the numbers have typically been inverted, with service member casualties outnumbering student deaths by at least double, statistics show.

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Texas: Mass Shooting At High School Outside Houston Leaves At Least 8 Dead

A mass shooting at a high school outside Houston, Texas, has left at least 8 people dead and a suspect, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, in custody.

From The New York Times:

Here’s what we know:

• The Santa Fe Independent School District said in a tweet that “explosive devices” had been found both on the campus and in surrounding areas.

• The school district said the situation at the school, in Santa Fe, Tex., began at about 7:45 a.m. Friday, just after the start of the school day.

• Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County said it appeared that “eight to 10” people had been killed, most of them students. None of the victims were immediately identified.

The Parkland high school students, who know a thing or two about mass shootings at schools, tweeted their support and predicted what’s to come from this new gun massacre.

Emma Gonzalez rightfully points out that “thoughts and prayers” won’t be enough; David Hogg warned of politicians who “act like they give a shit” when they’re just looking out for approval numbers; and Cameron Kasky warns that students who rise up with be called “crisis actors.”

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News Round-Up: May 13, 2018

Some news stories you might have missed: • A mother who is “against people being gay” wrote to Dear Abby saying her 43-year-old daughter just came out as lesbian. Abby knew just how to handle this one… • A Texas teacher was accused of “promoting a homosexual agenda” when she showed students a picture of herself and her wife dressed up as Disney characters on the first day of school. • Starbucks has now adopted an open-bathroom policy following an incident in Philadelphia last month were two black men were arrested while waiting for a business colleague. • An Oregon school allegedly forced an LGBT student to read the Bible as punishment…? • GLEE star Kevin McHale says of his recent coming out: “I think there was zero surprise. People knew.” • The Trump administration continues its attack on the trans community by rolling back prison protections.