Tag: Texas

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Viral Video: Bryan Wilson – The Texas Law Hawk

I will admit up front that I’m originally from Fort Worth, Texas, where it would seem Bryan Wilson – the Texas Law Hawk – has his law firm and runs his outrageous TV ads.

His commercials are somewhere between “Reno 911” and every Steven Segal movie ever made. They’re so awesomely bad, we thought they were too good to be true – but Wilson is, in fact, a real lawyer.

“Loud and proud” of his Texas roots, Wilson’s extensive use of American flags and screeching hawks could make Stephen Colbert cry tears of joy.

Wilson does wheelies on a minibike, snatches a fish out of a stream, kicks down a door and even jumps out of a moving SUV in an amazing new series of ads.

Wilson was recently featured on Fox News, of course.

What you about to see is real. Uploaded to YouTube only five days ago, the clip has over a million views already.

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Two Corpus Christi Men Indicted For Brutal Hate Crimes Against Gay African-American Man

Federal hate crime indictments were returned Monday against two Corpus Christi men accused of beating and torturing a gay black man back in 2012.

In the days after the alleged attack, the victim told KRIS6 News he was targeted because of sexual orientation and race.

He detailed how he owed the men $5. The victim claims that even though he paid them the money, they still beat him, poured bleach in his eyes, stripped him naked and sexually assaulted him with a broom or mop and forced him to clean up blood in the home.

The victim says he was only able to escape several hours into the ordeal by jumping out a second story window.

Evidence presented by the FBI and the Corpus Christi Police Department led to the indictments against 32-year-old Jimmy Garza Jr. And 22-year-old Ramiro Serrata Jr for conspiracy to commit hate crimes, a hate crime violation based on race and color, a hate crime violation based on sexual orientation and using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

If convicted, both face a maximum life sentence in federal prison.

(via kristv.com)

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Texas: Hood County Clerk Costs Tax Payers $43,872.10 For Anti-Gay Temper Tantrum

Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton

Several weeks ago, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was constitutional and became the law of the land, Hood County Clerk Katie Lang of Texas decided she was going to keep fighting against marriage equality. To the tune of $43,872.10.

That is what it has now cost Texas tax payers because Ms. Lang felt the need to indulge in just one more anti-gay temper tantrum. A $43K temper tantrum.

From the Dallas Morning News:

It has been a month since Joe Stapleton and Jim Cato finally got the marriage license Hood County Clerk Katie Lang denied them because of her religious beliefs. It only took a federal lawsuit to get it.

Today that suit was settled, and according to the attorneys representing Stapleton and Cato, Lang’s refusal to issue the license ended up costing Hood County $43,872.10 in attorney’s fees. They will now move to dismiss the suit.

“It is a shame that Hood County Clerk Katie Lang refused to follow the rule of law, causing our clients to go through the difficulties of hiring lawyers and filing a federal lawsuit to obtain the marriage license to which they are constitutionally entitled,” says attorney Pat O’Connell, one of Stapleton and Cato’s attorneys.

“And it is sad that the taxpayers of Hood County have to pay the price for their elected official’s misconduct.”

I imagine Lang thought she was showboating for her constituents. I wonder how those voters feel now that it’s cost them tens of thousands of dollars to arrive at the inevitable.

By the way, I hear the attorneys for Joe and Jim plan to donate some of their fee to Equality Texas Foundation. So, I guess Clerk Lang can sleep soundly knowing her homophobia will now result in funding a pro-LGBT equality group!

Here’s some background on the story when it first began in June.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton To Issue Guidelines Recognizing Married Same-Sex Couples

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

With contempt of court charges looming, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to issue new guidelines regarding the state recognizing married same-sex couples in the Lone Star state.

Dallas Voice has the details:

Those guidelines include recognizing married same-sex couples for purposes of death certificates but also for purposes of birth certificates. Refusing to recognize a same-sex couple for purposes of a death certificate led to the contempt charges.

The birth certificate issue has been a problem for same-sex couples for years. Judges in only a few counties including Dallas will allow second parent adoptions, but the second parent’s name doesn’t go on the birth certificate. If an opposite-sex couple is married, the husband is presumed to be the father and his name goes on the birth certificate.

Now the names of a couple that adopts together will both go on the birth certificate, just as it does for opposite-sex couples. For gay couples who have children through a surrogate, both names of the married couple will go on the birth certificate. And for lesbian couples who have a baby and one of the women carry the child, both names of a married couple will go on the birth certificate.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Ordered To Court Regarding Possible Contempt Of Court Charges

Chalk up another court room appearance by beleaguered anti-gay Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as he has been ordered to appear in court next week on possible contempt of court charges.

The order comes via U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia regarding a request from former Conroe police officer John Stone-Hoskins, whose request to have his deceased husband’s death certificate amended to reflect his married status at time of death has been refused by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.

Garcia has ordered the state to amend the death certificate of James Stone-Hoskins showing John to be his surviving spouse. The state has thus far refused.

From San Antonio Express-News:

“The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether Defendants should be held in contempt for disobedience of this Court’s July 7, 2015 order, permanently enjoining Defendants from enforcing any Texas’s laws that prohibit or fail to recognize same-sex marriage,” Orlando said.

Neel Lane, one of the lawyers representing John Stone-Hoskins, said Texas officials did not agree that the ruling was retroactive.

“They (Texas officials) are not agreeing that it applies retroactively,” Lane said. “They want the court to decide it. To me, it already has and the Constitution is clear. They’re denying him his constitutional rights.

“If he were ‘Jane,’ the certificate would be changed as a matter of course,” Lane added. “The only reason they are doing this is because he’s ‘John.’”

In February 2014, Garcia issued a ruling in a lawsuit filed by other gay couples that said Texas’ refusal to recognize same-sex couples’ out-of-state marriages is illegal.

James and John, of Conroe, had been together for 10 years before a wedding in New Mexico in 2014, where it is legal. James Stone-Hoskins died in January 2015. At the time, the state listed him as being single on his death certificate, refusing to recognize the marriage because Texas’ ban on gay marriage was still in effect.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, John Stone-Hoskins has made a series of requests to change the death certificate.

John Stone-Hoskins wants the change immediately because he has been diagnosed with cancer and has been told he may die within 45 to 60 days.

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Texas: 5th Circuit Court Of Appeals Rules Against Voter ID Law

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled Texas’ Voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act.

From the Dallas Morning News:

In an unanimous decision, a three-judge panel ruled that the controversial and Republican-backed measure violated Section 2 of the landmark civil rights law.

The law has been part of a complicated legal battle for years. But the victory was narrow win for opponents of the law.

The judges also rejected a previous judge’s ruling that the law was passed with the intent to discriminate. The Fifth Circuit sent that portion of the lawsuit back to a U.S. district court.

The court wrote that, if the lower court finds in its review of the case that the voter ID Law only violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, it should find a solution that can still reduce the risk of in-person voter fraud and satisfy the legislative intent of the voter ID law.

Expect the proponents to request full court review or head straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Texas Attorney General Arrested & Booked On Securities Fraud Charges

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was arrested and booked on three securities fraud charges.

Apparently during his time as a member of the Texas House, Paxton sold stock for Servergy Inc. In doing so, the indictment alleges that he failed to tell stock buyers he was compensated for his efforts with 100,000 shares of stock in the company.

The indictment also charges he was an investor in the company when it appears he was not.

Along the way, over $600,000 poured into the company due to his promotion.

You’ll note the smirk in his mug shot posted above.

The anti-gay Paxton has continued to fight against same-sex marriage in Texas despite the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

(source)

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Indicted By Grand Jury

NBC-DFW has the details:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been indicted on three charges by a grand jury in Collin County, two people close to the case told NBC 5 on Saturday.

The indictments were issued on Tuesday and immediately sealed, the sources said, adding they are set to be unsealed as early as Monday in Collin County.

A Tarrant County judge has been appointed to hear the case, the sources said.

With help from the Texas Rangers, the grand jury and two special prosecutors have been investigating whether Paxton committed a securities crime by acting as a broker without being licensed.

Paxton admitted to the Texas securities board last year that he was not registered when he solicited clients for a friend, investment broker Frederick “Fritz” Mowery, who paid Paxton a fee.

Paxton paid a $1,000 civil fine. He has said he thought that the fine ended the matter.

Paxton’s relationship with a McKinney computer company called Servergy, has also come under scrutiny. Servergy, which claims to make an energy-efficient computer server, is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for possible fraud.

Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat who serves Arlington and Grand Prairie, also was critical.

“Three felony charges, resulting from a Texas Rangers investigation, are an extremely serious matter,” he said in a statement. “As the top law enforcement official in Texas, AG Paxton owes the public a full, candid explanation for these charges, as well as an explanation of how he can continue to do his job as he deals with three felony indictments.”

Paxton has been a virulent opponent of same-sex marriage in Texas.

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Houston Mayor Annise Parker Responds To Texas Supreme Court Ruling On Equal Rights Ordinance

Houston Mayor Annise Parker issued this statement via press release regarding the Texas state Supreme Court’s ruling that Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance must be repealed or put to a vote this November:

“Obviously, I am disappointed and believe the court is in error with this eleventh hour ruling in a case that had already been decided by a judge and jury of citizens.

“Nonetheless, we will proceed with the steps necessary for City Council to consider the issue. At the same time, we are consulting with our outside counsel on any possible available legal actions.

“Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance is similar to measures passed by every other major city in the country and by most local corporations. No matter the color of your skin, your age, gender, physical limitations, or sexual orientation, every Houstonian deserves the right to be treated equally. To do otherwise, hurts Houston’s well-known image as a city that is tolerant, accepting, inclusive and embracing of its diversity.

“Our citizens fully support and understand this and I have never been afraid to take it to the voters. We will win!”

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Texas Supreme Court Orders Houston To Repeal LGBT Protections Or Place On Ballot

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Texas Supreme Court has ruled today that Houston City Council must repeal the city’s equal rights ordinance or place it on the November ballot.

The ruling comes three months after a state district judge ruled that opponents of Houston’s contentious non-discrimination ordinance passed last year failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum.

“We agree with the Relators that the City Secretary certified their petition and thereby invoked the City Council’s ministerial duty to reconsider and repeal the ordinance or submit it to popular vote,” the Texas Supreme Court wrote in a per curiam opinion. “The legislative power reserved to the people of Houston is not being honored.”

The city’s equal right ordinance bans discrimination based not just on sexual orientation and gender identity but also, as federal laws do, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status.

Houston City Council has 30 days to repeal the ordinance or place it on the November ballot.

More from Project Q Houston:

The state’s highest court also ordered the city to immediately halt enforcement of HERO, which prohibits discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing, public accommodations, and city contracting.

“But what of the City Council’s complaints of forgery, false oaths, and the like?” the all-Republican court wrote in its 12-page per curiam opinion. “Although these issues were addressed at trial and are now pending before the court of appeals, we note that the City Secretary never claimed the referendum petition was plagued by forgery or perjury. Yet the City Council decided, of its own accord, not to act, disregarding the City Secretary’s certification that the petition had enough signatures.”

Somehow, these folks twist the truth about an ordinance protecting LGBTs into an attack on religious folks.

Which, I guess, could be true if the concern was really about losing your ability to discriminate.