Tag: Texas

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Rick Perry To Announce Run For President June 4th

According to the Dallas Morning News, former Gov. Rick “Bang Bang” Perry plans to announce his official candidacy for the 2016 GOP nod for president in Dallas on June 4th.

For months Perry has said that he would announce his decision in May or June.

But his constant travel to the early contest states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida has left little doubt of his intentions.

Unlike four years ago, when he rushed into the contest after seeing he could raise quick money and was leading in polls, Perry enters this contest as an underdog. He is polling in single digits, but again unlike his last run, he has spent more than a year in preparation.

In the last presidential cycle, Perry was a fresh face on the national political stage. But several gaffes quickly ended his brief candidacy.

This time around he will have to not only overcome the memory of those gaffes, but try to carve out a niche to make his similar sounding policies be heard. Perry touts his experience as a governor, but with Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Perry can’t claim that territory for his own.

Also, while he will surely stress his economic record of job creation in Texas (mostly in low paying entry level jobs), the economy in Texas has taken a bit of a downturn as oil prices have dropped in recent months.

Perry is currently polling in single digits.

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Texas “Super Anti-Gay Marriage Bill” Dies In State House As Time Runs Out

Texas state Rep. Cecil Bell’s bill to “really really really” ban same-sex marriage died tonight without a vote as the deadline passed without the bill coming up for a vote.

While the legislative session continues on to June 1st, it becomes difficult to introduce new bills at this time. Bell would have to find a Senate bill currently in play that would be “germane” to blocking marriage rights for LGBTs.

Major Texas-based corporations have denounced the bill, including BP, Dow Chemical, American Airlines, and Dell. As in other states that have considered such discrimination born out of animus, money often makes the loudest statement.

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Texas Legislators Have Begun Pulling Bills To Move Up Vote For Same-Sex Marriage Ban

With the legislative session in Texas coming to a close tonight GOP Texas House reps have begun pulling their own bills out of consideration to make sure they get to HB4105 which would double-triple-quadruple ban marriage equality in Texas.

So much so that an $8 billion education bill was pulled down so the haters could ensure getting to the anti-gay legislation.

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News Round-Up: May 13, 2015

Click image to enlarge

Some stories you may have missed:

• Missouri’s anti-gay Speaker of the state’s House of Representatives, John Diehl, has been busted sexting with an unnamed college freshman intern. Diehl is married with three children, and a staunch defender of “traditional marriage.”

• Did you hear the one about the Texas lawmaker who introduced legislation to legalize discrimination against his own openly gay HIV+ son?

• And speaking of Texas, 1 in 15 students have chlamydia at West Texas high school where the only sex-ed teaches “abstinence only.” Clearly that doesn’t work.

• More Texas shenanigans – A dancer at a gentleman’s club has filed a restraining order against anti-gay but very married Texas state senator Charles Perry

• New Jersey Chris Christie spent an average of $1,400 of taxpayer money per football game at Metlife Stadium on food and booze

• A Reddit user created a Grindr account – for pizza – to hilarious results. Turns out the saucy hottie is quite popular on the dating scene.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Won’t Answer Direct Questions On SCOTUS/Same-Sex Marriage

When pressed by CNN host Alisyn Camerota regarding the upcoming ruling from the Supreme Court on marriage equality, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was not willing to say that the state would follow the Supreme Court if it decided to rule in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage later this year.

Camerota pushed further asking what Paxton suggests that gays and lesbians in love should do.

Here’s the exchange:

“They have — they can do whatever they want,” Paxton shrugged. “But the reality itself right now in Texas was defined by the people of Texas overwhelmingly as between a man and a woman. And that’s the law of Texas, it’s in our constitution, it’s in our statutes.”

“I mean, they can’t really do whatever they want as you’ve just said,” Camerota shot back. “Do you understand why gays in Texas would feel that is discriminating against them?”

“They can feel how they want,” Paxton replied. “The reality is the voters of Texas have passed the law as it is.”

Check how vague and uncomfortable it gets at the 3:45 mark when Camerota asks if Texas HAS to conform to federal law, meaning the Supreme Court ruling.

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Texas Legislators Prepare End Run Around Marriage Equality

Texas Republicans look to approve legislation that would ban local officials from granting same-sex couples licenses to marry, launching a preemptive strike against a possible U.S. Supreme Court ruling next month that could declare gay marriage legal.

Supporters of the measure said it would send a powerful message to the court. Taking a cue from the anti-abortion movement, they said they also hoped to keep any judicially sanctioned right to same-sex marriage tied up in legal battles for years to come.

The measure, by Rep. Cecil Bell, a Republican from the outskirts of Houston, would prohibit state and local officials from using taxpayer dollars “to issue, enforce, or recognize a marriage license . . . for a union other than a union between one man and one woman.”

Bell said the bill “simply preserves state sovereignty over marriage.”

Gay rights advocates condemned it as mean-spirited and discriminatory.

The law would clearly be unconstitutional as any ruling by the Supreme Court would supersede state law. But that doesn’t bother the haters in the Lone Star state. Even if unconstitutional, the issue will take up years of costly court battles their side will lose. But they’d rather make their discriminatory stand than step into the new century.

In order for the bill to pass, it will need to be approved in the House before the end of business Thursday night in order to be sent on to the state Senate.

In addition to Bell’s House bill, the Texas Senate began the week by approving a separate bill allowing clergy members to refuse to perform marriages that violate their religious beliefs.

(via Washington Post)

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White House Condemns Shooting At Texas Muhammad Cartoon Contest

The White House on Monday condemned a shooting at a controversial cartoon contest in Texas, saying that while Muslims may have found the event offensive there is no justification for violence.

Two gunmen were shot and killed by a security guard Sunday night after opening fire at a Garland event that offered a $10,000 prize for the best cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. One security guard was injured in the assault.

“We have seen extremists try to use expressions that they considered to be offensive as a way to justify violence not only in this country but around the world, and in the mind of the president there is no form of expression that would justify an act of violence,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We saw a pretty important and notable display of bravery on the part of first responders and … because of their courage the only person that was injured by these gunmen was a security officer.”

(via Washington Post)

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Texas House Committee Approves End-Run Bill Around Same-Sex Marriage

A Texas state House committee has approved a bill along party lines that would attempt to stop same-sex marriage in the state should SCOTUS rule in favor of marriage equality:

The State Affairs Committee passed House Bill 4105, which would forbid the use of state or local funds for issuing same-sex marriage licenses. The 7-3 vote was along party lines, with only Republicans supporting the measure. The proposal now heads to a committee that schedules legislation for debate by the full House.

“The intent is to assert the sovereign rights of Texas and of the citizens of Texas,” said Rep. Cecil Bell, R-Magnolia, the bill’s author. “I believe it is a bipartisan issue — our social rights and our traditional values.”

Christina Gorczynski, campaign director for the pro-gay marriage advocacy group Texas Wins, said in a statement the measure is unconstitutional.

“HB 4105 is blatant discrimination, which is bad for business and our reputation nationwide,” Gorczynski said.

Texas’ state ban on same-sex marriage was struck down last year by a U.S. District Judge. The state appealed that ruling to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in January, but it’s thought the ruling may be held until SCOTUS issues it’s ruling in June.

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Texas: Volunteer Firefighters Charged With Sexual Assault In “Hazing” Incident

Six volunteer firefighters in Ellis County have been arrested for their role in a hazing incident.

Five men face aggravated sexual assault charges and one female is charged with improper photography or visual recording.

From the Dallas Observer:

According to the Rangers, who were called in by Ellis County to investigate after the trainee came forward on March 31, the men committing the assault initially planned on using a broomstick before deciding a link of chorizo in the fridge was a better choice.

Wisakowsky retrieved the sausage, and the trainee was bent over the couch while Tucker and Stafford held him down and the sausage was inserted into his anus, the Rangers say. Then Wisakowsky cut the sausage out of the package and attempted to reinsert it, but the sausage broke up.

The trainee told the Rangers he was then released and he crawled into the nearby restroom with “smashed up sausage still between his butt cheeks.” He removed the sausage, threw up and took a shower to clean up. While he was showering, he says, someone took his clothes from the restroom. He came out of the restroom in a towel to look for his clothes. When he did, he says, Tucker took his towel. The man covered his genitals with his hands and ran to his truck to get some shorts, he says.

Those arrested on sex assault charges include: Keith Edward Wisakowsky, 26, Casey Joe Stafford, 30, Preston Thomas Peyrot, 19, Alec Chase Miller, 28, Blake Jerold Tucker, 19.

Brittany Leanne Parten, 23, was arrested on a charge of improper photography or visual recording.

A Texas Department of Safety spokesman said the investigation remained ongoing.

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Texas Sportscaster Dale Hansen’s Take Down Of Some Teenaged Racists

I think Dale Hansen should have his own national TV show. He completely rocks.

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"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." – Albert Einstein. In case you missed it, this is why everyone is talking about Dale Hansen.Posted by WFAA-TV on Friday, February 27, 2015