e-News for 7/13/09

Thanks to all our Fort Worth and North Texas members who emailed Mayor Moncrief and all Fort Worth City Council Members to request an independent investigation of the raid by Fort Worth Police and TABC officers. Equality Texas members and supporters have sent thousands of letters to the Mayor and City Council Members.

Next Steps: With the Fort Worth Police Department and TABC conducting internal investigations of the raid on Sunday, June 28, 2009, and Mayor Moncrief asking the US Attorney to review the police investigation, it is critical that citizens of Fort Worth continue to demand a separate and independent investigation.

We are asking our Fort Worth and Tarrant County members, families, and friends to attend the Fort Worth City Council Meeting on Tuesday, July 14th. We need a show of support and solidarity from the Fort Worth/Tarrant County community to demand accountability and action.

Action: Show up to support the call for an independent investigation of the Fort Worth Police Department's Raid on the Rainbow Lounge.

Arrive by 6:00 pm to secure a seat or standing room.
Dress appropriately for a city council meeting.
Look for organizers wearing "Fairness Fort Worth" t-shirts or buttons. They will ask you to sign in with them. No signs, posters, or flags, please.
It will be a long evening as there are 77 agenda items. Be prepared. "Fairness Fort Worth" spokesperson Jon Nelson is scheduled to speak under the "Public Comment" part of the agenda. (With respect to parents wishing to bring their children, please arrive and stay for the first hour or so and then leave if children need to eat or go to bed.)
It will not be required or necessary to speak, but it is important to have a large number of supporters present. We encourage families, parents, friends, faith leaders, and straight allies to attend to reflect the diversity of support.
Fort Worth City Hall, Council Chambers, 1000 Throckmorton, Fort Worth, TX 76102

Your presence alone will affirm to Mayor Moncrief and to each City Council Member that you are concerned about your community and that you want action.

YOU make equality happen!

Last Thursday, the ACLU of Texas and Equality Texas called for an official investigation into the El Paso Police Department's response to the June 29th incident at an area Chico's Tacos restaurant. "We’re extremely concerned that the actions of the restaurant employees and the El Paso police may have violated the law," said ACLU of Texas legal director Lisa Graybill. "The City of El Paso prohibits restaurants from refusing service to anyone based on their sexual orientation, and the police should have enforced that ordinance.”

Paul Scott, Executive Director at Equality Texas, noted that "While neither state nor federal law explicitly prohibits discrimination against LGBT individuals in public accommodations, the City of El Paso, like other major Texas cities including Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, went above and beyond to adopt an anti-discrimination ordinance that protects LGBT individuals. This makes what reportedly happened in El Paso all the more disappointing. Additionally, the continued reference to the unconstitutional sodomy statute by law enforcement officers is further proof that the Texas Legislature needs to repeal this statute and get it off the books." Read the full press release here.

Next Steps: The ACLU of Texas and Equality Texas are working together on outreach efforts to help Texans better understand their rights. Meanwhile, PUENTES LGBT RESOURCES will be advocating for increased diversity training for law enforcement officials. PUENTES LGBT RESOURCES will be providing public comment at Tuesday's El Paso City Council meeting.

Action: You can show your support for PUENTES' advocacy efforts merely by your respectful presence in the council chambers. The meeting begins at 8:30am, however the public comment portion of the meeting will likely be later in the day. No signs, banners, or flags, please. The full agenda is viewable online here.

El Paso City Hall, Council Chambers, El Paso, TX 79901 (Public parking at Durango & Franklin).

David Allee & Junior Ramos
Dave Blakely and Bruce McAda
Kirby Curry and Ronnie Nanos
Diane Farrington-Curtis and Shanna Foust Peeples
Terry Gibbs
Jennifer Hinkle and Holly Mitchell, MD
John Hintz
D. Clay Holcomb and Nelson Williams
Sheldon Johnston and Jay Youree
Jay Kirk
Rex Lusk
Tom Persechino
Saul Reyes and Tony Brockman
The 212 Club: David Torres and Kevin Locke
The UPS Store (Hillside and Bell): Sheri Sorrell
Robert Carr Vincent and Brodey Carter

Equality Texas Foundation is once again a beneficiary of the Black Tie Dinner that supports 18 local beneficiaries and HRC, its national beneficiary.

The support from Black Tie Dinner is instrumental in continuing our work in North Texas with our Equality Project trainings, Pride in Faith programs, and our collaborative work to educate Texans about the critical importance of education and advocacy to achieve equality in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Denton, and across the entire state.

If you attend Black Tie or know someone that does, then you can directly impact the work of Equality Texas Foundation as we continue to expand our outreach and make equality happen here in Texas!

Simply, being a table captain for Equality Texas Foundation or designating your table and its seats means that your locally designated funds will support our mission directly. We could not continue to do our work without your support and the support of Black Tie Dinner.

The 2009 Online TABLE CAPTAIN Process launched on June 15th. Table Captains register by creating a log-in account and either they, or their guests, can make payment for their seats or the full table through the secure online system.

As in the past, the number of Table Captain tables is subject to availability. The key difference this year is that Table Captain table selection is based on the table payment completion date; and as in prior years, after Sponsor table selection. Table Captains are encouraged to register and organize their tables quickly to obtain the best table selection position available.

Thank you for being a table captain. Please let us know if you intend to intend to be a Table Captain for us or if you intend to designate your seats to Equality Texas Foundation - HERE.

All beneficiaries are required to provide volunteers for the event to qualify to be eligible for funds raised at the Dinner.

These much-needed funds are used to conduct research, educate Texans about issues of equality, and to coordinate efforts of LGBT and allied organizations across the state.

Sign up now and we'll contact you about specific shift times and the different duties before, after, and during the dinner.

Equality Texas and the Human Rights Campaign will conduct a joint training session in Dallas the week of August 3rd in order to prepare attendees to make district lobbying visits to their elected officials - both Federal and State.

Equality Texas will provide its Equality Project training, with talking points and voting histories for Texas State Representatives and State Senators. HRC will provide lobby training with talking points and voting histories for United States Congresspersons and Senators.

Lobbying & Advocacy
(not deductible, but funds our work at the Texas Capitol)
Single gift
Monthly giving