National Geographic

You know what to do.

Last year a too-broadly worded anti-gay ballot referendum not only rescinded domestic partner benefits for El Paso city employees, it ended insurance benefits for some retired cops and firefighters. Yesterday the city council reversed the ballot measure.

After hearing spirited arguments from members of the public on both sides of the issue, the council split 4-4. Mayor John Cook, who proposed the ordinance restoring benefits, broke the tie in favor of it despite a ballot initiative in November ending them. City Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Rachel Quintana, who will leave the council in two weeks, voted in favor of restoring the benefits. Quintana's replacement, Michiel Noe, on Tuesday said he would not have voted the way she did. "Although I think everyone should have benefits, I would have respected the will of the voters," Noe said. "Now, if the courts had decided that was illegal, then I would have voted according to what the ruling said. But they said that the vote was legal, so again I would respect the will of the voters."

Pastor Tom Brown, the author of the original measure, says he will launch a recall drive against the city council members who voted to restore the benefits.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be staging an official state day of prayer at which ALL faiths will be welcome. So long as you're ready to welcome the love of Jeebus into your heart. So sez Perry's spokesman.

So says the governor of Texas.

A Texas judge has ruled that the trans widow of a firefighter killed in the line of duty is not eligible for his death benefits.

Ever since Thomas Araguz died fighting a fire at an egg farm last year, his family has been battling his widow, Nikki Araguz, over $600,000 in death benefits. The firefighter’s family argued that, since Nikki Araguz was born a man, her marriage to Thomas Araguz –under Texas law – was not valid. The family said the death benefits should go to Thomas Araguz’s two children with his first wife. But Nikki Araguz has maintained that Thomas Araguz knew about her past as a man, and that their marriage was legal. Nikki Araguz had sexual reassignment surgery after the marriage. The couple was estranged at the time of Thomas Araguz’s death. On Tuesday, Judge Randy Clapp said that because Nikki Araguz was born a man, Thomas Araguz was not married on the day he died, and any marriage – formal or informal – is void.

The decision is expected to be appealed.

NOM isn't very happy with this week's edition of ABC's What Would You Do?, which showed Texas diner patrons coming to the defense of a two-mom family.

We can expect a lot more of this from the MSM. Let's note first of all that the behavior of the "waitress" in this setup up is outrageous. No boss, and no customers would tolerate it. Not even in the "conservative" towns of Texas. Good news for American common sense. The insidious propaganda point from ABC News is the suggestion that millions of good Americans who believe marriage means a man and a woman because children ought to have moms and dads, would or are behaving like this. Shame on ABC. Be prepared for lot more prejudiced stereotyping of decent and honorable Americans down the road by powerful elites.

In November 2010, El Paso's Pastor Tom Brown organized a ballot referendum banning the city from offering domestic partners benefits. Only after the measure passed did the city realize that it was so broadly written, it would also ban benefits for retired cops and firefighters. Nevertheless, yesterday a federal judge upheld the ban.

The ordinance forcing the city of El Paso to "uphold traditional family values" will stand, and elected officials, retirees, affiliated service contractors, domestic partners of employees and certain dependent children will be left out, ruled a federal judge. "This is an example of how direct democracy can have unexpected consequences," wrote Federal Judge Frank Montalvo quoting James Madison. The plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit included city employees, domestic partners of city employees, retirees and even elected officials.

They wanted the ordinance struck on two grounds. They alleged it prevented them from obtaining health insurance, thus violating the contract they had with the insurance company, and that they were denied equal protection under the law, meaning, they were singled out for discrimination. "We keep hearing from the critics that the ordinance that the people passed was unconstitutional, well, we now have a federal judge that says this is completely constitutional," Tom Brown said. He is the leader of El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values and was the man behind the movement to deny benefits. "What more does city council need?"

(Tipped by JMG reader Melissa)

Even though the set-up took place in Texas, things definitely don't happen the way some might expect. Get a tissue.

(Tipped by JMG reader Gavin)

El Paso police have arrested a third suspect in the beating of a 22 year-old Texas man, who remains in critical condition more than two weeks after six men assaulted him with a baseball bat outside the popular El Paso gay nightclub, Old Plantation.

The El Paso Police Department's Intelligence Unit has arrested and charged a 17-year-old male in the aggravated assault that occurred outside the Old Plantation nightclub on May 7. He is the second person arrested in the case. A 16-year-old juvenile also has been detained in the case. Ivan Gallardo, 17, of the 900 block of S. Tays, has been charged with Aggravated Assault and booked into the El Paso County Jail on a bond of $50,000.00. Roman Olvera, 19, of the 2200 block of Bassett, has been charged with aggravated assault and booked into the El Paso County Jail on a bond of $50,000. Police had previously detained a 16-year-old boy in the assault of 22-year-old Lionel Martinez outside of the Old Plantation (OP) nightclub. The unnamed juvenile was referred to the Juvenile Probation Department for the offense of aggravated assault.

Police have classified the attack as gang-related, although a witness reported the attackers using anti-gay epithets during the beating. The victim is not gay and reportedly is not involved with gangs.

The GOP-dominated Texas House has made it a crime to touch your junk during an airport security patdown.

Approved late Thursday night, the measure makes it illegal for anyone conducting searches to touch “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person” including through clothing. It also prohibits searches “that would be offensive to a reasonable person.” The bill’s chief sponsor is Republican Rep. David Simpson, who said, “this has to do with dignity and travel, and prohibiting indecent, groping searches.” He believes it will keep Transportation Security Administration officials from treating travelers like criminals, though the measure may be superseded by federal law.

On Saturday a man standing outside of popular El Paso gay nightclub Old Plantation was beaten with a baseball bay by a group of six men. The victim, who is not gay, remains in critical condition. Although police have so far refused to characterize the incident as a hate crime, the victim's family says the attackers used anti-gay slurs during the assault. El Paso's KTSM reports:

We spoke with the victim's sister, Deanne Martinez, this morning at UMC where her brother is still listed in critical condition. Martinez was there Saturday and witnessed the attack. "He was on the floor laying there knocked out and they still kept bashing his head with a bat. That to me is so cowardly. " Martinez says she and another family member tried to stop the attack but the men turned on them, she said "I was trying to pull out my brother and she was pushing off the guys. They ended up bashing her Jeep Liberty." So far police say they have no evidence to call the attack a hate crime. Martinez calls that ridiculous. She says her brother isn't gay but he was alone outside of a gay club and the men who attacked him made it clear why they picked him. Martinez said, "they were yelling gay slurs and yelling their gang name or where they're from."

The victim's sister added that she's heard of the same group of men harassing other nightclub patrons in the area. Police have not named any suspects.

A 22 year-old man is listed in critical condition today after being beaten by a group of men with a baseball bat outside the popular El Paso nightclub, Old Plantation. Media reports are light with details so far, but two JMG readers from Texas have written to say the attack was a gay bashing.

Police said the man was waiting for a ride outside the Old Plantation Night Club, 301 S. Ochoa, when a verbal confrontation began between the victim and six other males. The verbal confrontation became physical and the six suspects allegedly began punching, kicking the victim. The group allegedly also used a bat to hit the victim. One of the victim's friends, a woman, tried to help and had her vehicle damaged as she tried to do so. A suspect struck her 2003 Jeep Liberty windshield with a bat to stop her from helping the victim. The suspects then fled the area in what appeared to be a van.

I'll update this post when we know more.

Today the Texas legislature finalized a bill that requires doctors to take a sonogram and offer to show the image to the patient before performing an abortion. Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign the bill immediately.

The bill requires a doctor to conduct a sonogram at least 24 hours before an abortion and to give the woman the opportunity to see the results and hear the heartbeat of the fetus. Though the woman can choose not to view the images and hear the heartbeat, the doctor must describe what the sonogram shows, including the existence of legs, arms and internal organs. “This will be one of the strongest pieces of sonogram legislation in the nation,” the bill’s author, Representative Sid Miller, a Republican from Stephenville, told reporters. Mr. Miller predicted the measure would “save numerous unborn lives.” Because the measures passed both houses of the Legislature with a two-thirds majority, it will go into effect as soon as the governor signs it.

A Texas high school teacher has been suspended for taunting a Muslim girl about the death of Osama Bin Laden.

He allegedly told a 9th grade Muslim girl in his algebra class "I bet that you're grieving" on Monday following the death of Osama bin Laden. According to one parent at Clear Brook High School in Houston who spoke about the incident to a local ABC affiliate, the teacher also said, "I heard about your uncle's death." The parent said the student "understood that he was referring about Osama bin Laden being killed and was racially profiling her." The name of the alleged victim of the comment has not been released. She is being described as an "American-born girl of Muslim faith."

According to a witness, when the girl began crying, the teacher laughed and walked away.

As wildfires continue to sweep across hundreds of thousands of acres, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has issued an official state proclamation urging residents to pray to God to send some rain.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of Texas, under the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Texas, do hereby proclaim the three-day period from Friday, April 22, 2011, to Sunday, April 24, 2011, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas. I urge Texans of all faiths and traditions to offer prayers on that day for the healing of our land, the rebuilding of our communities and the restoration of our normal and robust way of life.

Perry's proclamation does not ask God what Texas did to piss Him off in the first place.

A Texas man has been charged with two counts of murder after shooting to death the woman dating his daughter and her mother. The Austin Statesman reports:

Jose Alfonso Aviles, 45, has been charged with capital murder and was arrested early this morning in Bexar County by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, said Lt. Gena Curtis. Aviles lives in Austin, but was found in San Antonio, police said. Aviles’ daughter had been dating 24-year-old Norma Hurtado for several months, which was the source of feuding between the Aviles and Hurtado families, Curtis said. Aviles and another Hispanic man, who has not been identified, went to the Hurtado’s home at the 7100 block of Dixie Drive late Monday and knocked on the door, Curtis said. Moments later, Aviles’ daughter, who was in the home, heard gun shots and found that Hurtado and Hurtado’s mother, 57-year-old Maria Hurtado, had been shot, police said. Both women died at the scene, police said

Police declined to say if the murders would be prosecuted as a hate crime.

(Tipped by JMG reader Monty)

Clip description: "More than 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, gathered at Discovery Green in the heart of Houston to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The purpose was to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a powerful and celebratory way." Jeebus loves Auto-Tune!

(Source)

After the Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission staged a widely criticized raid of the Rainbow Lounge in June 2009, authorities from both organizations admitted wrongdoings that resulted in the firings of three TABC officers and a rewriting of the rules regarding nightclub raids. Now the Fort Worth city attorneys are recommending a $400,000 settlement with Chad Gibson, the Rainbow Lounge patron who suffered a brain injury after being thrown to the ground by police.

"In light of the circumstances, city staff believes proceeding with this settlement is the right thing to do, not only to bring closure to those involved but also to prevent lengthy and even more costly litigation," Jason Lamers, a city spokesman, said Friday. Lamers said the city has also agreed to pay $40,000 to another patron, George Armstrong, who said he suffered a torn rotator cuff during his arrest for public intoxication at the bar. Because the settlement is for under $50,000, council authorization is not needed, he said. Don Tittle, the civil attorney for Gibson and Armstrong, said all parties have worked together for months to reach a resolution without a lawsuit. "Everybody worked toward a resolution that was fair," Tittle said. "I thought that the city, at least in this regard, they recognized that there was significant legal exposure. I think there was also just an element where they felt like it was, on some level, just the right thing to do." Tittle said Gibson is still seeking treatment for injuries. "He had some significant injuries and is still getting treated and will be for quite some time," Tittle said.

An internal police investigation had concluded that no excessive force was used during the raid. But they're going to pay anyway, apparently.