HOUSTON: Anti-Gay Pastors Sue Mayor

Via Houston's CBS affiliate:

A group of pastors fighting Houston's equal rights ordinance has filed a lawsuit against Mayor Annise Parker, claiming she tried to deny voters' rights and intimidate clergymen opposing her. The legal action comes at the beginning of what's likely to be a passionate campaign leading up to a referendum on the ordinance in November. "She violated and trampled the voting rights of over a million people in the fourth largest city in the United States of America," said Andy Taylor, the attorney representing the clergymen, at a news conference with his clients. "Are you with me? Can you believe it? Is that what happened?" The clergymen who filed the suit have fought the ordinance from the beginning, focusing on its protections for gay and transgendered people. They're among the leaders of a petition drive that called for a referendum to repeal the ordinance.

Last month the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Houston must either repeal its LGBT rights ordinance or place it to a public vote. Parker has vowed to win at the polls.

RELATED: Next month the above-pictured pastors will take part in an anti-gay forum titled The Texas Response.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker: We'll Take This To The Voters And We'll Win

"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!" - Houston Mayor Annise Parker, via press release.

TEXAS: Haters Celebrate Houston Ruling

Much praising of God is taking place.

BREAKING: Texas Supreme Court Rules Houston Must Repeal LGBT Rights Law Or Place It To Public Vote In November

Via the Houston Chronicle:

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday 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." Houston City Council has 30 days to repeal the ordinance or place it on the November ballot.

Stand by for celebrations from the usual haters.

RELATED: LGBT rights laws similar to Houston's already exist in other major Texas municipalities including Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, Dallas County, Fort Worth, El Paso, Plano, San Antonio, Waco, and Walker County.

HOUSTON: Christian Group To Deliver Signatures On Anti-Trans Referendum

Earlier this year a Houston jury ruled that a petition drive to repeal that city's LGBT rights ordinance had too many invalid signatures to be placed on the ballot. Today the haters will try again.

Another petition drive over Houston's equal rights ordinance, or "HERO," is hitting City Hall Thursday morning. They're delivering 22,000 signatures on petitions to the city secretary's office at 10 a.m. This one calls for a referendum to define sexual identity as whatever was assigned at birth. It would put HERO on the same November ballot as the mayor's race. This new petition is just the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the ordinance, which is a sweeping anti-discrimination measure that triggered a passionate debate about the rights of gay and transgendered citizens. Shortly after it passed, socially conservative clergymen led a petition drive calling for a referendum on repealing it. But the city argued the petitions were fraught with forgeries and other problems that invalidated thousands of signatures.

Openly gay Houston Mayor Annise Parker will be term-limited out of office this fall. (Tipped by JMG reader McSwagg)

Local Pastors Have The Houston Sadz

"The ruling that the coalition fell 585 signatures short was a result of Judge Schaffer, who was supported in his election by the LGBT community, unfortunately accepting the constantly changing manipulations of the law by the City’s legal machine and Mayor’s team. We will not yield the safety and welfare, the voting rights and Constitutional freedoms of the citizens that have been stolen by the corrupt Parker regime. The law and the appellate courts in Texas are very strong in preserving voting rights so we are confident we will prevail. The fact that the city’s own numbers of how many valid signatures we had submitted materially changed nearly a dozen times since August illustrates how desperate they are to keep this off the ballot. The No UNequal Rights Coalition leadership confirmed they will review the decision in depth with their attorney and if needed to appeal the judge’s decision all the way to final determination by the Texas Supreme Court." - Houston Area Pastor Council, via press release.

Texas Values Has The Houston Sadz

"This result is evidence that the city government has made a mess of this issue and they have made the community more divided. Despite today's ruling, we stand united with the people of Houston against this divisive and oppressive ordinance. It's been clear throughout this lengthy process that Mayor Parker will go to any length to shut the people of Houston out of this process and force residents to accept this LGBT special rights law against their will. Houstonians should be the ones to decide this issue, and we believe Texas' appellate courts will ultimately preserve the voting rights of the people. When the people finally get their say, this ordinance will be voted down." - Jonathan Saenz, head of Texas Values.

HOUSTON: LGBT Rights Bill Will Stand

Via the Houston Chronicle:

Opponents of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum, a state district judge ruled Friday, validating city officials' decision to toss out the petition foes submitted last summer. After separate rulings from both a jury and state District Judge Robert Schaffer, attorneys for both sides entered dueling counts of the valid signatures, adding and subtracting voters as Schaffer responded to motions. By early this week, the counts were closer together than ever before, fewer than 1,000 signatures apart. Ultimately, Schaffer on Friday ruled the final count of valid signatures was 16,684, leaving opponents short of the threshold required in the city charter of 17,249 signatures, or 10 percent of the ballots cast in the last mayoral election.

"The jury's verdict and the judge's ruling are a powerful smack-down against the forces of discrimination and intolerance," said Geoffrey Harrison, lead attorney for the city, in a statement. "And maybe, just maybe, they'll reconsider their misguided ways." The law, on hold during trial, is now in effect, according to a city spokeswoman. Mayor Annise Parker released a statement celebrating the verdict. "I would hope that the plaintiffs would not appeal, they lost during a jury trial and today they also lost with the judge's ruling," Parker said. "Now all Houstonians have access to the same protections." But opponents, largely conservative activists and pastors whose objections center on the protections the law extends to gay and transgender residents, say they will appeal the decision. Andy Taylor, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he remains confident they will ultimately take the law to voters.

Stand by for some epic sadz! Read the ruling.

Correction Of The Day

From the Houston Chronicle:

A photograph appearing with a story on page A1 about Reinhard Bonnke on Monday was digitally manipulated by the evangelist's organization to superimpose the preacher's image on a crowd of about 1.6 million gathered for a 2000 crusade in Lagos, Nigeria. Mary-Kathryn Manuel, U.S. director for Bonnke's Christ for All Nations, said the photo was a combined shot of the crowd during daylight hours and Bonnke preaching after nightfall. The photo, provided to the newspaper by Bonnke's crusade, was not represented to the newspaper as a digitally altered image. The Houston Chronicle apologizes for this error.

(Via The Friendly Atheist)

HOUSTON: Jury Rules That LGBT Rights Repeal Petition Signatures Were Forged, But Case Is Far From Over

Via the Houston Chronicle:

The city claimed victory Friday when the jury in the trial surrounding Houston's equal rights ordinance found that the law's opponents submitted a repeal referendum petition that contained forgery and other flaws. However, it issued a series of decisions that were far from a clean sweep for either side. The ruling is not final, and a judge will now consider the jury's findings about the work of more than 100 circulators of the petition that the city rejected last summer, citing overwhelming notary and signature-gatherer errors. District Judge Robert Schaffer was not present for Friday's ruling after nearly six days of jury deliberation. Attorneys on both sides said he will now begin counting which signatures are valid to see if opponents have reached the needed 17,269-signature threshold.

The anti-gay groups supporting the repeal have not yet reacted on Twitter.  Whatever the final outcome, the losing side is expected to appeal.

HOUSTON: Court Case On LGBT Rights Repeal Campaign Begins Today

Two weeks ago Houston Mayor Annise Parker was denied her motion that the trial be decided by a judge. Jury selection begins today:

A jury will be tasked with parsing thousands of pages of signatures during a trial that may last as long as two months. The case boils down to this: Did former City Attorney David Feldman rightly disqualify thousands of petition pages that conservative opponents submitted in an attempt to force a repeal referendum? It's not a trial over the merits of the ordinance, which City Council passed last May, banning discrimination. The law applies to businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt. Critics largely take issue with the protections the law extends to gay and transgender residents. In August, they sued the city after their petition to send the ordinance to voters failed. The case will touch on other questions, too, including the city's allegations that those gathering signatures knowingly committed fraud and forgery.

The case has become Cause #1 for anti-gay religious and hate groups, who have won several recent battle to repeal local LGBT rights ordinances. LGBT anti-discrimination protections already exist in multiple major Texas cities including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, and San Antonio.

Donnie Swaggart: Gay Rights Activists Would Love To Behead Christians

UPDATE: Swaggart has had the clip pulled via a copyright claim. Here's how Right Wing Watch recapped the clip:

During the show, Swaggart asserted that, like ISIS, gay rights activists in America would publicly behead Christians if they could get away with it. "All of this is to shut the Bible up," Swaggart declared. "They want the Bible gone. And I'm going to make a statement: These people that are trying to do this in Houston, the only difference between them and ISIS, those thugs in Iraq, is those here cannot chop our heads off. That's the only difference. The heart is the same. The heart is the same. If they could silence us that way to intimidate others, that's exactly what they would do."

I'll repost the clip once RWW does its thing with the YouTube police.

HOUSTON: Judge Orders City To Halt Benefits For Spouses Of LGBT Employees

Via John Wright at Lone Star Q:

A state district judge in Houston has ordered the city to stop providing benefits to the same-sex spouses of employees, but city officials say the decision will have no impact because a federal judge has already ruled that the benefits must remain in place. State District Judge Lisa Millard issued a temporary restraining order halting the benefits Wednesday in response to a request from former Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill, who has filed a second lawsuit against Mayor Annise Parker and the city over her decision to extend benefits to same-sex spouses. In August, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ordered the city to continue offering the benefits pending a final determination on the constitutionality of Texas’ same-sex marriage ban, likely to come from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The same judge issued a similar order last December. Woodfill is one of the asshats behind the lawsuit to repeal Houston's LGBT rights ordinance, which is a separate issue.

HOUSTON: Ted Cruz Declares Victory

Via Breitbart:

Cruz was a swift and effective leader in the backlash against the subpoenas, which should earn him quite a bit of goodwill from social conservatives in the 2016 presidential primaries, where he's likely to be a contestant. This is especially true given that some of his likely competitors are nervous about getting drawn into the gay marriage debate, or any of its peripheral controversies. And yet, the big-picture significance of Subpoena-geddon seems completely lost on the Beltway crowd, which treated the whole story as a tiny background hiss in the cacophony of 2014 midterm election coverage.

Cruz sent the below clip to be played at Sunday's hate rally.  According to the Washington Post, the clip is a "victory lap" in celebration of his "big win" over Mayor Annise Parker.

Tony Perkins: Our Houston Hate Rally Was "High-Water Mark For FRC"

"If the Mayor thought pulling the subpoenas would take some of the heat off, she quickly discovered that it only exposed the real controversy -- which was invalidating the referendum to begin with. In the fierce back and forth over the measure, Parker said the bill was 'personal.' What she didn’t realize was how personally Houston would take it. And Sunday night, in a crowd that crossed every possible gender, racial, and ethnic line, they showed it. From across Texas and around the nation, people showed how hungry they are for a cultural and spiritual revival in America. Pastors traveled from around the nation to show their support for the 'Houston 5' whose rights were trampled under the foot of the government charged with protecting them. As far as I’m concerned, I Stand Sunday was a high-water mark for FRC, an unprecedented moment as Christians came together to stand for religious freedom in America. I pray that God will take what was done and use it to ignite the hearts of His people to transform the nation." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via press release.

Perkins: Houston's Hate Rally Gives Hope To Anti-Gays Causes Around The World

Caption This

HOUSTON: Hate Rally Claims 6000 Attended, 700 Churches Simulcast Event

Via the Moonie Times:

Thousands showed their support Sunday the five Houston pastors who drew national attention for challenging the city’s now-withdrawn effort to subpoena their sermons. I Stand Sunday, a combination church service and religious-freedom rally, drew an estimated 6,000 congregants to hear a high-profile line-up of speakers at Grace Community Church in Houston. The two-hour event was simulcast to nearly 700 churches and 3,000 home groups. While the pastors were the focus, speakers warned that the Houston subpoenas represent only the latest example of a growing threat to religious liberty in the United States. “This was never really about subpoenas, it was not about sermons or speeches. This was about political intimidation,” said Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. “It was about trying to silence the voices of the churches and the pastors.”

Seen At The Houston Hate Rally

(Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

LIVE VIDEO: Houston Hate Rally

The Family Research Council's "I Stand Sunday" hate rally against Houston's LGBT rights law and Mayor Annise Parker begins at 7PM Eastern time at the Grace Community megachurch, whose largest hall seats 10,000. As you can see by the list above, the evening will provide a cavalcade of crackpottery. LGBT activists are encourage to take part in the already underway hijacking of the event's live Twitter hashtag at #IStandSunday. Feel free to use any of the above images by Memeographs. The first clip below is their press conference, which is live at this writing. The second clip should go live just before the event begins.