[HOUSTON] Human Rights Ordinance

This push for tolerance, equal rights, and fairness is getting out of control. Thanks Obama.

 

It is just useless due to the federal laws. Just trying to smokescreen our horrible horrible roads.

 

Now that nobody goes to Washington Ave. Good timing.

 

Pretty sure we already have a gay pride parade.

Sure, it's a little redundant with federal law but a local ordinance gives police a better tool for enforcement. So, I don't think it's useless.

 

So what's the penalty for violating an ordinance?

 

My guess would be a slap on the ass.

 

There might be 3 clubs on Washington Ave left.

 

haven't partied there in awhile, but there are some new spots opening up in May close to Kung Fu that should bring some people in

 

When you elect a homosexual mayor, you will get weird stuff pushed upon you

At least she's not Lee Brown, that guy was a little corrupt to say the least.....

 

I see nothing wrong with all this.

Good changes.

 

Nicknamed the HERO law, that was signed and passed in May of this year...Mayor Porker and her cronies in the city of Houston wasted no time in issuing subpoenas to five local pastors demanding a copy of their sermons...I didnt want to make a new D/D thread, so was going to piggy back off this one...Talk about bad timing Annise.

http://www.chron.com/news/politics/houston/article/City-subpoenas-pastors-sermons-in-equal-rights-5822403.php

Spoiler

Houston's embattled equal rights ordinance took another legal turn this week when it surfaced that city attorneys, in an unusual step, subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who oppose the law and are tied to the conservative Christian activists that have sued the city.

Opponents of the equal rights ordinance are hoping to force a repeal referendum when they get their day in court in January, claiming City Attorney David Feldman wrongly determined they had not gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. City attorneys issued subpoenas last month during the case's discovery phase, seeking, among other communications, "all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession."

The subpoenas were issued to several high-profile pastors and religious leaders who have been vocal in opposing the ordinance. The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a motion on behalf of the pastors seeking to quash the subpoenas.

Plaintiff Jared Woodfill said the subpoena impinges on protected religious freedoms.

"This is the city trampling on the First Amendment rights of pastors in their churches," Woodfill said.

The city attorney's office has not responded to requests for comment.​

City officials distancing themselves from these Subpoenas:

http://www.chron.com/news/politics/houston/article/City-officials-try-to-distance-themselves-from-5825439.php?cmpid=rrpolitics

Spoiler

Amid outrage from religious groups, Mayor Annise Parker and City Attorney David Feldman on Wednesday appeared to back off a subpoena request for the sermons of certain ministers opposed to the city's equal rights ordinance, with Parker calling the request "overly broad."

The subpoena, handed down to five pastors and religious leaders last month, came to light this week when attorneys for the group of pastors filed a motion to quash the request. The pastors are closely tied to Christian conservative activists who sued the Parker administration this summer when the city announced the group had failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum. The subpoenas were issued as part of the discovery phase in that case, which will be heard in district court in January.

Legal experts noted the Parker administration likely would face an uphill battle obtaining the sermons, which are offered broad protections under the law.

Though Feldman stood behind the subpoena in an interview Tuesday, he and Parker distanced themselves from the request during a news conference Wednesday, calling the wording problematic. Feldman said the city would clarify its request in its response to the pastors' motion.

"There's no question the wording was overly broad," Parker said. "But I also think there was some deliberate misinterpretation on the other side."

The subpoenas have drawn national attention, prompting Christian conservative groups to condemn the request as governmental overreach. U.S. Sen Ted Cruz issued a statement Wednesday, saying Parker "should be ashamed." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott late Wednesday sent a letter urging the city to withdraw the subpoena.

"In good faith, I hope you merely failed to anticipate how inappropriately aggressive your lawyers would be," Abbott said in the letter. "Many, however, believe your actions reflect the city government's hostility to religious beliefs that do not align with city policies."

Parker's stance Wednesday likely was due to outside pressure, plaintiff Jared Woodfill said.

"Public outcry has shamed the mayor into doing the right thing," he said.

'Vilified coast to coast'

Parker and Feldman dismissed Woodfill's assertion that the subpoena order had come directly from the mayor's office, saying they both found out about the request this week. Feldman said that although he is monitoring the case, the subpoena was drafted by pro-bono attorneys helping to handle the lawsuit.

"Let me just say that one word in a very long legal document which I know nothing about and would never have read and I'm vilified coast to coast," Parker said. "It's a normal day at the office for me."

The intent of the subpoena, Feldman said, simply was to gather all communications between pastors about the signature-gathering instructions, a potentially key point in the lawsuit opponents have brought against the city.

The use of the word "sermons" was a distraction from that, Feldman said.

"I wouldn't have worded it that way myself," the city attorney said. "It's unfortunate that it has been construed as some effort to infringe upon religious liberty."

Interference claim

Opponents of the equal rights ordinance, passed by City Council last spring, sued the city in August after Feldman announced they had failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum. Opponents claim the city attorney interfered in the signature verification process and illegally rejected the petition.

Signatures denied

Critics largely take issue with the rights extended to gay and transgender residents under the ordinance banning discrimination among businesses that serve the public, private employers, in housing and in city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt. Parker has agreed not to enforce the ordinance until the court issues a decision in the lawsuit, likely sometime next year.

Opponents pledged to take the issue to voters.

City Secretary Anna Russell initially counted enough signatures to qualify the opponents' petition this summer, with about 600 more than the required 17,269 signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot.

Feldman then looked through all of the petition pages to see if those who gathered signatures met city charter requirements - namely, whether signature gatherers were Houston residents and whether they signed the petition pages.

That process disqualified more than half the 5,199 pages. In their suit, opponents claimed Russell's original count should be the most important one and alleged Feldman had inserted himself into the process illegally.

The subpoenas, Feldman said Wednesday, are intended to establish what rules signature gatherers were told to follow and request a wide range of communications, including any information about payments and incentives offered to people contracted to circulate the petitions and the tax information associated with those payments.

'Political speech'

On Tuesday, however, Feldman said the sermons were relevant because the pastors were injecting politics into religion.

"If someone is speaking from the pulpit and it's political speech, then it's not going to be protected," Feldman said.

The subpoenas were issued to five local pastors or religious leaders, none of whom is party to the lawsuit: Dave Welch, Hernan Castano, Magda Hermida, Khanh Huynh and Steve Riggle. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal organization known for its role in defending same-sex marriage bans, is representing the pastors in an attempt to quash the request.

City attorneys are drafting a response but have not indicated they will drop the subpoenas.​

Senator Cruz's response:
http://www.chron.com/news/politics/houston/article/Cruz-calls-on-Parker-to-rescind-sermon-subpoenas-5827395.php?cmpid=rrpolitics

Spoiler

U.S. Sen Ted Cruz blasted the Parker administration for subpoenaing sermons delivered by certain pastors in front of a large crowd at Houston First Baptist Church on Thursday, calling the requests an "indefensible assault on religious liberty."

Cruz, R-Texas, was joined by the five pastors who were issued subpoenas as part of the discovery phase of a lawsuit Christian conservatives have filed against the city in regard to Houston's equal rights ordinance. Cruz took aim at Mayor Annise Parker and the legal team that issued the subpoenas, saying they have no authority to determine whether "the sermons you preach on Sunday are acceptable in City Hall on Monday."

"The City of Houston has no power, no legal authority to silence the church," Cruz said, pausing for a wave of applause. "Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit."

Cruz's comments Thursday marked just the latest fallout from the subpoenas, which have sparked outrage among Christian conservative groups across the country. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott late Wednesday sent a letter urging the city to withdraw the subpoena.

Parker distanced herself from the requests at a press conference Wednesday, saying they were drafted by outside lawyers for the city and were "overly broad." Feldman said Wednesday that the city will clarify its response and narrow the request to target communications between pastors, not specifically the sermons they preach. All five pastors subpoenaed were directly involved in leading the charge against the city's equal rights ordinance, largely taking issue with the rights the law extends to gay and transgender residents.

The standing-room-only crowd Thursday called on Parker to withdraw the subpoenas all together, chiming in with applause and "amen" as Cruz condemned the city for targeting pastors.

"This is a country that was formed centuries ago by people fleeing religious oppression and seeking a land where you do not need to seek the permission of a king or queen or president," Cruz said.

The crowd, applauding, responded in near-unison, "or mayor."​

 

And this city ordinance is his fault how?

 

I think if you want a not so one sided view of this... read here (this topic should be it's own thread if anyone care to have one)

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/houston.asp

 

1- didn't know there were any clubs there... who care
2- tonight
3- thought that was already going on? why do you care? if you can't stand gay, stay away

 

Confirmed for victim:

"Let me just say that one word in a very long legal document which I know nothing about and would never have read and I'm vilified coast to coast," Parker said. "It's a normal day at the office for me."

 

She's gay. That's all there is to know.

 

Smh...

 

Really ? what is his part in the ordinance.

 

Are you saying gays play the victim card?