Houston Mayor Annise Parker To Marry?

Houston Mayor Annise Parker had previously said that she wouldn't marry her partner of 23 years until it becomes legal in Texas.  But according to Culture Map Houston, a wedding is now planned for next month.

"The world is changing so fast, maybe I won't wait that long," Parker said last week in a year-end interview with CultureMap when asked when she would marry. "I'm no longer worried that (gay marriage in Texas) is not going to happen in my lifetime. After the Supreme Court ruling and the number of states that now have equal marriage, it's coming." Since then CultureMap has learned that Parker and Hubbard are making wedding plans. Several sources close to the couple said they plan to marry in mid-January in a low-key ceremony in Palm Springs, Calif.

A spokesperson for the mayor declined to confirm the report. (Tipped by JMG reader Joe)

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Posted in: Annise Parker,gay weddings,Houston,Texas

HOUSTON: Lambda Legal Sues City Over Same-Sex Spousal Benefits

In late November, openly gay Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced that city employees who are legally married in other states were now eligible for spousal benefits. Three weeks later a judge suspended Parker's edict pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by local Christian leaders. Yesterday Lambda Legal sued the city in order to reinstate the benefits ordered by Parker.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on behalf three City of Houston employees legally married to same-sex spouses and follows notification these employees received recently that the City, one month after extending the employee coverage fortheir spouses, was being forced to withdraw these benefits and cancel the coverage. “City employees who are married to same-sex spouses are doing the same work as coworkers who are married to different-sex spouses—at the end of the day this case is about equal pay for equal work.These employees, some who have worked for the City for manyyears, acted in good faith when notified the City was extending health coverage benefits to their legal spouses,” said Kenneth Upton, Senior Counsel in Lambda Legal’s South Central Regional Office in Dallas.

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Posted in: Annise Parker,Houston,Lambda Legal,lawsuits,LGBT rights,marriage equality,religion,Texas

Tweet Of The Day - Annise Parker

They're going nuts over in Teabagistan. Enjoy.

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Posted in: Annise Parker,Duck Dynasty,gay politicians,Houston,Phil Robertson,reality shows,Texas

HOUSTON: Judge Suspends Spousal Benefits Edict For LGBT City Staffers

A Texas judge has issued an order suspending spousal benefits for LGBT employees of Houston.

State District Judge Lisa Millard issued the order in response to a lawsuit filed by Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill, on behalf of plaintiffs Jack Pidgeon and Larry Hicks. The order from Millard, a Republican, says the city must stop providing the benefits pending a hearing on Jan. 6. Pidgeon and Hicks, who are Houston taxpayers, brought the suit in response to Mayor Annise Parker’s decision in November to extend benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees who are legally married in other states. The plaintiffs allege that Parker’s decision violated the Houston city charter, the state Defense of Marriage Act and the Texas Constitution.

A spokesman for Parker has vowed to seek an immediate reversal. So far only three staffers have signed up for the benefits.

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Posted in: Annise Parker,Houston,LGBT rights,Texas