Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, December 31, 2004 Page: 1 of 56
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YEAR IN REVIEW
THE BIGGEST STORIES OF 2004 INTERNATIONAL
SPAIN CONDEMNS FRANCO'S PERSECUTION OF GAYS PLUS VIEWPOINTS SCREEN STAGE I MUSIC
Dal
VOLUME 21 I ISSUE 34
IN REVIEW
Read about the
stories that dominat-
ed the headlines in
2004. PAGE 6.
INTERNATIONAL
Newfoundland and
Labrador extend
rights to same-sex
couples. PAGE 20.
ESTABLISHED 1984
YEAR-END NEWS SUMMARY
2004 s op en
Good news, bad news: Gays forge ahead with significant
gains, only to end year downcast at election results
Compiled byTammye Nash and David Webb, Staff Writers
No. 1: Valdez wins sheriff's race
Lupe Valdez, a member of Dallas' GLBT community, became the first les-
bian elected to public office in Dallas County when she defeated her
Republican opponent by a two-point margin in the general election. Valdez,
who is also the first Hispanic to be elected sheriff, was the first Democrat to win
the sheriff's race in three decades.
Shannon Bailey, president of Texas Stonewall Democrats, said Valdez's win
showed the strength of the gay community and of women voters in Dallas
County.
Carla Halbrook, a local spokeswoman for Log Cabin Republicans, said
Valdez's win had shocked gay Republicans and the local Republican Party.
Halbrook said she expected the allegations of corruption that had plagued Jim
Bowles, Valdez's predecessor, during the last year had caused voters to shy
away from anyone connected with the current sheriff's administration. Valdez's
opponent, Danny Chandler, once worked for Bowles' administration.
Valdez, who ran on a platform of restoring integrity to the sheriff's office,
said her win came as no surprise to her. "I would have been surprised if we lost
badly, because we've worked so hard," she said.
No. 2: Bush supports federal marriage amendment
• President Bush, pushed by conservative demands, gave his support to a
proposed federal marriage amend-
ment that, if passed, would ban
same-sex unions t He revealed bis
plans to back the amendment in
his address to the nation in
February, saying he believed the
institution of marriage must be
protected from "activist judges
and local officials [who] have
made an aggressive attempt to
redefine marriage."
The president's move outraged
leaders of the Log Cabin
Republicans. The gay Republican
group decided not to endorse Bush
in his re-election bid, and it
launched a national advertising
campaign against the amendment.
Bush's stance seemed to soften
as the presidential election neared,
and polls showed him in a tight
race with Democrat John Kerry. During the final presidential debate several
months later, Bush said that he believed all people should be treated with "tol-
erance and respect and dignity and consenting adults
See TOP 10 on PAGE 15
President Bush
dallasvoice.com-
DECEMBER I 31 I 2004
THE PREMIER SOURCE FOR GLBT DALLAS/FORT WORTH
Making history, meeting challenges
On New Year's Eve, Lupe Valdez becomes the county's first female, first Hispanic
sheriff, but she is more concerned about doing the job than getting the attention
By Tammye Nash Staff Writer
At a recent Distinguished Women Leaders Lecture
Series sponsored by the Greater Dallas Chamber of
Commerce, Dallas County Sheriff-elect Lupe Valdez
noted that there bound to be differences between her and
the other sheriffs in Texas. After all, she said, "I don't wear
a cowboy hat. It really messes up your 'do."
Another way to tell her apart from the other sheriffs,
Valdez added, was that she doesn't have a moustache.
The joke was Valdez's way of acknowledging her his-
toric election and the many ways that she stands out from
the other 253 county sheriffs in the state. When she is
sworn in at midnight on Friday, Valdez will be Dallas
County's first Democratic sheriff in more than 30 years, as
well as the first woman and the first Hispanic ever elected
to the office.
Valdez also will become Dallas County's first openly
gay sheriff, and only the second openly gay person elect-
ed sheriff in Texas. Margo Frasier was the first openly gay
sheriff in the state. Frasier chose this year not to run for a
third term after eight years in office, saying she wanted to
spend more time with her family.
But instead of focusing on her historic firsts, Valdez
prefers to talk about her years of experience in law
enforcement and her plans for restoring the luster to a
department that has been wracked with scandal.
'It's not about all the firsts," Valdez said. "It's about the
See SHERIFF on PAGE 17
J
W-
h n.JPK*
Dallas County Sheriff-elect Lupe Valdez:
It's about the experience.
It's not about all the firsts.
Christian school forces gay student out
18-year-old's Internet site discussing sexual orientation prompts administrators
at Trinity Christian Academy high school to take action against senior
By David Webb Staff Writer
A gay Trinity Christian Academy high school student
was forced to transfer to a public school this month after
administrators learned he had created a Web site for gay
and lesbian teenagers to meet and chat.
The 18-year-old student was confronted after word
spread on campus about his Internet activities and another
student informed school officials, according to a report on
notgeniuses.com, a link on the Web site. School officials
questioned the student, who is a senior, about his sexual
orientation, and the information was relayed to his parents
over his objections, according to the report.
The student, who is now a senior at a Piano high school,
declined to be interviewed because of his parents' con-
cerns.
FRI Mostly Cloudy 53°
in Review 6
Viewpoints 22
Life+styles 24
Starvoice 36
Calendar 39
Scene 46
Classifieds 50
As Tammy Lynn Michaels
rings in 2005, she's
counting her blessings,
kicking off a new sit-
com e and nursing wife
Melissa Etheridge back
to health. PAGE 24.
SAT Thunderstorms 52/66
V '''' v
rr^75>SUN Thunderstorms 45/64
Mostly cloudy and mild through the weekend, with a 30 percent
chance of thunderstorms on Saturday, increasing to a 40 percent
chance on Sunday. Winds moderate.
Need a healthy 2005
resolution? Try DFW
Rainbow Skate night,
now organized by part-
ners Robbie Martin and
Jayson Pruitt, who met
at the rink. PAGE 33.
The Dallas Morning News reported this week that the
student conducted an on-the-record interview, and then
later asked for his name to be withheld because of his par-
ents' reaction when he told them about the upcoming
story.
"I've been instructed by my parents not to give out any
more interviews;," said the student, whose Web site, my-
boi.com, has been in operation for about four months.
More than 2,000 users are now registered on the Web
site. Its mission statement says in part that it "gives
teenagers a place to find other teens of the same likeness
and sexuality," and that it hopes to deter teenagers from
alcohol, drugs, depression and suicide.
See TRINITY on PAGE 19
Queer ski season kicks
off this week.
Snowbunnies looking for
a new way to hit the
slopes might want to try
hopping on a snow-
board. PAGE 34.
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Vercher, Dennis. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 34, Ed. 1 Friday, December 31, 2004, newspaper, December 31, 2004; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238888/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.