The Lobby Report, Spring 1994 Page: 1 of 4
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: LGBT Collections and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
SPRING 1994
THELOBBYREPORT
The Newsletter of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of TexasORGANIZING AGAINST
HATE CRIMES
As many of you knowthe murder of
Nicholas West has brought national at-
tention to hate crimes in Texas. Nicho-
lasWestwas a 23 year old gay man who
was murdered in Tyler, Texas. His mur-
derers have stated that they killed him
because he was gay. Although the
murder was immediately classified as a
hate crime, initially there was little me-
dia attention given to the case.
AtLGRL,we organized immediately
with Wesley Beard and residents of East
Texas to attempt to bring attention to
this brutal killing. We felt it was crucial
that the public understand the hatred
that prompted West's murder. The Texas
Triangle and the Austin American
Statesmanwere the firstnewspapersto
print stories on the murder. Eventually,
reporters from around the nation such
as The New York Times, USA Today,
CNN, and CBS News ran stories on
West's murderand they clearly reported
it as a hate crime. Reporters also dis-
cussed the recent hate crimes legisla-
tion passed by the Texas Legislature.Several state legislators openly dis-
cussed the problems they had trying to
Eventually,
reporters from
around the
nation such as
The New York
Times, USA Today,
CNN,and CBS
News ran stories
on West's
murder and
they clearly
reported it as a
hate crime.
get many other legislators to include gay
men and lesbians in hate crimes laws in
Texas. In fact, Senator Rodney Ellis of
Houston debated Representative War-
ren Chisum of Pampa onthe inclusion of
lesbians and gay men in hate crimes
legislation on Larry King Live. For les-
bian and gay Texans, these types of
public policy debates are crucial if we.: wl \nM
1" ti':
r :1
PIP
Aft.SPRING 1994
are to be included in hate crimes legisla-
tion next session.
In addition to bringing visibility to
West's murder, it was importantto bring
support to local lesbians and gay men
living in EastTexas. LGRL helped orga-
nize a statewide Stop the Hate rally in
Tyler on January 8, 1994. Nearly 1000
people attended this rally. We were
ableto getthree state legislators, Sena-
tor Rodney Ellis, Rep. Garnet Coleman
and Rep. Glen Maxey to speak at the
rally. Lesbian and gay groups from
acrossthe state traveled toTylerto sup-
portEastTexasgaysand lesbians and to
bring attention tothe need for hate crime
protection. That support has since de-
veloped intothe newlyformed EastTexas
Gay/Lesbian Alliance. The ETGLA is
being organized by Wesley Beard of
Jacksonville, Texas. LGRLwill do all we
can to help with the development of the
ETG LA.
Specialthanks goes outtoallthose
people who also helped organize this
rally especially Teresa Herrin, Pat
Grunden, Rev. Mel White, John Ramos,
Carla McGaughey, Ray Hill, Spring Lee,
Deb Elder, Dennis Poplin, Brad Veloz,
Tim Brown, Maura Powers and Mary
Anne Messina.
THE STATE OF THE
SODOMY LAW
On January 12,1994 the Texas Su-
preme Court, in a 5 to 4 decision, dis-
missedthe Morales vs. the State of Texas
case which challengedthe constitution-
ality of Section 21.06 of the Penal Code.
21.06 is commonly known as the "anti-
sodomy law." The Court dismissed the
case by stating that under the facts of
the case the court did not have jurisdic-
tion to make a ruling on 21.06.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
The Lobby Report, Spring 1994, periodical, 1994; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc916821/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.