Annise Parker on Civil Rights

Co-chaired "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" effort

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is still refusing to sign onto the pledge, despite a petition with 253 signatures and promises of protests at his upcoming public events.

The group has also added two new co-chairs, San Diego's Jerry Sanders and Boston's Thomas Menino; with New York's Michael Bloomberg, L.A.'s Antonio Villaraigosa and Houston's own Annise Parker. The five-co-chairs issued the following statement: Source: Dallas Voice, "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" , Jan 20, 2012

First openly lesbian mayor of a major American city:

Ms. Parker, a city controller who has been elected to local office six times with little controversy over her sexual preference, is the leading candidate in Saturday's election runoff. Still, Ms. Parker has faced some attacks from some who fear she will push a radical gay agenda.

Polls show most Houston voters are unconcerned with Ms. Parker's sexual orientation, and if anything, the gay issue is becoming a bigger problem for her opponent Gene Locke, who is under fire for accepting endorsements from anti-gay activists some liberals see as bigoted.

Realize the importance of the letter T in GLBT

Is our community finally getting comfortable with the final letter in GLBT? I hope so. But I know some of us still have a long way to go toward real understanding and acceptance. I still recall being advised by some people in those early campaigns to keep the transgenders out of sight! I can only hope that the year of films like Transamerica will mark a turning point for the transgender community