• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Gun Control
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox

Critics Blast LGBT Coalition Over Failed Strategy In Houston Equal Rights Fight

John Wright November 4, 2015 Leave a Comment

houston

The Monday morning quarterbacking has officially begun.

LGBT bloggers and local political scientists alike are slamming the campaign in support of Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, which was defeated in a landslide at the polls on Tuesday. 

Veteran gay journalist Michelangelo Signorile wrote at The Huffington Post that the LGBT movement needs “new leadership and a better plan, or we’re bound to see this happen again.” He compared HERO’s defeat to to the 2008 passage of Proposition 8 in California, citing a lack of outreach to minority communities and a failure to tackle the debunked transgender bathroom myth head-on.

LGBT activists argued until they were blue in the face that every other major city in Texas had such a broad ordinance, as did 200 other large cities across America — and Houston is the fourth largest city in the U.S. — but that argument held no weight against the lies of the “bathroom” ads. …

The coalition HRC led, Houston Unites, which also included the ACLU of Texas, with all of its money and star power, never effectively hit back against the lies with a powerful, biting rejoinder exposing the haters. They didn’t even respond in a clear way to the bathroom lie itself, running only one ad to counter it. …

We’ve got to stop making the same mistakes over and over again. What happened last night is reminiscent of the battle over Proposition 8 in California. The anti-gay side focused on harm to children, activating irrational fear deep inside people’s brains regarding homosexuals. There was no counterpunch, as in Houston, where ads did not powerfully take on the hate mongers. And there was no outreach to specific communities of color that the opponents were hitting with distorted hate messages.

Monica Roberts, a well-known black transgender activist in Houston, wrote at TransGriot that Houston Unites was a “whitewashed” campaign that reacted instead of being on the attack:

The Black LGBT community and our allies have been warning for months that action was needed in our community IMMEDIATELY or else HERO was going down to defeat.  We pleaded for canvassing in our neighborhoods, pro-HERO ads on Houston Black radio stations and hard hitting attacks to destroy the only card our haters had to play in the bathroom meme.

We also needed trans people of color front and center attacking the meme instead of being almost invisible for this entire campaign. But once again the Houston Black LGBT community was ignored, and this time the whole city will pay for Houston Unites lack of vision and the milquetoast campaign that was run.

More from Zack Ford at ThinkProgress:

Indeed, Houston Unites did very little to respond to the bathroom fearmongering, running only one ad that actually introduced a transgender person, and he didn’t discuss bathrooms at all. The other ads all emphasized the many non-LGBT groups that HERO would have protected. Some LGBT activists are already clamoring for change in future campaigns.

Brynn Tanehill, director of advocacy for the LGBT military organization SPARTA, wrote of HERO’s defeat that the LGBT movement’s traditional tactics simply cannot prevail over the myths about bathrooms in a single campaign. “Trying to convince the general public is an (expensive) fool’s errand,” she wrote Tuesday night. “The three million dollars in Houston could have been used to fund studies that would counter right wing talking points about transgender people, and continue to build the consensus of people who are experts in the field. Alternately that money could have been used to hire a transgender policy experts and advocates dedicated to working transgender issues full time in half the states in the US.”

Local political scientists were also weighing in. From The Houston Chronicle:

Supporters failed to come up with a coherent message and should have focused on the possible economic ramifications of failing to uphold the law, said Rice University political scientist Bob Stein.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the economic argument was a salient argument,” Stein said. “Would they have been able to win this with that messaging? I don’t know. But it would not have been as lopsided and someone could have resurrected the issue at council with a smaller margin.” …

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, told the Chronicle that HERO supporters failed to get out in front of the bathroom issue:

“The pro-HERO folks didn’t realize early enough where the problems would be and didn’t do enough to negate the arguments that were likely to come,” he said. “Only late in the game did we see significant public support from notables from the Democratic party or from Hollywood. It was all in the fourth quarter, when the game was already won by halftime by the anti-folks.”

Topics: Uncategorized More Posts About: Discrimination, HERO, Houston, houston equal rights ordinance, LGBT Rights, Michelangelo Signorile, Monica Roberts, Texas, Zack Ford

Related Posts
  • Idaho, Alabama, Wisconsin Advance Anti-Trans Youth Bills, Including Life In Prison Punishment For Providing Puberty Blockers
  • The 100,000 (est) Men Convicted for Same-Sex Contact Under UK’s Maze of Sodomy Laws Over The Last Few Hundred Years Can Get Pardons Now. Bit Late For Some.
  • Supreme Court Weighs Free speech vs. Texas College’s Censure of Aggressive Anti-LGBT Activist On Its Board of Trustees
  • Jodie Foster lands first regular TV role in almost 50 years

    Jodie Foster lands first regular TV role in almost 50 years

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Jodie Foster is to star in season four of ‘True Detective’. The 59-year-old actress – who shot to fame as a child star in Disney hits such as ‘Freaky Friday’ and …Read More »
  • Monkeypox can be contained if we act now, WHO says

    Monkeypox can be contained if we act now, WHO says

    Published by Reuters By Mrinalika Roy and Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) -Countries should take quick steps to contain the spread of monkeypox and share data about their vaccine stockpiles, a senior World Health Organization official said …Read More »
  • As U.S. states restrict abortions, pro-choice lawmakers look to Mexico

    As U.S. states restrict abortions, pro-choice lawmakers look to Mexico

    Published by Reuters MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) – Pro-choice U.S. lawmakers visiting Mexico said Americans are turning to their southern neighbor to access abortions as some states tighten restrictions on the procedure and with the Supreme Court …Read More »
  • Country music stars distance themselves from NRA after school massacre

    Country music stars distance themselves from NRA after school massacre

    Published by AFP Country musician Lee Greenwood addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 in Orlando, Florida on February 27, 2022 New York (AFP) – Country music has long been closely linked to America’s pro-gun lobby, …Read More »
Previous Post: « NCAA Won’t Move Final Four From Houston Despite Repeal of Equal Rights Ordinance #HERO
Next Post: Kansas Teacher Asked to Resign After Showing Students Anti-Bullying Film – VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • U.S. prosecutors get guilty verdict in Capitol riot case, extending win streak

    U.S. prosecutors get guilty verdict in Capitol riot case, extending win streak

  • Harrowing new accounts emerge from Uvalde’s young survivors

    Harrowing new accounts emerge from Uvalde’s young survivors

  • Russia steps up battle for eastern Ukraine

    Russia steps up battle for eastern Ukraine

  • Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

    Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

Break

  • Johnny Depp rumoured to be signed for ‘Beetlejuice 2’

    Johnny Depp rumoured to be signed for ‘Beetlejuice 2’

  • Abba ‘need to recoup £140m from digital show’ after splashing out on flashy Abba-tars from George Lucas firm

    Abba ‘need to recoup £140m from digital show’ after splashing out on flashy Abba-tars from George Lucas firm

  • Prince William holds future of British monarchy in his hands

    Prince William holds future of British monarchy in his hands

  • Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

    Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

RSS Partner Links

  • Mask4Masc
  • Jennifer Lopez wants to marry Ben Affleck this summer & she wants a big wedding
  • Dove Cameron Pays Tribute to Late Friend Cameron Boyce on His 23rd Birthday
  • Megan Thee Stallion Kicks Off the Weekend with Hot Yoga Class
  • Hilary Duff Shares Rare Comments About Co-Parenting Son Luca with Ex-Husband Mike Comrie
  • Bo Hopkins, 'American Graffiti' Actor, Passes Away at 80
  • OMG, have you heard? Ms. Juicy Baby released from hospital after stroke
  • Open Post: Hosted By The Man Who Paid Over $15,000 For A Realistic Dog Costume To Fulfill His Dream Of Becoming An Animal
  • Matthew Morrison Is Out As Judge On “So You Think You Can Dance” For Breaking Production Protocols

Most Recent

  • Italy Church’s limited sexual abuse investigation disappoints victims

    Italy Church’s limited sexual abuse investigation disappoints victims

  • Jodie Foster lands first regular TV role in almost 50 years

    Jodie Foster lands first regular TV role in almost 50 years

  • Monkeypox can be contained if we act now, WHO says

    Monkeypox can be contained if we act now, WHO says

  • As U.S. states restrict abortions, pro-choice lawmakers look to Mexico

    As U.S. states restrict abortions, pro-choice lawmakers look to Mexico

  • Country music stars distance themselves from NRA after school massacre

    Country music stars distance themselves from NRA after school massacre

  • Protests at NRA convention in Texas, but speakers reject new gun laws

    Protests at NRA convention in Texas, but speakers reject new gun laws

  • Portia De Rossi hails Ellen DeGeneres as her ‘idol’

    Portia De Rossi hails Ellen DeGeneres as her ‘idol’

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in