“LezBeProud” is the Texas answer to “The Real L Word”

AfterEllen: Are you one of the bajillion lesbians who didn’t see yourself represented in The Real L Word‘s brand of talking, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting, f–king, crying, drinking, writing, winning, losing, cheating, kissing, thinking and dreaming? Well, Texas-based LezBeProud may be the answer to your reality TV needs. On April 15, “the Ladies” are launching a web series that will follow two lesbian couples — Debbie and Dawn, and Kristi and Lauren — as they live out and proud in front of the cameras in the Bible belt.

Series creator Debbie Forth put it like this:

We designed this project to provide a different view of our lifestyle and to give other couples hope that society can accept their love. There are a variety of reality shows that highlight the many differences that exist in heterosexual relationships, but there simply aren’t any that show what lesbian couples endure to stay together. This is not a scripted show; this is our life.

Over the course of the series, Debbie and Dawn will be headed to the altar, and Kristi and Lauren will “share the trials and tribulations of finding the perfect one, and maintaining a positive relationship.”

LezBeProud is also looking for a single lesbian to join their series. The casting call makes me laugh:

LezBeProud is looking for a “single” lady who doesn’t mind exposing her life to find true love. We are looking for someone who is proud and has a story to share with the world. This “single” lady must have a fun attitude, amazing personality, a few character flaws (so we know you are just like us), and most importantly you must have an open heart free from past jaded relationships. Is that even possible in the lesbian world?

Is that even possible in any world? (If yes, feel free to also apply to be Heather Hogan’s Girlfriend.)

I’m actually kind of excited about the prospect of this reality series. For one thing, I’m a lesbian living in the Bible belt. For another thing, tank tops.

For a third thing, their promo photos feature the sun backlighting their faces, not shining out of their crotches.

And for a fourth thing, I was going to make a joke about everything being bigger in Texas, including lesbian drama, but they already made the joke on their web site — which is so very Texas and so very gay that I know I’ll be giving this series a chance.

You can find out more about LezBeProud at their official site, lezbeproud.com. Or follow them on Twitter (@LezBeProud).

Good…I guess.

Queerty: Texas Doesn’t Know Whether Trans Folk Are Male or Female, So It Allowed 2 Dykes to Marry

In 1999, Texas declared couples can only get married if one partner is male and one is female. In 2004 the state banned gay marriage. And then in 2009 the state insisted a post-operative transsexual’s newly assigned gender overrides the gender stated on their birth certificate. So how’d the state handle a male-to-female transgender woman who wanted to marry her longtime girlfriend? They let them wed, but no one’s sure if they should have.

Virgil Eugene Hill Jr. was born with both male and female organs, yet the birth certificate listed Hill as a male. Hill, after discovering she had ovaries, had a sex-change operation and legally became Sabrina Jeanne Hill in 1991. Then in 1993, Hill met her current girlfriend Therese Bur and the two have lived together ever since. In February, Hill decided to marry Bur so that Bur would receive Hill’s spousal military benefits. El Paso denied the union and County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal wrote State Attorney General Greg Abbott to ask WTF she was supposed to do—pay attention to the birth certificate or to the driver’s license.

Instead of waiting for an answer, Bur and Hill hightailed it to San Antonio and got hitched there. Bexar County Clerk Gerard C. “Gerry” Rickhoff granted the marriage license based on Hill’s birth certificate. He said, “As I recall, he (the judge) said you are what you are at your birth. I don’t care what they appear to me or what manner of dress. We are familiar with them, and they are well received when they come to our office.”

A video interview with the couple says that they’re not looking to change same-sex marriage laws in Texas, but the case will definitely force the state to have to re-examine its contradictory and outdated transgender laws.

Did Texas’ Gay Marriage Ban Accidentally Ban Straight Marriage, Too?

Gawker: A Houston lawyer says her state made a “massive mistake” in their Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and now everyone in Texas is divorced.

McClatchy reports that Barbara Ann Radnofsky is a Democratic candidate for attorney general who thinks Texas’ 2005 ban on gay marriage inadvertently “eliminates marriage in Texas,” every single one.

The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that “marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.” But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:

“This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”

Uh, whoops? Texas’ current attorney general, Republican Greg Abbott, stands by the amendment. Others accuse Radnofsky of rabble rousing (Fancy that! Denying innocent couples the legal right to marry makes them very angry.) because the chance of all married Texans becoming unwitting divorcees apparently remains slim:

“It’s a silly argument,” said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Liberty Legal Institute in Plano. Any lawsuit based on the wording of Subsection B, he said, would have “about one chance in a trillion” of being successful.

But, it’d be pretty funny. [McClatchy]

 

This just proves you haven’t heard it all.

HeraldBanner: The Commerce Police Department has taken an elderly Hopkins County man into custody and are preparing to charge him with aggravated assault, after he allegedly attacked a female store clerk by blowing a powdery substance in her face, twice.

The reason why the man did it is truly unusual, according to Commerce Police Chief Kerry Crews.

“In my entire career I’ve never heard of anything like this,” Crews said. “I’ve checked with my detectives and they haven’t heard of anything like it either.”

Officers were called to Commerce Hardware and Feed on Monday regarding a customer that blew a white powdery substance in an employees face. The employee was checking the suspect out and when he handed his check to her, he blew the substance in her face. She turned away to process his check and when she turned back to him, he did it a second time, waited in the store for a few minutes then left.

Crews said Investigator Steve Scott was able to identify the suspect and subsequently interview him regarding this offense. The substance in the incident turned out to be white pepper.

“We found out he’s got a problem,” Crews said. “He becomes aroused by females sneezing.”

Crews said the nature of the incident could not be considered as a sexual assault. However, as the employee was taken to Hunt Regional Hospital in Commerce for an irritated throat and arm, the suspect was arrested for aggravated assault causing serious bodily Injury.

The suspect’s name was not released Thursday, pending his arraignment on the charge.

Happy Anniversary

PinkNews: Police raid Texas gay bar on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots

More than 100 protesters held a demonstration on Sunday evening after a gay bar in Fort Worth, Texas, was raided on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Chanting “No more”, the group stood on the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse to demand an investigation into the incident.

According to various accounts, police entered the Rainbow Lounge on Jennings Avenue and arrested seven people. It is thought that one of those arrested is in hospital with a fractured skull.

Todd Camp, a former Star-Telegram critic who was celebrating his birthday at the bar, said: “This looked like random harassment, plain and simple. It’s sad that in this day and age, on the anniversary of one of the most important days in gay rights history that the Fort Worth and State police would choose to attack gays in such an aggressive and unjustified manner.”

…thanks for keeping Texas a bright shining star on the hillbilly map