Houston Mayor Annise Parker Speaks on Gay Marriage & Undocumented Immigration Issues
Submitted by Southern Shift on Mon, 2010-01-04 22:59
Authored by Davey D
In Part 3 of our interview with Houston’s new Mayor Annise Parker she talks frankly about what sort of signal her being gay and elected mayor of Houston sends to the rest of the country. Of particular note is the signal her election sends to traditional liberal enclaves like California and New York where gay marriage was rejected by voters and the legislature.
Parker notes that we are in a changing world and that people are not as sheltered from gay people as they were in the past and as a result, it's not as big of an issue in many circles as one might think. She also noted that there is a difference between how people may react to her running for Mayor and the types of issues andunique set of circumstances that arise when you talk about gay marriage. There’s alot of religious and social borders that hve to be crossed.
Parker speaks on her opponents attempted to spark a backlash by making her sexual orientation be an issue. She explains that she had a strong lead in the race which narrowed once her sexuality was tossed in the mix. She also notes how proud she is of Houstonians for not falling into the trap and voting for her as they have 6 other times when Mayor Parker has run for office. Parker also talks about other gay elected officials in Texas and how Texas voters in general have been tolerant. She also talks about being a role model for people in the GLBT community and what sort of issues she hopes to put forth. Click the link below to hear interview.
http://www.swift.fm/SouthernShift/song/11701/
In part 4 of our interview we talk with Mayor Annise Parker about how she will handle issues around Houston’s large immigrant population, in particular those who are undocumented. She says she will not allow Houston police to question people’s immigration status if they call the police. However, she said the controversial 287 G program will be used if you are incarcerated. We also talked to her about the role ICE will play... We concluded by talking to about a program called Citation Option, which would have police give tickets instead of arrests for minor offenses. She said Houston has laws on the books that ease with jail overcrowding… You can peep the interview here.
http://www.swift.fm/SouthernShift/song/11706/
Links below to Interview w/ Houston Mayor-Elect Annise Parker, Parts 1 & 2.
Part 1: How Texas is Politically Changing
Part 2: Why Houston needs a new Police Chief
