Wednesday, October 12, 2005

How low do you think they can go?

Nothing like getting the voters riled up over lies, just to get what you want, eh? (Practicing my Canadian accent here...)

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Texas Gays Accused Of Voter Fraud

(Houston, Texas) Fliers are being distributed throughout Texas accusing gays fighting a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage of voter fraud.

The fliers claim that gay groups have been bussing out-of-state voters into Texas to register here and steal the election. The leaflets have been stuffed in mailboxes and left in public buildings, but no one is claiming responsibility for them.

Voters go to the polls Nov. Nov. 8. The proposed amendment would define marriage as a union solely of a man and a woman and bar civil unions in Texas.

The LGBT rights group opposing the amendment calls the fliers "scurrilous".

"If you go down and ask the County Clerk in Bell County or McLennan County or any of the central Texas counties, have they seen busloads of people showing up to register to vote? No. It's not real credible," said Glen Maxey, Director of No Nonsense in November.

Even Republican lawmakers who sponsored the gay marriage amendment have distanced themselves from the fliers' claims.

"There certainly is plenty of folks that will be emotional and excited about this issue in the state of Texas, but I don't think it's credible that folks will come from outside the borders," Rep. Charles Anderson said.

There has, however, been a small increase in the number of registered voters - attributed to evacuees from Louisiana who fled hurricane Katrina and are putting down roots in Texas. The number of gays among that group is not known, but the Montrose Counseling Center in Houston had voter registration forms on its front counter and urged LGBT evacuees who would be in the state on election day to register.

The Secretary of State's office says it is closely watching for any unusual spikes in voter registration, but has not seen anything significant.

Last week some of Houston's leading political leaders urged the defeat of the amendment. (story)

National Coming Out Day Quiz

How out are you? Take this quiz and see.

My results:



ACCORDING TO OUR QUIZ YOU ARE:

You're somewhere over the rainbow - but not all the way to the pot of gold!You're out there ... but maybe not as far as you think. Coming out and Being out are both life-long processes. And the experiences can be more fulfilling for you, and can make a huge impact on the GLBT movement, if you make an effort to learn about the issues, talk about the issues, and give people a fuller appreciation of who you are and why you value GLBT equality.

TALK ABOUT IT.