The Changing Face of San Antonio in the Aftermath of the General Election

by Jay Morris | Published Online on January 01, 2011

Progressives lost big in the November 2010 General Election. Now that the U.S. House of Representatives consists of a Republican, largely anti-LGBT equality majority, we face the difficult challenge of reevaluating our methods for attaining our goals, including but not limited to: the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act; passage of an inclusive employment non-discrimination act; passing anti-bullying legislation and passage of the Uniting American Families Act.

The results of the election have left even the most resolute activists grasping for signs of hope. Openly gay Senator Barney Frank of Massachusetts flatly stated that there is zero chance of any pro-LGBT legislation passing at the federal level within the next year. San Antonio’s Dan Graney, of the Texas Stonewall Democrats, recently wrote, “The ultra-conservative composition of the new [U.S.] Congress means that pro-equality legislation will never see the light of day in the next two years and efforts may be made to bring back anti-LGBT bills in the House.” Even long-time activist David Mixner fell from his general optimism stating, “What is very clear is that the national strategy of delaying votes on our action items for freedom over the last two years turned out to be a disastrous mistake.”

But the pessimism may be misplaced. Although nationally the numbers look bleaker than 2 years ago, of the 201 endorsements by the Human Rights Campaign for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, a remarkable 161 candidates were victorious. Out of 164 total endorsed Victory Fund candidates, 106 were elected to office.

Unfortunately, the local numbers weren’t as impressive. The San Antonio Stonewall Democrats (SASD) endorsed a total of 54 candidates for the 2010 General Election. Of the 54 total candidates endorsed by SASD, a mere 17 were victorious. Only 4 of those that successfully won the election were opposed by a Republican candidate, 11 were entirely unopposed, one faced a Green party opponent, and the other faced an Independent.

However, in spite of the bleak endorsement returns for San Antonio, the city may be well posed for change. Presently, many Texas cities already have employment non-discrimination or non-discrimination in public accommodation policies in place that protect sexual orientation and/or gender identity, including: Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas, and El Paso. Sadly, neither the City of San Antonio nor the State of Texas: (1) have a policy to protect LGBT citizens from discrimination in either the public or private sector; or (2) provide recognition or benefits to state or city employees with same-sex partners.

With the launch of Mayor Castro’s SA2020 initiative in late September 2010, our community has been provided with an avenue to perhaps inspire change and move San Antonio out of the closet. (see www.sa2020.org). The SA2020 plan asks San Antonians three questions:

1. In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing San Antonio today?

2. When you think about the future ten years from now, what is the most important aspect of living in San Antonio that you hope is preserved or maintained?

3. Again thinking about the future ten years from now, if you could change or improve one thing about San Antonio, what would that be?

By answering question number 3, above, as it relates to the discrimination our community faces in employment and public accommodations, the bullying of LGBT youth, and similar issues which can be changed without federal intervention, we can encourage policies at the local level that will positively affect our future generations.

Of course, it’s going to take more than simply answering a questionnaire to implement such protections, even with a sympathetic mayor, but it is a start. It is undisputable that the road to change is a treacherous one; however, like any time the path is difficult, we must keep the goal in focus. We must remember that the face of San Antonio 10 years from now isn’t solely dependent on the politicians, but also on the people. Each of us has a role to play – and the show will go on.

This article appeared in the January 2011 of ignite Magazine.