Top Ten GLBT News Stories | Year in the Life of Gay San Antonio

Chris Forbrich, Elena Guajardo, Ruby Mae Krebs

Community Leadership -- GLBT City Council Candidates
This year, Chris Forbrich, Elena Guajardo and Ruby Krebs all ran for City Council and even though none of them were successful they helped raise the profile of San Antonio’s GLBT community. Their leadership has continued after the election. Guajardo worked on Annise Parker’s runoff campaign for Mayor of Houston. Forbrich has been actively engaged in his District and is preparing for another City Council run. Krebs is active with the San Antonio Stonewall Democrats and in September joined a contingent from the Human Rights Campaign that visited the office of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to encourage support for GLBT legislation. We salute these community activists and applaud their leadership.

Mayor Julian Castro (Photo by Antonia Padilla)

Civil Service -- Mayor Julian Castro
In June, when it was first announced that Mayor Julian Castro would be Grand Marshal of the Gay Pride Parade, the media kicked the story up into a controversy after a local Christian radio station started an email campaign urging its listeners to tell the Mayor not to do it. In an interview with WOAI radio Castro responded, "I think it’s an important way to say that San Antonio is a very inclusive city. We don't just tolerate diversity, but we appreciate diversity among our citizens." In another interview he told the skeptical reporter at San Antonio Express-News, "We've been behind the times in recognition of the GLBT community as part of the fabric of our community. A mayor's participation is overdue given that San Antonio is the second-largest city in Texas and seventh largest in the nation." Castro has shown that he is a Mayor in service to all the citizens of San Antonio and deserves our community’s support.

Roberto Flores (Photo by WalkerReport.net)

Community Activism -- Roberto Flores
Roberto Flores is the first openly gay person ever elected Chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party. His election is a benchmark for the GLBT community and one that is the result of Flores’ commitment to his beliefs. He has been co-chair of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio since 2007, is a former member of the Board of Directors of Equality Texas and has been the Chair of the San Antonio Peace Officers Training Committee, which provides GLBT sensitivity training to San Antonio police cadets. He also has served as Democratic precinct chair of Bexar County Precinct 3122 since 2000. Flores’ election to the Bexar County Democrats is a great stride for our community and he is to be commended for his achievement.

Questionable Police Tactics -- SAPD Detective Tony Arcuri
Armed with a warrant based on an erroneous tip from an informant, San Antonio Police narcotics detective Tony Arcuri led a team of eight San Antonio Police officers, three Leon Valley patrolmen and a drug-sniffing dog on an April 28 raid on the home of an innocent lesbian couple. Carolyn Clark and Lindsey Bishop say they were left shaken and traumatized not only by the experience but also by the conduct of the police officers on the scene. Even though his team found no evidence of wrongdoing, the women say Arcuri kept them in handcuffs for almost two hours. The women accused Arcuri’s team of using sexist and homophobic remarks. One of the women was forced to get dressed while three male officer’s watched her. Adding insult to their injury, the couple says that when he was leaving their home Arcuri pointed to the front door that his team had kicked down and said, "You might want to get this door fixed. Next time we’ll knock." On September 14, the couple filed a federal lawsuit against Arcuri and the eight officers who conducted the raid.

Deadly Gay Bashers -- Jesse Ramon, Fernando Rodriguez and Michael Martinez
During the early morning hours of Sunday, August 20 Jesse Ramon, Fernando Rodriguez and Michael Martinez, armed with pistols, physically assaulted James Lee Whitehead (a.k.a. Niki Hunter) as he walked home the Saint nightclub. As police approached Rodriguez and Martinez fled but Ramon kept on pistol-whipping Whitehead. When Officer William Harman arrived on the scene he ordered Ramon to drop the weapon. However, Ramon got up and approached the officer with his gun raised. Harman fired five shots at Ramon. One of those stray shots hit Whitehead and killed him. Whitehead’s death was not classified as a hate crime because police say the assailants used no hate language. However, many in the community are certain that Ramon, Rodriguez and Martinez targeted Whitehead because he was a gay man -- an easy target.

Homophobic Whispers -- Select members of Live Oak City Council
It seems there are some on the Live Oak City Council (you know who you are) who are not happy that Susan Kirshner, a lesbian mom and registered nurse, was elected to the Council last April. Kirshner says that homophobic comments have been made by Live Oak elected officials during City Council meetings. Some council members have pledged to block any initiatives that Kirshner proposes. In the weeks after her election, Kirschner says she felt isolated and rejected. She contemplated giving up her office. However, she says it was her partner who told her she could not give up and offered her a bit of advice that has proven valuable. "She told me that I had to prove I was serious about my position on the City Council, that I had to do the best job possible. That I had to be better than them."

More 2009 Year in Review

Top Ten GLBT News Stories | Year in the Life of Gay San Antonio