Ann Richards

[serene]

I can understand when queerfolk think Ann Richards was an important and
good politician to have around, in the general sense. She was.

I can't really understand when queerfolk are deeply moved by her passing.
When she signed the Texas anti-sodomy legislation into law, she lost any
ability she had to make me all misty-eyed.

*shrug*

But then I'm a Big Meanie(tm).

Comments

[baerana.livejournal.com]

i didn't know she did. all I remember is GWB taunting and baiting her in response to her support of repealing anti-sodomy laws

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that she did sign a penal code bill that continued the existing anti-sodomy law. She pushed to not have it in the bill but it made it in and she passed it. Some think that what she did was inexcuseable because she backed off of a veto on this issue when she had the chance and some think that a veto wouldn't have changed anything and that the rest of her pro-equality career more than offsets her playing ball in this instance.

I wasn't a Texan when she was Governor but I certainly liked her and I think that without too much research one kind find much to get misty over in Ann Richard's passing.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

1) because I tend to see the whole, not the parts,
2) because I am able to acknowledge that people I like and/or admire have flaws and make mistakes,
3) Sounds like the signing of the legislation might have been more complicated than that,
4) Signing a bad law when you're a governor or a president (as opposed to pushing for its passage, or introducing it as a legislator) is in my book a very minor sin. What you really mean is that she failed to veto it.

YMMV, and that's fine. But for me, if I were to whip out the metaphoric scales and weigh her good vs. her bad, there's a lot more heft on the "did good" side, still.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

I actually really can't understand (as in comprehend) your last sentence. Could you make it clearer for me?

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I don't think that my lack of deep emotion for her means I'm not seeing the whole picture. It just means that something hit my emotions in a way that precludes feeling sappy about her. I still think that on the whole, she was a good force, and I said so. Anyone who doesn't veto making my sex life illegal when she has the chance isn't gonna get a tear from me.

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

replace "kind" with "can".

Writing at work can be so distracting.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I didn't see anyone asking you to spare a tear. (Or, for that matter, saying that you didn't see the whole picture.)

As I said in my own post, I rarely feel deep emotion for the passing of people I don't know, so I certainly understand that (lack of) feeling in general.

I offered an explanation for my own feelings and my own alone.

Also, while I'm here and picking things apart, I wouldn't characterize my feelings (and mine alone) as "sappy."

I'm not interested in picking (or participating in) a fight about how to feel about Richards' death. I respect your feelings.

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Herm. You said you didn't understand why queerfolk feel a certain way... I think that got taken as "How could anyone ignore this issue?" instead of "I can't ignore this issue".

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

And "because I tend to see the whole, not the parts," reads to me as "you would think this way if you saw the whole, and not just the parts," but I'm clearly not in a good communication space today, so I'm letting it go.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

Bingo.

[tesseract26.livejournal.com]

You gotta read Ann in context. From Equality Texas (http://www.equalitytexas.org):

"Ann Richards was the first governor in Texas history to take pro-equality stands for lesbian and gay Texans. She was the first governor to appoint openly-gay people to offices in her campaign and administration, including her protégé and supporter, former State Representative Glen Maxey.

...A longtime opponent of discrimination against gays and lesbians, Richards favored eliminating Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code, the “Homosexual Conduct” law as part of the penal system reforms. The proposed criminal code revision she sent to the legislature in 1993 eliminated the “Homosexual Conduct” law. However, the legislature reinstated it over her objections. The conduct law was later declared unconstitutional by the U. S. Supreme Court in 2003, although it remains in Texas statutes.

Also in 1993, Williamson County cited the sodomy law statute to deny Apple Computer tax incentives for a new facility in the county because of Apple’s policy of extending benefits to employees’ same-gender domestic partners. On December 7, 1993, under heavy pressure from Governor Richards, Williamson County commissioners reversed their decision.

Even after leaving public office, Ann Richards continued to be a progressive voice on the national stage. When asked by CNN’s Larry King in May 2004 what she thought of Massachusetts law allowing same-gender couples to marry, Richards responded, “...we need more loving families in this country, not less." ....

In 1990, Richards was elected the 45th governor of Texas, ushering in what she called the "New Texas". During her tenure as governor, Richards created the most representative and inclusive administration in Texas history, including people of color and openly-gay persons.

She appointed the first African-American University of Texas regent; the first crime victim to join the Texas Criminal Justice Board; the first disabled person to serve on the human services board; the first teacher to lead the State Board of Education; and the first African-American and female Texas Rangers."