- Joel Burns, left, and partner J.D. Angle
Mayor Annise Parker of Houston once joked, upon becoming the first openly gay person elected mayor of a major U.S. city, that municipal elections in Texas aren’t normally featured on the front page of the Times of India. Now openly gay Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns is gaining international notoriety as well.
Since we posted Burns’ “It Gets Better” speech yesterday, it has been featured by outlets including the Huffington Post, Gawker and the UK Guardian. According to YouTube, the video of the speech has as many as 67,554 views.
The Guardian describes Burns’ moving speech and then says, “But written words do not do it justice; watch the video.”
We agree, and we’re glad Burns’ message is getting heard.
Great speech and courageous as well. Where are the Dallas City Councilpersons making similar pleas?
Joel will be speaking this Saturday, October 23 at the DFW Federal Club luncheon where he will also be introducing special guest Senator Wendy Davis. Go to DFWFederalClub.org to RSVP.