Letter writer short on facts
Oh, where to begin with a letter like Larry Lockhart’s ("Illegal Still Means Criminal," May 28)? Well, why not here:
• According to a 2006 report from Texas State Comptroller Carol Keeton Strayhorn, a Republican, the 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas added $1.58 billion in state revenues (i.e. taxes), which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received.
• According to a 2005 New York Times article, undocumented immigrants contribute $7 billion per year in social security taxes, even though they are not eligible for these benefits.
• According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, although the undocumented immigrant population doubled from 1994 to 2004, the violent crime rate in the United States fell by 35 percent and the property crime rate by 25 percent.
• According to a 2008 report from the Public Policy Institute of California, the incarceration rate for foreign-born adults in that state is 297 per 100,000 in the population, compared to 813 per 100,000 for U.S.-born adults.
I could go on. Facts are a tricky thing, Mr. Lockhart. I would suggest limiting future comments to those areas in which you actually have a few. I don’t know what they might be, but it is clearly not immigration.
Fort Worth
‘Gay’ once meant ‘criminal’ in Texas
This is in reply to Larry Lockhart’s letter, "Illegal still means criminal" (Dallas Voice, May 28).
I could go on about U.S. history and how the land was obtained from the Indians and Mexico, but that would require a lengthy debate. I am a 48-year-old Hispanic (second generation Mexican-American, in Lockhart’s terms), and I was involved with someone for seven years who shared Lockhart’s views. There was much clashing between our cultures, and needless to say I finally got fed up with it and dumped him — as I hope Lockhart’s partner will. Because Larry Lockhart is a hypocrite.
He and his partner were criminals under Texas law until the Texas sodomy law was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2003 (Lawrence v. Texas). All gay men are/were criminals — once a criminal always a criminal.
I’m living legally in the U.S., but, man, was I happy to be illegal under Texas law for being gay.
Dallas Voice also printed the opinion piece "Straight allies need to come out, too" (Dallas Voice, May 28). It was written by a straight gentleman who works for Texas Instruments discussing the civil rights movement and gay rights. I am a gay employee of Texas Instruments (15 years with the company and a member of LEGEND, TI’s gay/lesbian initiative, as well as the company’s Hispanic Initiative, aka HEIF].
Ironically, I find myself praising a straight man for his point of view and condemning a gay man for his. How pathetic is that?
The only admiration I have for Larry Lockhart is that he didn’t try to stay anonymous and was willing to put his name on his opinions.
Mesquite
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This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 04, 2010.
