Dallsa Mayor Mike Rawlings greets gay couple Jack Evans, left, and George Harris, who've been together more than 50 years, before Saturday's meeting at Resource Center Dallas. (John Wright/Dallas Voice)
After meeting privately for nearly two hours with about 25 people from the LGBT community, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings on Saturday afternoon refused to rule out the possibility of reversing course and signing a pledge in support of same-sex marriage.
“To be a great city we have to have everybody feel a part of it,” Rawlings told a throng of news reporters as he left Resource Center Dallas, where the closed-door meeting took place. “Obviously, the LGBT community feels at times that they’re disenfranchised. They don’t have the civil rights that the rest of us have, and so it was a wonderful learning experience for me, listening to personal stories, listening to policy issues, and listening to strategies of how we can make sure this community feels better next year than it does today. The arc of history is working for the rights of this community, and we as citizens and as the City Council want to support that.”
Asked whether he might still change his mind and sign the marriage pledge, Rawlings referred to himself as “pledge-phobic.”
“I think that America’s got too many pledges out there, and I think it’s simplistic and not substantive,” he said. “I’m a mayor that wants to be substantive. I do care about the civil rights of all of our citizens and will think about how we can make Dallas a better place for that.”
Pressed for a yes-or-no answer, Rawlings said: “I’m not going to take a pledge never to sign a pledge, but I don’t like to sign pledges.”
During the meeting, Rawlings reiterated his personal support for marriage equality and again attempted to explain why he chose not to sign the pledge, unveiled last week by the national group Freedom to Marry. About 100 mayors from across the country have signed the pledge, including those from all eight U.S. cities larger than Dallas.
Rawlings has come under fire from Dallas’ LGBT community for refusing to sign the pledge — and for some of the language he has used to explain his rationale to the media, including repeated statements by the mayor that the issue is “irrelevant” for the city. On Friday night, about 100 people gathered outside City Hall for a protest to call on Rawlings to sign the pledge.
“I”m not trying to say it’s not a big issue because I understand that it is,” Rawlings said at the outset of Saturday’s meeting.
“If the city had the right to marry you, I would vote yes,” Rawlings told the group. “But in this case I chose to step back from the symbolism — because that’s what it was — and not get into that fray.”
In retrospect, Rawlings said, his decision not to sign the pledge may have been the right one and may have been the wrong one. But either way, he said he takes ownership for it. The mayor also said his biggest mistake was not calling Cece Cox, executive director and CEO of Resource Center Dallas, to discuss the issue before deciding whether to sign.
Cox, who initiated Saturday’s meeting, said afterward she was glad the community got to have an open discussion with the mayor about the issue. Cox said although it would be “incredibly powerful” for Rawlings to sign the pledge, she’s not counting on it.
“Even if he doesn’t sign the pledge, we still have business to take care of, so we have to find a way to move forward,” Cox said.
Patti Fink, president of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance, said after the meeting that “dialogue is always good.” But Fink added: “I think the proof’s in the pudding. We’ll see what happens going forward. I think he needs a lot of education.”
Daniel Cates of GetEQUAL, who organized Friday night’s rally, said his group will continue to pressure the mayor to sign the pledge.
“I think it was more double-talk,” Cates said of Rawlings’ comments during the meeting. Cates said he’s encouraging people to speak about the matter at the regular City Council meeting next Wednesday, Feb. 8.
Rawlings chats with the Rev. Jo Hudson, senior pastor of the Cathedral of Hope, left, and Resource Center Dallas Executive Director and CEO Cece Cox before the meeting.
Does anyone know what time Wednesday morning the demonstration will be?
1.) First, it is NOT a pledge; it is a Statement in support of marriage equality.
2.) Second, Rawlings needs to tell us what part of the Statement he doesn’t agree with. More importantly, he should issue a press release that contains his views and the language that he DOES agree with.
3.) Thirds, nobody is asking Rawlings to “vote yes,” but we are demanding that he step into the fray. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
4.) Fourth, over 100 U.S. Mayors have signed their names to the Freedom to Marry Statement (below). Rawlings shows how far out of step he is by failing to stand tall with those seeking equality for all.
Mayors for the Freedom to Marry Statement
As mayors of great American cities, we proudly stand together in support of the freedom of same-sex couples to marry. We personally know many gay and lesbian people living in our cities who are in committed, loving relationships, who are active participants in the civic life of our communities, and who deserve to be able to marry the person with whom they share their life.
We are proud that at its 2009 annual meeting, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously approved a resolution stating that: “The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports marriage equality for same-sex couples, and the recognition and extension of full equal rights to such unions, including family and medical leave, tax equity, and insurance and retirement benefits, and opposes the enshrinement of discrimination in the federal or state constitutions.”
Our cities derive great strength from their diversity, and gay and lesbian families are a crucial part. Studies have shown what we know through our hands-on experience—that cities that celebrate and cultivate diversity are the places where creativity and ideas thrive. They are the places where today’s entrepreneurs are most likely to choose to build the businesses of tomorrow. Allowing same-sex couples the right to marry enhances our ability to build this kind of environment, which is good for all of us.
We stand for the freedom to marry because it enhances the economic competitiveness of our communities, improves the lives of families that call our cities home, and is simply the right thing to do. We look forward to working to build an America where all people can share in the love and commitment of marriage with the person with whom they share their life.
Apparently, it’s not acceptable to disagree with the LGBT position. I guess it’s too much too ask that Mayor Rawlings be allowed to hold onto his values and beliefs. It’s a two way street people…you want to be accepted and equal for who you are, but Mayor Rawlings isn’t afforded the same? Not cool…
Agree with JKG, wholeheartedly! Demanding that he step into the fray as C David said is forceful. I agree with Rawlings that taking a position on gay marriage is not a requirement of the job of mayor. He has nothing to do with any law that affects gay marriage.
The gay community would be viewed with more respect if we were not forcefeeding society our views, plus dictating how others should feel. I really can’t stand to be around my own kind for this very reason. Pushy, forceful, demanding, in-your-face….not what I’m about.
The LGBT “position”, like many second class citizen groups before them, is standing for & working toward full equality, rights & responsibilities. I know this is a foreign concept to many in a steeple rich land where much “official” discrimination still takes place. The discriminatory Dallas power structure has a storied history when it comes to equality issues. It wasn’t that long ago that Dallas “officially” discriminated against her own residents, and visitors, of color at the State Fair of Texas. It will be interesting to see if the Mayor, and council members?, will “officially” and symbolically stand for equality on this civil rights issue of our day.
“It was left to an NAACP chapter in faraway Brownwood to sue and force final desegregation of the midway and eating establishments.”
https://www.dallasobserver.com/2004-09-09/news/laff-in-the-dark/
There are no “second-class citizen groups” only victims. I’m not one, thanks.
Getting the mayor to sign on to this initiative is the right thing to do. To those of you who think that the LGBT community is too pushy and demanding, you can wait in the back of the bus until the nice straights give you a crumb or two. The time is now to affect change. Nice behavior will only get you so far…
Here are the comments that I shared with our Mayor. Today we get to decide what type of city we get to live in. A city that values all of it’s citizens and their right to live together in a loving relationship one in which everyone has the legal right to begin their lives and establish homes together.
My partner and I have been together in a loving committed relationship for 15 years and we were the first Texas couple to legally marry in Massachusetts in 2008. 15 years together. With no disrespect, that is 15 years longer than you have been mayor.
I don’t know how it feels to you to be the lead story on the news and on the front page of the Dallas Voice for your lack of support of our communitiy’s rights. I’d imagine it’s not your proudest moment. Not something by which you want to be remembered for. I imagine it’s quite different than the feeling that my partner/my husband and I had when we appeared on the front page of The Dallas Voice celebrating our marriage to each other. That is truly our proudest moment.
You might feel like this issue should not matter to you and you have shared it does not matter to the lion’s share of Dallas’s citizens, but here’s how it does. When two people stand together as two loving, nurturing, caring and committed individuals wishing to become married, the lives of the lion’s share of Dallas’s citizens are enriched and touched.
If doing the right thing for the right reasons does not matter to you then here is the business case for equality. I have the honor of serving as the chair of the Dallas/ Fort Worth chapter of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. Representing companies from American Airlines to Bank of America to Citigroup to KPMG, Price Waterhouse Coopers, to Raytheon, to Texas Instruments to JC Penny. Those companies are part of Out & Equal because they believe in the value and dignity of all of their employees. Because equality is good business. The organization of Out & Equal was responsible for bringing the largest LGBT summit to Texas and most importantly to Dallas.
The Out & Equal Workplace Summit held October of 2011 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel broke records and had a bigger impact on the city than any other LGBT conference Dallas has hosted.More than 2,600 people registered for the convention, with participants coming from 42 states and 23 countries.That included 60 corporate CEOs.The conference had a $3 million impact on the Hilton Anatole which included about 6,000 room-nights plus food and beverage sales. During three nights of the conference, the Anatole sold out, so three neighboring hotels filled hundreds of additional rooms.Making this Summit “one of the most impactful conferences of the year.”Because evaluations of the event from attendees were so positive, Out & Equal is already talking to the Anatole about returning, possibly as early as 2014.
Our friends in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio are also working to host a future Out & Equal summit. So you Mr. Mayor can decide just how important your signature on a pledge is and how much it can benefit or cost our city in lost opportunity if it is our recommendation to go to another Texas city that supports full marriage equality.
AS two of your Dallas Citizen’s it matters to us. It matters to the way we are treated by our family, friends, neighbors and employers.
Mr. Mayor if the tables were reversed I would sign a pledge to allow for your rights to marry who you love. The only question that remains is why you wouldn’t do the same. And because you won’t do the same for whatever the reason, you need to understand that our community has the same right not to support you in your efforts and elections. I don’t speak for the entire community, but I know two people in one loving relationship and marriage that only support and vote for the people that support and vote for us.
Please sign the pledge. Please support me and my husband. Troy and I are two of your citizens who deserve all the same rights. Let’s make Dallas a city that we are proud to live and love in.
“second-class citizen groups” throughout our history have always been seen by some as pushy. Working publicly, honestly and openly towards full equality has always been uncomfortable to the powers that be, and their enablers, as they have done quite well in that old and discriminatory system!
“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones. ”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
We must remember what our rights are: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The previous poster Jeffrey Gorczynski, mentions the word “rights” 6 times, all out of context:
right to live together
right to begin their lives…
our communitiy’s rights
doing the right thing for the right reasons
rights to marry
…our community has the same right not to support you…
who deserve all the same rights
Now I can pound my fist demanding the outside world acknowledge me, and get angry when they don’t, or I could not be a victim and move on with my life.
When I bought my BMW, they didn’t tell me that I have to purchase a Chevette because I’m a “second class citizen”. I’ve never been turned down for a job, because of my homosexuality even though I am obviously gay. The difference is that I make a contribution to life, and others want to accept me. But pounding my fist and demanding that others accept me gets me no where.
There is no second class citizenry people. You are not meeting “your own kind” in underground speakeasies. If you feel you are a victim, then you are. Don’t you see you are running into opposition because you are trying to alter the definition of marriage that has existed for 3000 years? Of course you will meet opposition, and get frustrated. My point is that it is a choice of your part…to live your life , or fight and be angry. I don’t care that the mayor doesn’t want to sign the pledge, that’s his “right” and it doesn’t bother me or affect me.
I’m not sitting on the back of the bus like one of the above people mentioned, waiting for the straight people to throw me a crumb. I don’t need a certificate by some detached government agency to validate my relationship. And I feel sorry for you if you do.
Rawlins supports marriage equality personally and as Mayor. He doesn’t sign petitions including petitions regarding federal and state policies. He doesn’t act on coercion from others. He follows his principles and feelings and doesn’t do things just because others are doing it. His actions support the equality of gay and lesbian citizens. He thinks about and considers all sides of an issue. He allows himself to stand by his decsion or change it as more information becomes known. I have new respect for Rawlins.
1,138 benefits, rights and protections are denied to the “second class citizens” of Rawlings’ Big D and Price’s Cowtown!
An Overview of Federal Rights and Protections Granted to Married Couples
https://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/an-overview-of-federal-rights-and-protections-granted-to-married-couples
Who are these so called “leaders” in our community? Who decides who is going to represent us? Cece Cox? Who the heck does the think she is? She doesn’t represent me! These “leaders” as they think they are don’t get to just arbitrarily represent our entire community just because they think they are special. There were tons of us who are long time activists and leaders who were never invited to the sham meeting. Cece Cox only invites her friends and crony’s. The mayor needs to be able to meet with all the leaders of our community, not just who Ms Cox thinks is special.
So the Mayor of Dallas, like former First Lady Laura Bush, “personally” support marriage equality, but go soft when it comes to standing “officially” for marriage equality. They must know the dangerous political environment that Karl Rove and company helped create in the Lone Star State. Would Dallas Mayor Rawlings, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and former First Lady Laura Bush put themselves in danger of assassination if they were to “officially” support marriage equality for their fellow Texans?
RIP – Abilene’s Rev Karen Johnson
As much as I agree with the mayor standing behind his principals, it still makes him look like a hypocrie and a coward by not signing this pledge. And yes, the LGBT crowd that was there last week at the protest rally in front of City Hall DID NOT help the situation at all. Having bitter, angry and possibly MILITANT gays and lesbians yelling, screaming and kissing each other in front of television cameras has NEVER worked in the past and this latest incident just proves once again that the public is viewing our community as one big dysfunctional FREAK SHOW. Unless we can peacefully sit down with the powers-that-be to discuss matters such as this that are important to the gay community, then we will never be taken seriously and the idea of “Gay Marriage will soon be a thing of the past, contrary to popular belief!!!
I hope Rawlings had more positive comments in the nearly 2 hour meeting than is reported here, because everything quoted here sounds to me like double-speak mumbo-jumbo.
“To be a great city, we have to have everybody feel a part of it.” Really??