Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is
openly lesbian, is the subject of an anti-gay attack.
The 55-year-old Parker seized 53.6%
percent of the vote in a 2009 runoff election to become the city's
first openly gay mayor. She and her long-time partner Kathy Hubbard
are raising two adopted daughters and have also raised a foster son,
who is now an adult.
Houston businessman Dave Wilson, who is
working to unseat Parker, has criticized the mayor for promoting a
“homosexual agenda.”
In a fundraising letter, Wilson says he
knows of the incredible pain and sorrow that being “ensnared and
trapped in homosexual behavior” has brought family members and
friends.
“Religious freedom will be stifled
and millions more will be trapped as the demand for legal and
political approval for homosexual behavior increases.”
Parker responded to Wilson's attacks in
a fundraising letter of her own.
“I'm being attacked simply because
I'm a lesbian,” she
wrote. “Your contribution will help me win re-election and
show David Wilson and narrow-minded bigots everywhere that anti-gay
attacks don't work and have no place in civilized society.”
Houston's KHOU reported that Wilson's
attack might have backfired. “She's getting donations from across
the country,” the station reported. (The video is embedded in the
right panel of this page.)
In 2009, Wilson paid for 35,000 fliers
calling on voters to reject Parker because she's gay.
During her tenure, Parker has extended
the city's anti-discrimination protections to include gender identity
(transgender protections).