Gay Issues
- One of the hottest issues not only in
Dallas but around the United States is gay marriages. Over 2,500
members of the Episcopal Church USA congregation
met in Dallas to decide whether they should remain apart of a
denomination that blesses gay unions but also that recently confirmed a
gay priest. What this has led to is a possible division of the of
the church. As of now, Texas as a state bans gay marriages.
Another issue related to this one that the Dallas City Council adopted
was the ordinance that prohibits discrimination against gays and
lesbians in
employment, housing and in public places such as hotels and
restaurants. Violations of this ordinance will be treated as
misdemeanors, punishable by fines ranging from $200 to $500.
Overall Women's Issues
- A
survey done by the University of North Texas found out the status of
women in the Dallas area. The survey was fulfilled by using
questionnaires and interviews. One of the main things that they
wanted to find out was the main concerns for women living the Dallas
area. These concerns were childcare, adequate housing,
transportation, safety, education, and healthcare. One fact the
researchers found out was that in 2001 82% victims of family violence
were women, and were more likely to be African-American.
Racial Bias in Jury Selecting
- In a LA Times news article written by David
Savage says that
racial bias in selecting juries is one thing the United States
Supreme Court criticized Texas State and Federal Justices. The reason
for this was the 1985 sentencing of Thomas Miller-El to the death
penalty by a nearly all-white jury, and the judges turning a blind eye
while prosecutors deliberately excluded black jurors. There was no
question the Miller-El committed the crimes but it was the jury
selecting that was the problem. The defense citied a 1963 manual on jury
selecting that told Dallas prosecutors to eliminate jurors wherever
possible. The manual stated, "Do not take Jews, Negroes, Dagos, Mexicans
or a member of any minority race on a jury, no matter how rich or well
educated." Though the judges refused to believe race bias was the motive
to exclude black jurors.
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Mayor Recall
- Dallas recently went through a petition effort to
recall the mayor,
Laura
Miller, but fell short of the necessary signatures to force a new
election, this according to the Knight Ridder
Tribune News Service. The efforts to recall Miller
were started by the August '03 firing of the city's first black police
chief,
Terrell Bolton. While efforts to collect signatures were confined
"largely to black neighborhoods", critics of the mayor had said they
also "hoped to target disgruntled city employees, opponents of the
city's ban on smoking in restaurants and others who think Miller has
failed to deliver on her campaign promises", which included the
improvement of the police department and basic city services.
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Housing Issues
- One issue that hit AccuBanc Mortgage
Corporation of Dallas hard was their unfair practice of
housing discrimination. The Department of Housing and Urban
Development found this company was redlining, which is "the practice of
customizing lending to steer funding and buyers in specific directions
or not making loans available to many zip codes." AccuBanc was forced to
pay $2.1 billion to minorities and low and moderate income families. An
estimated 15,700 families will be benefited by this settlement and
AccuBanc has agreed to train its staff to deal with "fair lending and
diversity issues to create programs to attract more minority and low-and
moderate income borrowers". Tests done in Dallas showed that a minority
tester could receive a loan for $85,000 while a white tester could
receive one for up to $150,000.
Redistricting Issues
-
Redistricting of Texas would cause the Dallas/Fort Worth area to
break up the 60% minority district. The Republicans want to "pack" the
minorities into as few districts as they can and put the rest in a heavy
minority populated district, squandering any chance for most of the
districts to have a minority influence. Arguers against this remap of
Texas, the Democrats, say it
discriminates against minority voters and violated the U.S.
Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. As it has panned out, this
redrawing of the district lines
survived the challenge. The courts
ruled that it did not violate the constitution or the
Voting
Rights Act. As one democrat said referring to the judges decision,
"the Texas redistricting plan shows once again that when Republicans
cannot win elections fair and square, they rig the rules." And since
minorities tend to vote democrat, it seems they will be hurt by this
decision too.
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