# I'm starting to despise Texas. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 1, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327 "2003-05-01T05:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/1 "2003-05-01T05:55:21Z")
I was born here. I’ve nearly always been proud of my home state. When I lived in other states, I always flew a Texas flag at my house and referred to it as the Texas Embassy. But _when_ I leave this state, I won’t fly that flag again. First Lawrence and now [this](http://www.planetout.com/pno/splash.html). > [@](#): > > The Texas House of Representatives quickly passed the Defense of Marriage Act on a vote of 118-9, sending the bill to Gov. Rick Perry. 118-9. _sigh_ I’m too disheartened to even rant. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/2 "2003-05-01T06:21:51Z")
Jeez, I thought you were going to refer to [this](http://www.clickondetroit.com/sh/news/stories/news-216909920030430-100439.html) … Argh. ---
**Author:** ![thatDDperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@thatDDperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatDDperson)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/3 "2003-05-01T06:22:08Z")
Don’t hate Texas. Hate politicians. They generally deserve it. And count your blessings. At least Little Tommy DeLay isn’t YOUR Congresscritter. He IS mine, and THAT is embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/4 "2003-05-01T06:32:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thatDDperson \* > \*\*Don’t hate Texas. > > Hate politicians. They generally deserve it. > \*\* Don’t the majority of voters that elected them deserve a little too? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/5 "2003-05-01T07:14:52Z")
I had to Google this to be sure it was what I thought it was. Skimming over the paragraphs, I saw that it allows Texas to disregard other state’s marriages. What the fuck is that? Is that constitutional? I clicked out after that in disgust. Gah. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/6 "2003-05-01T07:55:06Z")
Not to be a total dickweed, **Homebrew** , but how much of this is actually a surprise to you? Or did I miss the non-Onion “Texas leads charge for full gay rights” article? ☹ Big hugs. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/7 "2003-05-01T10:06:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aesiron \* > \*\*I had to Google this to be sure it was what I thought it was. Skimming over the paragraphs, I saw that it allows Texas to disregard other state’s marriages. > > What the fuck is that? Is that constitutional? I clicked out after that in disgust. Gah. \*\* Gonna need a little help from one of our resident legal scholars here. Doesn’t the ‘full faith and credit’ clause of the constution bar Texas from that? I mean ‘disregard a civil contract legally entered into in another state should the parties happen to be in Texas’. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/8 "2003-05-01T10:57:15Z")
`Full Faith and Credit’ extends to _all_ contracts made under the jurisdiction of another state, so it _does_ apply to marriages and civil unions and so on. And it will take a lot more than a few Texans (Shrubya included) to change that. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/9 "2003-05-01T12:16:35Z")
**Derleth** , your statement of the law _in re_ the Full Faith and Credit clause is entirely incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/10 "2003-05-01T12:25:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minty green \* > \*\ ***Derleth** , your statement of the law _in re_ the Full Faith and Credit clause is entirely incorrect. \*\* Care to enlighten? **iampunha** : I had hoped it would get bottled up in committee. Or a few more than **9** legislators would vote against. It took years to get the James Byrd Hate Crimes Act passed. They passed this bill in a matter of minutes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/11 "2003-05-01T12:31:34Z")
To quote St. Robert of Hibbing: “And you ask why I don’t live here? Honey, why don’t you _move_!” ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/12 "2003-05-01T13:41:24Z")
“[T]he Full Faith and Credit Clause does not require a State to apply another State’s law in violation of its own legitimate public policy.” [_Nevada v. Hall_](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=440&page=410), 440 U.S. 410 (1979). ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/13 "2003-05-01T13:50:35Z")
Thanks **minty**. Does that mean that the Federal DOMA was unnecessary and just an effort to enshrine bigotry? ---
**Author:** ![Read\_Neck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Read\_Neck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Read_Neck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/14 "2003-05-01T14:19:57Z")
Homebrew------- Do the terms “Bible Belt” or “Camelite” mean anything to you. They’re the ones that vote. Remember. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/15 "2003-05-01T14:48:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Homebrew \* > Does that mean that the Federal DOMA was unnecessary and just an effort to enshrine bigotry? That’s pretty much correct on the other-states-don’t-have-to-recognize-it part of DOMA, although it also has the nasty consequence of affirmatively preventing any _federal_ benefits from flowing to a gay marriage (tax breaks, Socia Security survivor benefits, federal pensions, etc.). Nasty stuff, that DOMA. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/16 "2003-05-01T15:30:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*Don’t the majority of voters that elected them deserve a little too? \*\* Well, when you look at the [returns from the Nov '02 election](http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/2002nov.pdf)(PDF) and you see that the percentage of registered voters who actually voted was around 35% with another 13% voting early and you realize that the largest margin of victory for any of the At-Large candidates(page 11-12 of the election returns document) on the Court of Criminal Appeals, (who refused to hear the _Gardner_ case) was less than 4% of the population.\* It really makes you wonder if Democracy is working at all. The First Court of Appeals, which hears cases from [a fairly large number of counties](http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us/) and handed down the ruling which keeps the sodomy law on the books until the Supreme Court of the US makes its determination, had two seats up for grabs(page 40 of the election returns). The largest margin of victory for either of those justices(neither were incumbents, so I’m not sure the change was ineffective, but Republicans won both seats) was 145,625 votes. I’m not sure how large a pool of constitutants they actually have but it includes the city of Houston and is multi-county. The population of Houston itself is [1,953,631](http://houston.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm)\*\*. The number of total votes cast in each of the two elections was 866,549(Place 5), and 1,114,095(Place 4). The total turnout for these elections was a little more than half(57%) the population of the largest city in the area. This completely discounts other counties/cities which this district would include. I feel safe saying that elections are NOT decided by the majority of the population. They aren’t even decided by the majority of the registered voters! They are decided by the majority of the voting population who actually VOTED, but at this point we’re in Boss Hawg territory(50% of 50% of 50%…). The majority was, as in so many things, silent during the 2002 elections in Texas. Vocal, and activist, minorities hold a large amount of sway in the US electoral systems. This is just in regards to popular elections, not to mention lobbying or other representative-swaying efforts. Enjoy, Steven - Statewide populations taken from the [U.S. Census](http://factfinder.census.gov/bf/_lang=en_vt_name=DEC_2000_PL_U_QTPL_geo_id=04000US48.html) \*\* 2000 Census Data re-printed by the website. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/17 "2003-05-01T15:34:48Z")
CRAP! The total votes for Place 5 on the First Court of Appeals in November '02 was 1,116,309 not 866,549(the number of votes cast on election day, not including early voting) One of these days I’m going to learn to preview for CONTENT instead of just coding. :smack: Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/18 "2003-05-01T15:40:31Z")
Texas isn’t anti-gay movements, and the death penalty, and dragging deaths. Texas is Shiner Bock, and Willie, and tubing on the Guadalupe, and being drunk in a blues bar on Sixth Street with a pretty girl. Don’t let _Los Bastardes_ get you down! ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/19 "2003-05-01T15:46:21Z")
And Vermont is what, Ben & Jerry’s? Hell, you can get that anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327/20 "2003-05-01T15:57:19Z")
BTW, it just occurred to me that if the Supreme Court strikes down the Texas sodomy law as a constitutionally impermissible gender-based classification under the Equal Protection clause, the same reasoning would imperil the DOMA provisions that deny federal benefits based on the gender of the partners. Hmmm, that could get interesting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-starting-to-despise-texas/172327.md?page=2)