New York residents Evan and Addison (left and right) recently became domestic partners. Our editor sat down with them to talk about growing up gay in Texas, Devo and how things get slippery…

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Convicted killer Jon Buice won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon. A Texas parole board decided that Buice still hasn't served enough time for his role in the 1991 murder of 27-year old banker Paul Broussard, who lost his life at the hands of ten vicious men. Buice was sentenced to serve 45 years. It's been sixteen.

In those years, Buice says, he's learned the viciousness of his actions. He wrote in a 1999 letter:

I have gained a more relative understanding of what took place that night in Houston. It was never my intention to harm anyone… In my youth I made poor decisions. After years here in prison, I see how disruptive my life and attitudes were.

Buice's alleged sorrow isn't saddening Andy Kahan, who directs the Mayor's Crime Victims Office, "We're thankful the parole board saw fit to deny parole to someone who has not served half of his sentence." Kahan vowed to continue the fight in 2009, when Buice will again face parole review.

Broussaid's mother surely celebrated the news: she doesn't want Buice to be considered for parole until at least 2018, 27-years after Buice helped kill her 27-year old son.

It's rare to find a gay movie as touching, realistic and - most importantly - funny as Ash Christian's debut, Fat Girls. In celebration of the movie's official New York release this Friday, our vacationing editor sat down with the twenty-two year old Texas-born filmmaker for a homo heart-to-heart.

Read what Christian has to say about his first flick, growing up "fat" and why his father thinks he's going to hell. After the jump, of course…

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Did we wake up in another dimension?

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Talk about dirty politics! Fort Worth City Councilman Chuck Silcox urged voters to endorse Chris Turner because his opponent, Joel Burns (pictured), does dudes.

This is an excellent time to have Republicans get out and support a Republican: Chris Turner. We have two people of opposite partisan politics, opposite philosophical persuasions and opposite sexual orientations. [Turner's] married to a female, and the other's married to a male. You make your own mind up.

Burns says he's not surprised by Silcox's sneaky, distasteful tactics and expressed his disappointment: "It is unfortunate that Mr. Silcox and Mr. Turner want to bring partisanship to a nonpartisan race."

Silcox defended himself and insisted he doesn't mean to be derogatory:

I'm not trying to be derogatory about the young man. I've never even met him …From what I understand, he is openly gay. I'm not saying good, bad or otherwise.

Well, actually, you sort of did.

Oh how the mighty fall! Chris Austin made a name for himself and his Renew Ministries as an ex-gay activist. Unfortunately, it seems Austin himself couldn't stay "ex-gay". The Texas-based preacher's just been sentenced to ten years in prison for sexually assaulting a client. Truth Wins Out reports:

Truth Wins Out expressed relief today that Christopher Austin, an ‘ex-gay’ counselor in Irving, Texas, was convicted of sexually assaulting a client. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven years probation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.

The abuse apparently involved a bit of unwanted penetration.

Perhaps Austin thought he could fuck the gay away?

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26-year old Terry Mangum better get a good lawyer. Or maybe it would be easier for him to just plead good old fashioned insanity.

The Houston man admits to killing 46-year old Kenneth Cummings, a gay man: "I did it. Bottom line is I stabbed him the head with a knife." Why would Magnum do such a horrible thing? God told him to, of course.

In a jailhouse interview, Mangum claims God sent him on a divine mission to "carry out a code of retribution" and eliminate Cumming's "sexual perversion". Talk about perverse. So, does Magnum feel any remorse? Hell no: "I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing. I planned on sending him to hell."

Excuse us while we vomit.

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Ed Oakley seemed poised to make history when he ran for Dallas mayor. Unfortunately, voters didn't agree: the openly homo politico lost 13,000 votes to straight businessman, Tom Leppert.

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Republicans and Democrats alike are gearing up for battle over President Bush's nominee for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Leslie Southwick. The former Mississippi Court of Appeals judge has inflamed both sides over the political divide with his racist, homophobic past.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama released a statement against the Texas native's nomination:

Senator Obama shares the concerns of his fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus that Judge Southwick would not adequately defend the rights of workers and enforce civil rights laws, and he opposes his lifetime appointment to the federal appeals court. Given the rocky history of appointments to this important seat on the court, Senator Obama believes the president should nominate a consensus candidate who will fairly interpret and uphold the laws of the nation.

Perhaps it's because Southwick doesn't understand the concept of national cohesion. He's too concerned with the conservative friendly - and responsibility diffusing - federalism, which gives states the power.

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We're tempted to move to Dallas just to vote for tranny mayoral candidate Jennifer Gails. Sure, she's a homeless veteran and seems kind of like a nutter, but she's got some pretty good ideas. First up: your health. As she says, she wants you to live to be 150. Although, as part of her mission to save our lives, Gail's looking to crack down on drugs. Hmmm, this could get sticky.

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Window Media has just announced it will be shutting down publication of it's Lone Star fag-rag, The Houston Voice.

The ten-year old publishing empire bought the weekly back in 1998 and continued publishing it as such until a few months ago, when they moved to a monthly format. Rising costs and falling sales, we're sure, had something to do with the transformation,, but apparently it didn't stick. Editor and Publisher reports:

Window Media has published the last issue of Houston Voice, and will soon take down its Web site, a spokesperson for the largest U.S. gay newspaper chain confirmed Wednesday.
…
[The] folding was first reported by Press Pass Q, the online newsletter published by Rivendell Media and Q Syndicate. The newsletter said the decision to discontinue publication was “based, in part, on declining ad sales.” The Window spokesperson said there were “a myriad of reasons” the paper was folded.

Right…

Ew. We were just poking around our friend Andy Towle's website, Towleroad and came across his posting on the Farber Family: you know, the homo-hating landscapers who refused to serve a Houston gay couple.

As you may recall, the entire broo-ha-ha gained international attention after concerned citizens such as yourselves (and us) raised a stink. While the Farbers may be the newest gay anti-Christs, it seems some other Christ "loving" peeps absolutely adore the Farbers. And their business.

As The New York Times reports:

In an interview Friday, Sabrina Farber, 34, co-owner of the company with her husband, Todd, 37, said the company had picked up $40,000 in new business in the past two weeks, while losing only two clients worth about $500 each a year.

“I’m not saying that to gloat,” said Mrs. Farber, who described the frenzy as ugly and emotionally draining. But she said they would not do it differently and deserved credit for not masking their refusal with excuses.

Well, we suppose there's something to be said about standing up for what you believe in, but this shit's ridiculous.

So, you guys want to know why Garden Guy, Inc continues to make dough? Because gays aren't included in Houston's anti-discrimination laws.

We just lost our lunches.

Related: An Anti-Gay Co. Grows in Houston II
An Anti-Gay Co. Grows in Houston Update

Remember our friends, Sabrina and Todd Farber, the homo-haters whose company, Garden Guy, Inc. refused a patron their services after finding out he and his lover are both men?

Well, just over two weeks after people such as yourselves helped elevate their local discriminatory practices to a national news story, there's an article in the Los Angeles Times rehashing the issue.

While nothing new's really uncovered, nor did the Farbers agree to comment for said article, Tim Wildmon (pictured) of Minnesota's American Family Assocation had these defensive words:

It shouldn't come as a shock when a guy who takes his faith seriously says, 'I can't support this'… He doesn't need to be persecuted for his actions.

We agree: he doesn't need to be persecuted for his actions, but he should be. This, of course, raises the question: at which point should someone be dogged for their religious beliefs?

Surely we wouldn't persecute an Orthodox Jew for not eating a bit of bacon, but most homos are plenty mad over the rioting in Jerusalem….So, readers, we ask you: when's religion too much?

Should religion be simply a spiritual practice, or should people attempt to extend their religious beliefs to social - and thus potentially divisive - practice? Remember, we don't like murder, but do we not approve of murder because it's inherently wrong, or because of a more pervasive religious rhetoric?

Discuss…

Previously: An Anti-Gay Co. Grows In Texas
An Anti-Gay Co. Grows in Texas II

Basically, you guys rock.

We're tickled a lovely shade of pink over the response to the "An Anti-Gay Co. Grows in Houston" post. (And, of course, we can't forget the original emails that started it all.)

In case you haven't been following, everyone's efforts have garnered national attention. Not only has the Association of Professional Landscape Designers come out to admonish the company - which, not incidentally, erroneously claimed to be a member of the group - but the family behind the discrimination, the Farbers, have been forced to change their phone number and have taken the forum section off their website.
Also, as reported in The Houston Chronicle, the Farbers have received death threats.

At first we worried that said threats came from one of our precious readers, but then we remembered you're all good kids and wouldn't do something like that. Besides, we're all far too classy! Just look at this comment from a reader named Charro:

Sabrina and Todd,
You people are vile. I hope you get lots of bad publicity.
Sabrina may you get a yeast infection.

No death threats here, just vaginal infections.

Let's hope Sabrina's scratching her itchy, burning vagina right now…

That was a fun little jaunt into the world of artificial love affairs, but let's return to the real world and check in on the ever-exciting drama of the Episcopal Church.

For those of you not keeping score, the Anglican derivative has been torn asunder over whether or not homos have a place in their pews. While the debate goes back many-a-year, things got even more hectic after the 2003 consecration of the openly-gay bishop, Gene Robinson.

Since then, dozens of churches have come out for and against gays. In the most recent turn of events, there have been two divergent developments. 365 Gay reports:

The diocese of Dallas on Saturday narrowly voted against a motion to split from the US branch of Anglicanism but agreed to look at the issue in a year's time.

The diocese, meeting in convention, has "only delayed the inevitable" said one clergyman who supported an immediate split. A survey commissioned by Bishop James Stanton of priests and lay leaders in the diocese released shortly before the vote showed more than half believe the Church is moving in the wrong direction, 42 percent wanted their parishes out of the denomination, and almost a third wanted to remove the word "Episcopal" from the church signs, letterheads and literature.

The results of said survey highlight just how deep the spiritual split runs. As if that's not enough, leaders in Conneticut have given their priests the go-ahead to bless homo unions.

The decision, by Bishop Andrew Smith, ignores a non-binding resolution passed in June at the Episcopal Church National General Convention that called for a moratorium on such services and for the bishops to "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration" of openly gay clergy.

"At the heart of the matter is whether we as a Church will welcome and embrace, serve with and care for and bless persons who are homosexual and partnered as cherished and fully accepted members of the body of Christ," Smith said during Saturd ay speech at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford at the diocese's annual convention.

As if you're not smart enough to figure it out: the more conservative followers are not pleased and call the move "defiant."

You know what? We think this entire thing's stupid. Why not just have a good ol' fashioned holy war and decide who wins?

Previously: Church Fissure Growing