Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 42, Ed. 1 Friday, March 6, 2009 Page: 1 of 60
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BREAKING NEWS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT HEARS PROP 8 ARGUMENTS I LOCAL VALIENTE, LOSF JOIN FORCES I PLUS VIEWPOINTS I STAGE I MUSIC I TRAVEL
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VOLUME 25 I ISSUE 42
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LOCAL
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LOCAL
Local leaders
Matt Foreman tells
say they're
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Stonewall Denis
pleased with
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gays need to put
Obama's pick for
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AIDS policy chief.
into the political.
PAGE 6.
PAGE 6.
MARCH 20!
2009'
readers voice,
AWARD!
Call for Advertising! 214-754-8710
ESTABLISHED 1984
dallasvoice.com
MARCH I 06 I 2009
THE PREMIER SOURCE FOR LGBT DALLAS/FORT WORTH
Man gets 30 years in Oak Lawn beating
Victim Jimmy Lee Dean says 2nd suspect deserves longer sentence;
defendant's openly gay brother testifies that he isn't homophobic
By John Wright News Editor
Before they robbed and brutally beat Jimmy
Lee Dean in Oak Lawn last July Jonathan
Gunter and Bobby Singleton were drinking
heavily and discharging a firearm from their
vehicle as they traveled around Dallas, accord-
ing to witness testimony during Gunter's trial
this week.
Gunter's openly gay brother, Jeremy Gunter,
Lobby Day
sees record
attendance
Equality Texas says turnout
already paying dividends
By John Wright News Editor
AUSTIN — They came from areas as remote
and farflung as Abilene, Amarillo, McAllen and
Tyler.
They Were young and old — black, brown
and white — gay, straight, lesbian and transgen-
der.
Evidently still energized by November elec-
tions, more than 400 people stormed the State
Capitol on Monday, March 2 in what was the
largest turnout in the history of Equality Texas'
biennial Lobby Day
Now, officials with the statewide LGBT advo-
cacy organization are hoping the unprecedent-
ed participation translates into votes by law-
makers in favor of pro-equality bills.
With a razor-thin Republican majority and
new leadership in the House, legislative sources
told Dallas Voice this week they believe at least
two pro-equality bills have a chance of passing
this year—and possibly even making their way
through the Senate to Gov. Rick Perry's desk.
If Perry were to sign the bills, it would mark
the first time since 2001 that any pro-equality
legislation has become law in Texas. And in
testified that Jonathan Gunter told him he and
Singleton drank about six pitchers of beer
between them that night Somewhere on
Greenville Avenue before traveling to Oak
Lawn. They also fired two rounds from a hand-
gun that was later used to pistol-whip Dean.
Gunter's father, Donald Gunter, testified that
he found two spent bullet cartridges and sever-
al empty 16-ounce beer
cans in his pickup truck
when he recovered it from
a Dallas police impound
lot. Jonathan Gunter had
borrowed the truck from
his father the night of the
crime.
Jonathan Gunter, 32, of
Garland, was sentenced to
30 years in prison on Wednesday, March 4 for
his role in Dean's robbery, which was classified
by police as an anti-gay hate crime. Gunter was
Jonathan Gunter
on probation for three felonies at the time of the
robbery.
Dean, now 43, who was hospitalized for 10
days after the attack and suffered permanent
injuries, said Wednesday he was relieved
Gunter had been convicted. Dean added that he
hopes Singleton, who's still awaiting trial, is sen-
tenced to at least a 60 years in prison because he
was responsible for inflicting most of the dam-
age.
"I've got to live with this for the rest of my
life," Dean said. "The only thing that will really
See BEATING on PAGE 10
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Lobby Day participants gather on the south steps of the Capitol on Monday, March 2. The event drew people from more than 60 percent of the state's 150 House districts.
another possible first since 2001, no anti-LGBT
legislation had been filed as of Thursday, March
5. The bill filing deadline for this year's session
is Friday, March 13.
"I think we see, definitely, a climate change,"
Equality Texas Executive Director Paul Scott
said on Lobby Day. "It still requires our mem-
bers and our organization and all the other
organizations to continue to work harder to take
advantage of that climate change."
Scott said feedback during Lobby Day from
lawmakers and their staffs seemed more posi-
tive than ever, and a few days later, Equality
Texas reported that the event was already pay-
ing dividends in the form of additional co-spon-
sors for pro-equality legislation and a committee
hearing on one bill.
Scott said participants in Lobby Day came
from more than 60 percent of Texas' 150 House
districts, which he called incredible given the
geographic enormity of the state.
Troy Carlisle, a gay-rights activist from Tyler
who was participating in his second Lobby Day,
See LOBBY DAY on PAGE 11
WEEKEND WEATHER
yy-N, FRI Windy
82°
SAT
Windy
62/76
SUN
Chance of storms
62/78
It must be spring, because the thunderstorms are coming, but on
the positive side we need the rain. We'll have a chance of storms,
including some severe, from Sunday through at least Thursday.
INDEX
OPERA
National News
4
Gay bass singer Paolo
Local News
6
Pecchioli makes his
Viewpoints
14
Dallas debut in 'The
Life+Style
16
Italian Girl in Algiers,'
Calendar
25
playing one of the great-
Starvoice
28
est comic villain roles in
Classifieds
32
opera. PAGE 16.
SCREEN
'Watchmen' geeks will
line up for the year's
first blockbuster. Non-
geeks will dig the les-
bian superheroine and
full-frontal nudity.
PAGE 18.
SPORTS
Stephanie Ware keeps
her sporty skills sharp
with North Texas
Women's Softball. Y'all
can still join the spring
season, which starts
Sunday. PAGE 22.
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 42, Ed. 1 Friday, March 6, 2009, newspaper, March 6, 2009; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth239054/m1/1/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.