Gay rights group
protests marriage ban with wedding cake

The Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas has chosen its symbol of protest against a proposed state constitutional amendment: the wedding cake. The group opposes a November ballot proposal that would define marriage solely as a union of a man and a woman. "The historical precedent, really, is what makes this such a critical issue," Heath Riddles, the lobby group's development director, said of the proposed amendment. "This is the first time every Texan will have the opportunity to go to the ballot box and vote up or down--thumbs-up or thumbs-down--on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community." About 30 people gathered at a San Antonio art gallery Thursday to launch the lobby group dubbed the Wedding Cake Liberation Front. The first gay male couple in Texas to get a domestic-partnership certificate, Toby Johnson and Kip Dollar, came in from Austin to cut the cake. Johnson and Dollar are registered in Travis County, the only Texas county to have a domestic-partner registry, which is basically symbolic. "The important thing about this issue is, it communicates to young gay men and lesbians that they should grow up to expect to have healthy relationships," said Johnson, citing his 21-year relationship with Dollar. Dollar and Johnson have also executed private contracts that legally bind them. Dollar said the language of the amendment could be interpreted to make such contracts null and void. "Keep an eye on how this is worded," he said, adding that in the simplest form of the amendment that he's read, the language is divisive and violates every American's basic civil rights. Councilwoman-elect Elena Guajardo, San Antonio's first openly gay council member, said at the cake-cutting: "We are each profiles in courage." (AP)