Two men dressed in black tuxedos with red bow ties pose for a photo on a rooftop with a cityscape in the background during the evening.

2018: The Year That Was (Part 1)

By Johnny Trlica

This time of year it’s customary to reflect on the past 12 months. While 2018 was not the best of times, it was probably not the worst of times, either.
Here are a few of the stories we followed on the Huston Rainbow Herald Facebook page.

January: Stranded on the SW Freeway

A Houston couple said an Uber driver dropped them off on the feeder road after they gave each other a kiss inside the car. The couple believes they were targeted because they’re gay, reported Click2Houston.com.

Randall Magill, 28, and his fiancé, Jose Chavez, 26, were attending a friend’s holiday party and wanted to be responsible so they called Uber. After getting into the mini-van the couple shared a brief kiss. The driver took exception to the PDA and ended the trip.

“He said, ‘I can’t take you no more.’ He was like, ‘I’m going to have to drop you guys off,’ and we said, ‘That’s fine,’†Chavez said. “I was upset. I’ve never been told not to kiss or anything.â€

February: South Beach closes

It seems to be getting harder and harder for businesses to stay afloat in Montrose. South Beach is the latest Montrose gay business to call it quits, at least for now. In a Facebook post on February 1, the bar wrote: “South Beach Houston is closed for remodeling effective immediately. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please keep the party going at JRs, the most popular bar in Montrose. We will post updates and events so stay tuned, Houston.â€
South Beach opened in 2001 after a fire in the building formerly known as Heaven, reported the Houston Chronicle. This marks the third Charles Armstrong owned business to close in two years; Montrose Mining Company and Meteor both were shuttered in 2016.

Also in February, it was announced that Shake Shack is taking over the old Burger King location at 1002 Westheimer Road.

March: ‘Skinhead Lesbian’ gets last laugh

When losing an argument, name-calling remains the only option. Republican candidate Leslie Gibson used Twitter to attack two students who survived the mass shooting at a Florida high school, calling one of them, who is openly bisexual, a “skinhead lesbian†and the other a “bald-faced liar,†reported NBCNews.com.

“There is nothing about this skinhead lesbian that impresses me and there is nothing that she has to say unless you’re frothing at the mouth moonbat,†Gibson wrote about 18-year-old Emma Gonzalez, one of the survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida which left 17 people dead.

Gibson, who was the only declared candidate for the 57th District of the Maine House of Representatives later apologized for his comments and withdrew from the race.

April: Houston performer dies

James Anthony Mason, AKA Fame, died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on April 20. He was a well-known and popular performer, appearing regularly at Tony’s Corner Pocket.
He was involved in a motorcycle accident on his way home from performing at Tony’s Corner Pocket. Fame loved his motorcycle, his father stated.

May: Murder/suicide victims identified

One never knows what goes on behind closed doors. The bodies of two men found dead in their Greenway area home on May 3 were identified as Rene Ruiz, 62, and Benjamin Ruiz, 52. The couple, together for 22 years, were victims of a murder/suicide, reported Click2Houston.com.

“An autopsy report shows Benjamin Ruiz died of a gunshot wound through his mouth as a result of suicide, while Rene Ruiz died of gunshot wounds to the head, torso and his right lower extremity as a result of a homicide.

According to investigators, the men were going through a divorce and the $1.5 million home where they were found had been put up for sale hours before the shooting. Neighbors said the men had recently moved out,†read the news report.

June: Making America homophobic again

Advances made by the LGBTQ community remained under attack. The latest example came when the Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, reported WashingtonPost.com.

The Court (SCOTUS) gave a boost to advocates of religious freedom ruling that the baker cannot be forced to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, in a case that involved marriage equality and protection from discrimination. The opinion is considered a narrow win by the victors as the ruling applied to this case and this case only.

The Court did not indicate how it might decide future cases involving florists, bakers, photographers and other business owners who have cited religious and free-speech objections when refusing to serve gay and lesbian customers in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2015 same-sex marriage decision.

Johnny Trlica is the manager of the Houston Rainbow Herald Facebook page, your source for the latest LGBTQ news and information. Contact him at HRHeditor@gmail.com.

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