Queering the Lone Star State

Aug 17 2023 11 ep. 44 mins

Queering the Lone Star State Podcast artwork

Queering the Lone Star State explores the history of the movement for queer equality in Texas. In this first season, we will look at nine Texas legal cases that expanded the rights of LGBTQ Americans. Join us as we talk to activists, attorneys, journalists, legal experts, and historians who help us understand where the struggle for queer rights has been, where it is now, and where it’s going. Queering the Lone Star State is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Introducing Queering the Lone Star State

Introducing Queering the Lone Star State, a podcast about the struggle for queer equality in Texas. Hosted by historian Wesley Phelps. Queering the Lone Star State is funded in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support is provided by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Willis Library’s

1. Buchanan v. Batchelor

Jun 22 2023 48 mins

In 1969, Dallas police officers arrested Alvin Buchanan twice for having sex with another man in violation of the Texas sodomy law. After being sentenced to a five-year prison term, Buchanan challenged his conviction through a federal lawsuit. But could he convince a federal court that the sodomy statute violated the US Constitution? And how did Buchanan v. Batchelor contribute to

2. Risher v. Risher

Jun 22 2023 46 mins

In 1974, Mary Jo Risher, a mother of two boys who lived with her partner Ann Foreman in Garland, received notice that her ex-husband was challenging her custody rights. Her ex-husband argued that Mary Jo was a serial violator of the state sodomy law and therefore incapable of providing an acceptable home environment for children. Would this be enough for a court to revoke Mary Jo�

3. Cyr v. Walls

Jun 29 2023 43 mins

In June 1974, Fort Worth activist Ken Cyr organized the first Texas Gay Conference, a gathering of queer rights organizations from across the state. The Fort Worth Police Department also took notice of the conference, and they recorded the license plates of attendees for their surveillance files. Infuriated and unwilling to accept this continued harassment, Cyr filed a federal laws

4. Longstaff v. INS

Jul 06 2023 47 mins

Richard Longstaff immigrated to the United States from England in 1965 and soon settled in Dallas as a small business owner in the predominantly queer neighborhood of Oak Lawn. But when he applied to become a naturalized US citizen in 1976, INS officials rejected him because he was gay. Longstaff appealed the INS decision, but could he convince a federal judge that the country’s

5. The State of Texas v. Richard Schwiderski

Jul 13 2023 43 mins

In October 1979, Dallas police officers raided the Village Station nightclub in Oak Lawn and arrested ten patrons for public lewdness. Unlike most gay bar raids before 1979 when arrestees would quietly plead guilty and pay a fine, this time eight men fought their charges in court. One of those defendants was Richard Schwiderski, whose trial attracted the most media attention. What

6. Baker v. Wade

Jul 20 2023 49 mins

In 1979, Dallas activist Don Baker filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state sodomy law, which he claimed violated the privacy and equal protection rights of all gay and lesbian Texans. Three years later, the case made headlines when it became the first time a federal court determined that a state law was unconstitutional based on the rights of gay and

7. Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University

Jul 27 2023 55 mins

In 1976, Texas A&M University students created an organization called Gay Student Services and applied for university recognition. When administrators rejected their application, arguing that its goals were not consistent with those of the university, the students filed suit in federal district court in Houston. The case marked the first time that a gay and lesbian student orga

8. Morales v. Texas

Aug 03 2023 49 mins

In 1989, five plaintiffs launched a new legal challenge to the Texas sodomy law, but this time they argued that the law violated the state constitution. Texas district and appellate courts agreed and struck down the sodomy statute for violating state constitutional guarantees of privacy and equality. But then the case reached the Texas Supreme Court. Would the state’s highest civ

9. Lawrence v. Texas Part 1

Aug 10 2023 48 mins

In 1998, Harris County sheriff’s deputies arrested John Lawrence and Tyron Garner near Houston for allegedly violating the state sodomy statute. The two working-class men, who were not activists and lived very private lives, quickly became the public faces of one final effort to eradicate sodomy laws across the country. Lawrence and Garner pursued a constitutional challenge to th