Wilson wants HCC to drop Pride float
Dave Wilson, an antigay activist who won a contested race for a seat on the Houston Community College board last November, wants HCC to cancel its plans to sponsor a float in this month’s gay pride parade.
“Regardless of what has happened in the past, it is my position that HCC should not lend its name or taxpayers’ money to this parade,” Wilson said in an email to HCC Chairwoman Neeta Sane and the rest of the board. “My religious beliefs consider homosexual behavior to be a sin.”
While anti-gay rhetoric on Wilson’s part is nothing new, his email shows that his views are influencing his new public position as a board member. Wilson has said that as a Christian, he loves all people but believes homosexual acts are sinful.
His views have been on full display in his other attempts at elected office, including a 2011 run for mayor, when he wrote to Mayor Annise Parker’s supporters in an attempt to shame them for backing a lesbian.
Since winning his HCC seat by 26 votes in November, Wilson has appeared at City Council meetings to speak out against an ordinance that extended antidiscrimination protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.
Wilson, who is white, has tacitly acknowledged that he deceived voters by sending out literature in the predominantly African-American district suggesting he was black. He also faces a lawsuit by the Harris County attorney alleging he was not a resident of the district in which he ran.
Wilson has denied living outside his district. The lawsuit is set to go to trial next month.
The annual Houston Pride Parade, which last year drew 400,000 people, is scheduled for June 28. Wilson said he wants the board to vote on whether HCC’s participation is appropriate.
“If the KKK had a parade, I would hope the college wouldn’t lend its name to that,” Wilson said in an interview. “I don’t want to take any part in it, but I’m just one of nine. I want the opportunity to vote on it. I’m not going to unilaterally force my will onto somebody.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, no vote was scheduled for Thursday’s meeting. The chancellor has the necessary authority and has decided HCC will participate, spokeswoman Fritz Guthrie said.
The system has sponsored a float in the parade for years. It participates in a variety of community events, from Juneteenth celebrations to the annual Cesar Chavez parade, Sane said.
“It’s reaching out to all cross-sections of our community,” Sane said. “I’m pretty comfortable about HCC being out there.”
The pride festivities regularly attract businesses, educational institutions and others to support the LGBT community, Frankie Quijano, president and CEO of Pride Houston Inc., said in an email. It’s an opportunity for organizations to “promote their brand to the ever-growing LGBT demographic,” Quijano said.
Quijano said Wilson’s reference to the KKK was offensive.
“To hear news that a board member of an educational institution would ... actively use his position to hold back the opportunity for the students and allies of the LGBT community that pay tuition fees is disheartening,” he said.
Zeph Capo, an HCC trustee who is openly gay, said he is concerned Wilson’s comments go against HCC’s anti-discrimination policy.
“We are an inclusive organization and we should be participating,” he said.