GLAAD releases guide for journalists reporting on LGBT issues in Texas

New York, NY – GLAAD, the world's leading lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization, today released “Southern Stories: A Guide for Reporting on LGBT People in Texas” in collaboration with Equality Texas. This media guide comes after GLAAD's Accelerating Acceptance report showed that Southerners feel significantly more discomfort about their LGBT family, friends, and neighbors than is found in other regions of the country. The guide, available in both English and Spanish, provides journalists with history, information, and tools for reporting on the LGBT community in Texas.

“The LGBT community in Texas is making sure and steady progress, but the work to achieve full equality and acceptance if far from done – a reality that became all too clear recently with the defeat of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance,” said Ross Murray, GLAAD Director of Programs, U.S. South. “This media guide will help journalists fairly and accurately report on LGBT stories to combat the misinformation and fearmongering that we’ve seen in the past year.”

GLAAD is also embarking on its second annual Southern Stories Tour, visiting Houston, Edinburg, and McAllen, Texas August 9^th – 13^th. During the tour, GLAAD will preview its mini-documentary on LGBT people in the Lone Star State, “GLAAD Presents: State of Change – Texas” at the Montrose Center in Houston, the Youth Pride Home in Edinburg, and the AquÍ Estamos Conference in McAllen. For more information, or to RSVP to an event, visit: http://glaad.nationbuilder.com/summer-tour-houston-texas.

GLAAD's Southern Stories initiative aims to positively showcase the lives of and build acceptance for,the LGBT community in southern states. This is done through sharing the stories of people from a wide array of backgrounds, including faith-based organizations, sports teams, military personnel, and more. A section of the guide, “In Focus: Houston and HERO,” emphasizes the effect the nondiscrimination ordinance had on the lives of LGBT Texans, as well as the broader movement for LGBT equality and acceptance.

The guide was developed in collaboration with the Equality Texas, HoustonLGBTHistory.org, and LULAC Council 4871. GLAAD will continue to work with the media to ensure positive portrayal of the LGBT community in Texas in an effort to build understanding and accelerate acceptance.