A Street by Any Other Name…
Apparently the streets are too gay in San Antonio, Texas. So says the Second Street Baptist Church, who petitioned the city council to change the name of a street that runs adjacent to the church’s property.
The street’s name is just so Gay. In fact, it is Gay Street.
While the church proposed renaming the street Second Baptist Way in a so-called effort to increase community outreach, many suspect that their motives were far less honorable.
Attorney Rosie Gonzales made an excellent point when she was quoted as saying in part, "I don’t see how changing the name of a street is going to help their community outreach efforts whatsoever."
In the end, the City Council voted and in a near-unanimous decision opted to deny the request, thus keeping the street Gay for years to come.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that Gay Street was named for a community activist and residents of the area were quite vocal in their opposition to changing it to any other name no matter what the purpose.
Now I am willing to admit the ever so slight possibility that the church’s motives were above board, but I honestly don’t think that they were. If I am right this begs the question as to how the name of a street could even inspire such controversy in the first place. I could possibly understand this whole thing if the street’s name were Fudgepacker Way or even Clitoris Circle, but Gay Street?
It was named after a person, not a sexual identity, and the fact that it was named for a community activist makes the Second Baptist Church’s feeble attempt all the more pitiful.
Game Over. The final score is San Antonio 1, Second Baptist Church 0.
Source note: Information for this article was taken from a news report by WOAI in San Antonio.
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September 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
[...] Yes, there’s a street called Gay Street in San Antonio, Texas. [...]
September 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
In the Manchester Gay Village there is a street called Canal Street. The local denizens regularly cross out the “C” and the “S”.
September 17th, 2008 at 6:52 am
I find it very sad that a religious group founded on love for one another has got itself so hung up about sexual preference. Aren’t we all God’s children, as their book says?
September 17th, 2008 at 9:23 am
there is a Gay street in baltimore too