Dem
47
GOP
53
We debated whether to use this story for this purpose, as it runs the risk of being a little cliché. However, it works so well as a counterpart to this week's schadenfreude that we decided to go with it.
As we note above, we don't often write about state legislators. So, this must surely be the first time we've given over both "This Week in Schadenfreude" and "This Week in Freudenfreude" to officeholders at that level. For this item, the legislator in question is State Rep. Venton Jones (D-TX). Jones is a bit better known than most state legislators, as he made it into a bunch of those "election firsts" pieces in 2022, by virtue of being one of the first out, gay Black men to be elected to the Texas legislature.
By virtue of his office, Jones is often asked to vote upon anti-LGBTQ bills. Indeed, during his first term in office, there were a staggering 55 of them put before the legislature. Given that, by the terms of Texas law, the legislature only meets for 140 days every other year, that means that there was an anti-LGBTQ bill proposed roughly every 2½ days. Regardless of your views on that particular subject, does it not raise the question: Don't these people have anything better to do?
Yesterday, the 2025 session of the legislature commenced, which means that Jones was sworn in for his second term. And this time, he decided to be a little bit more proactive. Surely his colleagues must know where he stands on LGBTQ rights, but just in case, promptly after being sworn in, he turned around, dropped to one knee, and proposed to his partner, Gregory Scott Jr. Scott said "yes," of course. You can see the video here, if you wish.
There is a story, possibly apocryphal, that after Galileo was punished for arguing for a heliocentric solar system, he said: "Eppur si muove" (and yet, it moves). Scott and Jones sent a very similar message to Jones' anti-LGBTQ colleagues yesterday. In his own words: "In a time when our love and our very existence are challenged, often in the halls of this very building, this moment is a reminder that love conquers all."
Congratulations to the newly betrothed couple, and have a good weekend, all! (Z)