Gay marriage issue a minefield for Houston Republican

09:59 AM CST on Tuesday, March 29, 2005

By Doug Miller / 11 News

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Texas lawmakers are expected to begin debate this week on a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. And that's throwing Houston Representative Martha Wong into a political minefield.

KHOU

Gay activists have been blockwalking in Montrose to put pressure on State Rep. Martha Wong.

Back in her home district, gay activists have been blockwalking for a cause dear to their hearts. And they're talking to neighbors about their state representative.

Wong could be the gay marriage swing vote on the State Affairs Committee.

So the activists are burning up shoe leather to get the message out to sympathetic voters.

"These people understand how destructive it is to have an anti-gay marriage amendment being discussed for the next six months," said Maria Gonzalez, president of the Houston Gay-Lesbian Political Caucus.

Representative Wong has twice convinced voters to send her to the state legislature in a district Republicans redrew to defeat a Democrat. But now, she faces a dilemma over gay marriage.

For Wong, this is a classic no-win situation. Her district is mostly Republican, but it includes the Montrose area -- the heart of Houston's politically active gay community. No matter how Wong votes in Austin, she's going to tick off a lot of her voters here in Houston.

"But, more importantly, I think some of her more moderate Republicans take a dim view of government regulating certain types of privacy issues," said 11 News political analyst Bob Stein. "We've seen this in the Schiavo affair and it may very well be that this may come back to haunt her."

Wong told us by phone she hasn't decided how to vote on the gay marriage amendment. She wouldn't talk to us on camera because she says she's trying to keep a low profile on this issue.

But gay activists won't let her.

They say they've printed up 5,000 door hangers, which they're circulating throughout Wong's district. They're targeting homes that they've previously identified as sympathetic to gay causes.