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Dallas Councilmember U-Turn Likely Sinks Vote On Gay Marriage Resolution

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It appears the Dallas City Council will not vote on a resolution supporting gay marriage June 12th after all. Council member Delia Jasso has withdrawn her support.

Without Jasso, resolution sponsor Scott Griggs does not have the necessary five signatures to force the Mayor to put it to a vote.  Griggs beat Jasso in the May 11th election that pitted the incumbents against each other. 

Council member Angela Hunt wants Mayor Mike Rawlings to put the resolution up for a vote anyway.

“You know clearly there is support from this council to move forward on this and there is enough support to pass this.  And the mayor has previously committed to supporting this. So, I am not quite understanding why he withdrew this from the agenda.”

The mayor has said the council should not spend its time on issues over which it has no control, but he would vote for the gay marriage resolution if a vote were forced. His chief of staff says Rawlings is not likely to put the resolution on the agenda. 

Jasso has been unavilable for comment.

Former KERA reporter BJ Austin spent more than 25 years in broadcast journalism, anchoring and reporting in Atlanta, New York, New Orleans and Dallas. Along the way, she covered Atlanta City Hall, the Georgia Legislature and the corruption trials of Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.