(AFP)
MADRID — The Spanish city of Barcelona will erect a monument to gays, lesbians and transgendered people who have been persecuted and repressed "throughout history", it announced Thursday.
The exact site of the pink, triangular stone monument has not yet been decided, but a spokesman for the city hall said the square outside the Sacred Heart, or Sagrada Familia, basilica "is one location that has been proposed".
Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the city's emblematic Antonio Gaudi-designed church last month as hundreds of gays and lesbians staged a mass "kiss-in" to protest the Roman Catholic Church's stance on homosexuality.
A statement from the city hall Thursday said the monument would be unveiled in February.
It said the inscription will read "In memory of the gays, lesbians and transsexual people who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history. Barcelona 2011."
Such a tribute has been demanded for some years by Spain's LGTB gay rights association, the statement said.
Homosexuality was only legalised in Roman Catholic Spain in 1979, shortly after the death of dictator Francisco Franco whose regime shipped off gays to institutions that some activists have likened to concentration camps.
The Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has sought to promote gay rights as part of a strongly liberal social agenda.
In 2005 it passed a law to allow same-sex marriages, making Spain only the third member of the European Union, after Belgium and the Netherlands, to do so.
Since then, thousands of gay marriages have been performed in the country.
But the measure has drawn the ire of the Roman Catholic Church and a section of the conservative opposition Popular Party.
source
Friday, December 31, 2010
Task Force on Gay Youth Suicide
By Advocate.com Editors
The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention is creating a new task force to handle suicide prevention efforts among LGBT youths, the group announced Thursday.
Leaders of the task force will be Kevin Jennings, who heads the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and Charles Robbins, executive director of the Trevor Project. “This task force will bring together the best minds in the country to combat suicide and make sure that every LGBT youth has the opportunity to grow up in a supportive, accepting community and to enter adulthood safely,” Robbins said in a press release.
The suicides of several LGBT young people made news in 2010. Studies indicate that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths are anywhere from 1.5 to seven times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, and transgender youths are believed to have higher rates of suicidal behavior as well, the alliance reports.
The alliance also created task forces to address suicide prevention in two other high-risk populations: American Indians and Alaska Natives, and military service members and veterans.
source
The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention is creating a new task force to handle suicide prevention efforts among LGBT youths, the group announced Thursday.
Leaders of the task force will be Kevin Jennings, who heads the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and Charles Robbins, executive director of the Trevor Project. “This task force will bring together the best minds in the country to combat suicide and make sure that every LGBT youth has the opportunity to grow up in a supportive, accepting community and to enter adulthood safely,” Robbins said in a press release.
The suicides of several LGBT young people made news in 2010. Studies indicate that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths are anywhere from 1.5 to seven times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, and transgender youths are believed to have higher rates of suicidal behavior as well, the alliance reports.
The alliance also created task forces to address suicide prevention in two other high-risk populations: American Indians and Alaska Natives, and military service members and veterans.
source
N.C. Pol Sticks to "Predators" Remark
By Advocate.com Editors
A North Carolina politician says he’s standing by his statement that gay people are “sexual predators.”
“People are entitled to their opinion, and that includes me,” Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James (pictured) told The Charlotte Observer Thursday. His remarks came in an e-mail earlier this week to fellow commissioner Jennifer Roberts, who proposed that county officials send a letter to members of the North Carolina congressional delegation who voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“Homosexuals are sexual predators,” James wrote. “Allowing homosexuals to serve in the US military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining US military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to.”
There have been calls, including a petition on Change.org, for a formal reprimand of James, who in the past has made offensive statements about African-Americans and illegal immigrants as well as gays. Said Roberts, however: “I just don’t know if it helps or hurts the end goal by making any kind of formal statement.”
Roberts added that since other commissioners have raised questions about a joint letter on DADT repeal, she will send one on her own. James, meanwhile, said he’s contacted police because of threats he’s received.
Read more here.
source
A North Carolina politician says he’s standing by his statement that gay people are “sexual predators.”
“People are entitled to their opinion, and that includes me,” Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James (pictured) told The Charlotte Observer Thursday. His remarks came in an e-mail earlier this week to fellow commissioner Jennifer Roberts, who proposed that county officials send a letter to members of the North Carolina congressional delegation who voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“Homosexuals are sexual predators,” James wrote. “Allowing homosexuals to serve in the US military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining US military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to.”
There have been calls, including a petition on Change.org, for a formal reprimand of James, who in the past has made offensive statements about African-Americans and illegal immigrants as well as gays. Said Roberts, however: “I just don’t know if it helps or hurts the end goal by making any kind of formal statement.”
Roberts added that since other commissioners have raised questions about a joint letter on DADT repeal, she will send one on her own. James, meanwhile, said he’s contacted police because of threats he’s received.
Read more here.
source
Seth Walsh's Brother Shawn: 'One Word' Can Make Gay Teens Want To Kill Themselves
I'm standing behind my declaration that Nate Berkus hosts a terrible, sometimes unwatchable talk show, but this week he did something just terrific. He invited Wendy and Shawn Walsh, mother and brother to dead gay teen Seth Walsh, to tell the story of what happens when kids are bullied: they die.
Wendy has already cemented herself as a hero in this space, becoming one of a growing number of mothers using their personal tragedies to reach other parents. And, hopefully, school administrators. In Seth's suicide note, which he left before hanging himself from a tree in September (which would land him on life support for 10 days before he ultimately passed), he asks his mother to "make the school feel like shit for bringing you this sorrow." She's been on a mission to do exactly that, even managing to get the Department of Education to investigate the Tehachapi Unified School District in California for turning a blind eye to Seth's torment.
But it's Seth's brother Shawn, at just 11-years-old, who stands out as a remarkable human being. He tells Berkus that he knew of Seth's bullying, and says he encouraged Seth to tell his mother, but Seth feared it would only make his classmates' attacks even worse. "I want people to remember that bullying isn't okay," says Shawn, "because one word can make them have suicidal thoughts."
Along with Chely Wright, Berkus and the Walshes this week unveiled a new gay teen lounge at the New York City community center YES. And Chely bestowed Shawn with her first-ever Chely Wright Like Me scholarship, which will go to five teens a year who act as advocates in their schools. Well deserved.
source
Wendy has already cemented herself as a hero in this space, becoming one of a growing number of mothers using their personal tragedies to reach other parents. And, hopefully, school administrators. In Seth's suicide note, which he left before hanging himself from a tree in September (which would land him on life support for 10 days before he ultimately passed), he asks his mother to "make the school feel like shit for bringing you this sorrow." She's been on a mission to do exactly that, even managing to get the Department of Education to investigate the Tehachapi Unified School District in California for turning a blind eye to Seth's torment.
But it's Seth's brother Shawn, at just 11-years-old, who stands out as a remarkable human being. He tells Berkus that he knew of Seth's bullying, and says he encouraged Seth to tell his mother, but Seth feared it would only make his classmates' attacks even worse. "I want people to remember that bullying isn't okay," says Shawn, "because one word can make them have suicidal thoughts."
Along with Chely Wright, Berkus and the Walshes this week unveiled a new gay teen lounge at the New York City community center YES. And Chely bestowed Shawn with her first-ever Chely Wright Like Me scholarship, which will go to five teens a year who act as advocates in their schools. Well deserved.
source
Chely Wright Scholarship Honors Brother of Bullied Gay Teen
by Stephen L. Betts
Earlier this year, Chely Wright published her coming-out memoir, 'Like Me' and released the critically-acclaimed album, 'Lifted off the Ground,' produced by Rodney Crowell. Since that time, the singer has also pledged her support of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community by founding and serving as spokesperson for the non-profit organization Like Me, which is designed to help provide assistance, resources and education to LGBT individuals and their family and friends.
Chief among the Like Me organization's goals is working to prevent LGBT bullying and teen suicide, instances of which have dominated the media throughout 2010. In October, Chely told CNN talk-show host Larry King that she had been the target of bullies in high school and had even experienced bullying since her coming-out.
Chely was a guest on the nationally-syndicated 'Nate Berkus Show' on Wednesday (December 29), to announce that the first recipient of the Chely Wright Like Me Scholarship is Shawn Walsh. Shawn (pictured above, right, with his mom, Wendy, left. and Chely) is the brother of Seth Walsh, the 13-year-old Tehachapi, Calif. boy who killed himself after relentless bullying because he was gay.
The scholarship will be awarded to up to five individuals a year who have actively advocated or made a difference in their high school. Show host Nate Berkus also donated $15,000 to Like Me. Also announced was the Lighthouse Project. an LGBT education and community center for information, guidance and resources, to be opened in Kansas City, Mo., in 2011.
The Like Me website has been established to provide links to LGBT education and health resources and also includes a message board for those who wish to post a question and receive a reply from the LGBT community.
source
Earlier this year, Chely Wright published her coming-out memoir, 'Like Me' and released the critically-acclaimed album, 'Lifted off the Ground,' produced by Rodney Crowell. Since that time, the singer has also pledged her support of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community by founding and serving as spokesperson for the non-profit organization Like Me, which is designed to help provide assistance, resources and education to LGBT individuals and their family and friends.
Chief among the Like Me organization's goals is working to prevent LGBT bullying and teen suicide, instances of which have dominated the media throughout 2010. In October, Chely told CNN talk-show host Larry King that she had been the target of bullies in high school and had even experienced bullying since her coming-out.
Chely was a guest on the nationally-syndicated 'Nate Berkus Show' on Wednesday (December 29), to announce that the first recipient of the Chely Wright Like Me Scholarship is Shawn Walsh. Shawn (pictured above, right, with his mom, Wendy, left. and Chely) is the brother of Seth Walsh, the 13-year-old Tehachapi, Calif. boy who killed himself after relentless bullying because he was gay.
The scholarship will be awarded to up to five individuals a year who have actively advocated or made a difference in their high school. Show host Nate Berkus also donated $15,000 to Like Me. Also announced was the Lighthouse Project. an LGBT education and community center for information, guidance and resources, to be opened in Kansas City, Mo., in 2011.
The Like Me website has been established to provide links to LGBT education and health resources and also includes a message board for those who wish to post a question and receive a reply from the LGBT community.
source
Gay story tour drifts into Atlanta
By Matt Hennie | Dec 30, 2010
Equipped with a pair of pink cowboy boots, iPhones with Grindr, a video camera and enough ambition to fuel a four-month journey to all 50 states, Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee arrived in Georgia on Tuesday to collect the stories of LGBT people.
It’s part of the I’m From Driftwood campaign. Think a little It Gets Better Project mixed with StoryCorps, but now complete with a book—“I’m From Driftwood: True Stories from Gay People from All Over” – that the two debuted, signed and read from during an appearance Wednesday at Outwrite Bookstore.
“We did 50 states in about four moths and that is really just scratching the surface,” Manske (top photo) told the crowd on Wednesday. “We are not representing entire states with what we’re doing.”
The two launched the Story Tour in September in Driftwood, Texas, where Manske was born. Though two others help with the website and planning the trips, it’s Manske and Lee (second photo) who have traveled the country recording the stories of LGBT people. They spend New Year’s Eve in Miami as they head into the home stretch of the effort, which wraps in mid January.
"It makes me reflect on my own life and how far we’ve come, how far I’ve come, how far society has come,” Manske said.
I’m From Driftwood started in Spring 2009, growing from an idea to give LGBT youth hope by telling the stories of other gay people into the StoryTour that is chronicled on their website. The book compiles those stories into printed form and it’s something Manske hopes to distribute to Gay Straight Alliances in schools.
The toughest state for the Story Tour? Manske says their few days in West Virginia in late December. They struggled to find people to tell their stories in Morgantown, so they turned to Grindr and recruited from the online cruising site. Let’s just say that didn’t end well.
They fared better in their journey to Alaska in early November, snapping photos with their pink boots in front of Sarah Palin’s home in Wasilla. They even had a lesbian hunter cook them moose burgers.
Not all of the book’s mostly PG stories are positive, Manske says. But they reflect the diversity of LGBT people, which is exactly the point. The stories show that gay people aren’t all that different from anyone else and if that’s the case, then why not treat them like everyone else, Manske explains.
“After hearing these stories from other people, you can’t help but compare other stories to your own and see the differences and similarities. You can’t help but compare your story to others,” he says.
And those pink boots? Manske and Lee use them at fundraisers. On Wednesday, after they wrapped up signing books, the pair headed next door to Blake’s to unwind and pull out the boots in the hopes of raising some cash to continue their Story Tour.
source
Equipped with a pair of pink cowboy boots, iPhones with Grindr, a video camera and enough ambition to fuel a four-month journey to all 50 states, Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee arrived in Georgia on Tuesday to collect the stories of LGBT people.
It’s part of the I’m From Driftwood campaign. Think a little It Gets Better Project mixed with StoryCorps, but now complete with a book—“I’m From Driftwood: True Stories from Gay People from All Over” – that the two debuted, signed and read from during an appearance Wednesday at Outwrite Bookstore.
“We did 50 states in about four moths and that is really just scratching the surface,” Manske (top photo) told the crowd on Wednesday. “We are not representing entire states with what we’re doing.”
The two launched the Story Tour in September in Driftwood, Texas, where Manske was born. Though two others help with the website and planning the trips, it’s Manske and Lee (second photo) who have traveled the country recording the stories of LGBT people. They spend New Year’s Eve in Miami as they head into the home stretch of the effort, which wraps in mid January.
"It makes me reflect on my own life and how far we’ve come, how far I’ve come, how far society has come,” Manske said.
I’m From Driftwood started in Spring 2009, growing from an idea to give LGBT youth hope by telling the stories of other gay people into the StoryTour that is chronicled on their website. The book compiles those stories into printed form and it’s something Manske hopes to distribute to Gay Straight Alliances in schools.
The toughest state for the Story Tour? Manske says their few days in West Virginia in late December. They struggled to find people to tell their stories in Morgantown, so they turned to Grindr and recruited from the online cruising site. Let’s just say that didn’t end well.
They fared better in their journey to Alaska in early November, snapping photos with their pink boots in front of Sarah Palin’s home in Wasilla. They even had a lesbian hunter cook them moose burgers.
Not all of the book’s mostly PG stories are positive, Manske says. But they reflect the diversity of LGBT people, which is exactly the point. The stories show that gay people aren’t all that different from anyone else and if that’s the case, then why not treat them like everyone else, Manske explains.
“After hearing these stories from other people, you can’t help but compare other stories to your own and see the differences and similarities. You can’t help but compare your story to others,” he says.
And those pink boots? Manske and Lee use them at fundraisers. On Wednesday, after they wrapped up signing books, the pair headed next door to Blake’s to unwind and pull out the boots in the hopes of raising some cash to continue their Story Tour.
source
Leaving the Bully Behind in 2010
by Shannon Cuttle; Dec 30, 2010
This year will go down in history as ‘full equality became one step closer for millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adult community members.’ From the historic Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which will eventually allow openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members to serve, to full marriage equality in Washington D.C., to victories such as hospital visitation mandates for LGBT families nationally.
One of the biggest under-reported stories of 2010 affects a population who mostly cannot yet legally vote nor make a donation to a campaign or an organization, and most of whom still depend on an adult to look out for their best interests and in some cases save their lives:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming youth and allies.
In 2010 we saw bullying and harassment in schools and communities in Washington, D.C, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Colorado, Virginia, Florida, New York, Michigan, Utah, California, Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Louisiana, Idaho, Connecticut and California, and those were just the stories that we heard about.
In more than half of the United States of America in 2010, youth experienced bullying and harassment.
In 2010 we lost over 20 youth due to reported suicide from bullying and harassment. Keep in mind those are only the reported cases. Across the nation, we were heartbroken and shocked to learn about many suicides due to bullying harassment, including Seth Walsh, Tyler Clementi, Phoebe Prince, Chloe Lacey and others. The youngest student that attempted to take hir life from severe bullying and harassment at school was just six years old. Not every story made the news.
This year we also saw student heroes like Will Phillips, Constance McMillen, Ceara Sturgis, Paige Rawl, Graeme Taylor, Derrick Martin stand up and fight back after serve bullying and harassment at school. There are countless other youth whose stories have yet to be told about their struggle, strength, courage, and pain facing bullying and harassment in schools, colleges, and universities. Over 150,000 students miss school each day due to bullying and harassment. And 9 out 10 LGBT youth experience bullying and harassment—especially given the advent of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites—according to GLSEN. And 40% of all youth who have access to a computer have experienced cyber bullying.
Youth in 2010 have faced not just bullying and harassment, but homelessness as well. Up to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT and are struggling for food and shelter across this nation. Most of these homeless youth were thrown out of their homes or disowned by their families, left on the streets because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
And even progressive advances such as the DADT Repeal Act of 2010 still do not address creating safe spaces for lesbian and gay youth in JROTC, young adults in ROTC, or cadets in our nation’s schools, colleges, and universities.
How are we truly providing high quality education if we are not providing inclusive safe schools?
In 2011 we must fight together to make safe schools a priority so that all youth regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity (actual or perceived), socioeconomic status, disability or impairment , religion, immigration status, race, national origin, HIV/AIDS status, and others are free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.
source
This year will go down in history as ‘full equality became one step closer for millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adult community members.’ From the historic Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which will eventually allow openly lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members to serve, to full marriage equality in Washington D.C., to victories such as hospital visitation mandates for LGBT families nationally.
One of the biggest under-reported stories of 2010 affects a population who mostly cannot yet legally vote nor make a donation to a campaign or an organization, and most of whom still depend on an adult to look out for their best interests and in some cases save their lives:
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming youth and allies.
In 2010 we saw bullying and harassment in schools and communities in Washington, D.C, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Colorado, Virginia, Florida, New York, Michigan, Utah, California, Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Louisiana, Idaho, Connecticut and California, and those were just the stories that we heard about.
In more than half of the United States of America in 2010, youth experienced bullying and harassment.
In 2010 we lost over 20 youth due to reported suicide from bullying and harassment. Keep in mind those are only the reported cases. Across the nation, we were heartbroken and shocked to learn about many suicides due to bullying harassment, including Seth Walsh, Tyler Clementi, Phoebe Prince, Chloe Lacey and others. The youngest student that attempted to take hir life from severe bullying and harassment at school was just six years old. Not every story made the news.
This year we also saw student heroes like Will Phillips, Constance McMillen, Ceara Sturgis, Paige Rawl, Graeme Taylor, Derrick Martin stand up and fight back after serve bullying and harassment at school. There are countless other youth whose stories have yet to be told about their struggle, strength, courage, and pain facing bullying and harassment in schools, colleges, and universities. Over 150,000 students miss school each day due to bullying and harassment. And 9 out 10 LGBT youth experience bullying and harassment—especially given the advent of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites—according to GLSEN. And 40% of all youth who have access to a computer have experienced cyber bullying.
Youth in 2010 have faced not just bullying and harassment, but homelessness as well. Up to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBT and are struggling for food and shelter across this nation. Most of these homeless youth were thrown out of their homes or disowned by their families, left on the streets because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
And even progressive advances such as the DADT Repeal Act of 2010 still do not address creating safe spaces for lesbian and gay youth in JROTC, young adults in ROTC, or cadets in our nation’s schools, colleges, and universities.
How are we truly providing high quality education if we are not providing inclusive safe schools?
In 2011 we must fight together to make safe schools a priority so that all youth regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity (actual or perceived), socioeconomic status, disability or impairment , religion, immigration status, race, national origin, HIV/AIDS status, and others are free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.
What can you do?
Join the movement for safe schools in your local communities and stand up to bullying and harassment when you hear it, see it and take action. Help create inclusive safe spaces and anti-bullying and harassment polices on a local, state-wide, and federal level such as the Student Non-Discrimination Act and Safe Schools Improvement Act.
Make 2011 the year we invest in youth and make sure no child is left behind by making inclusive safe schools a reality.
Get Involved today: Safe Schools Action Network, GLSEN, Make it Better Project, Project Life Vest, Operation Shine America, PFLAG, Trevor Project, It Gets Better Project, Ali Forney Center, GSA Network and your local PTA, LGBT community Center, classroom, school board or college campus.
If you need help please call The Trevor Help Line at: 1-800-U- TREVOR (800-488-7386)
source
In El Paso hate crimes few, but gays are majority of victims (4:50 a.m.)
by Daniel Borunda \ El Paso Times
A man allegedly beaten up by men who told him they didn't want gays in their Lower Valley neighborhood is one of three hate crimes reported to police this year.
Though the number of hate crimes in El Paso is less than in similar-sized cities, El Paso mirrors a national analysis that found gays are more likely to be the victims of violent hate crimes than other minorities.
Gays were victims in two of three hate crimes reported this year and in three of four cases reported in 2009, according to information from El Paso police. The remaining cases targeted a black Baptist church and a synagogue.
Police point out the number of hate crimes is small but local gay rights activists feel cases are going unreported. A hate crime is defined as a crime motivated by a bias against race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
"We know there is more than three or four a year. Those who are harassed or victims of hate crimes are afraid (to report) because of the stigma from mainstream society," said Jonathan Kennedy, chairman of the gay rights group Rio Grande Adelante.
"I am an African-American gay man and I hear more from within the gay society from victims because of their homosexuality than from the African-American community," Kennedy said.
A national analysis by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report stated gays are more than twice as likely to be attacked in hate crimes than blacks or Jews, more than four times as likely as Muslims and 14 times as likely as Hispanics.
The recently-published analysis looked at 14 years of federal hate crime data. The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center tracks hate groups.
The cases in El Paso did not appear to be connected to each other.
The most recent case was Aug. 2 when a woman and her gay best friend were driving on Prado Lane in the Lower Valley when they were waved down by acquaintances to talk.
According to complaint affidavits filed by police, an argument erupted regarding hickeys a man had left on the neck of one of the assailant's younger brothers. The man was beaten while two other men grabbed the woman to keep her from helping her friend.
During the beating, the attackers said they did not want gay people in their neighborhood.
One of the attackers allegedly took out a knife that the man kicked away before managing to run away.
Police spokesman Detective Mike Baranyay said officers arrested Tomas Madrid, 36, Moises Lopez, 31, and Edgar Lopez, 25, in connection with the beating on suspicion of engaging in organized criminal activity-assault.
The other cases this year were:
Shortly after 2 a.m. May 18, a 25-year-old man was arrested after allegedly breaking stained glass windows and attempting to bust down the door of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church at 7615 Matamoros in the Lower Valley.
Alex Guzman, using racial slurs, told police he hated blacks, according to a complaint affidavit. "Take me to jail I don't care," he told officers. "I broke the windows. I know it's a hate crime. I don't give a (expletive)."
On April 7, a man punched another man in the 1900 block of Olive Avenue on the South Side because he thought the victim was gay, police said. Baranyay said detectives talked to the victim but he did not want to prosecute. The case is now inactive.
A police spokesman said there were four hate crimes reported in 2009, though the FBI data only shows three. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
The four cases reported by the Police Department were:
A man accused of slapping a woman who, according to police documents, he said didn't count because she was gay after she defended a female friend in the Cincinnati Avenue Entertainment District. Aaron Levar Haynes, 32, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after an assault charge was reduced because the victim was unavailable for trial, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said.
A case in which a gay man received harassing phone calls, threatening to burn him alive and kill him. The calls stopped and the man did not want to prosecute, police said.
Graffiti spray-painted at a house in Sunset Heights using a slur and stating that two gay men lived in the residence. There were no arrests.
And an unsolved vandalism case where swastikas and tagger-style graffiti were spray-painted outside the Chabad Lubavitch synagogue. There are less than a handful of hate crimes reported each year in El Paso, keeping in line with the city's overall low violent crime rate. Police reported two hate crimes in 2008 and four each in 2007 and 2006.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
Hate crimes
Hate crime numbers in 2009 for select regional cities and incidents per bias motivation:
City - Race - Religion - Sexual Orientation - Ethnicity
El Paso - 0 - 1 - 2 - 0
Austin - 3 - 1 - 4 - 3
San Antonio - 3 - 1 - 3 - 2
Midland - 2 - 0 - 0 - 0
Fort Worth - 3 - 2 - 0 - 1
Odessa - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1
Albuquerque - 3 - 0 - 5 - 1
Tucson - 3 - 6 - 2 - 0
Source: FBI's Hate Crime Statistics, 2009.
source
A man allegedly beaten up by men who told him they didn't want gays in their Lower Valley neighborhood is one of three hate crimes reported to police this year.
Though the number of hate crimes in El Paso is less than in similar-sized cities, El Paso mirrors a national analysis that found gays are more likely to be the victims of violent hate crimes than other minorities.
Gays were victims in two of three hate crimes reported this year and in three of four cases reported in 2009, according to information from El Paso police. The remaining cases targeted a black Baptist church and a synagogue.
Police point out the number of hate crimes is small but local gay rights activists feel cases are going unreported. A hate crime is defined as a crime motivated by a bias against race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
"We know there is more than three or four a year. Those who are harassed or victims of hate crimes are afraid (to report) because of the stigma from mainstream society," said Jonathan Kennedy, chairman of the gay rights group Rio Grande Adelante.
"I am an African-American gay man and I hear more from within the gay society from victims because of their homosexuality than from the African-American community," Kennedy said.
A national analysis by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report stated gays are more than twice as likely to be attacked in hate crimes than blacks or Jews, more than four times as likely as Muslims and 14 times as likely as Hispanics.
The recently-published analysis looked at 14 years of federal hate crime data. The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center tracks hate groups.
The cases in El Paso did not appear to be connected to each other.
The most recent case was Aug. 2 when a woman and her gay best friend were driving on Prado Lane in the Lower Valley when they were waved down by acquaintances to talk.
According to complaint affidavits filed by police, an argument erupted regarding hickeys a man had left on the neck of one of the assailant's younger brothers. The man was beaten while two other men grabbed the woman to keep her from helping her friend.
During the beating, the attackers said they did not want gay people in their neighborhood.
One of the attackers allegedly took out a knife that the man kicked away before managing to run away.
Police spokesman Detective Mike Baranyay said officers arrested Tomas Madrid, 36, Moises Lopez, 31, and Edgar Lopez, 25, in connection with the beating on suspicion of engaging in organized criminal activity-assault.
The other cases this year were:
Shortly after 2 a.m. May 18, a 25-year-old man was arrested after allegedly breaking stained glass windows and attempting to bust down the door of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church at 7615 Matamoros in the Lower Valley.
Alex Guzman, using racial slurs, told police he hated blacks, according to a complaint affidavit. "Take me to jail I don't care," he told officers. "I broke the windows. I know it's a hate crime. I don't give a (expletive)."
On April 7, a man punched another man in the 1900 block of Olive Avenue on the South Side because he thought the victim was gay, police said. Baranyay said detectives talked to the victim but he did not want to prosecute. The case is now inactive.
A police spokesman said there were four hate crimes reported in 2009, though the FBI data only shows three. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear.
The four cases reported by the Police Department were:
A man accused of slapping a woman who, according to police documents, he said didn't count because she was gay after she defended a female friend in the Cincinnati Avenue Entertainment District. Aaron Levar Haynes, 32, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after an assault charge was reduced because the victim was unavailable for trial, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said.
A case in which a gay man received harassing phone calls, threatening to burn him alive and kill him. The calls stopped and the man did not want to prosecute, police said.
Graffiti spray-painted at a house in Sunset Heights using a slur and stating that two gay men lived in the residence. There were no arrests.
And an unsolved vandalism case where swastikas and tagger-style graffiti were spray-painted outside the Chabad Lubavitch synagogue. There are less than a handful of hate crimes reported each year in El Paso, keeping in line with the city's overall low violent crime rate. Police reported two hate crimes in 2008 and four each in 2007 and 2006.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
Hate crimes
Hate crime numbers in 2009 for select regional cities and incidents per bias motivation:
City - Race - Religion - Sexual Orientation - Ethnicity
El Paso - 0 - 1 - 2 - 0
Austin - 3 - 1 - 4 - 3
San Antonio - 3 - 1 - 3 - 2
Midland - 2 - 0 - 0 - 0
Fort Worth - 3 - 2 - 0 - 1
Odessa - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1
Albuquerque - 3 - 0 - 5 - 1
Tucson - 3 - 6 - 2 - 0
Source: FBI's Hate Crime Statistics, 2009.
source
Equality Michigan targets Target
By Todd A. Heywood
Equality Michigan, an organization representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Michigan, is calling on its constituents “to look closely at where they are spending their hard earned dollars.”
The move comes as campaign finance reports from the 2010 election show Target, Best Buy and 3M donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a political action group which was funding anti-gay candidates, reports Michigan Messenger sister publication the Minnesota Independent. As a result of those donations, the Human Rights Campaign downgraded the corporations’ Corporate Equality Index ratings.
“Target, which prides itself on being a family company, defended its initial contributions by saying that their donations were based on a desire to invest in economic development. In Michigan, we know better than most that everything possible needs to be done to promote economic growth and sustainability, and to create healthy, stable communities,” says Emily Dievendorf, policy director at Equality Michigan. “What Target neglected to consider in their support of anti-gay candidates is that public policy makers that work to allow the denial of basic human rights for LGBTQ individuals and families are supporting and compounding economic and social vulnerability – for all citizens.”
“If corporations are not willing to consider the implications of the availability of housing, health care, jobs, and parental and spousal rights on the success of their communities, they should refrain from using their profits to weigh in on our selection of political leadership,” Dievendorf continued. “When corporations do choose to take active roles in political races, they should be prepared to have consumers interpret their support as an indication of their corporate values.”
The statement fell short of an outright call for a boycott, and in a follow up interview, Dievendorf had this to say about the move.
“We cannot tell anybody where they should spend their money. However, it is Equality Michigan’s position that if Target’s political investments are considered, supporters of equality will conclude that continuing to shop there would be counterproductive to their goals, to put it mildly,” Dievendorf said.
In July, when campaign finance reports showed the corporations were donating to the Minnesota Forward group, a call for a boycott was issued by MoveOn.org. Here is a video of a creative protest at a Target in Minnesota.
Minnesota Independent also reports that Target’s positive buzz saw a sharp decline in July following the disclosures.
source
Equality Michigan, an organization representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Michigan, is calling on its constituents “to look closely at where they are spending their hard earned dollars.”
The move comes as campaign finance reports from the 2010 election show Target, Best Buy and 3M donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a political action group which was funding anti-gay candidates, reports Michigan Messenger sister publication the Minnesota Independent. As a result of those donations, the Human Rights Campaign downgraded the corporations’ Corporate Equality Index ratings.
“Target, which prides itself on being a family company, defended its initial contributions by saying that their donations were based on a desire to invest in economic development. In Michigan, we know better than most that everything possible needs to be done to promote economic growth and sustainability, and to create healthy, stable communities,” says Emily Dievendorf, policy director at Equality Michigan. “What Target neglected to consider in their support of anti-gay candidates is that public policy makers that work to allow the denial of basic human rights for LGBTQ individuals and families are supporting and compounding economic and social vulnerability – for all citizens.”
“If corporations are not willing to consider the implications of the availability of housing, health care, jobs, and parental and spousal rights on the success of their communities, they should refrain from using their profits to weigh in on our selection of political leadership,” Dievendorf continued. “When corporations do choose to take active roles in political races, they should be prepared to have consumers interpret their support as an indication of their corporate values.”
The statement fell short of an outright call for a boycott, and in a follow up interview, Dievendorf had this to say about the move.
“We cannot tell anybody where they should spend their money. However, it is Equality Michigan’s position that if Target’s political investments are considered, supporters of equality will conclude that continuing to shop there would be counterproductive to their goals, to put it mildly,” Dievendorf said.
In July, when campaign finance reports showed the corporations were donating to the Minnesota Forward group, a call for a boycott was issued by MoveOn.org. Here is a video of a creative protest at a Target in Minnesota.
Minnesota Independent also reports that Target’s positive buzz saw a sharp decline in July following the disclosures.
source
Momentum builds for Harvey Milk stamp
by Matthew S. Bajko
An advisory panel tasked with determining whom, or what, to commemorate with U.S. postage stamps is considering the late gay Supervisor Harvey Milk for such an honor, the Bay Area Reporter has learned.
This fall the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee contacted Milk's family to gather more information about the San Francisco politician, who in November 1977 became the first out person to be elected to public office in a major U.S. city. A year later disgruntled former Supervisor Dan White gunned him down in City Hall along with then-Mayor George Moscone.
The committee also notified the Harvey Milk National Stamp Campaign that it was looking at issuing a Milk stamp at some point.
"We received official communication from the postal commission that he is under consideration," said San Diego resident Nicole Murray-Ramirez, who chairs the national Milk stamp campaign. "It could be in 2013 or 2014."
Milk's openly gay nephew, Stuart Milk, told the B.A.R. that his family has been asked by postal officials about upcoming significant milestones that the issuance of a Milk stamp could commemorate. November 8, 2012 would mark the 35th anniversary of Milk's historic electoral win, while May 22, 2015 would coincide with Milk's 85th birthday.
"I can tell you that the family has been told that stamps are issued around major milestones for an individual getting a stamp. The query that came in was records indicate he would be 82 [in 2011], which is not a milestone," said Stuart Milk in a recent interview. "I think, personally, without it being officially communicated to me, but we will see a stamp once a milestone is agreed upon."
Neither Jean Picker Firstenberg, who chairs the stamp advisory panel, nor vice chair Ira Michael Heyman, a former UC Berkeley chancellor who chairs the stamp panel's subject subcommittee, responded to requests for comment this week.
U.S. Postal Service spokesman Roy Betts told the B.A.R. he was unfamiliar with whom the stamp panel has contacted regarding its deliberations for future stamp subjects. But he said if the Milk family and stamp campaign had heard from the panel, then that was a positive sign.
"If they have received notification from the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee that the subject is under consideration, it is a positive step in the direction of the stamp being issued," said Betts.
Momentum for a Milk stamp has been building since the B.A.R. first reported in March 2009 that Ohio resident Daniel Drent had created a Facebook page in an effort to see one be issued in time for Milk's 80th birthday this past May 22. As of this week, nearly 14,000 people had signed on to the online group, though the page appears to be dormant.
A Milk stamp idea has been kicking around since the late 1980s, when San Francisco artist Jim Leff, a gay man who knew Milk, painted a mock-up of what such a stamp could look like. In 2005 San Francisco's 11-member Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution calling on the U.S. postmaster general to issue one for the gay rights leader.
After the B.A.R. interviewed Leff and ran a photo of his Milk stamp in April 2009, the Imperial Court Council picked up the cause at the behest of Murray-Ramirez, who serves on his city's Human Relations Commission and is on the board of the Harvey B. Milk Foundation. Known as Nicole the Great within the Imperial Court System, Murray-Ramirez is executive director and international spokesperson of the International Court Council.
The Milk foundation signed on as a supporter of the national stamp campaign, and Stuart Milk serves as an honorary chair. Other honorary chairs include former Milk confidante Cleve Jones; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey; Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean; the Reverend Troy Perry, who started the Metropolitan Community Church; openly gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco); openly gay state Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles); and Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for his Milk biopic screenplay.
In addition to reaching out to LGBT people across the country, the Milk stamp campaign has enlisted bipartisan support from elected leaders throughout the U.S. Both openly gay Democratic New York state Senator Tom Duane and Republican San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, an out lesbian, have sent in letters backing a Milk stamp.
In her letter to the stamp advisory committee, dated June 18, 2010, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called Milk "a San Francisco hero" who continues to inspire people the world over. She urged the panel to make Milk the first person to be recognized for their work on LGBT rights with a stamp.
"The United States Postal Service has yet to honor an LGBT American hero with a stamp, commemorating the life and efforts of Harvey Milk would be a testament to Harvey's courage and a symbol of pride to anyone who has ever felt discrimination or cared about those who have," wrote Pelosi.
New Jersey's two Democratic U.S. senators, Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, both wrote letters in support of a Milk stamp. Other elected leaders who have sent in letters include Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego), outgoing Colorado state Representative Joel Judd (D-Denver), and Republican San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has a lesbian daughter.
Lautenberg, in his letter dated November 19, 2010, wrote that, "Mr. Milk's courageous devotion to LGBT civil rights will serve as a proud reminder of the dedication to justice and equality that has come to define our nation. Harvey Milk left an indelible impression upon history, one that is certainly deserving of consideration for a commemorative stamp."
In his letter urging the creation of a Milk stamp, dated August 10, 2010, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a Democrat, noted that California already has honored Milk with an unofficial state holiday every May 22, which was his birthday, and that President Barack Obama in 2009 posthumously awarded Milk a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"Harvey Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights," wrote Gordon, who urged the stamp panel to "soon" issue a Milk stamp.
It is unclear exactly how many letters the stamp advisory committee has received in support of a Milk stamp. The postal service's Betts said he didn't know.
Nor did Murray-Ramirez, who said the national campaign group is continuing to urge people to write in letters of support.
"The feedback we have gotten is they are very impressed so many handwritten letters have been sent," he said. "The last couple of years or more there has been a constant flow of letters from all over the United States."
This week, Tuesday, December 28, the postal service announced the commemorative stamps that have been approved for release in 2011. Among the list are ones honoring former California governor and President Ronald Reagan; famed author Mark Twain; the 150th anniversary of the Civil War; the 50th anniversary of America's first manned spaceflight; and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500-mile auto race.
As for the 2012 selections, Betts said he would not know what the advisory panel has decided until next August.
"Usually, that is when our stamp services department starts to share the info with me," he said. "The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee will receive tens of thousands of suggestions for stamp subjects. They narrow that down to 20 to 25 subjects annually and recommend those subjects to the postmaster general, who makes the final decision."
Of the 12 stamp selection criteria listed on the stamp advisory panel's website, two would appear to directly apply to a Milk stamp. One states that events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration "only on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years."
The other specifies that only people with "widespread national appeal and significance" will be considered. Those fitting this description would be people "who have overcome great challenges or active discrimination to enter a field or accomplish an aim and thus created opportunities thereafter for others similarly situated."
Supporters of various stamps can wait a decade or longer before their selection is approved, said Betts, such as backers of a stamp honoring Motown star Marvin Gaye, who died in 1984.
"They've been waiting well over a decade. There are other subjects that people have been waiting quite a number of years for," he said.
For more info on how to send the stamp panel a letter urging it to commemorate Milk, and to see copies of letters already sent in by various politicians and local groups, visit http://www.impcourt.org/icis/info/HarveyMilk/index.html.
source
An advisory panel tasked with determining whom, or what, to commemorate with U.S. postage stamps is considering the late gay Supervisor Harvey Milk for such an honor, the Bay Area Reporter has learned.
This fall the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee contacted Milk's family to gather more information about the San Francisco politician, who in November 1977 became the first out person to be elected to public office in a major U.S. city. A year later disgruntled former Supervisor Dan White gunned him down in City Hall along with then-Mayor George Moscone.
The committee also notified the Harvey Milk National Stamp Campaign that it was looking at issuing a Milk stamp at some point.
"We received official communication from the postal commission that he is under consideration," said San Diego resident Nicole Murray-Ramirez, who chairs the national Milk stamp campaign. "It could be in 2013 or 2014."
Milk's openly gay nephew, Stuart Milk, told the B.A.R. that his family has been asked by postal officials about upcoming significant milestones that the issuance of a Milk stamp could commemorate. November 8, 2012 would mark the 35th anniversary of Milk's historic electoral win, while May 22, 2015 would coincide with Milk's 85th birthday.
"I can tell you that the family has been told that stamps are issued around major milestones for an individual getting a stamp. The query that came in was records indicate he would be 82 [in 2011], which is not a milestone," said Stuart Milk in a recent interview. "I think, personally, without it being officially communicated to me, but we will see a stamp once a milestone is agreed upon."
Neither Jean Picker Firstenberg, who chairs the stamp advisory panel, nor vice chair Ira Michael Heyman, a former UC Berkeley chancellor who chairs the stamp panel's subject subcommittee, responded to requests for comment this week.
U.S. Postal Service spokesman Roy Betts told the B.A.R. he was unfamiliar with whom the stamp panel has contacted regarding its deliberations for future stamp subjects. But he said if the Milk family and stamp campaign had heard from the panel, then that was a positive sign.
"If they have received notification from the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee that the subject is under consideration, it is a positive step in the direction of the stamp being issued," said Betts.
Momentum for a Milk stamp has been building since the B.A.R. first reported in March 2009 that Ohio resident Daniel Drent had created a Facebook page in an effort to see one be issued in time for Milk's 80th birthday this past May 22. As of this week, nearly 14,000 people had signed on to the online group, though the page appears to be dormant.
A Milk stamp idea has been kicking around since the late 1980s, when San Francisco artist Jim Leff, a gay man who knew Milk, painted a mock-up of what such a stamp could look like. In 2005 San Francisco's 11-member Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution calling on the U.S. postmaster general to issue one for the gay rights leader.
After the B.A.R. interviewed Leff and ran a photo of his Milk stamp in April 2009, the Imperial Court Council picked up the cause at the behest of Murray-Ramirez, who serves on his city's Human Relations Commission and is on the board of the Harvey B. Milk Foundation. Known as Nicole the Great within the Imperial Court System, Murray-Ramirez is executive director and international spokesperson of the International Court Council.
The Milk foundation signed on as a supporter of the national stamp campaign, and Stuart Milk serves as an honorary chair. Other honorary chairs include former Milk confidante Cleve Jones; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey; Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean; the Reverend Troy Perry, who started the Metropolitan Community Church; openly gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco); openly gay state Assembly Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles); and Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for his Milk biopic screenplay.
In addition to reaching out to LGBT people across the country, the Milk stamp campaign has enlisted bipartisan support from elected leaders throughout the U.S. Both openly gay Democratic New York state Senator Tom Duane and Republican San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, an out lesbian, have sent in letters backing a Milk stamp.
In her letter to the stamp advisory committee, dated June 18, 2010, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called Milk "a San Francisco hero" who continues to inspire people the world over. She urged the panel to make Milk the first person to be recognized for their work on LGBT rights with a stamp.
"The United States Postal Service has yet to honor an LGBT American hero with a stamp, commemorating the life and efforts of Harvey Milk would be a testament to Harvey's courage and a symbol of pride to anyone who has ever felt discrimination or cared about those who have," wrote Pelosi.
New Jersey's two Democratic U.S. senators, Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, both wrote letters in support of a Milk stamp. Other elected leaders who have sent in letters include Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego), outgoing Colorado state Representative Joel Judd (D-Denver), and Republican San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has a lesbian daughter.
Lautenberg, in his letter dated November 19, 2010, wrote that, "Mr. Milk's courageous devotion to LGBT civil rights will serve as a proud reminder of the dedication to justice and equality that has come to define our nation. Harvey Milk left an indelible impression upon history, one that is certainly deserving of consideration for a commemorative stamp."
In his letter urging the creation of a Milk stamp, dated August 10, 2010, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a Democrat, noted that California already has honored Milk with an unofficial state holiday every May 22, which was his birthday, and that President Barack Obama in 2009 posthumously awarded Milk a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"Harvey Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights," wrote Gordon, who urged the stamp panel to "soon" issue a Milk stamp.
It is unclear exactly how many letters the stamp advisory committee has received in support of a Milk stamp. The postal service's Betts said he didn't know.
Nor did Murray-Ramirez, who said the national campaign group is continuing to urge people to write in letters of support.
"The feedback we have gotten is they are very impressed so many handwritten letters have been sent," he said. "The last couple of years or more there has been a constant flow of letters from all over the United States."
This week, Tuesday, December 28, the postal service announced the commemorative stamps that have been approved for release in 2011. Among the list are ones honoring former California governor and President Ronald Reagan; famed author Mark Twain; the 150th anniversary of the Civil War; the 50th anniversary of America's first manned spaceflight; and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500-mile auto race.
As for the 2012 selections, Betts said he would not know what the advisory panel has decided until next August.
"Usually, that is when our stamp services department starts to share the info with me," he said. "The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee will receive tens of thousands of suggestions for stamp subjects. They narrow that down to 20 to 25 subjects annually and recommend those subjects to the postmaster general, who makes the final decision."
Of the 12 stamp selection criteria listed on the stamp advisory panel's website, two would appear to directly apply to a Milk stamp. One states that events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration "only on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years."
The other specifies that only people with "widespread national appeal and significance" will be considered. Those fitting this description would be people "who have overcome great challenges or active discrimination to enter a field or accomplish an aim and thus created opportunities thereafter for others similarly situated."
Supporters of various stamps can wait a decade or longer before their selection is approved, said Betts, such as backers of a stamp honoring Motown star Marvin Gaye, who died in 1984.
"They've been waiting well over a decade. There are other subjects that people have been waiting quite a number of years for," he said.
For more info on how to send the stamp panel a letter urging it to commemorate Milk, and to see copies of letters already sent in by various politicians and local groups, visit http://www.impcourt.org/icis/info/HarveyMilk/index.html.
source
Govt. Seeks to Suspend DADT Lawsuit Appeal
By Andrew Harmon
In light of congressional repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” signed into law by President Barack Obama last week, the Justice Department is now seeking to suspend its appeal in the Log Cabin Republicans’ longstanding federal lawsuit against the policy.
In a late Wednesday filing to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit, Justice Department attorneys wrote that the “orderly” terms of repealing DADT as set forth by the law will likely obviate the government’s appeal in the case.
But Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper called the motion a stall tactic that would delay the government’s opening brief in the appeal due January 24. “The DOJ can hardly argue now that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is constitutional,” Cooper told The Advocate. “The government is trying to avoid an embarrassing situation, and it ignores the fact that the military remains free to discharge personnel.”
Dan Woods, lead attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, told The Advocate following the repeal bill signing ceremony last week that he would not agree to suspend the suit, given that “don’t ask, don’t tell” technically remains in effect. “Unless the government agrees not to discharge any more service members, our lawsuit is alive and kicking," Woods said.
In its filing, Justice Department attorneys wrote that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal act “establishes an orderly process” for ending the policy. As part of that process, President Obama, Defense secretary Robert M. Gates, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen must all certify that ending DADT “is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.”
Under terms of the law, repeal would not go into effect until 60 days after the certification process is complete. Advocacy groups such as Servicemembers Legal Defense Network have warned gay and lesbian service members not to come out unless repeal is fully implemented.
In September a federal district judge in Riverside, Calif., ruled “don’t ask, don’t tell” unconstitutional in the Log Cabin case and issued a worldwide injunction banning enforcement of DADT. Government attorneys argued that an abrupt end to the policy would be disruptive, resulting in “immediate harm” to the armed forces. In a split decision, a three-judge panel of the ninth circuit agreed and stayed the injunction.
“In granting a stay pending appeal, this Court recognized the necessity of an orderly process in the Executive and Legislative Branches regarding any repeal of [DADT],” government attorneys wrote. “Since that time, that process has been proceeding in a timely manner in both Branches. This Court should now suspend the briefing schedule and hold the case in abeyance to allow that process to continue to completion."
source
In light of congressional repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” signed into law by President Barack Obama last week, the Justice Department is now seeking to suspend its appeal in the Log Cabin Republicans’ longstanding federal lawsuit against the policy.
In a late Wednesday filing to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit, Justice Department attorneys wrote that the “orderly” terms of repealing DADT as set forth by the law will likely obviate the government’s appeal in the case.
But Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper called the motion a stall tactic that would delay the government’s opening brief in the appeal due January 24. “The DOJ can hardly argue now that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is constitutional,” Cooper told The Advocate. “The government is trying to avoid an embarrassing situation, and it ignores the fact that the military remains free to discharge personnel.”
Dan Woods, lead attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, told The Advocate following the repeal bill signing ceremony last week that he would not agree to suspend the suit, given that “don’t ask, don’t tell” technically remains in effect. “Unless the government agrees not to discharge any more service members, our lawsuit is alive and kicking," Woods said.
In its filing, Justice Department attorneys wrote that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal act “establishes an orderly process” for ending the policy. As part of that process, President Obama, Defense secretary Robert M. Gates, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen must all certify that ending DADT “is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.”
Under terms of the law, repeal would not go into effect until 60 days after the certification process is complete. Advocacy groups such as Servicemembers Legal Defense Network have warned gay and lesbian service members not to come out unless repeal is fully implemented.
In September a federal district judge in Riverside, Calif., ruled “don’t ask, don’t tell” unconstitutional in the Log Cabin case and issued a worldwide injunction banning enforcement of DADT. Government attorneys argued that an abrupt end to the policy would be disruptive, resulting in “immediate harm” to the armed forces. In a split decision, a three-judge panel of the ninth circuit agreed and stayed the injunction.
“In granting a stay pending appeal, this Court recognized the necessity of an orderly process in the Executive and Legislative Branches regarding any repeal of [DADT],” government attorneys wrote. “Since that time, that process has been proceeding in a timely manner in both Branches. This Court should now suspend the briefing schedule and hold the case in abeyance to allow that process to continue to completion."
source
Ten Notable Quotes From 2010
By Advocate.com Editors
"I just got some amazing news. The court has granted Portia's name change. She's now officially Portia Winfrey." Ellen DeGeneres via Twitter, September 23, 2010
"I feel like I've contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I'm open to it. You're welcome." Sean Hayes to The Advocate, March 1, 2010
"Let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a speech to State Department employees, June 23, 2010
"Gay people who want to marry have no desire to redefine marriage in any way. When women got the right to vote, it did not redefine voting." Cynthia Nixon at the New Yorker Festival, October 1, 2010
"I don't know about next election, but I think in the near future, because step by step we have realized that this issue of homosexuality has the same adverse and progressive elements as when we dealt with the race issue." President Jimmy Carter to BigThink.com, December 16, 2010
"I am a fortunate homosexual man." Ricky Martin coming out as gay on his website, March 28, 2010
"I have watched every episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. Sometimes I want to dress up like myself and go onstage as a drag queen to see if anyone knows the difference. I'm two degrees away from a drag queen anyways. I love a queen where you really have to question if it's a guy or a girl -- that magical mystery when you just don't know. " Katy Perry to The Advocate, September 1, 2010
"Boy, we haven't grown at all, have we? We're still children in a schoolyard. Honestly, no offense Dave, but for God sakes, have you ever seen a gay man? Are there gay people in Indiana?" Jim Carrey to David Letterman when asked whether he worries about playing a gay role in I Love You Phillip Morris, November 18, 2010
"I just dropped my Diet Coke ... " Chris Colfer on Twitter responding to the rumor of an Ab Fab reunion in the works, November 5, 2010
"No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who were forced to leave the military, regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder, in order to serve the country that they love." President Barack Obama on signing the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal into law, December 22, 2010
source
"I just got some amazing news. The court has granted Portia's name change. She's now officially Portia Winfrey." Ellen DeGeneres via Twitter, September 23, 2010
"I feel like I've contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I'm open to it. You're welcome." Sean Hayes to The Advocate, March 1, 2010
"Let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a speech to State Department employees, June 23, 2010
"Gay people who want to marry have no desire to redefine marriage in any way. When women got the right to vote, it did not redefine voting." Cynthia Nixon at the New Yorker Festival, October 1, 2010
"I don't know about next election, but I think in the near future, because step by step we have realized that this issue of homosexuality has the same adverse and progressive elements as when we dealt with the race issue." President Jimmy Carter to BigThink.com, December 16, 2010
"I am a fortunate homosexual man." Ricky Martin coming out as gay on his website, March 28, 2010
"I have watched every episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. Sometimes I want to dress up like myself and go onstage as a drag queen to see if anyone knows the difference. I'm two degrees away from a drag queen anyways. I love a queen where you really have to question if it's a guy or a girl -- that magical mystery when you just don't know. " Katy Perry to The Advocate, September 1, 2010
"Boy, we haven't grown at all, have we? We're still children in a schoolyard. Honestly, no offense Dave, but for God sakes, have you ever seen a gay man? Are there gay people in Indiana?" Jim Carrey to David Letterman when asked whether he worries about playing a gay role in I Love You Phillip Morris, November 18, 2010
"I just dropped my Diet Coke ... " Chris Colfer on Twitter responding to the rumor of an Ab Fab reunion in the works, November 5, 2010
"No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who were forced to leave the military, regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder, in order to serve the country that they love." President Barack Obama on signing the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal into law, December 22, 2010
source
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Lambda Legal Urges Governor-Elect Brown to Appoint Unbiased, Diverse Judges
"We hope the governor will scrutinize every candidate's record carefully to ensure that California's Constitution and laws are enforced so as to protect all Californians equally."
(Los Angeles, December 30, 2010)—Lambda Legal has sent a letter to Governor-Elect Jerry Brown urging him to scrutinize closely the judicial philosophies of those he appoints as state court judges and to add greater diversity to the bench.
The three-page letter, mailed today, calls on the governor-elect to appoint only judges who will rule fairly and impartially, particularly in cases involving LGBT and HIV-positive individuals. It explains why judges must not only abide by landmark legal precedents recognizing the rights of LGBT individuals, but must also follow the principles of equal protection and fairness underlying those decisions. These precedents include the constitutional requirement that anti-gay laws be tested against the most rigorous level of judicial scrutiny, the right to privacy that applies to both same-sex and different-sex relationships, and the right to be treated equally across a wide variety of settings regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.
The letter also reminds Brown that in the nearly three decades since he appointed the first openly lesbian and gay nominees to the state bench during his previous term as governor, a number of administrations following his "did not follow your course. As a result, openly [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] individuals, people of color and women are underrepresented at all levels of the state judiciary. We call on you to appoint other qualified LGBT judges, as well as other underrepresented minorities."
"California has a better record than most states in making sure its judges are fair-minded and that they reflect the diversity of the state as a whole," said Jon W. Davidson, Legal Director of Lambda Legal. "We've seen political efforts in other states to pack the courts with anti-gay ideologues and to strip the robe off any fair-minded jurist willing to treat LGBT people equally. That stacking of the deck against LGBT people undermines the fundamental principle of equal justice that is the bedrock of our nation. We hope the governor will scrutinize every candidate's record carefully to ensure that California's Constitution and laws are enforced so as to protect all Californians equally."
To see a copy of the letter and the landmark cases it cites, go to
http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/ltr_ca-gov-brown_20101230_apponitments-to-ca-judiciary.htmlsource
(Los Angeles, December 30, 2010)—Lambda Legal has sent a letter to Governor-Elect Jerry Brown urging him to scrutinize closely the judicial philosophies of those he appoints as state court judges and to add greater diversity to the bench.
The three-page letter, mailed today, calls on the governor-elect to appoint only judges who will rule fairly and impartially, particularly in cases involving LGBT and HIV-positive individuals. It explains why judges must not only abide by landmark legal precedents recognizing the rights of LGBT individuals, but must also follow the principles of equal protection and fairness underlying those decisions. These precedents include the constitutional requirement that anti-gay laws be tested against the most rigorous level of judicial scrutiny, the right to privacy that applies to both same-sex and different-sex relationships, and the right to be treated equally across a wide variety of settings regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.
The letter also reminds Brown that in the nearly three decades since he appointed the first openly lesbian and gay nominees to the state bench during his previous term as governor, a number of administrations following his "did not follow your course. As a result, openly [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] individuals, people of color and women are underrepresented at all levels of the state judiciary. We call on you to appoint other qualified LGBT judges, as well as other underrepresented minorities."
"California has a better record than most states in making sure its judges are fair-minded and that they reflect the diversity of the state as a whole," said Jon W. Davidson, Legal Director of Lambda Legal. "We've seen political efforts in other states to pack the courts with anti-gay ideologues and to strip the robe off any fair-minded jurist willing to treat LGBT people equally. That stacking of the deck against LGBT people undermines the fundamental principle of equal justice that is the bedrock of our nation. We hope the governor will scrutinize every candidate's record carefully to ensure that California's Constitution and laws are enforced so as to protect all Californians equally."
To see a copy of the letter and the landmark cases it cites, go to
http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/ltr_ca-gov-brown_20101230_apponitments-to-ca-judiciary.htmlsource
Apple Rejects Homophobic iPhone App for the Second Time
by Angela Dallara, GLAAD's National News/Transgender Advocacy Fellow
Apple has upheld its decision to reject an anti-LGBT, anti-choice iPhone App despite protests from Christian organizations and a revision of the original application by its creators.
The “Manhattan Declaration” application “reaffirms the moral teachings of our Christian faith on the sanctity of human life, marriage and sexual morality, and religious freedom and the rights of conscience,” quotes the Christian Post. The Declaration is a 4,700-word statement signed by many Christian religious leaders and citizens that claims to speak “in defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. It issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere firmly to their convictions in these three areas.” It calls relationships among LGBT people “immoral sexual partnerships,” and says marriage “is not a civil right” for them, among sending other anti-LGBT messages. The declaration was written in late September 2009, and the application was created this year.
Apple initially approved the application in October, but rejected it in November in response to an outcry from the LGBT community and its allies as well as petitions with almost 8,000 signatures, calling it offensive. The edited version removed a poll which asked users their opinions regarding LGBT relationships and abortion and awarded them points for “correct” answers (which opposed equality for LGBT people). The revised version was submitted along with its own petition.
Apple rejected the second submission on the same grounds as the first, noting that the app is likely “to expose a group to harm” and “to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others.” The Manhattan Declaration website posted a statement on December 23 announcing Apple’s rejection of the app, and the makers of the content plan to take the issue to the Apple’s App Review Board after the holidays. Media coverage of this second rejection does not seem to have been picked up by many conservative outlets as of yet.
GLAAD has been at the forefront of this story since its beginning, and has consistently urged Apple to stand firm against anti-LGBT activists. We presented a Call to Action for readers to speak out against bigotry and to encourage the company to stand strong against intolerance. “This application fuels a climate in which gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are put in harm’s way. Apple did the right thing in recognizing that this application violates the company’s guidelines,” we commented at the time. We provided significant publicity to this cause, and our petition on Change.org garnered over 4,000 signatures.
GLAAD thanks every supporter who signed our petition and took action after learning about this issue. Apple stood by its decision after you told them to stay strong, and we applaud this huge success.
source
Apple has upheld its decision to reject an anti-LGBT, anti-choice iPhone App despite protests from Christian organizations and a revision of the original application by its creators.
The “Manhattan Declaration” application “reaffirms the moral teachings of our Christian faith on the sanctity of human life, marriage and sexual morality, and religious freedom and the rights of conscience,” quotes the Christian Post. The Declaration is a 4,700-word statement signed by many Christian religious leaders and citizens that claims to speak “in defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. It issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere firmly to their convictions in these three areas.” It calls relationships among LGBT people “immoral sexual partnerships,” and says marriage “is not a civil right” for them, among sending other anti-LGBT messages. The declaration was written in late September 2009, and the application was created this year.
Apple initially approved the application in October, but rejected it in November in response to an outcry from the LGBT community and its allies as well as petitions with almost 8,000 signatures, calling it offensive. The edited version removed a poll which asked users their opinions regarding LGBT relationships and abortion and awarded them points for “correct” answers (which opposed equality for LGBT people). The revised version was submitted along with its own petition.
Apple rejected the second submission on the same grounds as the first, noting that the app is likely “to expose a group to harm” and “to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others.” The Manhattan Declaration website posted a statement on December 23 announcing Apple’s rejection of the app, and the makers of the content plan to take the issue to the Apple’s App Review Board after the holidays. Media coverage of this second rejection does not seem to have been picked up by many conservative outlets as of yet.
GLAAD has been at the forefront of this story since its beginning, and has consistently urged Apple to stand firm against anti-LGBT activists. We presented a Call to Action for readers to speak out against bigotry and to encourage the company to stand strong against intolerance. “This application fuels a climate in which gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are put in harm’s way. Apple did the right thing in recognizing that this application violates the company’s guidelines,” we commented at the time. We provided significant publicity to this cause, and our petition on Change.org garnered over 4,000 signatures.
GLAAD thanks every supporter who signed our petition and took action after learning about this issue. Apple stood by its decision after you told them to stay strong, and we applaud this huge success.
source
N.Y. Post Continues Tradition of Homophobia With ‘Elton and Wife’ Headline
By Advocate.com Editors
Announcing the adoption of Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John to new dads Elton John (pictured, right) and partner David Furnish (left), the New York Post continued a tradition of antigay language and cartoons, running a story Wednesday with the headline “Elton and wife proud dads.”
The story by David K. Li, which ran in the print edition and online, was free of antigay slurs or language, but the headline, inaccurate, sophomoric, antigay, and anti-female, has elicited responses from blogs and editorial writers.
Gawker’s Brian Moylan points out that apart from the insult to both gay men and women, the joke is journalistically inaccurate, as the men are civil partners in the United Kingdom, though not technically married.
GLAAD reached out to the New York Post’s managing editor, but the newspaper has not changed its headline. In previous years GLAAD has taken to task the newspaper for calling transgender women “she-males” and for its insulting cartoon depictions of gay men. The watchdog group was created 25 years ago in response to the Post’s antigay AIDS coverage.
source
Announcing the adoption of Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John to new dads Elton John (pictured, right) and partner David Furnish (left), the New York Post continued a tradition of antigay language and cartoons, running a story Wednesday with the headline “Elton and wife proud dads.”
The story by David K. Li, which ran in the print edition and online, was free of antigay slurs or language, but the headline, inaccurate, sophomoric, antigay, and anti-female, has elicited responses from blogs and editorial writers.
Gawker’s Brian Moylan points out that apart from the insult to both gay men and women, the joke is journalistically inaccurate, as the men are civil partners in the United Kingdom, though not technically married.
GLAAD reached out to the New York Post’s managing editor, but the newspaper has not changed its headline. In previous years GLAAD has taken to task the newspaper for calling transgender women “she-males” and for its insulting cartoon depictions of gay men. The watchdog group was created 25 years ago in response to the Post’s antigay AIDS coverage.
source
Teen suicides put spotlight on bullying
by Tammye Nash
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We’ve heard the adage practically all our lives, but 2010 proved beyond any doubt that words can, indeed, be lethal, as a wave of teen suicides grabbed headlines and focused attention on an epidemic of anti-gay bullying in schools.
And for the first time, it seemed, mainstream America came to terms with the reality of statistics showing that LGBT youth are three to four times more likely to take their own lives than their straight peers.
On Sept. 28, media across the country picked up the story of Asher Brown, a gay 13-year-old from Houston who days before shot himself to death with his stepfather’s gun. That same day came word that Seth Walsh, a gay 13-year-old from Tehachapi, Calif., had died after spending nine days on life support after he hung himself in his own backyard. Both boys endured months of anti-gay bullying at school, and both families said officials had ignored their repeated pleas for action. But by the time candlelight vigils took place around the country in memory of the victims, two more names had been added to the list: 15-year-old Billy Lucas of Greensburg, Ind., committed suicide after months of being bullied at school; and 18-year-old Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and another student secretly videotaped him having sex with another man and broadcast it on the Internet. On Sept. 29, 19-year-old Raymond Chase hung himself in his dorm room at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. Then there was Cody J. Barker, 17, of Wisconsin, who died Sept. 13; Harrison Chase Brown, 15, of Colorado, who died Sept. 25; Felix Sacco, 17, of Massachusetts who died Sept. 29, and Caleb Nolt, 14, of Indiana, who died Sept. 30.
Finally, there was Zach Harrington, 19, of Norman, Okla. Harrington’s family said the young man had attended a Sept. 28 City Council meeting that included a public hearing on a resolution to recognize October as LGBT history month. A number of residents attended to speak out against the ordinance — which was eventually passed by the council — and Harrington’s parents said their son was so hurt by the hateful rhetoric that seven days later he took his own life.
Gay journalist and blogger Dan Savage had already started an online video project called the “It Gets Better Campaign,” in which people of all ages, from rock stars and actors to government officials to other gay teens sitting in front of their computers in their bedrooms, told their own stories of overcoming struggles and surviving to see their lives get better. They urged young people considering suicide to hang on and not give up hope.
Then on Oct. 12, one week after Harrington’s death, gay Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns took time during a meeting to address the issue. His voice choked and strained with emotion, tears running down his face, Burns read a speech he had scribbled down hastily during his lunch hour that day. He told of growing up gay in Crowley, Texas, and the bullying he endured, and how he, too, had come close to taking his own life.
But, Burns said, “It gets better,” and he continued by talking about how he had survived and thrived, about his loving family, his husband and how wonderful his life has become.
By the next morning, video of Burns’ speech had been posted to YouTube and was collecting thousands of hits. And Burns was invited to appear on The Today Show, Ellen and more. He had become the face of efforts to end the bullying and save young lives.
Around the same time, the Dallas school board began discussing how to improve its own anti-bullying policy. Activists noted that while most of the suicides making headlines involved LGBT youth, the district’s proposed new policy didn’t specifically protect those young gays, lesbians and transgenders.
Meanwhile, Andy Moreno, a female transgender student at North Dallas High School, was fighting to run for homecoming queen.
Moreno had been nominated by classmates, but school administrators said she couldn’t run because she was officially enrolled as a boy.
Although Moreno herself said she hadn’t experienced bullying by her classmates, LGBT advocates pointed out that she was being bullied by administrators because of her gender identity, and that school district policies did not specifically protect her.
On Nov. 18 the DISD board approved a fully inclusive new anti-bullying policy. Officials with the Fort Worth Independent School District announced that they, too, would be revising their policies to specifically protect LGBT teens.
As December began, State Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth announced she had prefiled legislation to address bullying in the state’s public schools, and that unlike a similar bill prefiled in the house by Rep. Mark Strama, her bill was fully inclusive of LGBT teens.
On Dec. 16, Equality Texas held a press conference in Austin, releasing results of a poll on LGBT rights that showed nearly 80 percent of Texans support inclusive anti-bullying legislation.
Chuck Smith, Equality Texas’ deputy director, said that anti-bullying bills had been introduced in the Legislature each session since 1997 but none of the measures had ever passed. But this time, as the death toll has continued to rise and the country has been forced to acknowledge the ongoing damage, Smith said he believes inclusive anti-bullying legislation has its best chance ever of passing in Texas.
source
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We’ve heard the adage practically all our lives, but 2010 proved beyond any doubt that words can, indeed, be lethal, as a wave of teen suicides grabbed headlines and focused attention on an epidemic of anti-gay bullying in schools.
And for the first time, it seemed, mainstream America came to terms with the reality of statistics showing that LGBT youth are three to four times more likely to take their own lives than their straight peers.
On Sept. 28, media across the country picked up the story of Asher Brown, a gay 13-year-old from Houston who days before shot himself to death with his stepfather’s gun. That same day came word that Seth Walsh, a gay 13-year-old from Tehachapi, Calif., had died after spending nine days on life support after he hung himself in his own backyard. Both boys endured months of anti-gay bullying at school, and both families said officials had ignored their repeated pleas for action. But by the time candlelight vigils took place around the country in memory of the victims, two more names had been added to the list: 15-year-old Billy Lucas of Greensburg, Ind., committed suicide after months of being bullied at school; and 18-year-old Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and another student secretly videotaped him having sex with another man and broadcast it on the Internet. On Sept. 29, 19-year-old Raymond Chase hung himself in his dorm room at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. Then there was Cody J. Barker, 17, of Wisconsin, who died Sept. 13; Harrison Chase Brown, 15, of Colorado, who died Sept. 25; Felix Sacco, 17, of Massachusetts who died Sept. 29, and Caleb Nolt, 14, of Indiana, who died Sept. 30.
Finally, there was Zach Harrington, 19, of Norman, Okla. Harrington’s family said the young man had attended a Sept. 28 City Council meeting that included a public hearing on a resolution to recognize October as LGBT history month. A number of residents attended to speak out against the ordinance — which was eventually passed by the council — and Harrington’s parents said their son was so hurt by the hateful rhetoric that seven days later he took his own life.
Gay journalist and blogger Dan Savage had already started an online video project called the “It Gets Better Campaign,” in which people of all ages, from rock stars and actors to government officials to other gay teens sitting in front of their computers in their bedrooms, told their own stories of overcoming struggles and surviving to see their lives get better. They urged young people considering suicide to hang on and not give up hope.
Then on Oct. 12, one week after Harrington’s death, gay Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns took time during a meeting to address the issue. His voice choked and strained with emotion, tears running down his face, Burns read a speech he had scribbled down hastily during his lunch hour that day. He told of growing up gay in Crowley, Texas, and the bullying he endured, and how he, too, had come close to taking his own life.
But, Burns said, “It gets better,” and he continued by talking about how he had survived and thrived, about his loving family, his husband and how wonderful his life has become.
By the next morning, video of Burns’ speech had been posted to YouTube and was collecting thousands of hits. And Burns was invited to appear on The Today Show, Ellen and more. He had become the face of efforts to end the bullying and save young lives.
Around the same time, the Dallas school board began discussing how to improve its own anti-bullying policy. Activists noted that while most of the suicides making headlines involved LGBT youth, the district’s proposed new policy didn’t specifically protect those young gays, lesbians and transgenders.
Meanwhile, Andy Moreno, a female transgender student at North Dallas High School, was fighting to run for homecoming queen.
Moreno had been nominated by classmates, but school administrators said she couldn’t run because she was officially enrolled as a boy.
Although Moreno herself said she hadn’t experienced bullying by her classmates, LGBT advocates pointed out that she was being bullied by administrators because of her gender identity, and that school district policies did not specifically protect her.
On Nov. 18 the DISD board approved a fully inclusive new anti-bullying policy. Officials with the Fort Worth Independent School District announced that they, too, would be revising their policies to specifically protect LGBT teens.
As December began, State Sen. Wendy Davis of Fort Worth announced she had prefiled legislation to address bullying in the state’s public schools, and that unlike a similar bill prefiled in the house by Rep. Mark Strama, her bill was fully inclusive of LGBT teens.
On Dec. 16, Equality Texas held a press conference in Austin, releasing results of a poll on LGBT rights that showed nearly 80 percent of Texans support inclusive anti-bullying legislation.
Chuck Smith, Equality Texas’ deputy director, said that anti-bullying bills had been introduced in the Legislature each session since 1997 but none of the measures had ever passed. But this time, as the death toll has continued to rise and the country has been forced to acknowledge the ongoing damage, Smith said he believes inclusive anti-bullying legislation has its best chance ever of passing in Texas.
source
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
A Gay Marine Who Saved a President
by Michael Hamar
Given the efforts of organizations like Concerned Women for America who want American history to remain sanitized to omit any references to the contributions of LGBT Americans, it is important that our true contributions be highlighted.
Fortunately, a opinion column in the Sacramento Bee does just this in its look at Marine veteran of Vietnam, Billy Sipple, who tackled a woman named Sara Jane Moore as she pulled a revolver from her purse to fire at President Gerald Ford back in 1975.
Despite what our enemies and religious zealots would have others believe about us, LGBT Americans are just as patriotic and have contributed at least as much to the nation as have heterosexuals and this reality terrifies the Christianists because it cuts them off at the knees in their quest to stigmatize us. Here are highlights from the Bee's column:
Given the efforts of organizations like Concerned Women for America who want American history to remain sanitized to omit any references to the contributions of LGBT Americans, it is important that our true contributions be highlighted.
Fortunately, a opinion column in the Sacramento Bee does just this in its look at Marine veteran of Vietnam, Billy Sipple, who tackled a woman named Sara Jane Moore as she pulled a revolver from her purse to fire at President Gerald Ford back in 1975.
Despite what our enemies and religious zealots would have others believe about us, LGBT Americans are just as patriotic and have contributed at least as much to the nation as have heterosexuals and this reality terrifies the Christianists because it cuts them off at the knees in their quest to stigmatize us. Here are highlights from the Bee's column:
Sipple, the son of a Detroit autoworker, had been discharged from the Marines in 1970 and made his way to San Francisco in search of acceptance, like so many others. On Sept. 22, 1975, Sipple was on the sidewalk outside the St. Francis Hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of another Michigan native, Gerald Ford. Sipple looked up as a woman named Sara Jane Moore pulled a revolver from her purse. Without a second thought, Sipple lunged at her.
Feinstein, then the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, didn't see the assassination attempt but had been Ford's host at the St. Francis. "It was a gay man who grabbed her gun, which deflected the shot aimed at our president," Feinstein said on Saturday [December 18, 2010], the day that the Senate voted to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that had forced countless military men and women to remain closeted.
Perhaps the prejudice and fears that led to the policy fed the demons that haunted Sipple. Sipple surely suffered. Sipple's brother, George, told me that the Marines at one point denied Sipple was ever in the service. There were, after all, no gay Marines.
Two days after the assassination attempt, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen disclosed Sipple's sexual orientation, and quoted Milk and another gay man "who claim to be among Sipple's close friends described themselves as 'proud - maybe this will help break the stereotype.' Sipple had been out of the closet in San Francisco. But like so many others who sought freedom by settling in the city, Sipple had not told his family back in Michigan. His parents were shocked at the news. His father never got over it, he later said.
Wayne Friday, then an investigator for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, stopped by one of Sipple's Polk Street hangouts in February 1989. The bartender asked that Friday check in on Sipple, who hadn't been around. Friday found Sipple dead on his bed, half-gallon bottles of bourbon and 7-Up nearby. He had been there two weeks. The framed note was on a wall.
"Dear Mr.Sipple,
"I want you to know how much I appreciated your selfless actions last Monday. The events were a shock to us all, but you acted quickly and without fear for your own safety. By doing so, you helped to avert danger to me and to others in the crowd. You have my heartfelt appreciation."
Gerald Ford signed it.
Log Cabin to Build Bench in New York
By Julie Bolcer
The New York chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans announced “Starting at 1,” a new initiative designed to increase members’ involvement in state and local politics, with goals that include recruiting and grooming successful candidates for elected office.
Starting at 1 takes its name from the launch date of January 1, 2011. Beginning next month with e-mail updates to members and a presence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, the initiative will provide information to encourage participation in local government and state Republican organizations and committees, the traditional entry points for heavyweight political involvement.
“Right now we have a politically savvy membership, and it’s time to take things to the next level,” said Gregory T. Angelo, a spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans of New York, in a statement. “Starting at 1 is designed to take the enthusiasm we’ve seen from our members for everything from joining their local community board to becoming more involved in the Republican county committee and even running for office. With the momentum from the 2010 midterm elections driving us forward and the mounting excitement for the 2012 presidential election ahead, 2011 is the perfect time to begin building the gay GOP leaders of tomorrow, and Starting at 1 seeks to give individuals the tools to do just that.”
As elsewhere, all politics is local in New York, but aspiring power brokers may find the terrain inaccessible, even treacherous, without an introduction and guidance. Starting at 1 aims to help gay Republicans traverse the playing field comprised of entities such as community boards, county committees, and district leader offices.
“We’re going to be encouraging people to run for committee, to engage more with their district leaders, to engage with their community board, to build a back bench with Log Cabin,” said Angelo. “That starts with people getting the tools they need to become part of that process. We’ll let people know about opportunities for candidate school and running for county committee and who their district leaders are.”
Starting at 1 arrives after a wave of Republican midterm election gains in Congress, to which New York contributed six seats, more than any other state, to the House takeover. However, no Republican won statewide office in New York despite races for two offices, attorney general and comptroller, initially thought to be competitive. Meanwhile, many Republicans in the state felt dissatisfaction with their Tea Party-backed gubernatorial nominee, Carl Paladino, whose antigay remarks to a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders in October prompted a national uproar. According to the nonpartisan Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, not a single openly gay Republican was elected to a state legislative office this year.
On the other hand, the GOP made gains in the New York state assembly and won back the state senate, where advocates await action on the marriage equality bill that failed last year and on a long-stalled transgender civil rights bill. Republican senate leader Dean Skelos said during the campaign that he would recommend bringing the marriage equality bill to the floor pending consultation with his conference, and lobbying groups like Log Cabin note that historic gay rights legislation including the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act and a hate crimes bill passed under a Republican state senate in the past decade.
While the initiative was formally announced Wednesday, Log Cabin members learned about Starting at 1 earlier this month during the group’s holiday party in New York City, which drew Republican leaders including Log Cabin executive director R. Clarke Cooper, former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, and state party chairman Ed Cox. The initiative is exclusive to New York right now, but the state chapter hopes to inspire gay Republicans everywhere.
“Starting at 1 is entirely a Log Cabin Republicans of New York initiative, though it is a model that can be replicated by Log Cabin Republicans chapters throughout the country,” said Angelo. “In fact, it's our hope that other chapters will follow our lead with similar efforts to engage their membership during this incredible window of opportunity in Republican Party history.”
source
The New York chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans announced “Starting at 1,” a new initiative designed to increase members’ involvement in state and local politics, with goals that include recruiting and grooming successful candidates for elected office.
Starting at 1 takes its name from the launch date of January 1, 2011. Beginning next month with e-mail updates to members and a presence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, the initiative will provide information to encourage participation in local government and state Republican organizations and committees, the traditional entry points for heavyweight political involvement.
“Right now we have a politically savvy membership, and it’s time to take things to the next level,” said Gregory T. Angelo, a spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans of New York, in a statement. “Starting at 1 is designed to take the enthusiasm we’ve seen from our members for everything from joining their local community board to becoming more involved in the Republican county committee and even running for office. With the momentum from the 2010 midterm elections driving us forward and the mounting excitement for the 2012 presidential election ahead, 2011 is the perfect time to begin building the gay GOP leaders of tomorrow, and Starting at 1 seeks to give individuals the tools to do just that.”
As elsewhere, all politics is local in New York, but aspiring power brokers may find the terrain inaccessible, even treacherous, without an introduction and guidance. Starting at 1 aims to help gay Republicans traverse the playing field comprised of entities such as community boards, county committees, and district leader offices.
“We’re going to be encouraging people to run for committee, to engage more with their district leaders, to engage with their community board, to build a back bench with Log Cabin,” said Angelo. “That starts with people getting the tools they need to become part of that process. We’ll let people know about opportunities for candidate school and running for county committee and who their district leaders are.”
Starting at 1 arrives after a wave of Republican midterm election gains in Congress, to which New York contributed six seats, more than any other state, to the House takeover. However, no Republican won statewide office in New York despite races for two offices, attorney general and comptroller, initially thought to be competitive. Meanwhile, many Republicans in the state felt dissatisfaction with their Tea Party-backed gubernatorial nominee, Carl Paladino, whose antigay remarks to a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders in October prompted a national uproar. According to the nonpartisan Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, not a single openly gay Republican was elected to a state legislative office this year.
On the other hand, the GOP made gains in the New York state assembly and won back the state senate, where advocates await action on the marriage equality bill that failed last year and on a long-stalled transgender civil rights bill. Republican senate leader Dean Skelos said during the campaign that he would recommend bringing the marriage equality bill to the floor pending consultation with his conference, and lobbying groups like Log Cabin note that historic gay rights legislation including the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act and a hate crimes bill passed under a Republican state senate in the past decade.
While the initiative was formally announced Wednesday, Log Cabin members learned about Starting at 1 earlier this month during the group’s holiday party in New York City, which drew Republican leaders including Log Cabin executive director R. Clarke Cooper, former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, and state party chairman Ed Cox. The initiative is exclusive to New York right now, but the state chapter hopes to inspire gay Republicans everywhere.
“Starting at 1 is entirely a Log Cabin Republicans of New York initiative, though it is a model that can be replicated by Log Cabin Republicans chapters throughout the country,” said Angelo. “In fact, it's our hope that other chapters will follow our lead with similar efforts to engage their membership during this incredible window of opportunity in Republican Party history.”
source
The Year In Entertainment
by ARNOLD WAYNE JONES | jones@dallasvoice.com
1. I Love You, Phillip Morris. The best comedy of the year is this unlikely love story, told with open-hearted directness, about a gay conman (Jim Carrey), his boyfriend (Ewan McGregor) and their escapades in Texas during the 1990s. Think a gay version of Bonnie & Clyde with some hot sex and hysterical jokes. Only don’t. Whatever, just see it.
2. Winter’s Bone. A girl in the Ozarks must track down her meth-dealing dad or lose her home. Without sentimentality or cloying music, it tells a tale with such visual acuity and simplicity it gobsmacks you with its beauty. Hard watching, sometimes, and excellently acted by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence and veteran Dale Dickey.
3. The Social Network. David Fincher makes Aaron Sorkin’s complex screenplay about the founding of Facebook into the off-handed, slyly FX’d movie equivalent of a page turner, with terrific pacing, pantingly good acting by Jesse Eisenberg and Armie Hammer and a story of great relevance and psychological depth.
4. The King’s Speech. Hard to imagine speech lessons being cinematic, but director Tom Hooper does just that in this entrancing historical drama about King George VI (Colin Firth, who may win the Oscar denied him last year for A Single Man) as the stuttering monarch and Geoffrey Rush magnificent as a linguistic coach. We are quite amused.
5. True Grit. After the dreadful detours of Burn After Reading and A Serious Man, the Coens are back in stride with this poetic Western — not a revisionist conceit, but a straightforward character study of revenge, exceptionally well played by Jeff Bridges and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who should win the Oscar.
6. The Ghost Writer. Roman Polanski finished the editing on this film while under house arrest, which just goes to show Polanski in the worst of circumstances is better than most directors at their best. The best film from the first half of the year, it’s a cagey political thriller than keeps you guessing.
7. Scott Pilgrim versus the World. Michael Cera’s charms are wearing thin, but he squeezed out the last drips in this quirky fantasy-romance that creates its own internal world of logic. Among the best elements: Kieran Culkin as Cera’s predatory gay roommate.
8. The Kids Are All Right. Although the story wandered down a path strewn with clichés, director Lisa Cholodenko still managed to spin it with unique and authentic moments as lesbian spouses Julianne Moore and Annette Bening contend with infidelity and a man in their lives (Mark Ruffalo, rascally and loveable) for the first time. Gay cinema has rarely been as clever and mainstream-compatible as this.
9. Life During Wartime. Todd Solondz’s uncomfortably dark but oddly funny follow-up to his art-house hit Happiness, centered on three sisters and their perversely dysfunctional family, was the most cringe-inducing comedy ever that lacked a bathroom scene or Woody Allen playing a romantic scene with a teenager.
10 . My Name Is Khan and Un Prophete (tie). Hard to chose between these largely foreign-language entries: Khan, one of the best Bollywood films ever with unexpected emotional resonance, and Un Prophete, a French-Muslim version of The Godfather that was a true epic.
Runners-up: Kick-Ass, Megamind, The Secret in their Eyes, Black Swan, Undertow.
Best performances of the year —
Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech; Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network; Jeff Bridges, True Grit; Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter; Tommy Lee Jones, Company Men; James Franco, 127 Hours; Robert Duvall, Get Low.
Actress: Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right; Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone; Natalie Portman, Black Swan.
Supporting actor: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech; Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right;
Armie Hammer, The Social Network; Christian Bale, The Fighter; Lucas Black, Get Low.
Supporting actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit; Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone; Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis, Black Swan; Melissa Leo, The Fighter.
Best non-fiction films: Inside Job; Catfish.
10 worst films of the year: Unstoppable; Shutter Island; Splice; Love and Other Drugs; The Book of Eli; Edge of Darkness; Skyline; Alice in Wonderland; How Do You Know; Knight and Day.
source
1. I Love You, Phillip Morris. The best comedy of the year is this unlikely love story, told with open-hearted directness, about a gay conman (Jim Carrey), his boyfriend (Ewan McGregor) and their escapades in Texas during the 1990s. Think a gay version of Bonnie & Clyde with some hot sex and hysterical jokes. Only don’t. Whatever, just see it.
2. Winter’s Bone. A girl in the Ozarks must track down her meth-dealing dad or lose her home. Without sentimentality or cloying music, it tells a tale with such visual acuity and simplicity it gobsmacks you with its beauty. Hard watching, sometimes, and excellently acted by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence and veteran Dale Dickey.
3. The Social Network. David Fincher makes Aaron Sorkin’s complex screenplay about the founding of Facebook into the off-handed, slyly FX’d movie equivalent of a page turner, with terrific pacing, pantingly good acting by Jesse Eisenberg and Armie Hammer and a story of great relevance and psychological depth.
4. The King’s Speech. Hard to imagine speech lessons being cinematic, but director Tom Hooper does just that in this entrancing historical drama about King George VI (Colin Firth, who may win the Oscar denied him last year for A Single Man) as the stuttering monarch and Geoffrey Rush magnificent as a linguistic coach. We are quite amused.
5. True Grit. After the dreadful detours of Burn After Reading and A Serious Man, the Coens are back in stride with this poetic Western — not a revisionist conceit, but a straightforward character study of revenge, exceptionally well played by Jeff Bridges and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who should win the Oscar.
6. The Ghost Writer. Roman Polanski finished the editing on this film while under house arrest, which just goes to show Polanski in the worst of circumstances is better than most directors at their best. The best film from the first half of the year, it’s a cagey political thriller than keeps you guessing.
7. Scott Pilgrim versus the World. Michael Cera’s charms are wearing thin, but he squeezed out the last drips in this quirky fantasy-romance that creates its own internal world of logic. Among the best elements: Kieran Culkin as Cera’s predatory gay roommate.
8. The Kids Are All Right. Although the story wandered down a path strewn with clichés, director Lisa Cholodenko still managed to spin it with unique and authentic moments as lesbian spouses Julianne Moore and Annette Bening contend with infidelity and a man in their lives (Mark Ruffalo, rascally and loveable) for the first time. Gay cinema has rarely been as clever and mainstream-compatible as this.
9. Life During Wartime. Todd Solondz’s uncomfortably dark but oddly funny follow-up to his art-house hit Happiness, centered on three sisters and their perversely dysfunctional family, was the most cringe-inducing comedy ever that lacked a bathroom scene or Woody Allen playing a romantic scene with a teenager.
10 . My Name Is Khan and Un Prophete (tie). Hard to chose between these largely foreign-language entries: Khan, one of the best Bollywood films ever with unexpected emotional resonance, and Un Prophete, a French-Muslim version of The Godfather that was a true epic.
Runners-up: Kick-Ass, Megamind, The Secret in their Eyes, Black Swan, Undertow.
Best performances of the year —
Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech; Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network; Jeff Bridges, True Grit; Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter; Tommy Lee Jones, Company Men; James Franco, 127 Hours; Robert Duvall, Get Low.
Actress: Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right; Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone; Natalie Portman, Black Swan.
Supporting actor: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech; Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right;
Armie Hammer, The Social Network; Christian Bale, The Fighter; Lucas Black, Get Low.
Supporting actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit; Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone; Barbara Hershey and Mila Kunis, Black Swan; Melissa Leo, The Fighter.
Best non-fiction films: Inside Job; Catfish.
10 worst films of the year: Unstoppable; Shutter Island; Splice; Love and Other Drugs; The Book of Eli; Edge of Darkness; Skyline; Alice in Wonderland; How Do You Know; Knight and Day.
source
CPAC Losing Social Conservative Crowd
By Advocate.com Editors
The Conservative Political Action Conference has veered too liberal in inviting the gay Republican group GOProud, according to two national antigay organizations that will not attend the February event in Washington, D.C.
Both Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council will not participate at the 2011 CPAC, according to WorldNetDaily.
"We've been very involved in CPAC for over a decade and have managed a couple of popular sessions," said Tom McClusky, senior vice president for FRCAction, the lobbying arm of Family Research Council. "However, we will no longer be involved with CPAC because of the organization's financial mismanagement and movement away from conservative principles."
Concerned Women for America president Penny Nance told WND her group would not participate in CPAC "in part" because of GOProud.
GOProud's participation in CPAC has irked social conservatives before: Last year groups led by Liberty University School of Law revoked their sponsorship when event organizers refused to disinvite the gay organization.
source
The Conservative Political Action Conference has veered too liberal in inviting the gay Republican group GOProud, according to two national antigay organizations that will not attend the February event in Washington, D.C.
Both Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council will not participate at the 2011 CPAC, according to WorldNetDaily.
"We've been very involved in CPAC for over a decade and have managed a couple of popular sessions," said Tom McClusky, senior vice president for FRCAction, the lobbying arm of Family Research Council. "However, we will no longer be involved with CPAC because of the organization's financial mismanagement and movement away from conservative principles."
Concerned Women for America president Penny Nance told WND her group would not participate in CPAC "in part" because of GOProud.
GOProud's participation in CPAC has irked social conservatives before: Last year groups led by Liberty University School of Law revoked their sponsorship when event organizers refused to disinvite the gay organization.
source
Iowa Gov. on Judicial Oustings: No Comment
By Advocate.com Editors
Iowa governor-elect Terry Branstad said he's "got enough on [his] plate" to worry about and won't opine on three state legislators' efforts to impeach the four remaining Iowa supreme court justices who ruled last year in favor of marriage equality.
The incoming Republican governor has called on the state legislature to begin the process for a popular vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but declined comment as to whether the four justices should be removed through impeachment, Radio Iowa reports. “The governor doesn’t have a role in that,” Branstad said.
Groups including the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council, and the American Family Association launched a successful $1 million campaign against three of the state's justices who were up for retention votes in November. Justices Marsha Ternus, Michael J. Streit, and David L. Baker were all voted off the bench.
Read the article here.
source
Iowa governor-elect Terry Branstad said he's "got enough on [his] plate" to worry about and won't opine on three state legislators' efforts to impeach the four remaining Iowa supreme court justices who ruled last year in favor of marriage equality.
The incoming Republican governor has called on the state legislature to begin the process for a popular vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but declined comment as to whether the four justices should be removed through impeachment, Radio Iowa reports. “The governor doesn’t have a role in that,” Branstad said.
Groups including the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council, and the American Family Association launched a successful $1 million campaign against three of the state's justices who were up for retention votes in November. Justices Marsha Ternus, Michael J. Streit, and David L. Baker were all voted off the bench.
Read the article here.
source
Chely Wright helps unveil a new LGBT youth home on "The Nate Berkus Show"
by Trish Bendix, Managing Editor
Today on The Nate Berkus Show, out interior designer/host Nate Berkus invited Chely Wright on to perform her song "Like Me." Nate has been instrumental in helping to build Yes, an LGBT youth home in NYC, lending his design skills and time on his show to highlight the project.
Chely was also involved with Yes, as you can see in the second video below, where she pays the finished home a visit and shares her coming out story.
Did you catch Chely on The Nate Berkus Show today?
source
Today on The Nate Berkus Show, out interior designer/host Nate Berkus invited Chely Wright on to perform her song "Like Me." Nate has been instrumental in helping to build Yes, an LGBT youth home in NYC, lending his design skills and time on his show to highlight the project.
Chely was also involved with Yes, as you can see in the second video below, where she pays the finished home a visit and shares her coming out story.
Did you catch Chely on The Nate Berkus Show today?
source
Tell NC County Commission to Censure Anti-Gay Politician
Aaron McQuade, GLAAD's Associate Director of National News
Bill James is a Commissioner of Mecklenberg County in North Carolina. A year ago, during a debate about giving benefits to the partners of county workers, he muttered an anti-gay slur towards a fellow commissioner, whose son died of AIDS in the 1990s.
It’s always terrible to see an elected official using his or her office to spread hateful and hurtful rhetoric about LGBT people. We’ve seen it from Oklahoma’s Sally Kern for years. We saw it from Arkansas’ Clint McCance just a few months ago. Now Bill James is at it again.
This week, County Commissioner Chair Jennifer Roberts requested that the board send a letter thanking some members of the Charlotte-area congressional delegation for their “yes” votes on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. James then fired off an e-mail in response, in which he repeated some of the worst anti-gay lies and rhetoric being spread by opponents of LGBT rights. This behavior has rightfully prompted a swift and powerful reaction from the LGBT community and supporters.
It’s inexcusable to call your colleague’s deceased son an anti-gay slur. It’s even more inexcusable to willfully spread misinformation about the lives of all LGBT people and claim that open military service will do anything but strengthen our national security by allowing all of the best and brightest to serve, regardless of who they are.
Click here to tell James’ colleagues to censure him for his hateful and dangerous rhetoric.
source
Bill James is a Commissioner of Mecklenberg County in North Carolina. A year ago, during a debate about giving benefits to the partners of county workers, he muttered an anti-gay slur towards a fellow commissioner, whose son died of AIDS in the 1990s.
It’s always terrible to see an elected official using his or her office to spread hateful and hurtful rhetoric about LGBT people. We’ve seen it from Oklahoma’s Sally Kern for years. We saw it from Arkansas’ Clint McCance just a few months ago. Now Bill James is at it again.
This week, County Commissioner Chair Jennifer Roberts requested that the board send a letter thanking some members of the Charlotte-area congressional delegation for their “yes” votes on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. James then fired off an e-mail in response, in which he repeated some of the worst anti-gay lies and rhetoric being spread by opponents of LGBT rights. This behavior has rightfully prompted a swift and powerful reaction from the LGBT community and supporters.
“Both Senators from North Carolina voted to strengthen our national security last week when they voted to repeal the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian service members,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “Commissioner James’ remarks show the true character of anti-gay activists, willing to defame even those brave gay and lesbian people in uniform who are serving their country. This type of hateful language does nothing more than fuel a climate of intolerance that puts gay and transgender Americans and our families in harm’s way.”
It’s inexcusable to call your colleague’s deceased son an anti-gay slur. It’s even more inexcusable to willfully spread misinformation about the lives of all LGBT people and claim that open military service will do anything but strengthen our national security by allowing all of the best and brightest to serve, regardless of who they are.
Click here to tell James’ colleagues to censure him for his hateful and dangerous rhetoric.
source
DADT: Behind the Repeal Ceremony
By Advocate.com Editors
The White House on Wednesday issued its own YouTube take on last week's historic ceremony at the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama signed into law repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
The video (shown below) features interviews with Rep. Patrick Murphy, a key advocate for repeal in the House, as well as White House domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes and Capt. Jonathan Hopkins, who was discharged under DADT.
source
The White House on Wednesday issued its own YouTube take on last week's historic ceremony at the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama signed into law repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
The video (shown below) features interviews with Rep. Patrick Murphy, a key advocate for repeal in the House, as well as White House domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes and Capt. Jonathan Hopkins, who was discharged under DADT.
source
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Gay Miner Sues for Harassment, Threats
By Advocate.com Editors
A gay coal miner in West Virginia is suing his employer, a Massey Energy Co. subsidiary, saying several of his coworkers have harassed him because of his sexual orientation.
Miner Sam Hall's suit claims he was the subject of verbal harassment and lewd gestures by his supervisors, and that his complaints to managers went ignored, according to The Charleston Gazette. When Hall started working at one particular mine in 2007, a chief electrician used homophobic slurs against him and wrote them on Hall's dinner bucket. Though management stepped in after Hall complained, the behavior then escalated, and someone allegedly attached a sign to his car that read, "I like little boys."
At another gas mine, coworkers shook their penises at Hall, but when the harassment was reported, the coworkers wrote slurs on his locker.
"They are serious allegations, and we take them seriously," Massey Energy vice president and general counsel Shane Harvey told the Gazette. "We are going to investigate it, and if any of them are true, we are going to take action swiftly to remedy the situation. However, at this stage, they are just allegations, and we are going into the investigation with an open mind."
The suit, assigned to Kanawha County circuit court judge Duke Bloom, seeks damages for lost wages and emotional distress.
source
A gay coal miner in West Virginia is suing his employer, a Massey Energy Co. subsidiary, saying several of his coworkers have harassed him because of his sexual orientation.
Miner Sam Hall's suit claims he was the subject of verbal harassment and lewd gestures by his supervisors, and that his complaints to managers went ignored, according to The Charleston Gazette. When Hall started working at one particular mine in 2007, a chief electrician used homophobic slurs against him and wrote them on Hall's dinner bucket. Though management stepped in after Hall complained, the behavior then escalated, and someone allegedly attached a sign to his car that read, "I like little boys."
At another gas mine, coworkers shook their penises at Hall, but when the harassment was reported, the coworkers wrote slurs on his locker.
"They are serious allegations, and we take them seriously," Massey Energy vice president and general counsel Shane Harvey told the Gazette. "We are going to investigate it, and if any of them are true, we are going to take action swiftly to remedy the situation. However, at this stage, they are just allegations, and we are going into the investigation with an open mind."
The suit, assigned to Kanawha County circuit court judge Duke Bloom, seeks damages for lost wages and emotional distress.
source
North Carolina Pol: Gay People Are “Sexual Predators”
By Advocate.com Editors
An antigay commissioner in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County called gay people “sexual predators” in an e-mail response to a letter from a fellow commissioner asking her colleagues to sign a thank-you note to the state’s officials who voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Mecklenburg County commissioner Jennifer Roberts circulated the letter earlier this month, prompting an angry response from Bill James.
“Homosexuals are sexual predators,” James wrote in response to the e-mail from Roberts. “Allowing homosexuals to serve in the U.S. military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining U.S. military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to.”
In 2009, James made headlines for mumbling the word “homo” after a colleague spoke of her son dying of AIDS. A few years earlier, he was quoted as saying people of color "live in a moral sewer."
Change.org is urging people to sign a petition to the Mecklenburg County board urging members to censure James “for repeatedly using his work e-mail to bash LGBT folks.” James was just reelected to his seat.
source
An antigay commissioner in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County called gay people “sexual predators” in an e-mail response to a letter from a fellow commissioner asking her colleagues to sign a thank-you note to the state’s officials who voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Mecklenburg County commissioner Jennifer Roberts circulated the letter earlier this month, prompting an angry response from Bill James.
“Homosexuals are sexual predators,” James wrote in response to the e-mail from Roberts. “Allowing homosexuals to serve in the U.S. military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining U.S. military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to.”
In 2009, James made headlines for mumbling the word “homo” after a colleague spoke of her son dying of AIDS. A few years earlier, he was quoted as saying people of color "live in a moral sewer."
Change.org is urging people to sign a petition to the Mecklenburg County board urging members to censure James “for repeatedly using his work e-mail to bash LGBT folks.” James was just reelected to his seat.
source
WATCH: Barney Frank takes ownership of ‘the radical homosexual agenda’
by David Taffet
Rep. Barney Frank had a number of one-liners in TV appearances last weekend following the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
He said he wondered what would have happened if he or another elected official had suggested exempting gays and lesbians from service.
”We have this important idea,” Frank said on Hardball on MSNBC. “Let’s exempt gay and lesbian people from having to defend the country. You talk about people complaining about special rights.”
“Showering with homosexuals?” he said in an interview with CNS, a conservative media watchdog. “What do you think happens in gyms all over America? What do you think happens in the House of Representatives? Of course people shower with homosexuals. What a silly issue!”
“Remember, under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ by the way, the policy was that you would be showering with homosexuals, you just weren’t supposed to know which was which,” he said.
Speaking after the repeal, Frank said in a press conference that there is a “radical homosexual agenda” — to be protected against violent crimes driven by bigotry, to be able to get married, to be able to get a job and to be able to fight for our country.
And he put those worried about it on notice: “Two down. Two to go.”
But in a more serious assessment on Hardball, he said, “Giving gay and lesbian people the chance to show, in the most challenging thing you can do in America, that we really are just like everybody else, except for our choices about what we do in intimate moments, will do more to help us destroy the myth.”
source
Rep. Barney Frank had a number of one-liners in TV appearances last weekend following the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
He said he wondered what would have happened if he or another elected official had suggested exempting gays and lesbians from service.
”We have this important idea,” Frank said on Hardball on MSNBC. “Let’s exempt gay and lesbian people from having to defend the country. You talk about people complaining about special rights.”
“Showering with homosexuals?” he said in an interview with CNS, a conservative media watchdog. “What do you think happens in gyms all over America? What do you think happens in the House of Representatives? Of course people shower with homosexuals. What a silly issue!”
“Remember, under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ by the way, the policy was that you would be showering with homosexuals, you just weren’t supposed to know which was which,” he said.
Speaking after the repeal, Frank said in a press conference that there is a “radical homosexual agenda” — to be protected against violent crimes driven by bigotry, to be able to get married, to be able to get a job and to be able to fight for our country.
And he put those worried about it on notice: “Two down. Two to go.”
But in a more serious assessment on Hardball, he said, “Giving gay and lesbian people the chance to show, in the most challenging thing you can do in America, that we really are just like everybody else, except for our choices about what we do in intimate moments, will do more to help us destroy the myth.”
source
Anti-LGBT Ugandan Pastor Martin Ssempa Charged With Blackmail
Angela Dallara, GLAAD's National News/Transgender Advocacy Fellow
Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa has been charged with blackmail for allegedly paying a man to falsely accuse another pastor of sexual assault. Ssempa is notorious in Uganda and around the world for his anti-LGBT sentiments and past efforts.
Ssempa, along with seven other anti-LGBT Christian activists, is accused of hiring and paying a man named Robson Matovu to claim that he was sodomized by Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral in Kampala. According to the Advocate, no evidence was found to support the sexual assault claim, and the charges were retracted. “In retracting their statements, the complainants said they had been mobilized to make false accusations against Pastor Kayanja in order to tarnish his name,” a report reads. The Ugandan newspaper New Vision indicates that although several arrests have been made, police have thus far been unable to take Ssempa into custody, suggesting that he “eluded” them.
This development comes after various headlines Ssempa has recently made regarding his opposition to equality for the LGBT community, including his displays and graphic descriptions of gay pornography at his Ugandan church while asking, “Is this what Obama wants to bring to Africa?” He is also strongly supportive of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would make physical acts with members of the same sex punishable by the death penalty. He has organized demonstrations and spoken out in public for the bill—often associating the LGBT community with pedophilia, insisting that he is a protector of children, and claiming that Uganda as a country opposes LGBT rights.
Jim Burroway, editor of the Box Turtle Bulletin, notes the implications of this story in the context of Uganda’s current political climate. “Public charges of sodomy are a common way to settle political and other scores in Uganda. Should the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill become law with its death penalty and other heightened penalties for advocacy on behalf of LGBT people or failure to report gay people to police, such conspiracies will increase and carry far greater dangers. The bill will mean that no one will be safe, including straight people.”
GLAAD has reported in the past about the struggle for LGBT people in Uganda, and has worked with pro-LGBT religious advocates in the country (such as Bishop Christopher Senyonjo) to amplify their voices. We have also recognized Ssempa’s homophobia and his impact even in America, as well as his connection to this dangerous bill. If the charges against Ssempa and his colleagues turn out to be true, they will serve as a perfect example of the extreme tactics being used by anti-LGBT activists in order to ensure that equality is not brought to our community in Uganda and elsewhere.
GLAAD will continue to monitor coverage of this story and report on the latest updates.
source
After losing bitter custody battle, lesbian mother Debie Hackett of Dallas takes her own life
by David Taffet
Another suicide in the LGBT community this week showed that bullying isn’t the only reason people take their own lives.
Last July, I wrote about Debie Hackett, who was fighting with her former partner for visitation rights with their son. An appeals court gave her the right to assert her parental rights and sue for visitation and the case was remanded to the lower court. When I spoke to her, she was hopeful that she would be able to see her son soon.
This month she lost her case.
Despondent, Hackett took her own life on Christmas Eve.
Could interpretation of laws to discount a same-sex relationship be the underlying cause of this needless death?
A friend of Hackett’s sent me an e-mail to let me know what had happened and asked that as a tribute I post suicide-prevention information.
Local counselor Candy Marcum said that, surprisingly, December is not necessarily the worst month for suicide. In Hackett’s case, the loss in court combined with loneliness on the holiday must have been too much for her.
Grieving friends and family can only wonder if there was something more they could have done. Marcum said the warning signs are not always apparent and counsels those grieving not to blame themselves.
Ann Haas of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention specializes in prevention in the LGBT community. In a November article, she listed a number of warning signs for suicide. To read them, go here.
source
Another suicide in the LGBT community this week showed that bullying isn’t the only reason people take their own lives.
Last July, I wrote about Debie Hackett, who was fighting with her former partner for visitation rights with their son. An appeals court gave her the right to assert her parental rights and sue for visitation and the case was remanded to the lower court. When I spoke to her, she was hopeful that she would be able to see her son soon.
This month she lost her case.
Despondent, Hackett took her own life on Christmas Eve.
Could interpretation of laws to discount a same-sex relationship be the underlying cause of this needless death?
A friend of Hackett’s sent me an e-mail to let me know what had happened and asked that as a tribute I post suicide-prevention information.
Local counselor Candy Marcum said that, surprisingly, December is not necessarily the worst month for suicide. In Hackett’s case, the loss in court combined with loneliness on the holiday must have been too much for her.
Grieving friends and family can only wonder if there was something more they could have done. Marcum said the warning signs are not always apparent and counsels those grieving not to blame themselves.
Ann Haas of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention specializes in prevention in the LGBT community. In a November article, she listed a number of warning signs for suicide. To read them, go here.
source
Arizona schools put on notice
Caleb Laieski
Phoenix, Arizona –
In response to the recent increase in LGBT teen suicides and bullying reports Gays and Lesbians United Against Discrimination an organization founded by teen Caleb Laieski after being bullied in the Dysart Unified School District of Surprise, has reached out to every individual public school district and schools within the district this week within the State of Arizona “in providing opportunity for resource options in combating these issues on campus and if failing to intervene, facing legal issues” said Executive Director Caleb Laieski.
“The goal is to ensure all campuses in the State of Arizona are safe and to tackling these issues without legal action, but such will be promptly pursued if necessary.”
A copy of each letter has been distributed to local members of all Arizona city councils, county commissioners, legislators (state and federal), where the State Department Education, Attorney General’s Office, and Office of the Governor has received a general copy for their review and investigation.
Their letter, which has been sent to over 5,000 contacts, is “advising schools, teachers and administrators of their legal obligations in those positions to ensuring all students are sadly, and also go into several suggested remedial measures. The letter also mentioning that if they are acknowledged to any of the following “suicide attempts or success due to bullying on campus, inadequate action, or failure to intervene” that legal action will be promptly sought.
GLUAD has being working very abruptly in making Arizona’s campuses a safer place for all students of diversity and has future plans of reaching out to all fifty-states, as well as opening a homeless shelter for folks of the homeless population in need of assistance, primarily focusing on those of the LGBT community, but will not be limited to the LGBT population only.”
source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)