Society does not hate us because we hate ourselves; we hate ourselves because we grew up and live in a society that hates us.
“The problem is not so much homosexual desire as the fear of homosexuality,” as Guy Hocquenghem states in the first sentence of his book Homosexual Desire.
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Conservatives in the US are undergoing an existential crisis, but this is not the time for liberals to sit by smugly and watch. |
Australia’s national rugby union team, the Wallabies, have the backs of the Sydney Convicts (Australia’s only gay rugby union team, and current title holders of the Bingham Cup) and agreed to take part in the This Is Oz campaign, ACON’s social inclusion initiative aimed at fighting discrimination against Australia’s GLBT communities. The Wallabies decided to take part after meeting with The Sydney Convicts, club founder and former president Andrew Purchas told SX news;
“We’re very pleased that the Wallabies and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has been so responsive and willing to support us and come on board with This Is Oz. Having these kind of high level professional sportsmen giving their support goes a long way to breaking down barriers , and countering the stereotypes and supporting diversity and acceptance … Kids really look up to these guys and follow their lead, so it really does a lot of good.”
thanks to JMG for this!WASHINGTON — The Obama administration filed court papers Monday claiming a federal marriage law discriminates against gays, even as government lawyers continue to defend the law.
Justice Department lawyers are seeking to dismiss a suit brought by a gay California couple challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The administration's response to the case has angered gay activists who see it as backtracking on campaign promises made by Barack Obama.
In the court papers, the administration urges the repeal of the law but says in the meantime, government lawyers will continue to defend it as a law on the books.
The government's previous filing in the case angered gay rights activists who supported Obama's candidacy in part because of his pledge to move forward on repealing the law and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays from serving openly in the military.
"The administration believes the Defense of Marriage Act is discriminatory and should be repealed," said Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler, because it prevents equal rights and benefits.
The Justice Department, she added, is obligated "to defend federal statutes when they are challenged in court. The Justice Department cannot pick and choose which federal laws it will defend based on any one administration's policy preferences."
The law, often called DOMA, denies federal recognition of gay marriage and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Obama has pledged to work to repeal the law.
Monday's court filing was in response to a lawsuit by Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, who are challenging the federal law, which prevents couples in states that recognize same-sex unions from securing Social Security spousal benefits, filing joint taxes and benefiting from other federal rights connected to marriage.
Justice lawyers have argued that the act is constitutional and contend that awarding federal marriage benefits to gays would infringe on the rights of taxpayers in the 30 states that specifically prohibit same-sex marriages.
Earlier this year, Massachusetts became the first state to challenge the law in court.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
