Monday, February 1, 2010
FROM JMG: SF Gay Men's Chorus Well Received On Prop 8 Tour Of CA Heartland
In a front page story, today's San Francisco Chronicle notes the success of the SF Gay Men's Chorus as it tours California's central heartlands in a peace-making tour after the acrimony of Proposition 8. They came. They sang. They wore pink cowboy hats. When the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus embarked on its Freedom Tour into the heart of Proposition 8 territory over the weekend, there were concerns. Would red-state towns like Redding and Chico turn out to see gay men in tuxedos singing "Over the Rainbow"? Would there be protests, threats or fear-mongering from Shasta County's fundamentalist community? But chorus artistic director and conductor Kathleen McGuire asked: "Who is afraid of a choir?" Make no mistake, this isn't a tour. It's a groundbreaking political action. In the upcoming months, they'll visit Bakersfield, Fresno and Tracy, all strongholds for Prop. 8, the measure that banned same-sex marriage. They hope their music will help personalize the fight for gays to marry.The tour resumes in May with dates in Fresno, Tracy, and Bakersfield.
It is more than a small gamble. They could face protests, fights or even worse - complete indifference. "When the tickets didn't sell at first, I thought, 'Oh God, no one is going to show up,' " said Amy Andrews, a welfare worker in Redding, who helped arrange the show at the 1,000-plus-seat Cascade Theatre. "And then tickets just took off. I have never been prouder of my hometown." Saturday's show was a sellout. So was Sunday's 450-seat event in Chico, where they received a standing ovation.
Labels: California, good work, Proposition 8, San Francisco, SF Gay Men's Chorus
From JMG: DADT: Signorile On CNN
SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile appeared on CNN this weekend to talk about DADT and President Obama's recent recommitment to its overturn. Charles "the president loves terrorists more than gays" Moran of the Log Cabin Republicans appears as well.
Labels: Barack Obama, Charles Moran, CNN, DADT, Michelangelo Signorile
President Obama: stop firing gay service members immediately
Equality California
During last night’s State of the Union Address, President Obama included a brief mention of the ongoing struggle against discrimination that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community continues to face under his watch.
“This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.”
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Sunday, January 31, 2010
From Belirico: Is Violence Inevitable In Our Fight For Equality?
Filed by: Father Tony
Before you comment on this topic, I urge you to carefully read this post at JoeMyGod.Joe's advice is sensible. Don't say anything in a comment that you wouldn't say when writing a signed letter to a newspaper.
The specter of gay violence has been with me for many months as the advocates for gay rights have mobilized in challenging the homophobic religious bigots who would deny us equal rights. It's as if the breath of righteous indignation could any minute cause the embers to burst into flame.
From Belirico: My Daily Spiritual Practice
Filed by: D Gregory Smith
As LGBTIQ persons, many of us feel estranged from or alienated by organized religion. We can feel hurt, misunderstood, persecuted and sometimes afraid because of religious positions, teachings and practices.
Personally, I have always made a distinction between being religious (observing a particular religion) and being spiritual (belief that you are connected to the universe somehow). I've known and read about LGBT persons who have actively shunned anything spiritual because of their negative experience with religion, and I think that's unfortunate. There seems to be an important component in the human experience that can often only be defined as "spiritual," and in that sense, I believe it's worth exploring - despite, or perhaps because of intellectual stances of agnosticism, atheism or indifference.
For me, it's not simply a question of God. It's a question of exploring and finding my place and the place of others in the workings of the universe. That can happen with or without a concept of God. In fact, I would argue that it's happening every time we work for civil rights or environmental responsibility, or simple justice....
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From JMG: American Family Association Radio Host: It's Time To Imprison All Gays
American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer has called for sending homosexuals to prison for forced reparative therapy, a move he says is sanctioned by the Bible. Below, he responds to an email from a complaining listener. Thanks for writing me about my comments on my program regarding homosexuality. It might be worth noting that what I actually suggested is that we impose the same sanctions on those who engage in homosexual behavior as we do on those who engage in intravenous drug abuse, since both pose the same kind of risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. I'd be curious to know what you think should be done with IV drug abusers, because whatever it is, I think the same response should be made to those who engage in homosexual behavior.In November, Fischer called for banning all Muslims from the U.S. military. In addition to his radio show for the American Family Association, Fischer is the executive director of the Idaho Family Alliance.
If you believe that what drug abusers need is to go into an effective detox program, then we should likewise put active homosexuals through an effective reparative therapy program. Secondly, I'm afraid you're simply wrong about the Bible's perspective on the law and homosexuality. Paul lists quite explicitly in 1 Timothy 1:8-11 the actions and behaviors that are the proper concern of the law:
"Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine..."
The bottom line here is that, biblically, those "who practice homosexuality" should come under the purview of the law just as much as those who take people captive in order to sell them into slavery. You express a belief in the Scriptures, and I trust your confidence in Scripture is not selective. If you believe all Scripture is inspired, then you are compelled to accept that legal sanctions may appropriately be applied to those who engage in homosexual behavior.
Remember folks, the Christianist right is not about hatred and bigotry. It's about the gentle redemptive love of Jesus, forced upon you at the barrel of a gun in prison as they beat the gay out of you.
Labels: AFA, assholism, bigotry, Bryan Fischer, Christianists, Idaho Family Alliance, radio, religion