Via JMG: That's Gay: Homo-Villains In The Movies

reposted from Joe

How Dummies Protect Marriage

Found on JMG: Behind Argentina's Marriage Vote

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Via JMG: NOM's Hate Bus Uses Fake Families

Good As You's ever-resourceful Jeremy Hooper has shown that the families depicted on the sides of NOM's Hate Bus don't actually exist, they're just actors ripped out of generic stock photos. We know NOM is having a hard time getting people to show up for the Hate Tour, but seriously, they couldn't find ONE real homo-hating family to pose for their bus? reposted from Joe

Via Freedom to Marry:

Daniel, To most of us, Love + Commitment = Marriage. Not to the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM). NOM has launched a national tour promoting marriage discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. In advertising their anti-gay bus tour, NOM referred to supporters of the freedom to marry as those who 'pillage the values of our Nation.' NOM is escalating its anti-gay attacks and Freedom to Marry is meeting them head on. To counter NOM's fear-mongering and to show America what being FOR marriage really looks like, Freedom to Marry and local and state equality groups have teamed up for Summer for Marriage, a series of pro-marriage events across the country in July and August. Find information about Summer for Marriage Tour events in your area: http://www.freedomtomarry.org/summer-for-marriage To challenge NOM's anti-gay rhetoric, Freedom to Marry is: Working with partner groups on a nationally coordinated campaign to push back on NOM's anti-gay attacks Engaging in effective media outreach to show how marriage discrimination hurts same-sex couples. Mobilizing Freedom to Marry supporters to participate in on-the-ground actions with local, state, and national partners. This is the kind of on-the-ground action we need to change hearts and minds. State-by-state and city-by-city, Freedom to Marry and it's partner organizations are making the case that all loving and committed couples should be free to marry. Join us - because we cannot allow NOM's distractions, distortions, and discriminatory agenda to go unanswered http://www.freedomtomarry.org/summer-for-marriage Thanks for all you do, Michael Crawford Director of New Media, Freedom to Marry

Via JMG: BREAKING: Argentina's Senate APPROVES Marriage Equality 33-27!!!!

Argentina's Senate has voted 33-27 to APPROVE marriage equality! The bill now goes to the president who has vowed to sign it at once. The debate, which Rex Wockner notes went on for 14 hours, lasted past 4am Buenos Aires time. Shortly after the vote, a massive and delirious crowd outside the chamber broke into dancing and singing. I'll update this post shortly with official news reports. Among those staying up all night to follow the debate was Ricky Martin, whose tweets on #matrimonio pushed the issue onto Twitter's top trending topics.First out with a U.S. reaction was Freedom To Marry, whose executive director Evan Wolfson writes:

"Today's historic vote shows how far Catholic Argentina has come, from dictatorship to true democratic values, and how far the freedom to marry movement has come as twelve countries on four continents now embrace marriage equality. Argentina's vote for the freedom to marry marks an important advance for fairness and family values as more couples around the world will now share in marriage, with families helped and no one hurt. Today's vote adds momentum to the international movement to secure the freedom to marry for all loving and committed couples. Key to Argentina's human rights achievement was strong leadership from legislators and the president. It is time we see more of our own elected officials standing up for the Constitution and all families here in the United States. America should lead, not lag, when it comes to treating everyone equally under the law."

OOPS, yesterday Slaggie Gilamonster foresaw the future! A future which is spreading across the globe in a lovely dark blue. See the already updated Wiki-map below. reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Divorce Ban Pranksters To Start Collecting Signatures For 2010 CA Ballot

Last September I told you about Rescue Marriage, the prankster group that claims to want to ban divorce in California. Yesterday the state granted permission for the group to begin gathering the required 694K signatures to place the issue on the 2010 ballot.

Rescue Marriage founder (and straight ally) John Marcotte said last year, "People who supported Prop 8 weren't trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That's why I'm confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical."

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Glenn Greenwald

"Argentinian politicians acted in the face of 'polls showing that nearly 70 percent of Argentines support giving gay people the same marital rights as heterosexuals.' That's what is most striking here: this is not happening in some small Northern European country renown for its ahead-of-the-curve social progressivism (though gay marriage or civil unions are now the norm in Western Europe).

"Just as is true for Brazil, which I've written about before with regard to my personal situation, Argentina is a country with a fairly recent history of dictatorships, an overwhelmingly Catholic population (at least in name), and pervasive social conservatism, with extreme restrictions on abortion rights similar to those found on much of the continent. The Catholic Church in Argentina vehemently opposed the enactment of this law. But no matter. Ending discrimination against same-sex couples is understood as a matter of basic equality, not social progressivism, and it thus commands widespread support. The contrast with the U.S. is quite instructive and depressing." - Glenn Greenwald, writing for Salon. reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NATE SILVER: 250 Million People Live In Jurisdictions With Full Marriage Equality

Nate notes this about his graph:

The big spike you see in 2008 is California recognizing gay marriage through the courts, and then un-recognizing it through the passage of Proposition 8. Right now, it's possible to marry your same-sex partner in Buenos Aires, in Mexico City, in Ames, Iowa, and in Pretoria, South Africa, but not in San Francisco. With countries like Argentina and Portugal now recognizing same-sex marriages, however, the global trajectory has returned to its slow-but-steady upward pace.

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: WASHINGTON: House Democrats Pledge LGBT-Inclusive Immigration Reform

U.S. House Democrats held a joint press conference with major LGBT and immigrant groups this morning to restate their support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill that provides for the equal treatment of LGBT couples.

Democrats from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus were joined by a coalition of 37 immigration, LGBT, and faith advocacy groups in support. The Congressional speakers, particularly Luis Gutierrez (IL), Jerrold Nadler (NY), Jared Polis (CO), and Mike Honda (CA) expressed confidence that a bill that included equal treatment of LGBT bi-national couples would be passed this term. According to Immigration Equality, 36,000 bi-national couples in the United States face imminent or future separation because the US citizen of same-sex couples cannot, like those in heterosexual married couples, sponsor their partner for citizenship.

The top three evangelical groups say they support immigration reform, but will block any attempt to include LGBT provisions. The Southern Baptist Convention, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference all vow that they will derail any reform bill that incorporates the Uniting American Families Act, which provides immigrant status to the partners of gay American citizens.

REACTIONS

Immigration Equality:

"Every day that Congress fails to take action, American families are separated or forced into exile, including more than 17,000 families raising young children," said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality. "For those families, and their loved ones, today's clear call to action, from key Congressional champions, could not be more welcome or more timely. We are proud to stand with those leaders, and with immigrants and their families across our country, in working to fix our broken immigration system. The LGBT community can be a steadfast partner in that effort, and Immigration Equality is proud to mobilize allies in support of inclusive immigration reform."

Equality California:

“We are grateful that this powerful coalition is standing together to help fix our broken immigration system. California’s elected leaders have already endorsed the Uniting American Families Act, urging our U.S. Congressional leaders to act quickly to end the grave inequities facing binational couples and their families. We hope this vital legislation passes soon, so that no more families headed by same-sex couples are torn apart.”

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force:

“The U.S. has 12 million undocumented immigrants, including at least half a million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Thousands of binational same-sex couples and their families have been kept separated or forced to live abroad. This discriminatory practice is unfair and inhumane. No one should ever have to choose between their partner and their country or be denied the freedom to be with their families. UAFA is consistent with U.S. immigration law's existing policy of keeping families intact. We thank the members of Congress standing for equality today and for supporting the inclusion of LGBT families in all future comprehensive immigration reform efforts.”

Human Rights Campaign:

“Our nation should bring families together, not tear them apart, yet same-sex, bi-national couples are too often forced to separate because the government views them as strangers under the law. For far too long, leaders have ignored the devastating real-life consequences for these couples imposed by our current immigration policies. Family reunification is a primary goal of our immigration system but our government fails to accomplish this basic objective for thousands of loving same-sex couples.”

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: VIDEO: Argentina Vote Reactions

Joe says, "Even though I only speak "disco Spanish," as I watched the live video stream of the endless debate all through the night, I was amused at my ability to pick out the familiar figures - the earnest progressives and the hectoring Christianists - so often seen in our own battles. If the bottom clip doesn't make you tear up a little, you are worse than Hitler."


preposted from Joe

Ohh Ducky!

Via JMG: U.S. Army Published Instructional DADT Comic Book In 2001

Boing Boing reports that the U.S. Army apparently published an instructional comic book in 2001 meant to direct soldiers on how to handle gay troops. Boing Boing speculates: "The publication was very likely as a test document with little distribution." Click over to read the entire thing. reposted from Joe

Via JMG: STATEN ISLAND: Hate Crime Victims Speak Out To City Leaders

At a meeting attended by state reps, city council members, and the NYPD, yesterday two gay men spoke out about about being the victims of an anti-gay assault at a Staten Island restaurant.

Luis Vieira, 47, and his partner, Richard Vieira, 39, addressed a meeting organized by the Staten Island LGBT Center, Tompkinsville, in response to the brutal beating to which they were subjected last week by a large group of African Americans at the White Castle restaurant on Bay Street. The NYPD is investigating the early-morning July 7 attack as a hate crime. In the presence of 70-plus supporters, the couple of 13 years' standing held hands and overcame some initial discomfort. Richard Vieira's eye was blacked and his arm was in a sling. "There are a lot of questions that need to be answered" in respect of the assault, said Luis Vieira, who noted that he grew up in Alabama when pro-segregationist George Wallace was governor. "[Do] you honestly think you can intimidate me or my partner to not put our face out there and let it be known what is going on in the community?" he asked rhetorically. The outrage has lit a fire under the LGBT community. "The fact we can still have hate crimes based on race, gender, ethnicity and sexuality -- it's disturbing," said Imani Rodriguez of Stapleton. "It is disturbing that my children are growing up in these times that I still have to watch my back and the back of my lesbian lover."

reposted from Joe