The new battle in California

Society protects and defends the rights of prisoners, who have been stripped of most of their civil rights, to enter into a civil marriage. Those who argue that homosexuality is a “lifestyle choice” are willfully ignoring the American Psychological Association and of the science of psychology, that homosexuality is an orientation. It is not a choice anymore than being heterosexual is a choice. On which calendar date did you sit down and chose your sexual orientation? Most of us discovered our orientation when we went through puberty. Some of us experienced discrimination, hatred, verbal, emotional and physical abuse in addition to the general angst, which marked that stage of development. Prop 8 legalized discrimination against a minority group into the California State Constitution and in so doing, promotes bigotry and social stigmatization of persons who have a same sex orientation.

Being a Christian is a choice, yet no one would dream (so far) of placing the rights of people to freely choose their religion up for a public vote. Regardless of one’s religious views, we all live in a pluralistic civil society. The only way that such a society can function peacefully is for all citizens to respect each other’s civil rights. Stripping any minority of its civil rights, which is precisely what Prop 8 accomplished, threatens the civil rights of every minority group in our society.

Several religions, many theologians, the APA and almost all international Psychological Associations agree that homosexuality is not a choice, but like heterosexuality, an orientation. Laws, such as Prop 8, which target a minority group and strip away their civil rights, are born of ignorance, prejudice and they promote discrimination and bigotry. I am honored to be one of the proponents of a ballot initiative, which will restore the right to a civil marriage to all Californians regardless of their sexual orientation. This new proposition will also write into our State Constitution the right of religious groups to deny religious marriage to same sex couples. This new proposition restores and protects civil marriage for all Californians while simultaneously protecting the rights of religious groups to deny religious marriage to same sex couples.

courtesy of Father Geoff Farrow

Quote of the day

Found on JMG, in the discussion re: Ann Coulter's ridiculous comments

Elvis Costello lyrics come to mind immediately:

"So when they finally
put you in the ground
I'll stand on your grave
and Tramp the Dirt Down."

Bill Clinton Explains Why He Now Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Quote of the day

"we need government to do things the private sector can't or won't." - Ken Burns

Origin of Stupidity

HomoQuotable - Larry Kramer via JMG

"We get what we fight for. And we are not fighting. Every single one of us is not fighting. They fight better than we do. There is a concerted and never ending vein of hate in this country and in this world dedicated to keeping us in our place. It is evil to force people to be what we are not -- free. We are not free.

"I love being gay. I love gay people. How can I say this without offending everyone else, I think we're better than other people. I think we are smarter. I think we are more talented. I think we are more aware. I think we make better friends. I think we make better lovers. I think we're more tuned in to what's happening, tuned into the moment, tuned into our emotions, and other people's emotions.

"Yes, I think that gay people are better than other people. I think the only thing we are not so good at is fighting back. I hear talk of the new generation of gays and the old generation of gays, and how different we are. That is not true. We are all one generation. We are all related. We are all each other's brothers and sisters. We are all one family, the gay family. And I passionately and desperately want all my brothers and sisters to stay alive and well and on this earth, with total equality with every straight person. Being gay is the most important thing in my life. I love being gay. I hope you do, too." - Legendary gay/AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer, telling the audience at Dallas Pride to fight harder.

(Via - Rex Wockner)

another great find lifted from JMG

Viva Barney!

Deb Price | Uncle Sam Should Respect All Marriages

http://www.truthout.org/092309U?n

Deb Price: "Listen to the voices crying out for Congress to end the federal government's mistreatment of legally married gay couples. Listen to McKinley BarbouRoske of Iowa. She displayed a confidence well beyond her 11 years when she spoke up for her moms at a recent news conference in front of the US Capitol. McKinley's parents were finally able to wed in their home state two months ago - after nearly two decades as a couple. Now they quite rightly want Uncle Sam to recognize their marriage."

HomoQuotable - Ellen DeGeneres

"Apparently, there's a lot of debate going on right now, whether I'm qualified or not to be the new judge on American Idol... I'll tell you right now, how I know I'm going to be a great judge -- because I've spent my whole life being judged. So, I know what it's like. So, I will be kind. I will be compassionate. I will be empathetic, and I will be truthful. I will be an honest judge without being mean." - Ellen DeGeneres, defending her selection as Paula Abdul's replacement.

lifted once again from JMG

Click and Join!

Obama Care in 4 Minutes

I Support The Dallas Principles

The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action. In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now. Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

for more info see: Dallas Principles

Religious intolerance cuts deep in gay community, Gold says

From the Pendulum at Elon University

by Laura Smith, April 14, 2009

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  Mitchell Gold speaks to the Elon community on injustice of religious persecution toward the gay community.

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On Tuesday, civil rights activist, Mitchell Gold spoke to the Elon community at the Elon School sharing what he described as "such an incredibly painful memory."

Gold is the current CEO of the Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams furniture business, founder of Faith in America (a non-profit organization aimed at educating people about how religious-based bigotry is used to justify discrimination against homosexuals) and is now the author of his book, "Crisis."

"Crisis" was published in September 2008 and is a compilation of stories from those who have experienced religious intolerance and persecution as a result of growing up gay in America, something Gold felt quite a bit himself.

"People use the Bible to marginalize and dehumanize people," Gold said.

Growing up Jewish, Gold knew what it meant to be an oppressed minority. He also saw the discrimination towards black Americans that took place in the 1950s and 1960s.

He did not know how much he would one day experience that same intolerance for being gay.

"It's a problem because it's not acceptable," Gold said on realizing he was gay as a young teenager.

Gold described how he lived in fear every day of how his family would react if they knew he was gay. He feared getting beaten up at school, being seen as an outcast and not getting a decent job.

"I don't want one more kid to go through what I had to go through during my teenage years," Gold said.

He even contemplated suicide and saw a psychiatrist for help, who helped him learn to live being gay.

"I was lucky," Gold said of being able to get help and gain happiness.

Gold later moved to New York City, where being gay was commonplace and openly accepted. He got a job at Bloomingdale's, where several of the employees were gay. He even met someone he could settle down with, his current business partner, Bob Williams.

He even got to meet actor Richard Chamberlain, whom he discovered was gay as well.
"I got really comfortable," Gold said.

But all of this changed in 1988 when he moved down South to North Carolina.

"It's interesting to see how being naïve can be a good thing," he said of not realizing the difference of homosexual social acceptance in the South.

Gold began hearing conversations from co-workers and employees who described marriage as only being between a man and a woman.

"I started realizing there was a real movement afoot," Gold said of seeing how large of an intolerant sentiment there was toward gays.

He then realized this persecution was no different than what he had seen as a child.
"The same kind of discrimination that was used so horribly against black people was being used against gay people," he said.

Gold began his personal movement to create awareness of religious intolerance towards the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.

"This country has a sad history of segregation," Gold said. "I wanted to go out and teach people and remind them of that. Most decent people in America don't want to be a part of that history. Most decent people don't want to continue that hatred."

"Crisis" was compiled with contributors such Chamberlain, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, Major League baseball player Billy Bean, TV actor Alec Mapa and former tennis champion Martina Navatilova. All are gay and openly talk about the struggle and pain of being a gay teenager in the book.

Gold is happy to be living in North Carolina, where there is currently no federal ban on gay marriage.

"In the state of North Carolina, we have the chance to be the shining light of this country," Gold said.

Gold said he hopes Americans will see the harm that intolerance toward the LGBT causes.

"Anybody who is oppressed has the right to confront their oppressor," he said.

Proceeds from "Crisis" go toward seven national gay advocacy programs for teens.

For those in Phoeniz, AZ:

Len Clark sent a message to the members of People Against Clergy Who Preach Hate !

--------------------
Subject: This is a very short email from the Love Rally,thanks for your patience.

Brothers and sisters I hope you will be with us in spirit if you can't make it to the Love Rally tommorrow in front of Steven Anderson's church who openly prays for the death of our president and advocates the killing of gay people by the use of guns. The scary thing is many of his congregation carry guns into his service.

For those of you that might be mad that I have sent this email, I'm sorry, but we need to let everybody know about the Love Rally in Tempe, Arizona tomm and we are making sure to only send one email per week. Please, be patient with us. Thanks.

Well, I hope you can make it to the Love Rally tommorrow, (2707 W. Southern Ave., major cross-roads are: 48th street and Souther, Tempe Arizona).

Oh, one last thing: I hope you'll tune into our internet show today (The Progressive Coalition) to call in (Sunday, 5:00 PM Mountain Pacific Time) about our Love Rally at:
http://www.facebook.com/l/ae424;thejefffariasshow.com

Please, call in with your ideas. 602-275-4130 or 1800-385-1566, I sure would like to hear from you.

Leonard Clark
founder of: People Against Clergy Who Preach Hate!

This makes it easy, just click the image and go... do it!

GLAD Challenges DOMA Section 3

We can quote the Bible too...

Courtesy of Dan Savage via JMG

Quote of the Day

“Holding to the letter of the law is many times an indication of a desire for leadership. One who assumes to be the enforcer of the law shows an intellectual understanding of the Cause, but that spiritual guidance in them is not yet established.”

Abdu'l-Baha

Important Message from PFAW

The signs speak for themselves: See more signs here.

Dear Daniel,

Over the weekend, tens of thousands of right-wing activists rallied in Washington, DC with signs that challenged President Obama's citizenship, accused him and Democratic congressional leaders of everything from Nazism to communism, promoted paranoia about "death panels" and euthanasia, and declared support for figures like Sarah Palin and Rep. Joe Wilson.

Of course, right-wing commentators like Michelle Malkin tried to report that the number of protesters was as high as two million, but officials estimated the crowd to be about 60,000. Significant, yes, but not indicative that these people are anything more than a vocal minority representing the views of only a small portion of Americans.

A PFAW staffer who showed up to check out the scene talked to many participants, and when she asked why they showed up, an overwhelming number gave the same answer: "Glenn Beck sent me."

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, when the House of Representatives voted on a resolution of disapproval rebuking Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting "You lie!" at President Obama in the middle of his address to Congress. The vote put members of the House on record as to where they stand. The resolution passed, but nearly every Republican (all but seven) voted against it -- and with Joe Wilson and Glenn Beck's brand of extremism.

It is shameful that the GOP would give someone like Glenn Beck that sort of power. The Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks of the world have been pulling the strings of the Republican Party for too long. But it's getting even worse than that.

At the end of this month, some of the most fringe players on the Radical Right are hosting a conference called How to Take Back America and currently scheduled to speak are five Republican members of Congress and, according to polls among Republicans, one of the most popular expected GOP presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee.

When I say that the people hosting this conference are on the outer fringe, that's actually something of an understatement. Some of the scheduled workshops at the conference are titled, "How to recognize living under Nazis and Communists," and, "How to counter the homosexual extremist movement."

Here's a little about just two members of the Host Committee:

Joseph Farah has been the most ardent and vigilant leader of the "Birthers," yet has also made the astonishing claim that President Obama's maternal grandmother might really be his mother. He recently eulogized Sen. Ted Kennedy by calling him "a rotten man -- a wicked man, an 'enemy within'" and wrote that President Obama was secretly advocating the destruction of the Jews. His web site WorldNetDaily is the epicenter of countless right-wing lies and conspiracy theories and routinely serves as a forum for zealots to espouse anti-gay hysteria.

Janet Porter has helped to promote some of the most paranoid conspiracies out there, like claims that the Obama administration is setting up internment camps for conservatives and plotting to commit genocide against Americans through the use of the swine flu vaccine. Before the election, she said that supporting Obama was akin to supporting Nazis and declared that anyone who voted for him would go to hell. She's also an active participant in spreading Birther lies.

Americans need to be aware of the resurgent Radical Right as well as its growing influence on government officials and the Republican Party. People For the American Way is working hard to expose the Right and its influence, and to hold accountable those in our government who choose to ally themselves with extremists instead of the vast majority of Americans and the country's greater interest.

We can do it with, and because of, your continued support. And I thank you for it.

Sincerely,

Michael B. Keegan, President

P.S. The need for our vigilance against extremism has been disturbingly evidenced by gun-toting protesters outside of town hall meetings and Obama speeches. One such protester was part of an Arizona church congregation whose pastor, Rev. Steven Anderson, screams about "faggots running this country" and advocates the death penalty for gays, who he says "recruit through rape" and "molestation." Rev. Anderson is an extreme example, but extreme examples like him are becoming more and more commonplace. We need to fight back.