From JMG: Johnny Weir: Too Gay For Stars On Ice

Olympian Johnny Weir has not been asked to join the Star On Ice tour because organizers don't find him "family friendly."

GLAAD has learned from a source that wishes to remain anonymous that sponsors of the Stars on Ice Tour, which include Smuckers and IMG Entertainment, have refused to allow 3-time US National Champion and 2-time Olympian Johnny Weir to participate because they claim that he is “not family friendly.” To say that Weir is “not family friendly” would be a clear jab at his perceived sexual orientation. Weir is extremely involved with his family. He is putting his younger brother through college, and supports the family financially because his father’s disability prohibits him from working. Weir’s dedication to his family can be clearly documented in the Sundance series, Be Good Johnny Weir, which follows him and his family and friends through his life and career as a championship skater.

GLAAD's petition to Stars On Ice sponsors Smuckers and IMG is here.

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Friendly Voices - Desmond Tutu

"Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi. These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa. Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.

"And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era, when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God." - Desmond Tutu, in an editorial published in today's Washington Post.

And what has Pope Palpatine said about Uganda? NOTHING.reposted by JMG

From Savage

There's Just No End to the Hate

Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 3:46 PM

ThinkProgress:

Glaad reports that sponsors have “refused to allow” American figure skater Johnny Weir to join the Stars on Ice Tour because they deemed him “not family friendly.” While Weir — a three-time national champion — has never “officially announced his sexual orientation, he has garnered a significant amount of LGBT fans” and is also known for his flashy costumes. Weir won an online poll that asked fans who they wanted to see in the tour, but Stars on Ice seems to have barred him because of his “perceived sexual orientation."

Says GLAAD:

To say that Weir is “not family friendly” would be a clear jab at his perceived sexual orientation. Weir is extremely involved with his family. He is putting his younger brother through college, and supports the family financially because his father’s disability prohibits him from working. Weir’s dedication to his family can be clearly documented in the Sundance series, Be Good Johnny Weir, which follows him and his family and friends through his life and career as a championship skater.

You know what would be family friendly? A bunch of pissed of queers and Weir fans buying tickets to Stars on Ice and tossing bags of rock salt and dog shit onto the ice from their seats before the show.

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Quote of the Day

"During an interview with the cast of The Hurt Locker on Monday, I turned to actor Anthony Mackie and made a joke about "man hugging" in reference to a hug he and fellow actor Jeremy Renner had shared a few weeks earlier on our air. It was meant to be lighthearted, but some were offended by what they believed to be a homophobic comment. That was never my intent, but that doesn't matter. Words are extremely powerful and should never be chosen lightly, even in a lighthearted moment. I apologize to any and all that I offended. My support of the gay and lesbian community is longstanding and well documented. It has not and will never waver."

-- The Today Show's Meredith Veira apologizing for her unintentionally homophobic comment in a post-Oscar interview.

K8 on the Census

The census is coming. Make sure you fill out yours - and you do it honestly so we can queer the census! We're not all gay white men living in five cities!

From JMG: ABC Nightline Covers Uganda's "Kill Gays" Bill And Pastor Martin Ssempa

Last night Nightline delivered an excellent report on the situation in Uganda, interviewing the genocidal Pastor Martin Ssempa and his American evangelical accomplice Scott Lively. Watch this.

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From JMG: Prop 8 Attorneys Ted Olson & David Boies Speak At The New York Times

Last night Perry Vs. Schwarzenegger lead attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies spoke before about 150 journalists at the New York Times headquarters in Manhattan in an event called "Unlikely Allies." In attendance among the print journalists were uber-blogger Andy Towle, activists Corey Johnson and Brendan Fay, former Clinton advisor David Mixner, and former GLAAD director Neil Giuliano.

Olson and Boies spoke eloquently and optimistically about the potential outcome for the case and fielded sharp questions from the audience about the possible ramifications should they lose, the campaign to put cameras in the courtroom, and the pitiful defense put on by Protect Marriage. The event was moderated by NYT Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak, who opened with an impassioned statement of his paper's support for LGBT rights. Paul Schindler at Gay City News:

It is no exaggeration to conclude that Boies and Olson are confident about their chances before Judge Walker, from whom they expect a ruling no later than June. The next step, they predicted, would be “expedited review” by the Ninth Circuit, perhaps in an “en banc” hearing that includes all of its appellate judges.

Victory at the appellate level –– which would legalize marriage for same-sex couples either in California or possibly in all nine states in the Ninth Circuit –– would speed Supreme Court review, since that victory would certainly be stayed, the attorneys said, until the high court ruled.

Boies and Olson were cagiest on how broad they think a potential district court victory might be. The court could find –– in somewhat analogous fashion to a 1996 Supreme Court case in which an anti-gay Colorado amendment was thrown out –– that voters in California had acted to deny gay and lesbian couples the equal protection of the law, in this case guaranteed by the state rather than the federal Constitution.

Or, Walker could rule that Boies and Olson succeeded in doing what they say they will fight to the end to demonstrate –– that the fundamental right to marry and the equal protection of the laws of the United States are violated when same-sex couples are denied access to civil marriage.

That, of course, would be the ultimate game-changer. Olson, perhaps the nation’s preeminent Supreme Court litigator, and Boies are clearly banking on their ability to win that argument on the merits at the high court, whatever the conventional wisdom about the current justices’ biases.

When asked afterward whether his confidence at the district court level is about winning the general argument or more narrowly restoring the right to marry in California, Boies said he was uncertain, acknowledging that Walker might well reach a decision fashioned to survive review by the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court. Even at this first stage, then, politics are not absent from the judicial equation.

Read Paul Schindler's complete article. Below is my short slideshow from the evening, followed by Towleroad's Corey Johnson's pre-event interview with Olson and Boies. I came away even more impressed with the pair, if that's possible. And it struck me that if someone had told me ten years ago that one day I'd be gushingly shaking the hand of the lead attorney in Bush Vs. Gore, I'd have told him that he was full of the crazy. Ted Olson left us with his prediction that Prop 8 would be before the Supreme Court by October 2011. It's almost unimaginable that in just 18 months, this decades-long battle could be over.

reposted from JMG

Peace, Love, Ice Cream and Gay Marriage

Newlyweds to celebrate at Ben & Jerry's

By ANDREA BERRY

Now that gay marriage is legal in the District, one pair of newlyweds is celebrating in a manner that gives new meaning to the term "wedded bliss."

Ice cream cake!

Keith Spangler and Andreas Vellios will have their wedding reception Wednesday at Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop in Georgetown.

They'll be joined by the ice cream chain's co-founder, Jerry Greenfield, along with D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large), who sponsored D.C.'s gay marriage bill.

make the jump here to read the rest of the story

Husbands and Husbands... adorable!

From JMG: PhoboQuotable - Slaggie Gilamonster

"In the spring of 2009, a few states moved to gay marriage and public opinion seemed to shift abruptly in gay marriage's favor. But by May of that year, support for gay marriage just as abruptly tumbled. Why?

"I believe I was the first person, in the National Review cover story The Carrie Effect, to publicly credit the impact of Carrie Prejean. Pre-Carrie, even most conservative media outlets avoided gay marriage. Carrie gave Fox News and major radio talk show hosts a vehicle for talking about the issue that they understood and liked. The general public was exposed to the truth that the majority continue to oppose gay marriage and that gay marriage advocates are not about tolerance but about imposing their views and punishing dissent, I argued. [snip]

"How can one beautiful young woman make such an outsized difference? It's because gay marriage advocates are no longer persuading people they are right on marriage; they are suppressing the expression of opposing opinions by raising the cost of speaking up in favor of marriage, while at the same time attempting to make Americans believe that gay marriage won't have any consequences. Carrie's ordeal made the first process visible and the second idea hard to swallow." - Maggie Gallagher, citing a pollster's claim that public support for marriage equality nosedived during the Miss Ladyfingers USA controversy.

Gallagher notes parenthetically that the same pollster says public support for marriage equality has since returned to pre-Ladyfingers level, which, of course, shoots down the premise for her entire column. But logic has never been Maggie's strong suit. Nor is the truth, for she makes no mention of her furious backpedaling from Prejean during the sex tape scandal, during which all mention of Miss Ladyfingers magically vanished from NOM's website.

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Save California Nutters: Roy Ashburn Should Resign Because He's Gay (Even Though There's No Such Thing)

And predictably, the wingnuts begin to eat their own. Randy Thomasson, execudouche director of Save California:

Now he’s completely “out.” Monday morning on the radio, Republican State Senator Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield said “I’m gay.” But Roy Ashburn is mistaken. No one is “gay” because the so-called “gay gene” does not exist. What’s more, there are thousands of Americans who formerly engaged in homosexual behavior who have gotten help and have left their unnatural lifestyle behind. Should Ashburn resign? Yes, he should. His lying, cheating ways have boiled over and the public’s trust has been shattered.

Ashburn should resign because he's something which doesn't exist. OK, then. Thomasson goes on to cite Ashburn's DUI arrest and claims that he was cheating on his wife. Who he divorced several years ago. OK, then. Thomasson: "Even if you’re told he has voted pro-family in the past, he is untrustworthy now."

Wow, such a dilemma when you have two such juicy asshats to choose between!reposted from JMG

From JMG

Trans Panic! At The Disco

Good As You points out the latest bit of transphobery from the Tradition Values Coalition.

President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats are quietly rushing through legislation (H.R. 3017 & S. 1584) that would actually bring cross-dressing teachers into your child’s classroom. Under the so-called, Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), your children will be trapped in classes taught by drag queens and transgender activists. Students will be indoctrinated that “alternative lifestyles” are no different than traditional lifestyles. Young children will be forced to learn about bizarre sexual fetishes – and you will have no say in the matter. It is already happening in some states and concerned parents can’t do a thing about it – until now. This radical bill goes too far. That’s why the Traditional Values Coalition is standing in strong opposition to ENDA. Sign our petition against ENDA today and send Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and their liberal allies a clear message: cross-dressing teachers do not belong in our classrooms!

The haters understand very well that transphobia is one their safest bets when trying to quash any LGBT rights bill.

reposted from JMG

Play it Loud!

From JMG: Utah's Final Solution: Patriot Group Announces Bill To Force All Homosexuals Out Of The State, Arrest Fugitives

Hoax or real? Calling it "Utah's Fair Solution", a group called Patriots For A Moral Utah is holding a press conference today to announce legislation that would force all homosexuals to leave the state. The bill would create a transportation system for shipping all gays out of the state and would criminalize any Utah citizen who "harbors a remaining homosexual." Here's the press release they sent out yesterday:

Patriots For A Moral Utah are pleased to announce a press conference tomorrow, at which time we will announce a new bill which outlining a solution to the problem of homosexuality in Utah. In the past 5 years it has become increasingly difficult and troublesome for the stead-fast and moral citizens of Utah to live their lives and their faith in peace, while the homosexuals continually force their choices and behaviors on us. This new legislation, titled the "Utah Fair Solution," will offer a peaceful but effective end to the tribulation in our blessed state. Despite promises from the homosexual activists to be out in force at the press conference, our President Nora Young has scheduled the announcement for 1pm in the Capitol Rotunda (March 8th). Please Join us.

Sincerely;
Paul Jackson
Public Relations
Patriots For A Moral Utah
pauljackson2000@gmail.com

Let's see. Forced relocation. Transport system. Penalties for harboring. Yup. Sounds like an authentic Final Solution to me. Also sounds like hoax, but you never know. You may laugh at these idiots, but this yet another example of the recent avalanche of Christianist calls to criminalize, imprison, and exterminate homosexuals in the United States. These demands are now made openly, boldly, without shame. And they are often coming from the top rungs of the most powerful and well-known Christian organizations in the nation.

Below are two excerpts from a multi-page PDF outlining the Final Solution legislation, as provided by JMG reader Michael in Salt Lake City. Read them carefully. If it's a hoax, it's pretty thorough!

reposted from JMG

From Fred Karger

Contact: Fred Karger 619-592-2008

I was compelled to write a strongly worded letter to Maggie Gallagher, who is doing everything in her power to undo the recently enacted Washington, DC marriage law. It appears as a column by me in today's Huffington Post.

Read below or click here to read: Huffington Post

March 8, 2010

Ms/Miss/Mrs. Maggie Gallagher

President

National Organization for Marriage

1100 H Street, # 700

Washington, DC 20005

Dear Maggie –

Like millions of Americans, I was able to see the absolute joy experienced by hundreds of gay and lesbian couples who are now able to legally marry in Washington, DC. I wept when I saw television reports of couples who have been together, some for decades, finally able to share in the joy and happiness afforded automatically to their straight brothers and sisters.

Hooray for the Washington, DC City Council and Mayor Fenty for allowing all its residents full equality under the law just like our founding fathers intended.

I cried with joy for all the young LGBTQ Americans who can clearly see that they are not inferior, but equal. I am thrilled that kids growing up now know that they can marry the person that they love in five enlightened states, and in our nation’s capitol.

Hooray for our courageous leaders who stood up to bigotry and discrimination and did the right thing. They stood up to you and your army of paid henchmen who fight marriage equality tooth and nail every step of the way.

I don’t have words to express my disgust toward you and all those you are fronting for at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). You have spent at least $25 million in just the past few years to try and undo the happiness of so many people. Hundreds of couples lined up in the cold and rain of Washington last Wednesday in order get a license so they could finally marry the one they love.

Why are you, all your financial backers and all your high-priced attorneys across the country hell-bent on destroying so many lives and hurting so many people, just as they are about to experience the happiest day of their lives?

What is so wrong with your life, that you make your living attempting to hurt so many others?

You preside over two extremely well funded organizations that portend to “protect marriage.” You speak all over the county at marriage rallies. You are on TV all the time defending what you call the “sanctity of marriage.” You have written books on marriage, one of which is even titled, “The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better-Off Financially,” yet NOM’s Executive Director, Brian Brown and you viciously attack anyone who gets in your way.

Are You Even Married, Maggie?

No one has ever seen your husband. You attend countless marriage events, chock full of married couples, celebrating marriage, yet you always, always show up alone.

I had the displeasure of attending your recent presentation at the CATO Institute in Washington, DC. I was amazed to see that you don’t wear a wedding ring. No rings on any fingers. Where is your alleged husband? Why no ring??

Just last year, NOM proudly said it spent over $8 million in a dozen states in your recently released “Investor’s Report.”

That doesn’t even include the millions more in attorney’s fees and money raised through your 501(c)3 charitable fund.

You fight people’s happiness at the ballot box, state legislatures and through too many law suits to count.

Recently, NOM has lead the effort to undo the Washington, DC law through every means possible, including going to Congress, the courts, all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. Brian Brown’s angry email from Friday states, “Don't believe the lies. It's not over in D.C. by any means.”

Where Does All Your Money Come From?

You continually hide where all your millions come from on your extremely late or never reported federal income tax filings. You refuse to cooperate with the California and Maine Ethics Commissions (both of whom are currently investigating your National Organization for Marriage), and when these investigations began into your many campaign irregularities, you sued both states to stop their investigation in an attempt to intimidate those seeking the truth.

Anyone who dares to support equality becomes the victim of your venom and hate.

We will not be intimidated. We refuse to allow you, and all those paying your salary, to hurt any more young people.

We have enlisted our own army to fight NOM and you at every turn. We are dedicated to finding out the truth about you and the front group that you head. And we will not rest until your cover of secrecy and deceit is lifted.

Fred Karger

Founder

Californians Against Hate

www.californiansagainsthate.com

PLEASE HELP US FIGHT BACK

www.FiveforFred.com

More Ashburn

Sen. Roy Ashburn says that he is gay

Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn, who has been on leave from the Senate since his DUI arrest last week, confrimed today that he is gay.

Read More

Via JMG: 2010 Oscar Winners

Best Picture - The Hurt Locker
Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow
Best Actor - Jeff Bridges
Best Actress - Sandra Bullock
Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique
Best Original Score - Up
Best Cinematography - Avatar
Best Visual Effects - Avatar
Best Costume Design - The Young Victoria
Best Makeup - Star Trek
Best Animated Film - Up

From PHB: On Immigration, The Moment to be Heard - and Included - Is Here

( - promoted by Pam Spaulding) Just a few weeks ago, the likelihood of Congress and the White House tackling comprehensive immigration reform seemed to be in question. Following the defeat of a Democratic candidate in the Massachusetts Senate election, and growing doubts about a successful healthcare reform effort in both chambers, the prospects for a truly comprehensive reform effort that would fix our country's broken immigration system was called into question by many. Now, however, there is renewed energy and focus on the issue. And that, in turn, must be a wake-up call, and a rallying cry, for the LGBT community, too. Yesterday, both the Los Angeles Times and Associated Press reported that President Obama had called two key lawmakers - Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) - to the White House to discuss moving immigration reform forward. The Times also noted that Obama has begun conversations with Administration staff about the best path forward for the legislation, which Obama pledged during his campaign would be a major piece of his first-term agenda. "Obama took up the issue privately with his staff Monday," The Times reported, "in a bid to advance a bill through Congress before lawmakers become too distracted by approaching midterm elections." A White House spokesperson characterized the President's commitment to the issue as "unwavering."

There's More... :: (8 Comments, 777 words in story)

From JMG: Sinead O'Connor: Burn Down The Vatican

"A true Christian is someone who, in any given situation, is supposed to ask themselves what would Jesus do, then try to do that. How an organisation which has acted, decade after decade, only to protect its business interests above the interests of children can feel it has the right to dictate to us what Christians should do is beyond belief.

"From the Pope on down, through the Vatican and therefore through the lower echelons, the whole organisation, in my belief, is utterly anti-Christian and evil, as proven by centuries of torture, bloodshed, burnings, terrorism, and coverings-up of 'the worst crime' known to man.

"And if Jesus Christ is to be seen in the vulnerable of this world, then all the church has done is crucify the man over and over and over again. If Christ was here, he would be burning down the Vatican. And I for one would be helping him." - Sinead O'Connor, responding to a request from Ireland's Catholic Church for local parishioners to recompense the church for the massive settlements paid to the victims of pedophile priests.

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