Thursday, April 14, 2011
Via JMG: ia JMG: Kobe Bryant To Appeal "Faggot" Fine
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant announced today that he intends to appeal the $100K fine imposed by the NBA yesterday for his calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during Tuesday night's game.Bryant, talking from Sacramento on the Mason & Ireland show on ESPN 710 Radio in Los Angeles, said the appeal is "standard protocol," but also took responsibility for his choice of words said "out of frustration during the heat of the game." "The comment that I made, even though it wasn't meant in the way it was perceived to be, is nonetheless wrong, so it's important to own that," Bryant said. He added, "The concern that I have is for those that follow what I say and are inspired by how I play or look to me as a role model or whatever it is, for them not to take what is said as a message of hate or a license to degrade or embarrass or tease. That's something I don't want to see happen. It's important for me to talk about that issue because it"s OK to be who you are, and I do'n't want this issue to be a part of something or to magnify something that shouldn't be."
Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Ben Cohen
"It is disappointing to see this. As a professional athlete and rugby World Cup champion, I understand the heat and passion of competition at the highest levels. But we must all remember that strong bodies must be balanced with strong characters, and works toward that end. Our positions as role models demand it." - Straight ally Ben Cohen, saying he's disappointed with Kobe Bryant.
reposted from Joe
Via JMG: The Verizon Guy Comes Out
Now that the long run of Verizon's "Can You Hear Me Now?" campaign is over, actor Paul Marcarelli has come out and is talking about the anti-gay abuse he endured while playing the character known as Test Man. Marcarelli has a home in Guilford, Connecticut, and five summers ago, kids in an SUV began driving past at night, yelling, “Can you hear me now?” Later, says Marcarelli, “they started screaming ‘faggot’ up at my house. It got progressively more profane as the years went by.” One night, it happened while some friends were over, and he decided to call the police. “As soon as I hung up the phone,” he says, “I realized that in order for them to do anything about it, it would have to become a report that would go into a police log.” Worried about the publicity—and the questions that might ensue if it came out that the actor playing Test Man was gay—he declined to file a report.Marcarelli has produced and written a film titled The Green, which "centers on how a small town slowly turns against a gay couple when one of the men, a schoolteacher, gets ensnared in scandal." His movie is currently being pitched to film festivals.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Via JMG: People For The American Way Issues Report On Christianist Campaign To Keep Anti-Gay Bullying Legal And Frequent
People For The American Way today issued an extensive expose of the tactics used by the Christianist right to keep anti-gay bullying legal and frequent. An excerpt:Rather than recognize and address the problem of bullying against students who are gay or perceived to be gay, Religious Right groups want schools to embrace a policy of inaction. Many resort to repeating discredited lies about sexual orientation and vilifying the LGBT community and its allies to back up their opposition to anti-bullying programs that mention anti-gay bullying. Concerned students, families, teachers, education professionals, and public officials should not be fooled by the far-right’s attempt to smear anti-bullying programs, and should instead ensure that schools address bullying with a direct, honest and comprehensive approach.Read the full report.
Via JMG: Hetero Woman Murders Three Children
Once again, we see the brutal fallout of a God-ordained one man/one woman marriage.
The woman apparently had just had a fight with her husband, Jean Pierre, and loaded into her four children into the vehicle, driving a short distance into the river, police said Wednesday. Lashandra Armstrong, 25, and three children, ages 5, 2 and 11 months, died, submerged in about 10 feet of water. Armstrong's 10-year-old son, Lashaun, squeezed through a minivan window and swam to shoreObviously, the purpose of this post is to underscore how, if this had been a gay parent, our enemies would right this moment be rushing to the state legislatures with renewed calls to outlaw our families.
Labels: murder, New York state
Via JMG: NBA Fines Kobe Bryant $100,000
In a move the Human Rights Campaign calls "unprecedented," the NBA has fined superstar Kobe Bryant $100,000 for calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during last night's game. Via press release:
While Bryant acknowledged the outburst earlier today and said in a statement it did “not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian communities,” he failed to apologize or to take full responsibility for the homophobic slur. This afternoon, the NBA and Commissioner Stern issued a strong condemnation of Bryant’s action and in an unprecedented move, fined the Lakers’ superstar $100,000. “We applaud Commissioner Stern and the NBA for not only fining Bryant but for recognizing that slurs and derogatory comments have no place on the basketball court or in society at large, “ said Joe Solmonese, HRC President. “We hope such swift and decisive action will send a strong and universal message that this kind of hateful outburst is simply inexcusable no matter what the context.”
Via Freedom to Marry
On March 8, Ron Wallen lost his husband and partner of 58 years, Tom Carrollo, to leukemia.Even as he grieves, Ron also faces the loss of the home he and Tom shared. Unfairly denied the Social Security coverage his husband earned -- payments he would receive were it not for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act's "gay exception" -- Ron cannot afford to keep his home.
The sad truth is that Ron's story of discrimination isn't unique. Doug Gentry, married to a Venezuelan citizen named Alex Benshimol, faces the possibility of being torn apart from his husband because DOMA treats their marriage with contempt. If Doug and Alex weren't gay, Doug could sponsor Alex for American citizenship but, because of DOMA, they are treated as strangers under federal law. "It's gut-wrenching," Doug says.
Couples send us stories like these -- each heartbreaking, each infuriatingly unjust -- and the remedy is clear: We must overturn DOMA now.
http://freedomtomarry.org/
Freedom to Marry has worked closely with members of Congress on a bill to repeal this discriminatory law, which denies married same-sex couples federal protections that touch every area of life -- from birth to death, with taxes in between.
We stood with congressional leaders a few weeks ago when they introduced the repeal bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, in the Senate and House. But now we need to grow the support, make the case, build momentum, and add co-sponsors to the bill.
Will you take action now? Ask your senators and representative to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act. Send a letter today:
http://freedomtomarry.org/
On behalf of couples like Ron and Tom and Doug and Alex, and because discrimination has no place in America, Freedom to Marry will not stop until we've wiped this discriminatory law from the books. But we can only do it with your help.
Thanks for all you do,
Evan Wolfson
President, Freedom to Marry
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Via JMG: Crazy Eyes On Gay Marriage
"In 5,000 years of recorded human history... neither in the east or in the west... has any society ever defined marriage as anything other than between men and women. Not one in 5000 years of recorded human history. That's an astounding fact and it isn't until the last 12 years or so that we have seen for the first time in recorded human history marriage defined as anything other than between men and between women." - Rep. Michele "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann, speaking yesterday before the Iowa hate group, Family Leader.Bachmann went on to describe her 2003 reaction to Massachusetts legalizing same-sex marriage: "I heard the news on my local Christian radio station in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and I was devastated. And I went across the street and I took a walk and I went to prayer, and I said: 'Lord, what you have me do in the Minnesota State Senate?' And through prayer I knew that I was to introduce the marriage amendment in Minnesota."
Minnesota presently does not have a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but that may change soon now that the GOP dominates both chambers of the state legislature.
Labels: bigotry, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, crazy people, hate groups, Iowa, Michele Bachmann, Minnesota, religion
Via JMG: UAFA To Be Reintroduced In House
The Uniting American Families Act will be reintroduced in the U.S. House this Thursday by Rep. Jerrold Nadler and several other Democrats. Via press release from Nadler's office:
On Thursday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, and Representatives John Conyers (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jared Polis (D-CO), Mike Honda (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and others will announce the re-introduction of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). This overdue legislation would allow gay and lesbian Americans to sponsor their permanent partners for legal residency in the United States, a right currently enjoyed only by married heterosexuals under immigration law. Because the U.S. does not legally recognize gay and lesbian couples and their children as families, many same-sex binational couples are torn apart. The announcement will take place at 1:00pm on Thursday, April 14th at the House Triangle in Washington D.C.Like the latest edition of ENDA, advocates have dim hopes of the bill's approval in the GOP-dominated House.
Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Fred Karger
"While governor of Arkansas, 11 years ago, [Mike] Huckabee commuted the 108-year prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons then went on a crime spree and ended up in Seattle, Washington, where on 19 November 2010, he casually walked into a coffee shop early one morning and shot and killed four police officers while they were eating breakfast. He fired at point blank range, killing all four instantly. Mike Huckabee has the blood of those four police officers on his hands. He has never even apologised to the families of the slain officers, or showed any remorse for what happened in Seattle that day. "One year ago, Mike Huckabee said terrible things about my community and me. He compared gay marriage to incest, polygamy and drug abuse. He said that gay couples should not be able to adopt: 'These are not puppies, raising children is not an experiment.' Who the hell is he to cast aspersions on others?" - Openly gay GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, comparing the above-cited murders to Michael Dukasis' 1988 "Willie Horton" incident, which Karger used against Dukakis in his role on the committee to elect George H.W. Bush.
Via JMG: Out Magazine's 50 Most Powerful Gays
Out Magazine has issued this year's list of the 50 "most powerful" gay people. New Apple "acting" CEO Tim Cook heads the list on his first appearance. Billionaire GOProud moneyman and libertarian whackadoodle Peter Thiel ranks at #7. Another GOProud member and the 21st century Roy Cohn, Ken Mehlman, debuts at #37. Hit the link for bios on everybody.Via AmericaBlogGay: Demographer attempts to explain new gay polling data
John wrote about the importance of the LGBT community being counted. The demographer, Dr. Gary J. Gates, who came up with the "3.5% of adults are LGB" -- or rather, 3.5% of adults are willing to admit to a stranger that they're LGB -- number has an article in the Washington Post detailing why it is so important to come up with an accurate number and basically admits to several glaring problems and inconsistencies while attempting to justify his data.
I recently reviewed findings from 11 large surveys conducted since 2004, seven in the United States and four internationally. Averaging across the U.S.-based surveys, I found that nearly 9 million Americans (3.8 percent of adults) self-identify as LGBT. That’s equivalent to the population of New Jersey.
An estimated 19 million Americans (8.2 percent) report having engaged in some same-sex sexual behavior, and nearly 26 million (11 percent) report some same-sex sexual attraction. The latter figure is equivalent to the population of Texas.
But as a population scientist, I don’t want to have to comb research for pertinent data to average. I’ve attended dozens of meetings with representatives from federal statistical agencies to ask them why they are not counting the LGBT population. They tell me that they worry about survey respondents refusing to answer such questions or, even worse, terminating the survey. They also wonder exactly what questions to ask.
Should they count only those who explicitly identify themselves using terms such as “lesbian,” “gay” or “bisexual”? Or should they measure sexual behavior? Or sexual attraction? For the transgender population, should they include only those who have explicitly transitioned from one gender to another, or should they consider a broader group of people who express their gender in ways that do not easily conform to traditional notions of male and female?
But as a population scientist, I don’t want to have to comb research for pertinent data to average. I’ve attended dozens of meetings with representatives from federal statistical agencies to ask them why they are not counting the LGBT population. They tell me that they worry about survey respondents refusing to answer such questions or, even worse, terminating the survey. They also wonder exactly what questions to ask.
Should they count only those who explicitly identify themselves using terms such as “lesbian,” “gay” or “bisexual”? Or should they measure sexual behavior? Or sexual attraction? For the transgender population, should they include only those who have explicitly transitioned from one gender to another, or should they consider a broader group of people who express their gender in ways that do not easily conform to traditional notions of male and female?
Sorry, I'm not buying it.
The most absurd statement has to be this from Dr. Gates:
The most absurd statement has to be this from Dr. Gates:
As a demographer, I look at it a little differently. I’m amazed at how close we are to equality, given how small the community is.
Uh, thanks for nothing, Pollyanna. Like John wrote:
And it's all well and good to say "gosh, our civil rights shouldn't be based on how many people we are," but sorry Charlie, numbers matter, especially in politics.
NOTE FROM JOHN: It's terribly difficult to get good data on our community, so a part of me is sympathetic to federal agencies that say "how can we measure your community?" Having said that, you can get basic numbers, that are a bare bones bottom line, like the numbers Gates is talking about - they don't reflect how many people we are, but they are a bottom line population figure, meaning at least we know we're MORE than that number. The problem, of course, is that those bare bones numbers will be taken by the media, and our enemies, as "real" numbers that accurately reflect our true population - and they're not.
I'm not sure what the scientists and the agencies should do, but they need to be darn careful proceeding in this area. And quotes like the one Tim cites just above are decidedly not helpful.
I'm not sure what the scientists and the agencies should do, but they need to be darn careful proceeding in this area. And quotes like the one Tim cites just above are decidedly not helpful.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Via JMG: Uruguay Poised To Approve Gay Marriage
Uruguay's Parliament appears ready to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill is being driven by the country’s ruling coalition, the Frente Amplio which has a majority in both houses – giving it an excellent chance of succeeding. The bill’s author, Frente Amplio MP, Sebastián Sabini, told the newspaper, “We do not focus so much on the issue of gay marriage but of equal marriage regardless of sex, gender or religion.” The bill, would amend the country’s Civil Code to refer to spouses instead of husband and wife, meaning transgender and intersex people would also be covered, and would allow non-biological parents in a marriage to be given parental rights and obligations to their partners’ biological children.LGBT rights in Uruguay are already among the most advanced in South America. Gays can serve openly in the military and in 2008 civil unions were made available to couples that have been together for five years.
Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Alan Simpson
"We have homophobes on our party. That’s disgusting to me. We’re all human beings. We’re all God’s children. Now if they’re going to get off on that stuff—Santorum has said some cruel things—cruel, cruel things—about homosexuals. Ask him about it; see if he attributes the cruelness of his remarks years ago. Foul. Now if that’s the kind of guys that are going to be on my ticket, you know, it makes you sort out hard what Reagan said, you know, 'Stick with your folks.' But I’m not sticking with people who are homophobic, anti-women, moral values—while you’re diddling your secretary while you’re giving a speech on moral values? Come on, get off of it." - Former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson, speaking on MSNBC's Hardball. Hit the link for video.Sunday, April 10, 2011
Via AmericaBlogGay: Hero of the Month: Dame Elizabeth Taylor
In 1987, a man with AIDS went for a swim in a public pool in West Virginia. Although the state health department advised that he posed no threat, the mayor of the town closed the pool and alerted the media so that “everybody in the community [would know] there was an AIDS patient in the pool.”
In 1985, Ryan White, a thirteen year old hemophiliac with AIDS was kicked out of school even though authorities had advised that he, too, posed no risk to his fellow students. When the boy was readmitted a year later, his family received death threats and people on the street would taunt him by yelling "we know you're queer."
In 1986 and again in 1988, hundreds of thousands of Californians signed petitions to place initiatives on the ballot that would have mandated the quarantine of AIDS patients.
Such was the homophobic hysteria surrounding AIDS when Elizabeth Taylor began planning her first AIDS fundraiser. Taylor remembered the reactions:
In 1986 and again in 1988, hundreds of thousands of Californians signed petitions to place initiatives on the ballot that would have mandated the quarantine of AIDS patients.
Such was the homophobic hysteria surrounding AIDS when Elizabeth Taylor began planning her first AIDS fundraiser. Taylor remembered the reactions:
People … slammed doors in my face and hung up on me . . . [P]eople would say, 'No, I'm not getting mixed up in that!' And, 'You have to get out of this, Elizabeth. It's going to ruin your career.'
These reactions only seemed to strengthen Taylor’s resolve. Indeed, the vitriolic homophobia surrounding AIDS motivated her to become involved in the first place. She was quoted as saying
Worse than the virus there was the terrible discrimination and prejudice it left in its wake. Suddenly it made gay people stop being human beings and start becoming the enemy. I knew somebody had to do something. For God's sake, our president didn't even utter the word for years into the epidemic.
If it weren't for homosexuals there would be no culture. We can trace that back thousands of years. So many of the great musicians, the great painters were homosexual. Without their input it would be an entirely different, flat world. To see their heritage, what they had given the world, be desecrated with people saying, 'Oh, AIDS is probably what they deserve' or 'it's probably God's way of weeding the dreadful people out,' made me so irate.
I’ve always associated Taylor with AIDS activism. However, I did not realize the magnitude of her impact until I began to research this piece. Taylor made AIDS her life’s cause. At a time when the disease was called "the gay plague" and others were afraid to even touch people with HIV, Taylor employed her star power to help humanize those living with the disease. She made headlines throughout the world when she was photographed shaking hands with HIV/AIDS patients in a Thai hospital. She helped found the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) in 1985, and later, in 1991, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF).
Taylor was a prodigious fundraiser and made large personal contributions to the cause. ETAF operated at zero overhead cost because Taylor personally underwrote the organization’s expenses for raising and administering funds. Over the course of her lifetime, she is said to have raised $270 million for HIV/AIDS. Last month, it was reported that she had donated the bulk of her estate to her AIDS charities.
An impassioned lobbyist, Taylor was not afraid of taking a swipe at leaders for their inaction. At an international AIDS conference, she criticized the first president Bush, remarking, “I don't think [he] is doing anything at all about AIDS. In fact I'm not even sure if he knows how to spell AIDS.” She testified before Congress in 1986 in support of the Ryan White Act, and then again in 1990, when it finally passed. She also spoke at the United Nations, imploring its members to join in the fight against the disease.
Taylor carried on her work despite her own declining health. Toward the end of her life she said, "There's still so much more to do. I can't sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around."
Now that I have learned more about Taylor's contributions, my respect for her has turned into awe. Rest in peace, Dame Elizabeth.
Taylor was a prodigious fundraiser and made large personal contributions to the cause. ETAF operated at zero overhead cost because Taylor personally underwrote the organization’s expenses for raising and administering funds. Over the course of her lifetime, she is said to have raised $270 million for HIV/AIDS. Last month, it was reported that she had donated the bulk of her estate to her AIDS charities.
An impassioned lobbyist, Taylor was not afraid of taking a swipe at leaders for their inaction. At an international AIDS conference, she criticized the first president Bush, remarking, “I don't think [he] is doing anything at all about AIDS. In fact I'm not even sure if he knows how to spell AIDS.” She testified before Congress in 1986 in support of the Ryan White Act, and then again in 1990, when it finally passed. She also spoke at the United Nations, imploring its members to join in the fight against the disease.
Taylor carried on her work despite her own declining health. Toward the end of her life she said, "There's still so much more to do. I can't sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around."
Now that I have learned more about Taylor's contributions, my respect for her has turned into awe. Rest in peace, Dame Elizabeth.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Via JMG: Christianist Hate Group Issues Call To Pull Kids Out Of School On Day Of Silence
The Illinois Family Institute, an SPLC-certified Christian hate group, says that parents should yank their kids out of class on the Day of Silence rather than have them exposed to the message that it's wrong to beat up gay children. GLSEN’s end game is the eradication of conservative moral beliefs and the creation of a social and political climate in which it is impossible to express them. Their cultural vehicle of choice for this radical social experiment is public education. What a strategic coup for homosexualists: use our money to capture the hearts and minds of our children. And we do virtually nothing. Our complacence makes us complicit in the damage done to our children and our culture. Moreover, we teach our children by example to be cowardly conformists. It’s time to resist, and there’s no easier way to resist than to call your children out of school on the Day of Silence. Parents and Guardians: Call your children’s middle and high schools and ask if students and/or teachers will be permitted to refuse to speak during class on Friday, April 15. If your administration allows students and/or teachers to refuse to speak during class, call your child out of school. Every student absence costs school districts money. When administrators refuse to listen to reason and when they allow the classroom to be exploited for political purposes, parents must take action. If they don’t, the politicization of the classroom and curricula will increase.The "student walkout" has been endorsed by pretty much every hate group listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, including the American Family Association, Concernstipated Women for America, MassResistance, and pedophile-enabler Scott Lively.
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