Via JMG: MINNESOTA: Libertarian Party Rebukes GOP Over Proposed Marriage Ban

The Libertarian Party of Minnesota has "rebuked" the GOP for the campaign to put a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage to a statewide vote.

The proposed Gay Marriage Ban would expand government control and restrict the freedom of consenting adults to live their own lives as they choose. Libertarians believe that marriage is a private matter between individuals. We believe that marriage is a fundamental human right, and that all personal relationships, including marriage, should be at the sole discretion and agreement of the individuals involved, as well as any family, friends, or religious institutions they may choose to involve. Government has no business restricting or interfering with marriage. This ban would create a caste system by dividing society into two classes: those who are permitted to marry, and those who are not. We also oppose any attempt to place a marriage ban before voters, as the trappings of democracy do not legitimize infringements upon personal liberty; a 51% majority does not have the right to force its will upon the other 49%. We instead support a free society, where 1% can still be free to live their own lives as they choose, even if 99% might disapprove. Furthermore, we call upon legislators to expand liberty by repealing the existing statutory gay marriage ban.

Labels: GOP, Libertarian Party, marriage equality, Minnesota

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Via Huffington: The Hypocrisy Hall of Fame: Schwarzenegger and Marriage Equality

Arnold Schwarzenegger's long list of past indiscretions -- including the recent revelation that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff -- shouldn't be any of our business. As long as he didn't break the law, nobody beyond his immediate family should be concerned with his private affairs. But is it too much to ask that Schwarzenegger, and other politicians who have found themselves caught up in messy family situations, extend to all Americans what they say they want for themselves: to not have others meddle in their private lives?

I am still angry at Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not because he hid a personal secret from the public and from his own family, but because he did so while working to deny thousands of California citizens the right to have legal families at all.

make the jump here to read the full article

PINK DOT 2011: SUPPORT THE FREEDOM TO LOVE - 18 JUNE 2011

Via JMG: Catholic Molestation Study: Priests Were Stressed Out By The Sexual Revolution

According to a five year study commissioned by the Catholic Church, the real reason all those priests committed child molestation is because they were "poorly prepared and monitored" during the social tumult of the sexual revolution. Blame it on Woodstock.

The researchers concluded that it was not possible for the church, or for anyone, to identify abusive priests in advance. Priests who abused minors have no particular “psychological characteristics,” “developmental histories” or mood disorders that distinguished them from priests who had not abused, the researchers found. Since the scandal broke, conservatives in the church have blamed gay priests for perpetrating the abuse, while liberals have argued that the all-male, celibate culture of the priesthood was the cause. This report will satisfy neither flank.

The report notes that homosexual men began entering the seminaries “in noticeable numbers” from the late 1970s through the 1980s. By the time this cohort entered the priesthood, in the mid-1980s, the reports of sexual abuse of minors by priests began to drop and then to level off. If anything, the report says, the abuse decreased as more gay priests began serving the church. Many more boys than girls were victimized, the report says, not because the perpetrators were gay, but simply because the priests had more access to boys than to girls, in parishes, schools and extracurricular activities.

The $1.8M study was conducted by New York's John Jay College, with the DOJ kicking in $280K.

Labels: Catholic Church, molestation, NYC, religion

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Grant Hill From The Phoenix Suns On "Think Before You Speak" PSA

Via JMG: Another Rapture Update

The San Francisco Chronicle reports today that End Times proponent Harold Camping credits gay pride events and same-sex marriage for hastening the arrival of Saturday's rapture. Camping also says that 200 million Christians (only) will ascend to heaven in three days (time zone by time zone, beginning at 6PM, you'll recall) with the rest of us to be turned into pillars of salt, destroyed by earthquake, or burned alive in a hail of sulfur. All that will take place over the next five months because the Earth itself isn't scheduled to explode until October 21st.

Labels: crazy people, end times, religion

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Via PFAW: Arnold Schwarzenegger's long list of past indiscretions

Dear Daniel,

Arnold Schwarzenegger's long list of past indiscretions -- including the recent revelation that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff -- shouldn't be any of our business. As long as he didn't break the law, nobody beyond his immediate family should be concerned with his private affairs. But is it too much to ask that Schwarzenegger, and other politicians who have found themselves caught up in messy family situations, extend to all Americans what they say they want for themselves: to not have others meddle in their private lives?

I am still angry at Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not because he hid a personal secret from the public and from his own family, but because he did so while working to deny thousands of California citizens the right to have legal families at all.

Sure, Schwarzenegger was not one of those politicians who regularly use inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric, but nobody in state office has done more to hold back marriage equality for more people. Despite Schwarzenegger's often gay-friendly tone, he is the only governor ever to have vetoed marriage equality legislation twice...twice! Now, Schwarzenegger wants to be known for his refusal to defend the discriminatory Proposition 8 in court. But while he was in office, he had the chance to do the right thing and failed...twice. This is what Americans should remember about Schwarzenegger's gay rights record. A friendly tone doesn't mean a thing when it's paired with hateful policies.

Schwarzenegger, despite his purported unwillingness to join the ranks of the fire breathing gay-bashing Right, has placed himself with the likes of John Ensign and Newt Gingrich on the long and growing list of GOP officials who accused gay people of ruining the institution of marriage while they themselves flouted their wedding vows.

No politician, however squeaky clean his or her personal record is, should be in the business of telling grown adults who they can love and marry, or demonizing people who are trying to achieve the financial and emotional security of marriage. But the people who make my blood boil are those who accuse gay people of harming the institutions of marriage and the family while causing real harm to their own marriages and families. These men expose the real hypocrisy behind efforts to stop gay equality. They insist that family is a personal matter and beg for privacy in their personal affairs. We should all expect -- no, demand -- that they extend that belief to their public policy when and where it really matters.

Sincerely,

Michael Keegan, President

This piece also published on The Huffington Post.

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Via Change.Org:

Thank the San Francisco Giants for announcing they'll make an "It Gets Better" video!

Dear Daniel,

We have some wonderful news -- a breakthrough moment that could catalyze a cultural shift in America.

The San Francisco Giants have just committed to becoming the first team in professional sports to produce an “It Gets Better” video against anti-gay bullying, opening up a broader conversation in America about homophobia in the sports world and in our society.  

The Giants will join President Obama, corporations like Google and Apple, and more than 10,000 people who have uploaded poignant and powerful videos supporting kids struggling with sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Inspired by the It Gets Better Project and heartsick about recent homophobic incidents in sports, Giants fan Sean Chapin decided to start a petition on Change.org reaching out to his favorite team. More than 6,000 Giants fans signed on in support of Sean’s petition, including four San Francisco mayoral candidates.

The San Francisco Giants are now taking a courageous stand on behalf of gay kids, and those perceived to be gay, perhaps changing sports forever. Click here to join Sean Chapin in thanking the Giants for their amazing leadership.

This fantastic news comes in the aftermath of incidents involving basketball star Kobe Bryant and Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell, who was suspended for calling a group of Giants fans a “homo couple” and making lewd gestures before a recent game in San Francisco.

With role models like Bryant and McDowell, it’s no wonder homophobia is rampant in sports, from high school to the pros -- and it’s no wonder that there are zero openly gay men in the four major American sports leagues.

By taking a stand against anti-gay bullying, the Giants are striking a big blow to homophobia -- and giving a big boost to gay youth across America, especially kids who seek to one day play professional sports. 

Please add your name to join Sean Chapin in thanking the Giants and letting them know how much you appreciate their courage:

http://www.change.org/petitions/thank-the-san-francisco-giants-for-making-an-it-gets-better-anti-homophobia-video

Thanks for joining thousands of fans across America who support equality. Together, we’ll make sure the sports world is no longer a home for homophobia.

- Eden and the Change.org team

Via JMG: JMG Reader Sean Chapin Convinces SF Giants To Create "It Gets Better" Video

JMG reader Sean Chapin has convinced the San Francisco Giants to become the first professional sports team to create an "It Gets Better" video. Chapin's petition to the team on Change.org had drawn over 6000 signatures.

In an interview Monday, Chapin, a 35-year-old accountant who lives in San Francisco and works in Oakland, described the team's decision, announced Monday, as a "breaking bubble" that will have profound reverberations. Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said that the team had been thinking of joining the campaign before Chapin started his petition drive, but that his efforts speeded things up. She said the exact content of the video and which, if any, players or members of the coaching staff will participate have not been determined. Originally, the plan was to produce the video for the Giants LGBT Night home game in August, Slaughter said, "but now we're trying to get it done sooner than later."

Congratulations, Sean!

Labels: bullying, JMG community, LGBT youth, San Francisco, Sean Chapin, sports

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Hillary Clinton Issues Statement Supporting International Day Against Homophobia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a statement supporting today's International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Via press release:

In every part of the world, men and women are persecuted and attacked because of who they are or whom they love. Homophobia, transphobia and the brutal hostility associated with them are often rooted in a lack of understanding of what it actually means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). So to combat this terrible scourge and break the cycle of fear and violence, we must work together to improve education and support those who stand up against laws that criminalize love and promote hate. As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia this May 17, let us resolve to redouble our efforts.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am proud to reaffirm our support for LGBT communities at home and abroad, and to call for an end to discrimination and mistreatment of LGBT persons wherever it occurs. Whether by supporting LGBT advocates marching in Belgrade, leading the effort at the United Nations to affirm the human rights of LGBT persons, or condemning a vile law under consideration in Uganda, we are committed to our friends and allies in every region of the world who are fighting for equality and justice. These are not Western concepts; these are universal human rights.

Despite these gains and hard work, there is more to do to turn the tide of inequality and discrimination against the LGBT community. If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, know that the United States stands with you and we are unwavering in our commitment to ending this cycle of hate.

And we stand with YOU, Madame Secretary.

Labels: feds, Hillary Clinton, homophobia, State Department

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Via JMG: PhoboQuotable - Bingu Mutharika

"If as human beings created in the image of God, we fail to appreciate the difference between males and females and start marrying man-to-man and woman-to-woman, are we not worse than dogs that appreciate nature's arrangement? Have you ever seen a he-goat getting attached to another he-goat? Or a male dog to another male dog? Think about these things." - Malawi president Bingu Mutharika, speaking at a rally against the proposed decriminalization of homosexuality in his country.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Labels: Africa, assholery, bigotry, LGBT rights, Malawi, PhoboQuotable, religion

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Via JMG: Ted Olson & NY AG Eric Schneiderman Editorialize Against Civil Unions

Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today published an op-ed piece in the New York Daily News explaining why civil unions are an unacceptable compromise in the marriage equality battle. Olson, as you doubtlessly know, was the co-lead attorney in the battle to overturn Prop 8. An excerpt from today's essay:

A civil union is not a marriage, nor is it an adequate substitute for one. To suggest otherwise is a cruel fiction. Even if all of the inherent confusion and complexities could be resolved and civil unions could somehow provide couples with the same rights and responsibilities of a true marriage, the separation of the two institutions creates a badge of inferiority that forever stigmatizes the relationships of committed same-sex couples as different, separate, unequal and less worthy. Time and time again, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we enjoy as Americans under the Constitution. It's a right older than the Bill of Rights and older than our political parties. It is the foundation of society. The time to grant the right of marriage to all New Yorkers is now.

Read the entire article.

Labels: civil unions, Eric Schneiderman, marriage equality, New York state, Ted Olson

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Phoenix Suns President Comes Out

The president of the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise has come out. Rick Welts is the first such professional sports leader to publicly declare his gayness.

Welts talked separately to NBA commissioner David Stern, Suns guard Steve Nash, Hall of Famer Bill Russell and founding WNBA president Val Ackerman to discuss the message he wished to convey in making his sexual orientation public. The 58-year-old Welts, who began his career as a ball boy for the Seattle SuperSonics, spent several years with Stern in the league office. He was the architect of the All-Star Weekend and helped raise the NBA's profile before leaving for the Suns' front office. Stern was not taken aback or even surprised by the conversation, though he did assume beforehand that Welts had wanted to meet to discuss career advice, according to The Times. "What I didn't say at the time was: I think there's a good chance the world will find this unremarkable," Stern told The Times. "I don't know if I was confusing my thoughts with my hopes."

Labels: basketball, coming out, NBA, sports

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"There are gay organizations with multi-million-dollar budgets, and none of them can seem to scrounge up an executive director who can string a few persuasive lines together and win an argument on basic cable. Why is that every time someone from the Human Rights Campaign is on TV, you just know that we already lost the fight? Whatever the argument is, whatever the question is, it’s over. Some people will say to me, 'Who made you spokesperson?' You know what? Nobody. I’m a spokesperson by default." - Dan Savage, who says he's "appalled" with his role as the go-to gay on television news.

Labels: activism, Dan Savage, HomoQuotable

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NEW YORK: Wealthy GOP Donors Are Backing Marriage Equality Campaign

The New York Times reports that the bulk of new money coming into the latest push for marriage equality in New York is coming from wealthy GOP donors usually known for backing conservative causes.

Their behind-the-scenes financial support — about $1 million in donations, delivered in recent weeks to a new coalition of gay rights organizations — could alter the political calculus of Albany lawmakers, especially the Republican state senators in whose hands the fate of gay marriage rests. The donors represent some of New York’s wealthiest and most politically active figures and include Paul E. Singer, a hedge fund manager and top-tier Republican donor, as well as two other financiers, Steven A. Cohen and Clifford S. Asness. At the same time, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist who has been a major contributor to Senate Republicans in New York, plans a significant push for same-sex marriage: giving at least $100,000 of his own money, hosting a fund-raiser at an Upper East Side town house, traveling to Albany to lobby lawmakers and giving a speech on the issue.

File this one under surprising and welcome.

Labels: GOP, marriage equality, New York state

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Via JMG: Hero Collision: Rugby Star Ben Cohen Meets Champion Wrestler Hudson Taylor

Read this NYT profile on the two most well-known straight allies in the world of sports. The article begins:

Ben Cohen is a world-class English rugby star, and Hudson Taylor is a three-time college all-American wrestler. They live on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. They barely know each other. But they have something quite unusual in common. They may be the only two high-profile heterosexual athletes dedicating their lives to the issues of bullying and homophobia in sports.

Labels: Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor, sports, straight allies

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Via JMG: Concerned Women Are Concernstipated About The It Gets Better Project

"Thank you for cleaning up the Viagra commercials Fox, but PLEASE what’s with the new tolerance for homosexuals campaign disguised as anti-bullying? Bullying is wrong. It is wrong for any reason. Apparently, American Idol with the help of Woody from Disney’s Toy Story, thinks that my 4th grader needs to be fully aware of the plight of teens who view themselves as 'gay.' I am sorry, but he doesn’t even know about heterosexual sex yet. Can you give me some room here? I am ticked because I feel tricked. Fox blew it last night. The point is parents felt secure in allowing our entire families watch this show. They lured us into a false sense of security and broke trust with us last night." - Concerned Women president Penny Nance, angry about this week's airing of Google's It Gets Better ad during American Idol.

Labels: advertising, American Idol, bullying, Concerned Women Of America, Dan Savage, Google, hate groups, television

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Via JMG: Our First Openly Gay U.S. Senator?

Openly gay Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is reportedly mulling a run to replace the retiring Sen. Herb Kohl, who leaves office in 2012. If successful, Baldwin would become the first openly gay U.S. Senator in history. The Victory Fund is already promising Baldwin their full support.

“This would obviously be a top priority for us. Tammy Baldwin has been an outstanding congresswoman, and she’d be an outstanding senator,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which has endorsed Baldwin repeatedly. In 1998, when Baldwin became the first openly LGBT candidate to win election to the U.S. Congress as a freshman, the Victory Fund raised nearly a quarter million dollars for her campaign.

Labels: 2012 elections, gay politicians, Senate, Tammy Baldwin

reposted from Joe

Via Facebook: