Desperate Measures for Prop. 8 Supporters | News

American Foundation for Equal Rights cofounder Chad Griffin issued a statement after the hearing, saying, “Today’s hearing demonstrated yet again that the Proponents of Prop. 8 are extremists who will stop at nothing to keep committed American couples from marrying. They led a campaign that was homophobic and filled with animus. Just as those who opposed interracial marriage 44 years ago, those who oppose the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans will too find themselves on the wrong side of history.”

Lambda Legal staff attorney Peter Renn also put out a statement shortly after the hearing, predicting that “the court is likely to deny this motion for what it is: a desperate and dangerous witch hunt for gay judges that comes at the expense of judicial integrity.”

Desperate Measures for Prop. 8 Supporters | News www.advocate.com A federal judge in San Francisco will hear arguments Monday as to whether the landmark Proposition 8 decision by U.S. chief district judge Vaughn R. Walker should be thrown out because the now-retired jurist did not disclose his same-sex relationship.

Via JMG: Anti-Gay Bigots: Homos Are Bullying Us!

This takes the damn ass fucking cake, but it's no surprise to those of us on Twitter.

As the gay-rights movement advances, there's increasing evidence of an intriguing role reversal: Today, it's the conservative opponents of that movement who seem eager to depict themselves as victims of intolerance. To them, the gay-rights lobby has morphed into a relentless bully — pressuring companies and law firms into policy reversals, making it taboo in some circumstances to express opposition to same-sex marriage. "They're advocating for a lot of changes in the name of tolerance," said Jim Campbell, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. "Yet ironically the tolerance is not returned, for people of faith who don't agree with their agenda." Many gay activists, recalling their movement's past struggles and mindful of remaining bias, consider such protestations by their foes to be hollow and hypocritical.

Labels: hate groups, homophobia, hypocrisy, LGBT rights

reposted from Joe

Neil Patrick Harris' 2011 Tony Awards Opening Number

Via jMG: HomoQuotable - Cheyenne Jackson

"I am disgusted and appalled by Tracy Morgan's homophobic rant. The devastating repercussions of hate-filled language manifest in very real ways for today's LGBTQ youth. I've known Tracy for two years, spent many long hours with him on set, and I want to believe that this behavior is not at the core of who he is. I'm incredibly disappointed by his actions, and hope that his apology is sincere." -Openly gay 30 Rock cast member Cheyenne Jackson.

Labels: 30 Rock, Cheyenne Jackson, hate speech, HomoQuotable

posted by Joe

Are Relationships Universal Across Sexualities?

Breakfast for Dinner from Been Bad Productions on Vimeo.

Train - Save Me, San Francisco

Via JMG: Twitter with Wanda Sykes & CNN’s Roland Martin re: Tracy Morgan

I’m had an intg convo on Twitter with Wanda Sykes & CNN’s Roland Martin re: Tracy Morgan

This is one small segment of a conversation on Twitter that CNN's Roland Martin and I have been having the past hour and a half. The conversation started because of Martin's blog post last night defending Tracy Morgan's homophobic comedy routine in which he said he'd kill his son if the boy turned out gay.

At one point this morning, Wanda Sykes jumped in, quite well in fact. You can follow the rest of the conversation between Martin and me via our Twitter account: @AMERICAblogGay

Via JMG: Tweet Of The Day - Chris Rock

GLAAD tweeted back: "Language about stabbing kids for being gay isn't 'foul.' It's dangerous."

Labels: GLAAD, hate speech, language, tweet of the day

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Tina Fey On Tracy Morgan

"The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community. It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person. I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket." - Tina Fey, in a statement released to TMZ.

Labels: 30 Rock, hate speech, language, Tina Fey

reposted from Joe

Three from AmericaBlogGay:

Kevin Rogers, guy who broke Tracy Morgan story on Facebook, had to come out to his mom today before going on CNN

Class act, this guy. Kevin Rogers. He's the guy who attended the Tracy Morgan stand up show and was so outraged by what happened, he wrote it up on Facebook, and it spread like wildfire. He got called by CNN today, to talk about what he saw. But first, he needed to come out to his mom. There's video of him being asked about this on CNN. It's heart-wrenching. He tears up. It starts at 6:16 in the video below. Adorable. And what a guy. I mean deciding to come out to your mom because you need to go on CNN in order to make a difference for your community. Damn.

make the jump here

A reader explains the problem with Tracy Morgan's apology

From reader Elloreigh:

As apologies go, this one attempts to hit the right notes while avoiding being a non-apology. But I note the following:

No attempt to dispute the content of the reported remarks. That being the case, this apology is not sufficient given the depth of hatred, bordering on incitement, contained in those remarks.

He apologizes for his "choice of words". I'm left scratching my head, wondering what possible words could have made the ideas expressed funny, in any context. None come to mind.

Morgan states that he "went too far". This leads me to question why he went there at all.

So here's the message I'd like to get across to Tracy Morgan, and those who would emulate him:

The pain and suffering that so many gay men and lesbians have experienced at the hands of bullies and murderers is NOT a subject to be exploited for comedic purposes. We were not put on this earth for your entertainment. We will not be your punching bag, and we're not going to stand for being your punchline, either.

Sometimes saying that your sorry isn't enough. Sometimes even saying it and really meaning it is likewise insufficient.

Consider for a moment the case of Ken Mehlman - a gay man whose role in campaigns against legal marriage for same-sex couples has made it impossible for many in the LGBT communities to forgive him.

Tracy Morgan, in some ways what you've done may be even worse than Ken Mehlman's actions. You've advocated, through your "poor choice of words", the murder - MURDER - of a gay son. Granted, a hypothetical son, but it's exactly the kind of thing that contributes to an already hostile environment for persons of same-sex orientation; one in which real murders, beatings and other abuse happen far too often.

So don't think that you deserve to expect our forgiveness. You haven't begun to convince us of that.

via AmericaBlogGay: And I'd note that Ken Mehlman has actually DONE something to make up for it. He's raised a ton of money, and lobbied Republicans directly, for marriage equality.

"30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan in serious trouble after saying he'd kill his son if he turned out gay

He's in hot water, and his apology today is not being accepted by anyone.

The story needs to be put in context. Morgan made the anti-gay comments in Tennessee, where they're trying to ban the mention of gays by teachers in public schools, and they just repealed every municipal civil rights ordinance on the books, at the request of the religious right and the business community, both of whom were upset with Nashville's new gay and trans civil rights ordinance.  It's gone now.  And all this happened just a few weeks ago.

And Morgan has a history of gay-baiting in his stand-up routines (he said being gay was a "choice" in a previous routine), but that's nothing like what he did last Friday.

He reportedly said he'd stab his son to death if the boy turned out gay.

That was after he said that people are born gay, and he knows this because "God don't make no mistakes." Get it, we're mistakes.

He said lesbians don't exist, they're just women who hate men.

He then took on the recent news on "bullying", and the fact that it's caused a number of gay teens to recently kill themselves. Apparently that's funny too. He told bullied kids to quit whining and stop being pussies.

That's when he added that he'd stab his gay son to death.

The audience ate it up with lots of "you go, Tracy!"

Yeah, well, you gone Tracy.

via jmg: Friendly Voices - Gwyneth Paltrow

"A few months ago, in the heat of the tragic teen suicides that came about from intolerance of homosexuality, I saw a man on television who was apologizing for wishing death on gays from his facebook page. This member of an Arkansas school board was contrite for the violence in his words, but maintained that his values pertaining to homosexuality would remain, as he felt homosexuality was condemned in the bible. This concept, while foreign to me, is interesting, as it used to justify so much judgement and separation in our society. When my daughter came home from school one day saying that a classmate had two mommies, my response was, 'Two mommies? How lucky is she?!' What does it actually say in the bible that will cause some people to be upset by my line of thinking? Happy pride." - Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, writing on her personal blog.

Labels: education, Friendly Voices, Oscars, religion

reposted from Joe

Via Kate Clinton: GayPridium

AC360 - The 'Sissy Boy' Experiment - Part Three (Ryan Kendall)

Rachel Maddow Slams Santorum For Covering For Ensign Then Calling For Weiner To Resign

AA GLEAM - It Gets Better

Via JMG: Cristina and Monica explain how DOMA rips married, binational couples apart

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Cristina and Monica explain how DOMA rips married, binational couples apart

Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 6/08/2011 12:54:00 PM

 

There's more info. on the issue of binational married couples at Stop The Deportations.

Related posts on AMERICAblog Gay:

• Stop8.org has the latest on marriage, binational couples and DOMA
• Obama admin. set to deport married spouse, Henry Velandia, on Friday. Claim DOMA as reason.
• 'There is light at the end of the tunnel for binational couples'

Via JMG: Target shareholders pummel CEO with questions about anti-gay donation

Probably not what the Target CEO expected at his shareholder meeting:

Several shareholders and shoppers were disappointed after Target donated money to the group. Musician Lady Gaga, who supports gay rights, walked away from plans to sell a special album at Target in early 2011.

Bill de Blasio, New York City public advocate and trustee of the New York City employees retirement system, which holds about $50 million in Target shares, said on Tuesday that he is "deeply concerned" when he sees those pension investments used unwisely.

A number of shareholders at Wednesday's meeting echoed his comments, repeatedly asking Steinhafel about the donation. Target has changed its review process for donations since the MN Forward donation, but some shareholders would like to see a more explicit apology and broader change from the company.

"Last year was a great learning experience for us," Steinhafel said as he repeatedly suggested moving onto a different topic.

"Does anybody have a question relating to our business that is unrelated to political giving? I would love to hear any question related to something else," Steinhafel said (emphasis added).

We would love to know Target isn't going to give any more anti-gay donations, especially with the anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot in 2012.

Via JMG: Increased Health Risks For LGBT Youth

According to a just-released study, LGBT youth tend to take greater risks with their health than do their heterosexual counterparts.

High school students who identify as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual are more likely than heterosexual students to smoke, drink alcohol, use drugs, and take part in violent and suicidal behaviors, a CDC survey shows. CDC researchers analyzed survey results from about 156,000 high school students. "This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools, and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people," Howard Wechsler, EdD, MPH, of the CDC, says in a news release. "Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination and victimization."

Anti-gay groups will, of course, leap upon this latest study without noting their own complicity in the "stigma, discrimination and victimization" noted above.

Labels: alcohol, drugs, LGBT youth, suicide

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Christianists Vs. Old Navy

"Old Navy is promoting a lifestyle that is in complete rebellion against God. Rather than just focusing on giving good products to their customers, they want to use their products now to advocate for a very controversial topic, much less a very immoral and very deadly topic. Unfortunately we have to do the hard work of communicating our outrage, our frustration -- and then following that up with some kind of practical expression such as taking your business elsewhere." - Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, who are upset over the gay pride t-shirts Old Navy is selling in a handful of their stores.

Labels: assholery, Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, GAP, Gary Cass, gay Pride, retail

reposted from Joe