Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Via JMG: Three Dollar Bills & Harvey Milk
Via JMG: CANADA: Website Fights Tax Exempt Status Of Exodus International
The website Slap Upside The Head says that the "ex-gay" group Exodus International, which recently lost its tax exempt status in New Zealand, does not deserve that status in Canada either. All registered charities operating in Canada must provide what the Canada Revenue Agency calls a “public benefit.” This is a long legal definition that I can’t claim to fully understand, but, of particular note, a charitity’s activities must be “regarded as valuable by the common understanding of enlightened opinion,” and such value “must be weighed against any harm that may arise from the proposed activity and a net benefit must result.” Since homosexuality is not a recognised disorder by any respected medical organisation, it’s questionable as to what benefit could come out of trying to treat it as one. Moreoever, the consensus in the medical community is that all attempts to treat homosexuality as a disorder may cause serious psychological harm. With no clear benefit, and demonstrable harm from Exodus’ actions, I think there’s a strong case to argue that Exodus’ activities do not meet Canada’s criteria for charitable status.If you are a Canadian citizen, please consider visiting the site's action page, which includes email addresses and phone numbers for the compliance department of Canada's Revenue Agency. This movement is in its early stages and the site's authors are seeking legal and medical experts willing to testify that the "ex-gay" movement is doing real demonstrable harm to the citizens of Canada.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Via JMG: MONTANA: Tea Party Head Fired After Facebook Joke About Killing Gays
Montana Tea Party president Tim Ravndal has been fired after making Facebook jokes about the murder of Matthew Shepard in a posting denouncing same-sex marriage and the ACLU. Ravndal's Facebook friend: "I think fruits are decorative. Hang up where they can be seen and appreciated. Call Wyoming for display instructions.” Ravndal responded: "Where can I get that Wyoming printed instruction manual?" The Montana Tea Party issued this statement announcing Ravndal's firing: We are extremely disappointed by Mr. Ravndal’s commentary. The discussion in that Facebook conversation is entirely outside the position of the Big Sky Tea Party. Even though Mr. Ravndal was having a personal conversation and made no reference to our group, we felt strongly that swift and decisive action was required as we cannot accept that sort of behavior from within our membership, let alone from an officer of the corporation.
Via JMG: Beetlejuice's Otho Dies At Age 58
Actor and gay activist Glenn Shadix, best known as the snobby interior designer in Tim Burton's 1988 hit comedy Beetlejuice, has died at the age of 58 after a fall at his Birmingham, Alabama home. "He was having mobility problems, and he was in a wheelchair," Susan Gagne, Shadix's sister, said. "It looks like he fell and hit his head in the kitchen, and that's the cause of death." Besides his breakthrough role as the outlandish Otho in "Beetlejuice" in 1988, Mr. Shadix appeared in two more movies for the writer-director Burton, doing the voice of the mayor in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 1993 and playing the orangutan Senator Nado in Burton's 2001 remake of the sci-fi classic "Planet of the Apes." After retiring from Hollywood, Mr. Shadix moved back to Birmingham about four years ago to be close to his family, his sister said. He had been living in a condo on Highland Avenue.Shadix had worked with Central Alabama Pride and in 2008 rode in the Birmingham Pride Parade. He was particularly involved in fighting the "ex-gay" movement as he had undergone electro-convulsive aversion therapy as a teenager at the insistence of his father. His personal blog remains online.
(Tipped by JMG reader Joe O.)
THIS WEEK on CHANGE.ORG: Gay Student Suicides
One suicide is one too many.
But three suicides in one year, within one school district, all by students who are gay or lesbian? That's nothing short of an epidemic, and it's the problem currently facing Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin school district.
The most recent incident occurred in July, when a 15-year-old student took his own life. A concert cello player in his school's orchestra, the student was incessantly bullied because of his sexual orientation.
"I'm not asking you to accept this as a lifestyle for you," his grieving mother recently said in testimony before the Anoka-Hennepin school board. "I'm only asking that you please make the school safe for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students still alive and in this district today."
Statistics underscore the danger to LGBT students. Nationwide, gay youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual classmates, in large part because of toxic environments where anti-gay bullying can thrive. Nearly 90% of gay students have experienced harassment in school, and almost two-thirds say they feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Yet in the Anoka-Hennepin school district, a "neutrality" policy has tied the hands of school administrators and teachers to combat homophobia. This policy was put in place due to the influence of anti-gay groups such as the Parents Action League, which believes homosexuality is a behavior that can be cured, and it requires teachers and school officials to remain silent about subjects pertaining to sexual orientation.
Because of this anti-gay influence, the school board turned down a request by Minnesota's largest gay rights organization to conduct a district-wide anti-bullying program. And it prevented the district from taking action against two teachers who harassed a student believed to be gay until an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights intervened and punished the teachers.
Stopping the harassment of people based on their sexual orientation shouldn't be a liberal or conservative issue. It's a humanitarian issue, and can literally be a matter of life and death.
The only way to fight the suicide trend in the Anoka-Hennepin school district is by changing the climate in the district. Call on the Anoka-Hennepin school board to stop ignoring the problem and end the policy that prevents school officials from effectively dealing with anti-gay bullying.
Suicide doesn't occur in a vacuum. As we commemorate National Suicide Prevention Week this week, let us remember that we all have influence over the environment in which harassment thrives. If we sit idly by and do nothing, we're part of the problem.
For more news and commentary from this week in change, see the summaries from your favorite causes below.
Arrested for Marriage in GAY RIGHTS
A number of states have laws on the books banning same-sex marriage. But Wisconsin's law takes the homophobic cake. Gay Rights blogger Maia Spotts notes that on the books in Wisconsin is a law that allows for a gay couple to be fined $10,000, plus a jail term, if they decide to get married. Forget just banning same-sex marriage. This is outright criminalizing love. Read more » |
Monday, September 6, 2010
Via JMG: SACRAMENTO: Thousands Of Bigots Gather To Pray Against Gay Rights
Dominionist, extremist, Christofascist preacher Lou Engle gathered several thousand bigots in California's capital today to pray against same-sex marriage and for "authority over Jezebel and San Francisco values."
The Sacramento event, Engle said, helped to highlight immoral laws being passed out of the Capitol and called on traditional marriage to be restored. "If marriage is going to be upheld between a man and a woman, which we believe is the best for families and children and society, then right now, it seems we need divine intervention," Engle said in an interview between appearances on stage. "That's part of the reason we're coming here, to pray, but also to take a stand and be a prophetic voice to stand for truth."The above-linked story notes that "offering stations" were set up throughout the audience. Jackpot. Another Lexus for Lou Engle, who, should you have forgotten, is one of the American evangelists responsible for Uganda's "kill gays" bill.
UPDATE: JMG reader Andy sends us the "trailer" for yesterday's event. Scary.
Via JMG: This Week In Holy Crimes
Over the last seven days...
California: Pastor Robert Cowen sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for molesting two pre-teen sisters under the guise of Bible instruction.
Arizona: Pastor Christopher Furey charged with multiple felony counts of child molestation.
North Carolina: Pastor Darryl Todd charged with multiple felony counts of statutory rape of a 14 year old girl.
Pennsylvania: Father Felix Owino charged with molesting an 11 year old girl.
South Carolina: Pastor Bill Cabe charged with molesting an 11 year old boy. Cabe was recently released from prison after serving seven years for swindling $8M from his congregation.
Texas: Pastor Apostle Nathaniel Calhoun charged with multiple felony counts of sexual assault on a child.
Britain: Father Eugene Lewis sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing three pre-teen girls.
Kansas: Father John M. Fiala charged with four felony counts of child molestation. Fiala is being sued in Texas for sexually assaulting a 16 year old boy at gunpoint.
Ohio: Pastor Rodney Stewart busted in internet child sex sting. Stewart used a webcam to send lewd self photos to a detective posing as a 15 year old girl.
Pennsylvania: Pastor Laneer Fisher charged with molesting two teenage boys.
Washington: Pastor Derwin Pasley pleads guilty to molesting three teenage boys.
California: Pastor Jeffery Waisner sued for molesting a 14 year old girl. Waisner's church is also named in the suit for harboring a known pedophile.
Tennessee: Father William Casey indicted for aggravated rape of a fifth grade boy.
This Week's Winner
Ohio: On trial for embezzling over $1M from his church, Pastor David Thompson said that he was authorized by God to take the money. "As the pastor and as the overseer I was mandated first and foremost from God." Thompson allegedly mortgaged church property to buy himself a Hummer, a BMW, a Ford Expedition, a Cadillac Escalade, and a boat. Thompson also used church funds to send his children to private school and add a pool to his home. Thompson faces 87 years in prison.
Via JMG: AMSTERDAM: Hundreds March In Protest Of Rise In Anti-Gay Violence
Led by well-known drag performers, hundreds marched in Amsterdam today in protest of the city's recent rash of violence against LGBT citizens. The rally was organized by the LGBT group Right To Feel Safe. Posters with the details of each of the attacks were affixed to street poles at the incidents' locations along the march route. A fuller account of today's action can be found in Dutch here.
(Tipped by JMG reader Tim)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Via JMG: California Senate Debate: Carly Fiorina Vs. Sen. Barbara Boxer On Gay Marriage
Fiorina recap: Marriage is between a man and a woman, blasts Judge Walker, supports civil unions, supports DOMA, supports repeal of DADT. "My position [on marriage] is consistent with that of the president."
Via JMG: AUSTRALIA: Anti-Gay MP Fred Niles Caught In Pornography Scandal
Rev. Fred Niles, the longest-serving member of the New South Wales parliament and one of Australia's leading anti-gay activists, is front-page news in Sydney today after an audit revealed that he'd used his government computer to view pornography. A really LOT of pornography, it appears. An audit of NSW parliamentary computers, which has already resulted in the resignation of a Labor minister, reportedly showed up to 200,000 suspect hits linked to Reverend Nile's parliamentary log-on. Today he admitted one of his staff members had viewed online porn "for just a few seconds" for research purposes. But he insisted neither he nor any member of his staff had been "sitting there perving". "My senior researcher has conducted a lot of research into the pornography industry at my request because we have bills dealing with increasing the ban on pornographic materials," he said. "I have not accessed or viewed any of those sites but my researcher has."Niles claims that the porn hits came from links found on the site of the Australian Sex Party, a grassroots group formed to advocate for same-sex marriage. The Sex Party rejected Niles' claims as ridiculous and have called for his resignation. Niles has fought many LGBT rights laws in New South Wales and has called for abolishing the Sydney Mardi Gras as a "public parade of immorality and blasphemy."
(Tipped by JMG reader Dennis)
Via JMG: Photo Of The Day - Chris Colfer
Glee's Chris Colfer made Rolling Stone's photo essay of this season's "best characters and most memorable scene-stealers." HELLO.(Tipped by JMG reader Stacey)
Via JMG: Inside The Gay Brain
Over at Box Turtle Bulletin Rob Tisinai tips us to this fascinating BBC clip in which openly gay actor John Barrowman undergoes a brain scan while looking at nude images of men and women. Researchers can conclude the primary sexual orientation of their subjects by measuring the brain's electrical responses as the images are viewed. We hereby issue an open challenge to Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber and Charlie Crist to undergo this test!
Via JMG: DENIED: Appeals Court Rejects Attempt To Force State Defense Of Prop 8
The California Court of Appeals has just denied the attempt to force Schwarzenegger and Brown to defend Proposition 8. "Petition summarily denied by order." The suit was brought by the anti-gay Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Pastor Joshua Beckley, with a supportive brief from former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese. The court's full ruling should be posted here by the end of the day.Via Huffington: Glenn Beck the Faith-Healer Continues to Scam His Followers
Throughout his gripping new book, The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama, Philadelphia Daily News reporter and blogger Will Bunch augments the notion that Glenn Beck is playing a fictional character named "Glenn Beck." A faker. Specifically, Bunch draws together evidence indicating that Beck is nothing more than a morning zoo deejay whose latest money-making stunt is to portray a new kind of televangelist, offering political and religious salvation for profit.
Via Courage Campaign
Dear Daniel --
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee -- a likely front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 -- is calling for the religious right to "turn this nation back to God, as Jesus is our only hope."
Yes, Huckabee actually said that in a video criticizing Judge Vaughn Walker's historic Prop 8 decision and imploring right-wingers to show up in Sacramento this weekend at "The Call" -- a mega-event designed to rally the religious right in response to the court ruling striking down Prop 8. Ten years ago, "The Call" event drew more than 400,000 people to Washington, D.C.
For Americans concerned about the separation of church and state, this leading presidential contender's words are harrowing. But what's even scarier is the man behind "The Call" that Huckabee is promoting: Lou Engle.
Apparently Huckabee is not
"What happened to California will release a spirit that is more demonic than Islam, a spirit of lawlessness and anarchy. And a sexual insanity will be unleashed into the Earth."The marriage equality movement is strongly supported by people of faith and supports the freedom to worship. But we will not condone religious fanaticism bordering on an incitement to violence. It's un-American.
We can't let Mike Huckabee and Lou Engle get away with their attacks on LGBT families or Judge Walker's Prop 8 decision. That's why Courage staffers are going to "The Call" this Friday to expose Lou Engle's extremism for the world to see on our Prop 8 Trial Tracker web site. Will you contribute $25, $50, $100 or more today to help us fight back and defend Judge Walker's decision?:
 |
http://www.couragecampaign.org/FightBack
As activist Fred Karger highlighted recently, Huckabee's support for Engle comes just a few months after Huckabee compared same-sex marriage to incest, drug abuse and polygamy, going on to say that gay and lesbian couples should not be allowed to parent, because kids "aren't puppies."
Huckabee isn't the only right-wing leader attacking Judge Walker and his historic Prop 8 decision.
On Tuesday, the extremist Pacific Justice Institute asked a California court to force Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to defend Prop 8 in court. Then 27 California Republican Assemblymembers wrote a letter to Schwarzenegger, pressuring him to defend Prop 8 as well.
From Mike Huckabee and Lou Engle to the Pacific Justice Institute and the National Organization for Marriage, Judge Walker's Prop 8 decision is under attack by the religious right. That's why we need your support now to cover the cost of our Prop 8 Trial Tracker coverage of "The Call" so we can hold these religious extremists accountable. Please contribute $25, $50, $100 or more now to help us fight back and defend Judge Walker's decision:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/FightBack
Thanks for standing with us today. As an organization dependent on the donations of our supporters, we really can't do it without you.
Rick Jacobs
Chair, Courage Campaign Institute
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Gay 'Cure' Group Denied Charitable Status in New Zealand
A group which claims to "cure" homosexuality through biblical teachings had its application for charitable status denied in New Zealand recently because the government's Charity Commission found that, as far as charitable purposes go, the group could not prove that it provided a public benefit.
The application came from Exodus Ministries Trust Board, a group affiliated with the US-based Exodus Global Alliance which also claims to be able to give people "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."
The Trust Board's charitable status application describes its aims, among others, as:
Group's Claim to Counsel Homosexuals Fails to Convince
The Charity Commission's analysis first looked at whether the Exodus group's claim that they provided relief to persons afflicted by physical/mental illness or disability, in this case homosexuality, fulfilled the necessary criteria to grant charitable status.
The Charity Commission found Exodus' claim problematic, writing in its 15-page decision:
The Commission also considered whether the application could qualify under merit of the group's educational value. In its application, Exodus had offered that as a group it aimed to "teach and present the view that a homosexual can change from homosexuality to heterosexuality and that he or she is not born homosexual."
Again, the Commission found the group's lack of objectivity a considerable problem, going as far to say that the Commission was concerned that the Exodus group's presented aims amounted to "'propaganda or cause under the guise of education' which is not charitable under the advancement of education."
Commission Questions Group's Public Benefit
While also rejecting the group's application under "advancement of religion", saying that the Applicant's purposes were too broad to be solely viewed in such a context, the Charity Commission next dealt with the public benefit of the Exodus affiliate.
In so doing, the Commission reinforced earlier assertions that same-sex attraction was no longer classed as a mental disorder, that a majority of current scientific data suggests that sexual orientation can not be changed, and that so-called conversion therapies are unproven, ill-supported and have been known to be potentially damaging to the patients involved.
The Exodus Ministries Trust Board contended that it does not advocate conversion therapy but rather counseling based on religious teaching designed to allow people to choose heterosexuality, and warned that the two should not be confused.
While the Commission made note of the distinction, it appeared to conclude that the aims of both were not dissimilar and that, regardless, the group had failed to meet the other necessary standards.
As such, and while citing N.Z. legal protections on the basis of sexual orientation and its civil unions law, the Commission concluded:
However, the Commission rejected such a notion, saying that each case is considered on its individual merits and that one group's successful application sets no precedent. One also notes that while Rainbow Youth reportedly seeks to improve the self-esteem of LGBT and questioning youth, it does not actively seek to change them with its "preconceived point of view" but rather affirms their sexual orientation or gender identity - whatever that may be - a marked difference from the self-defined goals of the Exodus group.
All that in mind, the Commission concluded its analysis, saying that the group's application fails to prove that Exodus has "substantially charitable purposes" to merit charitable status and thus the Commission is forced to deny the application.
This news is likely to be welcomed by those who oppose all forms of so-called reparative therapy and groups that claim it is possible to change one's sexual orientation through prayer.
APA Adopts Resolution Against Gay Cure Therapy
Of note to readers may be the fact that, in August of last year, the American Psychological Association officially adopted a resolution against conversion therapy and sexual orientation "change efforts" after carrying out a rigorous examination of 83 conversion therapy studies from peer-reviewed journals dated between 1960 to 2007.
The panel found that only a handful of the studies, few of which were carried out in the last decade, could be considered methodologically sound, and that none had "systematically evaluated [the] potential harms" of conversion therapy.
As such, the APA drew up the "Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Effects" in which it warns that therapists must not misrepresent the success rate of such therapy, which remains negligible, or gloss over the potential harms of conversion attempts. The resolution therein recommends that conversion therapy should be rejected as a viable course of treatment. Read more about the APA's 2009 resolution here.
Read more: exodus, homosexuality, civil rights, gay rights, lgbt rights, gay cure, charitable status, anti-gay groups, american pyshcological association
The application came from Exodus Ministries Trust Board, a group affiliated with the US-based Exodus Global Alliance which also claims to be able to give people "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ."
The Trust Board's charitable status application describes its aims, among others, as:
1 (a) To promote the teaching that the Christian Church both Catholic and Protestant has traditionally held that God gives to human kind the gift of sex for procreation and the expression of love and pleasure in the context of a heterosexual and monogamous marriage and that deviations from this including homosexuality are morally wrong.
(b) To counsel and assist homosexuals and others with sexual problems in order that they may find healing and release into wholeness as desired by God and revealed in the Bible;
(c) To make information available to homosexuals, the Church and the whole community that they can be released from homosexuality and to teach and present the view that a homosexual can change from homosexuality to heterosexuality and that he or she is not born homosexual; [...]
The group had enjoyed charitable status for more than a decade, however, in a decision dated August 18, that status was not renewed by the government's Charities Commission.Group's Claim to Counsel Homosexuals Fails to Convince
The Charity Commission's analysis first looked at whether the Exodus group's claim that they provided relief to persons afflicted by physical/mental illness or disability, in this case homosexuality, fulfilled the necessary criteria to grant charitable status.
The Charity Commission found Exodus' claim problematic, writing in its 15-page decision:
20. The Applicant’s March 2010 newsletter (provided to the Commission with the Applicant’s solicitor’s letter of 28 May 2010 ) states that the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973.
21. In addition, it is not clear that providing counselling that seeks to promote a particular point of view (for example that homosexuality is morally wrong) will necessarily provide “relief” to “homosexuals and others with sexual problems” […]
In its analysis the Commission highlighted several key findings from the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association to support two assertions: - that counseling should be carried out in a neutral environment which the Commission doubted whether the Exodus group was capable of providing, and:
- that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, therein highlighting the majority of medical opinion that soundly rejects “the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation”.
The Commission also considered whether the application could qualify under merit of the group's educational value. In its application, Exodus had offered that as a group it aimed to "teach and present the view that a homosexual can change from homosexuality to heterosexuality and that he or she is not born homosexual."
Again, the Commission found the group's lack of objectivity a considerable problem, going as far to say that the Commission was concerned that the Exodus group's presented aims amounted to "'propaganda or cause under the guise of education' which is not charitable under the advancement of education."
Commission Questions Group's Public Benefit
While also rejecting the group's application under "advancement of religion", saying that the Applicant's purposes were too broad to be solely viewed in such a context, the Charity Commission next dealt with the public benefit of the Exodus affiliate.
In so doing, the Commission reinforced earlier assertions that same-sex attraction was no longer classed as a mental disorder, that a majority of current scientific data suggests that sexual orientation can not be changed, and that so-called conversion therapies are unproven, ill-supported and have been known to be potentially damaging to the patients involved.
The Exodus Ministries Trust Board contended that it does not advocate conversion therapy but rather counseling based on religious teaching designed to allow people to choose heterosexuality, and warned that the two should not be confused.
While the Commission made note of the distinction, it appeared to conclude that the aims of both were not dissimilar and that, regardless, the group had failed to meet the other necessary standards.
As such, and while citing N.Z. legal protections on the basis of sexual orientation and its civil unions law, the Commission concluded:
56. In light of the above, the Commission considers that it is not able to determine whether the Applicant will, or will not, provide a benefit to the public that will outweigh any harm caused by the Applicant’s purposes. Accordingly, the Commission is unable to determine whether the Applicant’s purposes will provide a public benefit.
Lastly, the Commission considered the Applicant's contention that because the Commission granted charitable status to Rainbow Youth, an LGBTQ support group, it must consider Exodus Ministries Trust Board's application because "clearly an education provided by Rainbow Youth Inc. would be from a preconceived point of view, ie that homosexuality and other forms of sexuality are perfectly normal for some people." However, the Commission rejected such a notion, saying that each case is considered on its individual merits and that one group's successful application sets no precedent. One also notes that while Rainbow Youth reportedly seeks to improve the self-esteem of LGBT and questioning youth, it does not actively seek to change them with its "preconceived point of view" but rather affirms their sexual orientation or gender identity - whatever that may be - a marked difference from the self-defined goals of the Exodus group.
All that in mind, the Commission concluded its analysis, saying that the group's application fails to prove that Exodus has "substantially charitable purposes" to merit charitable status and thus the Commission is forced to deny the application.
This news is likely to be welcomed by those who oppose all forms of so-called reparative therapy and groups that claim it is possible to change one's sexual orientation through prayer.
APA Adopts Resolution Against Gay Cure Therapy
Of note to readers may be the fact that, in August of last year, the American Psychological Association officially adopted a resolution against conversion therapy and sexual orientation "change efforts" after carrying out a rigorous examination of 83 conversion therapy studies from peer-reviewed journals dated between 1960 to 2007.
The panel found that only a handful of the studies, few of which were carried out in the last decade, could be considered methodologically sound, and that none had "systematically evaluated [the] potential harms" of conversion therapy.
As such, the APA drew up the "Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Effects" in which it warns that therapists must not misrepresent the success rate of such therapy, which remains negligible, or gloss over the potential harms of conversion attempts. The resolution therein recommends that conversion therapy should be rejected as a viable course of treatment. Read more about the APA's 2009 resolution here.
Read more: exodus, homosexuality, civil rights, gay rights, lgbt rights, gay cure, charitable status, anti-gay groups, american pyshcological association
Via Dusty on Facebook:
Towleroad's take: http://tinyurl.com/267cn7t
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7O3mExIZHI
Takedown of NOM ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QdroQgWn8
Via JMG: SAS To Host In-Flight Gay Wedding
Scandinavian Airlines wants to be the first to host an in-flight gay wedding and has launched a contest to find that couple. One proviso - the nuptials must take place in Swedish airspace in order to be legal. "It will be a very traditional wedding," SAS spokesman Anders Lindstroem told AFP. "There will be wedding cake and dancing in the aisles." SAS is accepting entries from gay couples who wanted to celebrate their nuptials mid-flight from Stockholm to New York on December 6, with the winning entry will be chosen by an online vote. The airline said it would pay for the winners' tickets, hotels and honeymoon in Los Angeles, and cater the on-board banquet, albeit with a special wedding menu instead of normal passenger fare. Linstroem said SAS was playing catch-up to US airlines, who have spent years courting gay, lesbian and bisexuals in the United States with targeted marketing and sponsorship campaigns.The airline does note that the ceremony will be held in the closed-off business class section so as "not to offend any other customers who may not approve." Well, boo to THAT part. Will there at least be a mile-high consummation?
Via JMG: MINNESOTA: Anti-Gay Group Fights Bullying Efforts After Teen Suicides
After the suicides of three gay teens in just one year, a Minnesota school district has rebuffed offers from LGBT groups to help with anti-bullying education, citing a 2009 edict that "sexual orientation is not to be taught in the district." This, despite charges that one of the teens killed himself last year after being harassed by two of his own teachers. As LGBT groups continue to push for anti-bullying programs, a group of Christian parents has naturally formed an opposition organization.
In July, a shadow group of parents formed in the district with the intention on staving off any advances for LGBT students. The Parents Action League launched its website in June along with a petition that reads, “Whereas homosexual behavior exposes participants to many life-threatening health risks; and whereas the classroom environment needs to be solely focused on academics; Therefore, we the undersigned citizens of Anoka-Hennepin School District No. 11 do whole heartedly support and desire that the School Board adhere to … the AH District 11 Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy.” When the Minnesota Independent asked who founded the group and if it had any connections to other “pro-family” groups in the state, an unsigned email came back: “We think our website explains very well what we’re about and who founded it – citizens in the Anoka Hennepin School District.” When questioned about ways to get more information about the group’s activities, the Independent was told via email, “We do not see your name on our on-line petition. Once you sign the petition, we may be contacting you” [emphasis theirs].Currently the website for the Parents Action League bears only this message: "We have never been inundated with so much hate and disdain for a differing viewpoint than that of the pro-gay movement. Our group has NEVER written anything hateful on our site or to any member of the GET group with whom we strongly disagree. Apparently, tolerance, kindness and decency are only to be extended to the pro-gay viewpoint - talk about your bullying!"
Viva Miss Universe (Mexico)!
Quote Of The Day - Miss Universe
"Look, I believe that every person in this world has the right to profess the beliefs they have and I am in agreement. We have to respect what each human being decides to do with their lives, no? Clearly, there are limitations, of course, also, as there also are with heterosexual couples, no? Better said, there are limitations for any of the two - if they are heterosexual or homosexual - but I believe we have to learn to be respectful because they are people who are the same as us. There is no difference."And I don't believe it's just to discriminate somebody based on the gender they prefer, no? Based on the partner they choose to select, if it's a man or a woman. The truth is that I am absolutely against discrimination and, well, what can I say. I have many friends who are homosexual and I adore them. And they are equal folk: There is no reason we should want to set them aside, there is no reason why we shouldn't let them enjoy what they want to enjoy with their partner." - Mexico's Jimena Navarette, Miss Universe 2010, coming out for marriage equality in an interview translated by Andres Duque at Blabbeando.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Via JMG: Fidel Castro: I Take Responsibility For Cuba's Persecution Of Gays
Calling it a "great injustice," today Fidel Castro told a Mexican newspaper that he accepts responsibility for Cuba's persecution of its gay citizens, thousands of whom were rounded up and placed in internment camps during his regime. Castro said that the revolutionary government's actions represented "a great injustice – a great injustice! – whoever committed it. If we committed it, we committed it. I am trying to limit my responsibility in all that because, of course, personally I don't have that type of prejudice." The interviewer paraphrases him as saying that "everything came about as a spontaneous reaction in the revolutionary ranks that came from the nation's traditions. In the old Cuba, blacks were not the only ones discriminated against; there was discrimination against women and, of course, homosexuals." Was the Communist Party to blame, the interviewer asks. "No," Castro responds. "If anyone is responsible, I am. True, at that time I couldn't concern myself with the subject. I was deeply and mainly involved in the October Crisis, the war, the political issues. But in the end, if responsibility must be assumed, I assume mine. I'm not going to blame others," Castro says.Many will likely credit Castro's niece Mariela for today's statement as she has led Cuba's burgeoning LGBT rights movement in recent years. Havana has staged gay pride parades for the last two years.
"This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California, to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream Waters,
This land was made for you and me..."
From California, to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream Waters,
This land was made for you and me..."
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Have you heard about how Peter, Paul & Mary -- one of the most famous musical groups of the 1960s -- just stood up to the National Organization for Marriage?
It all started when participants on the Courage Campaign Institute's Prop 8 Trial Tracker web site noticed that NOM was playing Peter, Paul & Mary's version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" at their anti-equality rallies.
Kathleen Perrin, a frequent commenter on the Prop 8 Trial Tracker, was stunned and deeply offended that NOM was using this beautiful folk song to drown out the chants of equality counter-protesters. Kathleen knew that Woody Guthrie and Peter, Paul & Mary unequivocally supported justice and equality for all. So she contacted Peter Yarrow, one of the performers in the group along with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers (Travers passed away in 2009).
Peter Yarrow responded to Kathleen, saying use of the song by NOM was "heartbreaking" and then sent a cease-and-desist to NOM, telling them to stop playing their song.
But Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey didn't stop there. On behalf of "Peter, Paul & Mary," their letter went on to make an impassioned defense of the freedom to marry:
"We strongly support the rights of all gays and lesbians to enjoy the rights and rituals of marriage that are enjoyed by their straight counterparts, and consider the abridgement of this right contrary to the sense of equal protection and fairness inherent in, and applied by, the law of the Constitution of the United States."
Click here now to read the cease-and-desist letter to NOM from Peter, Paul & Mary. Then add your name to our card thanking them for taking a stand for marriage equality against NOM. We'll deliver your signature to Peter, Paul & Mary, along with the signatures of thousands of other Courage Campaign community members. DEADLINE: Friday, 5 p.m.:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/ThankYouPPM
In a guest post on Courage's Prop 8 Trial Tracker web site, Kathleen Perrin wrote:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/ThankYouPPM
In a guest post on Courage's Prop 8 Trial Tracker web site, Kathleen Perrin wrote:
"All along the NOM tour we saw, time and again, how NOM inverted the truth, portraying themselves as the oppressed instead of the oppressor. NOM's president Brian Brown even made the outrageous claim that he follows in the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr. as the leader of a new civil rights movement."
NOM's playing of "This Land Is Your Land" at their rallies is just as Orwellian -- a twisted version of the truth.
Will you stand by Peter, Paul & Mary as they tell NOM to cease using this recording in a way that associates these staunch supporters of marriage equality with NOM's offensive anti-equality agenda? Just click here now to add your name. DEADLINE: Friday, 5 p.m.:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/ThankYouPPM
Thank you for standing in solidarity with Peter, Paul & Mary. Together, we'll stop NOM.
Eden James
Managing Director, Courage Campaign Institute
Will you stand by Peter, Paul & Mary as they tell NOM to cease using this recording in a way that associates these staunch supporters of marriage equality with NOM's offensive anti-equality agenda? Just click here now to add your name. DEADLINE: Friday, 5 p.m.:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/ThankYouPPM
Thank you for standing in solidarity with Peter, Paul & Mary. Together, we'll stop NOM.
Eden James
Managing Director, Courage Campaign Institute
Courage Campaign Institute is a part of the Courage Campaign's multi-issue online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. To get involved in the Courage Campaign Institute, visit "Testimony: Equality on Trial" -- our year-long campaign to bring the Prop 8 trial into the lives of Americans.
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