Video Sunday: Teacher fired for being gay

So in Oregon, little Tommy or Jimmy asked Mr Stambaugh why he wasn't married. Mr Stambaugh answered truthfully: because he's not allowed to marry a man.

Mr Stambaugh may no longer have a job.

He did not engage in public displays of affection, wear a speedo to work, or behave in any inappropriate way. He simply said who he is.

See, the problem They have with us is that we exist. Their goal is not just to limit marriage. It's to make us invisible.

Voices of Faith Speak Out: it starts with us

Excerpts from a sermon by the Rev Michael Hopkins, Episcopal Priest.

So who in their right mind let the Samaritan lepers into the Church? Jesus did. And too many of his followers have been trying to keep them out ever since. And this exclusion is death dealing to our young people. .....

You know the world doesn’t have to be like that. God doesn’t want it to be like that. The Church should not want it to be like that either, or it should just close up shop because it isn’t good for a whole helluva lot, making straight white “normal” people feel better about themselves while at best ignoring the rest of us and at worst seeking to do us harm in the name of an angry God.

The antidote starts here, as always, with our own thanks, which has the power to heal and to save. Let us receive this power of acceptance and go forth into the world as Samaritan lepers, all of us, full of good news.

And let us be clear to our brothers and sisters, “You must stop your words that take away people’s worth. They are death dealing. Young people listen to them and kill themselves. Stop, just stop it, in the name of Jesus Christ, stop it.”

Iowa: vote YES!

In Iowa's 2009 marriage equality decision, the state Supreme Court unanimously decided that there was no "constitutionally adequate" justification to limit marriage to opposite sex couples.

This record, our independent research, and the appropriate equal protection analysis do not suggest the existence of a justification for such a legislative classification that substantially furthers any governmental objective.

By all accounts, Iowa has been relatively unaffected by gay citizens getting married. There has been no onslaught of divorce, or sex in the streets. And there is really no question about overturning the decision.

But our "friends" at NOM are in the mood for retaliation, and are running another one of this season's bus tours trying to incite voters to reject three of the Supreme Court justices, who in Iowa are subject to retention elections every few years. It won't change anything--except perhaps put fear into the hearts of elected officials.

As with their previous NOMbus tours, the NOM forces have a glitzy bus but not much else. Equality supporters have been turning out, usually in greater numbers, to witness to LOVE, not division.

The Courage Campaign NOM bus trackers regularly post photos and videos, including interviews with NOM supporters who variously compare LGBT people to goats, claim that gays are a “disease-carrying nasty threat to society," and obsess about "sodomy marriage". Oh, and Brian Brown, NOM leader, defines the ONE difference between men and womenthus: “A mother can nurture and take care of a baby. A man can’t do that.” (That will be a surprised to a lot of fathers I know!)

The Judges are trying to stay above the fray and not engaging the NOMmers in campaigning.

If you are an Iowa voter, PLEASE vote YES YES YES to retain the judges and tell NOM to keep its hate out of state. (For more about NOM's hate campaigns, please see NOM exposed.)

For ammo on repudiating the "activist judges" claim, please see my previous post here.

Blame the gays

Did you know that if the Democrats do badly, it's all the fault of Teh Gay?
From AP:

"But change takes time; sometimes it takes a lot of time. A lot of folks just don't understand that," said Garcia. "I am older and more seasoned, but most people are very disturbed with the administration ... and they're the hard ones to get out to vote.
"The message is huge: Don't take us for granted."
...

Robin McGehee, co-founder and director of the national gay-rights organization GetEQUAL calls the mood among gay voters a "disappointment canyon" but said they have no choice but to go to the polls....

The GLBT community has a groundswell that will not support Democratic machine politics, which exerts no political capital for us. We have been supporting individuals, and of course we will vote. But I suspect that the "enthusiasm gap" will be cited for poor performance. You wanna bet that Obama and the White House will blame us?

By the numbers: same sex marriage vs. inter-racial marriage

"Activist judges do not have the right to redefine marriage if the majority of voters disagree." That's what the marriage equality opponents tell us all the time, to justify the "right of the people" to let their opinion determine the rights of a minority group.

So let's consider what the People thought in 1968. In that year, Americans told Gallup that they disapproved of inter-racial marriage by a margin of 73%-20%. Overwhelmingly, Americans did not think people should marry across racial lines.
That's a year after the Supreme Court, in the landmark case Loving v. Virginia, legalized inter-racial marriage. Despite the fact that nearly 3/4 of Americans disapproved. How dare they! Over the voices of the mob majority, how dare they?

It wasn't until 1991, twenty three years after the decision, that a plurality of Americans approved of racially mixed marriages. The number approving has flattened out in recent polls at around 75% now. I suspect it will stay there for some time, until a particular generation dies out.

Now, let's think about marriage equality for GLBT people. When the question was asked in 1996, it was 65% opposed, 27% in favor. Pretty close to where we started with inter-racial marriage, back in the 1960s. So, I wondered: how does the trend compare? The answer is, remarkably well.


These graphs look almost perfectly superimposed. By this prediction, marriage equality will have a plurality of support by about 2019, and an overwhelming majority by 2028. Good news for our kids, eh?

But here's the thing. All these data points for inter-racial marriage come from a time when inter-racial marriage was already legal in all 50 states . We didn't wait for majority approval to remedy the injustice. In contrast, I'm sure I needn't remind you that same sex marriage is not legal yet, except in a few pockets in the country.

Further, by the time public opinion was at the point regarding inter-racial marriage as it is now for same sex marriage, inter-racial marriage had been legal for 14 years.

So please, just what in hell are we waiting for?

And next time you have to deal with the "activist judges" line, remember these data.

Method I took the data from the Gallup polls on inter-racial marriage, and the Pew polls on same-sex marriage. For this analysis, I assigned the starting year to the absolute value "0" (1968 for inter-racial data, 1996 for same-sex marriage data). Each data point was then plotted based on how many years had elapsed since year "0". The density of points for same sex marriage relative to the inter-racial marriage reflects the difference in frequency of polling the questions.

Prop8 Federal Case: Appeals arguments on Dec 6

From the Tracker:

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ... announced they will be hearing oral arguments for the appeal of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, and of Judge Walker’s historic ruling finding Prop 8 unconstitutional, on Monday December 6th at 10am.

This is the opportunity for friends and foes to file amicus briefs as well. From here, regardless of outcome, expect an appeal possibly to the full 9th Circuit (not just 3 judges), and eventually, to the Supremes. More on my previous post.

Tomorrow will be better (Hillary Clinton video Sunday)

Good for you, Madame Secretary.

Voices of Faith Speak Out: ecumenical statement against bullying

There's a statement signed by diverse groups including The Episcopal Church, The United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalists, the Baptist Alliance, the Presbyterians, the Metropolitan Community Church and many others: Clergy against bullying call for action and time of healing in wake of gay teen suicides and anti-gay violence

We, as leaders of faith, write today to say we must hold ourselves accountable, and we must hold our colleagues in the ministry, accountable for the times, whether by our silence or our proclamations, our inaction or our action, we have fueled the kinds of beliefs that make it possible for people to justify violence in the name of faith. Condemning and judging people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity can have deadly consequences, both for the victims of hate crimes and those who commit them.

There is no excuse for inspiring or condoning violence against any of our human family. We may not all agree on what the Bible says or doesn't say about sexuality, including homosexuality, but this we do agree on: The Bible says, "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God in them." Abiding in love – together – is the rule we must all preach, teach, and seek to live by.....

To that end, we pledge to urge our churches, our individual parishes or offices, our schools and religious establishments to create safe space for each and every child of God, without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity. And we ask you to join us in that pledge.

Today, we personally pledge to be LGBT and straight people of faith standing together for the shared values of decency and civility, compassion and care in all interactions. We ask you, our colleagues, to join us in this pledge.

We want our children and the children of the communities we serve to grow up knowing that God loves all of us and that without exception, bullying and harassment, making fun of someone for perceived differences, and taunting and harming others is wrong. The Golden Rule is still the rule we want to live by.

We pray today that you will join us in being the faces of a faith that preaches and demonstrates God's universal acceptance and offers to one and all safe space to live, to learn, and to love and be loved.

Obama: It Gets Better (video)

Okay. Thank you Mr President.

Quote of the Day: Barney Frank

"I do not think that any self-respecting radical in history would have considered advocating people’s rights to get married, join the Army, and earn a living as a terribly inspiring revolutionary platform."

---Congressman Barney Frank, on being accused of having a "radical gay agenda," in The New Yorker


H/T Cheers n Jeers, Daily Kos

Voices of faith speak out: Announcing a new GMC series

On Saturday, I will start a new series at Gay Married Californian that specifically highlights voices of faith speaking out against bullying and in support of LGBT youth. My goal is to show that the anti-gay bigotry of the Christianist right does NOT define Christianity's response to LGBT people. I am starting with Christian denominations, because in the peculiar marriage of religion and politics in the US, Christianity is the Big Kahuna. However, I will be happy to highlight positive statements from non-Christian faith groups as well. Coming up in the next few weeks, I will have examples from Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, to name a few.

Why am I doing this? Because I know there are straight, religious allies who walk the walk with us. Too often their voices are drowned out by the strident shouts of the haters--I'm hoping to amp them up. LGBT adults and youth of faith, who have been deeply injured by churches need to know that the haters don't speak for everyone or all faith groups. There are many churches that offer radical welcome.

And as a practical matter, whether we are individuals of faith or not, the LGBT community needs to build alliances with religious allies to defeat the opposition. Religion isn't our enemy.

This came to me this weekend, appropriately enough at church. (For those who don't know my other writing , I'm a non-believer married to an Episcopalian.) We celebrated our second wedding anniversary last week, and many people congratulated us. And it occurred to me (not for the first time) that too many LGBT people are unaware of the explicit support of many communities of faith. I mean, we attend a church that not only welcomes us as a married lesbian couple, but as a mixed marriage of atheist and Christian! Whoa. Pretty radical stuff. Time to get those voices of welcome out there, don't you think?

In any event, I'm going to try to educate everyone and hope to build bridges. If you run across relevant statements or citations that can be identified with particular faith groups, send 'em along and if they are appropriate, I'll queue them up.

Tony Perkins Defends Bullying

The epidemic of suicide of LGBT youth has been in the press of late. And, true to form, Right Wing Culture Warrior Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council, is directly in place to promulgate lies (thanks to an op/ed in the Washington Post).

The Washington Post says that Perkins' column is necessary balance to the on-line chat they hosted with gay activist Dan Savage. Of course, that's like saying an article about geology needs to be balanced by a rebuttal from the Flat Earth Society. Do they balance civil rights stories with polemics from white supremicists?

Perkins rant looks terribly scholarly, with links to actual research, but as usual he picks and chooses and mis-represents that which he is quoting. He says,:

Some homosexuals may recognize intuitively that their same-sex attractions are abnormal--yet they have been told by the homosexual movement, and their allies in the media and the educational establishment, that they are "born gay" and can never change. This--and not society's disapproval--may create a sense of despair that can lead to suicide....The most important thing that Christians can offer to homosexuals is hope--hope that their sins, just like the sins of anyone else, can be forgiven and their lives transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.

As Dan Savage says,

The religious right points to the suicide rate among gay teenagers—which the religious right works so hard to drive up (see above)—as evidence that the gay lifestyle is destructive. It's like intentionally running someone down with your car and then claiming that it isn't safe to walk the streets.

But one of the most moving take-downs is in a rebuttal piece by Sirdeaner Walker whose son Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover killed himself because of anti-gay bullying.

Mr. Perkins' tactic, and that of others like him, is to use faith and religion to divide us. They seek to thwart efforts to deal with a problem at the heart of this current crisis--anti-gay bullying and harassment....

And we need to be clear on one thing - addressing anti-gay bullying is not a controversial issue. If you move through the smoke screen organizations like Family Research Council try to create, you realize addressing anti-gay bullying is simply the right thing to do if we care about all of our young people.

Check out the Post site for more outraged rebuttals of Tony Perkins, like this one and this one.

Prop 8 update: response to appeal

The Prop 8 federal case is now in the appeal stage. The Bad Guys and their friends have filed appeals and amicus briefs that explain accuse Judge Walker of bias, reiterate the same old arguments they tried before, and throw in a few new ones (including spurious, fact-free claims). They try to introduce new evidence not presented at trial. They also have to explain why they have standing to appeal, in the absence of any state interest in defending Prop8. (There's a related appeal by Imperial County claiming that it should represent the state in defending Prop8 because they issue marriage licenses. Imperial County voted against us by about 70% and are represented by a Christianist legal group, the Advocates for Faith and Freedom.)

Our side has just submitted their rebuttal of the appeal. The response and more info are at the ever-helpful Prop8 trial tracker.

What can the Supreme Court mean when it says that our Constitution "neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens," if a majority can so stigmatize a small, visible, and vulnerable minority and in the process cause such wrenching anguish? The American promise--and dream-- of equality surely means at a minimum that the government, before "drawing a line around" some segment of its citizenry and designating them unworthy of something as important and socially meaningful as the institution of marriage, must have a legitimate and factually tenable rationale for doing so. Proposition 8 fails even at this most basic level of scrutiny. It advances no legitimate purpose.

Oct 20: Wear purple in memory of those lost

There's a Facebook page for this event.

On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes and at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools. RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas. You are loved.

It gets better (Broadway version)

We're gay. We SO do musicals.

IT GETS BETTER

The perils of Lesbianity (video Sunday)

The Don't Ask, Don't tell debacle

The sweeping decision from the federal court re. DADT led this week to the judge issuing a declaration that DADT should no longer be enforced. The Obama Administration has asked for a stay of that finding, pending their appeal of the judge's decision. While a very good case can be made that the constitutionality of laws should not be determined by a single federal judge, we also can't avoid the fact that the Fierce Advocate announced that DADT would be history by the end of the year, but did not expend political capital to help pass the watered-down repeal in the Senate, and has not taken steps to deal with those military personnel who are subverting the process. (They tried that with Harry Truman too, when he integrated the military, but with less success).

But even given the cautious justification for these actions, they show a remarkable tin ear for politics. From The American Prospect (my emphases)

Members of the administration have admitted that gay-rights issues have taken a back seat, and indeed, it seems reasonable enough to ask the gay community to be patient while Obama fixes the economy and health care. But here's the thing with civil rights: Whether you think there are more pressing things to do depends on whether you take civil rights seriously. Civil rights aren't perks that you deal with once you get all the practical stuff in order; they are the practical stuff -- they allow all Americans to participate fully in tackling collective problems.

The Justice Department's ardent defense of DOMA and "don't ask, don't tell" have only added insult to injury.

It is easier for a Federal Employee to buy pet insurance for their dog than get health insurance for their same sex spouse or partner. If I were a federal employee, my cat might have better benefits than my wife. That's some fierce advocating.

Whose religious freedom? (Cartoon)

Why DoJ appealing the DOMA decision could be a GOOD thing

Lots of the gay press is upset that the DoJ is going to appeal the DOMA decision in Massachusetts. Let's review: two cases from the Bay State addressed the unequal treatment of legally married Massachusetts residents by the federal government. (The federal government considers legally married gay couples to be unmarried cohabiting couples and therefore ineligible for any federal benefits e.g., pensions, etc)

Judge Tauro found that the clause of DOMA that applies to federal recognition of such marriages to be unconstitutional. Basically he said that the US can't treat gay citizens married legally in their home state differently from their straight neighbors. Married is married.

But here's the rub. Right now, this ruling only applies to Massachusetts. It does not affect anyone else. Which is great, for the Massachusetts couples, but for this legally married lesbian Californian, doesn't change anything.

The only way this will affect anyone else is (you guessed it) the appeals process. If our side wins the next step, then it applies to all the states in the First District. I'm sure those married in New Hampshire and Vermont would appreciate that. And of course, if it goes further to the Supremes....

So rather than wring your hands that the DoJ appealed, consider that that's the ONLY way to take down this odious law nation-wide. More from this GLAD FAQ.

The legislative branch no longer participates in government. They exist only in a sound-bite campaign mode of obstructionism and grandstanding. We cannot expect them to do anything. THe only hope is the courts, because the judiciary appear to be the only branch of government that still functions.

One step forward, one step back: the equality two-step

For a time there, after Massachusetts, after the polling made it clear that the young people are with us, we allowed ourselves to hope. We had come so far, since the early days, and the landmark of Stonewall. So far, from pathologies and medical abuse, to recognition that we are no different than a red-head or a lefty, just a normal human variant.

But the Enemy regrouped, and though we know time and history will not be on their side, their attacks continue.

There was the brief summer of weddings in California, where an estimated 18,000 couples-- 36,000 people!!!! said "I do" to their life partners in joy and hope.

Yet the Enemy succeeded in attacking that joy, crushing us with the disappointment of Prop H8, their self-satisfaction evident. Even with the triumphant presentation of the Federal case against Prop 8, and the laughably poor defense (even I could have defended it better), we win nothing--just more appeals and stalling. They managed to hide the trial from view, to keep their cowardly bigotry under wraps. No matter the outcome, their attacks will continue, the harm will escalate. After all, no one is getting married in California for the foreseeable furture, and DOMA still stands, making those marriages that DID occur meaningless, in federal terms. And the lawyers continue to grind the arguments, like something out of Bleak House.

For every step forward, we take casualties. Now they are attacking domestic partnerships and civil unions every chance they can -- in Washington State, Hawai'i, Wisconsin. It's not about marriage, the word, and it never was. It's about attacking and marginalizing gay people as permanent outcasts. The untouchable caste, American style.

The Catholics and the Mormons are gearing up to continue the fight, with new initiatives. We know who they are by their hate. Smaller, inclusive denominations are shouted down by the budgets and near-military organization of the Big Two. (Jesus, who hung out with sinners and outcasts, is no longer recognizable to them).

The conservative Evangelicals continue to tell hysterical lies. The only reason they get away with it is that they have brainwashed their children so they cannot think. (Look at this one too. Facts and reality literally do not matter to these people.)

The Republican Party platforms in Texas and Montana call for the criminalization of homosexuality. Uganda suddenly feels not so far away. Atascadero, site of gay torture, was not so very long ago. And they would send us back there if they could.

Like any bullies, they scream loudest when it is they doing the damage, claiming somehow that they are the victim when it is we who have been hurt. As someone said, they blame us for the injury when their foot hurts from kicking us. They lie and lie and lie again, and get away with it.

If you visit the web sites of these people, they are marked by bile, and anger, and visceral hatred. They say the most horrible things about those who disagree and propose the worst sort of retributions and violence.

And the air of hope and redemption that swept Barack Obama into Washington is replaced by cynicism. So there is a gay ambassador. Gay families were invited to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. The same thing happened 20 years ago. And substantive meaningful change to support the gay family or lift up the gay youngster or enfranchise the gay community there is none of that. David Mixner writes

Wait your turn, we have been told. Better to get healthcare for the straights, than nothing. Better to have an unsupportive Democrat, than a hostile Republican. And then the cycle goes round again and it is not the right time. It never will be the right time. We will be behind the door, too small a community, too inconvenient, too embarrassing.

I still do not understand the source of their fear and hatred, except that it is a very primitive human need to have someone outside to loathe, to unite against. Or perhaps it is all wound up in their desperate fear and hatred of sex. A large part of it is inevitably tangled up with misogyny, and a need to protect the patriarchy. Women who demand equality, not subservience, who are breaking gender roles and expectations are sisters to the GLBT people who are also breaking gender roles and rules. Our fundamentalist culture shares more with the societies that bred Al Qaeda than the Enlightenment.

And, as the Enemy embraces its ignorance, hides from the sun of knowledge, and rejects its gay children, is is foolish to fear that violence may be close behind?