American Queery

Migrating to a new blog!

2005-11-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

This blog has now migrated to my new site, CriticalExponent (RSS).

Old entries from this blog may be found here (RSS).

Please update your bookmarks and feeds. New entries will only appear on the new site!

The Homometer

2005-11-14T21:02:00.000-05:00

Come read how gay marriage has ruined everything. Better yet, watch this exclusive report from The Daily Show.

Lesbian minister defrocked; gay man excluded from congregation

2005-11-01T08:27:00.000-05:00

The United Methodist Church has issued a series of anti-gay rulings.

Love in Christ, judge not, etc., etc.

Takei gay

2005-10-28T08:36:00.000-04:00

George Takei, of Star Trek fame, just came out publicly. He's been living with his partner for 18 years. Poor guy, it's gotta be particularly hard to be closeted and in a relationship for so long. He must be so relieved!

Brushing against bigotry

2005-10-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

The boyfriend and I decided to go for a quick jaunt to Downtown Crossing to do some winter shopping. We were jostling with the Saturday afternoon crowd trying to get out of the rain and into Filene's Basement, when this short Asian lady shoves a clipboard in front of Knox, and points at it, trying to get us to read it and sign it. On the clipboard is a computer printout, in a large font, urging us to "SIGN PETITION TO DEFEND TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE."

Ooh, that got me angry. I rushed past the lady into the store, throwing her a scathing look and saying as pointedly as I could, "We're GAY." Did she understand me? I'm not even sure she spoke English, given how she kept pointing and gesturing. At any rate, my blood was was boiling, and the frenzy of shoppers in the store did nothing to calm my nerves.

Later tonight, we were thinking that maybe I should have told her that "traditional marriage" would have her in the kitchen, pregnant, barefoot, and rightless, or that if she weren't enjoying the fruits of a liberal society she would be working in the mines or in a sweatshop.

Sigh.

Outing "closet heterosexuals"?

2005-10-13T06:24:00.000-04:00

I believe people's private lives are generally nobody else's business, but there are exceptions. "The personal is the political," they say, and that is true when policies affect lives or when hypocritically grandstanding to take away people's rights under the veneer of "moral values."

This brings us to the Republican Party. Pretty much, if you work at the upper echelons of this administration, you are complicit in its gay-bashing, and the American people deserve to know that for all the rhetoric, you, an LGBT person, are employed there. Same goes for Congress: if you advocate measures that deny gays and lesbians equal rights, or if you fail to raise your voice against such measures that others bring, your are participating in an injustice. If you yourself are in the closet, then the American people deserve to know where all your blustering is coming from. (On the other hand, if you're out and advocate anti-gay measures, well, that's just sad but at least voters would know what they're getting and where you're coming from.)

So, all that said, here's an article on the administration's "closet heterosexuals" and how the mainstream media is complicit in not discussing their personal lives and rumors around them when it is the administration itself insisting that personal lives are the purview of government.

Catholic church using the pulpit to deny gay civil marriage

2005-10-03T06:47:00.000-04:00

Parishioners across the state were urged yesterday to sign the anit-gay marriage petition that would place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2008.

It's sad, really. There are many pressing social problems the Church could be dealing with: poverty, education, health care. There are even enough internal issues to keep the Church occupied: how to prevent the pedophile tragedy from happening again. Instead, the church chooses to scapegoat gay and lesbian people for forming stable families before the eyes of civil authorities. (And it chooses to scapegoat gay priests rather than dealing with the real causes of the pedophile scandals.)

''As I say, it's not against anybody, it's for children and it's for the stability of marriage, which is really the foundation of our great nation,' said Raymond L. Flynn, a former mayor of Boston and Vatican ambassador whose name appears on the petition as one of its chief sponsors.

What a lie! I've yet to hear of a heterosexual marriage dissolving because gay neighbors down the street could get a marriage certificate. I've yet to hear of children being better off because their parents are second-class citizens before the law. The Church, any church, is free to accept or reject the marriages it chooses, but it should not impose its dogma on a pluralistic society.

It's the great irony of American history, isn't it? Part of the American ethos is our foundation as a refuge from religious persecution, and yet we have always had a very theocratic streak. The Puritans, after all, weren't seeking to establish universal freedom of conscience but rather a place where they could build their own vision of the Biblical "City on a Hill," undisturbed by others.

CT civil unions begin

2005-10-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

Quietly, Conn. law allowing same-sex unions takes effect - The Boston Globe

"Anti-Gay Auto-Da-Fé"

2005-09-29T08:36:00.000-04:00

Michael Sean Winters writes in Slate about the Vatican's upcoming ban on gay priests:

The problem with such a ban is twofold. First, banning gay seminarians will only drive the issue underground, precisely the situation before the sexual revolution permitted people—even priests—to be more honest about their sexuality. The most notorious clerical child molesters were all ordained before the sexual revolution and before the changes wrought in the church by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Secrecy and silence encourage immaturity and duplicity, necessary precursors for inappropriate sexual behavior. Second, as my exchange with my friend indicates, many of those priests the right wing considers "their own" are also gay, and only a willful ignorance would fail to see it.

Such a willful ignorance must exist. When I was in the seminary in the mid-1980s, a local bishop came to visit. The bishop dressed for mass in the rectory next door. We seminarians were a bit late in arriving and were met by the bishop's secretary who said, "Come on boys, get into your dresses. Grandma is coming." Grandma was the bishop. The secretary had a feminine nickname, which, I am told, his intimates still use. To complete the screenplay quality of the experience, one of the priests who was in attendance that day left the priesthood shortly thereafter to become a flight steward or, as he called it, "a waitress in the sky." This kind of campiness was common both in the seminary and in my experiences with those already ordained. As for the secretary, he is now a bishop much in favor with conservatives...

Reform of the church must always draw upon our tradition, and if Pope Benedict wants to truly address the source of the sexual abuse scandal, he will reinstate the ancient tradition of the church that prevented bishops from being transferred (the technical term is "translated") or promoted from one bishopric to another, more important, diocese. In a stroke, he would remove the careerism that fueled the sweep-it-under-the-rug-at-all-costs syndrome that fostered the crisis. If a man wants to be the bishop of Bridgeport, let him be the bishop of Bridgeport for the rest of his life. But do not tempt him to fail to face problems in the hopes of becoming the archbishop of New York. This would be a useful first step.

Scapegoating gays

2005-09-22T13:50:00.000-04:00

From The New York Times: New Vatican Rule Said to Bar Gays as New Priests

Nice! This way they can force homosexual priests into the closet (or further into the closet-- I wonder how many men become priests to avoid dealing with homosexuality) and they distract the public from the sexual predators in their ranks, who will continue to run free. Nothing like a little scapegoating...

Here are some radical suggestions: How about the church officially teaching children what kind of contact is inappropriate so they are more likely to report it immediately if and when it occurs? And how about embracing gay priests openly and publicly, so as to promote the better mental health that comes from being open about one's identity?

MA anti-marriage amendment defeated!

2005-09-14T15:22:00.000-04:00

The Massachusetts Legislature rejected a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage but legalizing civil unions.

Here's the Bay Windows editorial.

A voter-initiated amendment movement is still in the works, however.

Brokeback Mountain wins Golden Lion

2005-09-11T22:38:00.000-04:00

Ang Lee's gay film, Brokeback Mountain, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. It's a film about the love between two cowboys in the conservative West of the 1960s.

MA AG certifies anti-marriage initiative

2005-09-07T14:58:00.000-04:00

Reilly certifies anti-marriage initiative. This is a voter-initiated attempt to pass a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Unfortunately, the AG's own website says that an initiative cannot be certified if it "relates ... to the reversal of a judicial decision."

Take action!

California Legislature Approves Gay Marriage

2005-09-07T06:53:00.000-04:00

Celebrate!

Louisiana's Wetlands @ National Geographic Magazine

2005-09-02T13:57:00.000-04:00

This prescient 2004 article details a doomsday scenario for New Orleans. It goes on to say

When did this calamity happen? It hasn't—yet. But the doomsday scenario is not far-fetched. The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great.

Gay marriage coming to California (perhaps)

2005-09-01T22:47:00.000-04:00

This is a first in the US: Calif. Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill. Way to go!

Remember how the far right was complaining about "activist judges" and clamoring to "let the people speak"? Here's a quote from the article:

"Twenty-one Democrats in the Senate took it upon themselves to redefine marriage," said Benjamin Lopez, a lobbyist for the Traditional Values Coalition, "and they're saying that 4.6 million Californians are wrong."

Apparently, elected officials aren't democratic enough. Nothing short of a referendum will do (for now).

ConCon Sept. 14: Contact Legislators about anti-gay amendment

2005-08-31T09:42:00.000-04:00

Read the MassEquality information.

Contribute! Ambassador James C. Hormel will match at the 50% level contributions of $100 or more.

Gay marriage and Cherokee law

2005-08-01T01:43:00.000-04:00

A lesbian couple married under Cherokee law is fighting for recognition.

Founder repudiates "ex-gay" ministry

2005-07-31T21:28:00.000-04:00

Love in Action co-founder John Evans speaks out against the movement he helped form.

If you can't convert, you must repress

2005-07-29T06:49:00.000-04:00

AMERICAblog has an analysis of "Paula Zahn Now"'s second story on "conversion therapy[sic]":

But the heart of the segment was a live one-on-one interview between Zahn and another "graduate" Gerard Wellman, who now works for LIARs. (Another Dickensian and ironic name for a clean-cut nice young guy -- dude, you are a well man AND a gay man; it's a pity you think you have to be ashamed of yourself).

Zahn was polite but pretty darn on target. She emphasized how he is and always will be gay and that the best the program can hope is to get Wellman and others to SUPPRESS themselves. She emphasized how it's one thing for an adult like Wellman to choose to go through this and a very different thing for a minor to be forced into it. LIAR's line is that the parents have the right to raise their children any way they choose. But the response is that you have no right to assist a parent in shaming and emotionally damaging a child by telling them to be ashamed of their skin color or gender or sexual orientation. Zahn talked a lot about the vulnerability of the children being pushed through LIARs. When Wellman tried to compare this program to a parent's right to have their children take music lessons, Zahn shot him down and said that music lessons never lead to suicide attempts.

My favorite moment:

Zahn: But in a way, aren't you denying who you are?
Wellman: Aren't we all?

Uh, no. We're not. Only people abused by their parents and their misguided religious leaders try to deny who they are.

Support fact-based sex-ed in the Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools

2005-07-25T21:17:00.000-04:00

I just sent a letter to the Montgomery County Board of Education concerning the controversy over the sex-ed curriculum (my previous posts on the subject are here and here). Get involved! Send your letters to MCPS at boe@fc.mcps.k12.md.us or at:


Montgomery County Board of Education
850 Hungerford Drive
Rockville, MD 20850.

Here is the text of my letter:

Esteemed members of the Board of Education,

As a gay MCPS alum, I would like to weigh in on the current sex-ed debate in Montgomery County. I believe it is imperative that young people get solid information about their emerging sexuality without the burden of a dogmatic agenda borne of prejudice.

It is a fact that a fraction of the population has same-sex desire; that this fraction is small does not make it abnormal. It is a fact that we long for and form emotionally meaningful relationships; that most jurisdictions in America refuse to recognize our families does not make them vanish. It is a fact that sexually active people, whatever their age or orientation, need to be educated about the health risks of sexual activity; that we wish young people to be chaste has not and will not make them so.

Groups like CRC and PFOX are trying to strong-arm you into being mouthpieces for their dogma: that being gay is abnormal and that it is "fixable." While these groups are certainly free to believe what they want, public schools should not be in the business of propagating unfounded and disproven assertions. Indeed, one of the aims of K-12 education is to teach critical thinking skills; this implies drawing logical conclusions from the observed evidence. It just so happens that the psychiatric and medical establishment is in the business of doing this, and it has found over the past few decades that homosexuality is neither dysfunctional nor "fixable." The so-called studies cited by groups preaching "conversion therapy" have been discredited by professional groups.

I have read that PFOX, in particular, vows to keep suing the county until so-called "ex-gays" are included in the curriculum. Please bear in mind the numerous reports that these "ex-gays" still have same-sex desire during and after their "conversion," and many, indeed, finally find the peace of mind that they sought for so long when they come to terms with their homosexuality.

This, in fact, highlights why this curriculum debate is so important: the guilt and worthlessness that many gay youth feel when told that their sexual feelings are "unnatural" or "sinful," a "doom" they can escape if only they were "trying hard enough," can create scars that last for a lifetime. Do we really want our public schools to be complicit in this? Do we want to instill self-loathing for the sake of unfounded dogma?

I can tell you first-hand that being a gay teenager in the late eighties and nineties was an isolating experience: in spite of the good friends I made and the fun I had in high school, I always felt I had to keep this part of myself hidden, lest people not understand. Would a sex-ed curriculum that was frank and honest about homosexuality have helped? Yes! At the very least, it would have made me feel safer; perhaps, just perhaps, it would have helped me and my friends broach a difficult subject.

Please consider the effects that your actions will have on the youth of Montgomery County. You have the choice to promote self-acceptance and mutual understanding, or self-loathing and bigotry. I trust you will do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Victor Chudnovsky
Richard Montgomery High School Class of 1992

Support TeachtheFacts.org

2005-07-22T06:57:00.000-04:00

Here's the letter I wrote to TeachtheFacts.org, the group fighting for the progressive, informed sex-ed curriculum in Montgomery County, MD. I'm currently drafting a letter to the Board of Education on the topic.

Ex-gay confessions

2005-07-21T22:25:00.000-04:00

Another article in Salon on the effects of "conversion therapy.".

Canada 4th Nation to Legalize Gay Marriage

2005-07-20T20:01:00.000-04:00

It's official: gay marriage in Canada. Celebrate!

"Ex-gays" in schools: denying the facts, teaching self-hate, promoting intolerance

2005-07-18T09:21:00.000-04:00

Salon has started a series of articles on "ex-gay" groups and their agenda. Part of the catalyst for this is the recent brouhaha in the school district where I grew up, Montgomery County, MD: the Board of Education wanted to pass a progressive, informative sex-ed curriculum; ex-gay groups sued; the County settled by paying their legal fees and having the ex-gay groups have a seat at the next round of curriculum talks.

The first article has this unbelievable quote about life in one of the "therapy" groups; it would be funny if it weren't so tragic:

According to ["reparative therapy" group] Love in Action's rules, posted on Zach's blog, clients must report sexual fantasies to the staff. The program specifies the exact length of haircuts and how many times men must shave each week (seven). Love in Action bars jewelry and clothing by Abercrombie and Fitch. The rules prohibit "campy gay/lesbian behavior and talk." New clients are not allowed to talk to or make eye contact with anyone for the first three days. Clients have to wear pajamas to bed and if they get too cozy they "must always have exactly one person between them." Clients cannot keep a diary, and all their belongings are searched every morning by the "Chain of Command." All secular media, including music and movies, are forbidden. Also, during counseling -- no "disgusting" faces.

The truth of the matter, though, is that

"The mental health professions in this country do not value or credit conversion therapy at all. And we are increasingly aware of the potential harms of this misguided treatment," says Haldeman, of the Association of Practicing Psychologists. "There are a substantial number of people who go through this who are harmed for some period. This is just a dressing up of old, old theories that have never been proven."

The American Psychiatric Association has asked ethical psychiatrists to refrain from reparative therapy. "We are finding that the numbers of people claiming to be harmed by reparative therapy are increasing," says Dr. Jack Drescher, chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues. "I don't know about the suicides because it is hard to determine why somebody killed themselves afterward. But the harm is increasing. The legislative body of Drescher's APA approved a statement this past spring that endorsed gay marriage to help reverse gay stigma. They also cite evidence that stable, monogamous relationships are beneficial for mental health, whether gay or straight.

Here's a New York Times article on the same topic. Here's what Rev. John J. Smid, the executive director of Love in Action, has to say:

The goal of the program, said Mr. Smid, who said he was once gay but now renounces homosexual behavior, is not necessarily to turn gays into practicing heterosexuals, but to "put guardrails" on their sexual impulses.

"In my life I've been out of homosexuality for over 20 years, and for me it's really a nonissue," Mr. Smid said.

"I may see a man and say, he's handsome, he's attractive, and it might touch a part of me that is different from someone else," he said. "But it's really not an issue. Gosh, I've been married for 16 years and faithful in my marriage in every respect. I mean I don't think I could white-knuckle this ride for that long."

Doesn't that sound like a great way to pass your life!

"The Heterosexual Revolution"

2005-07-06T11:08:00.000-04:00

Stephanie Coontz argues in The New York Times that it was straight couples who changed the nature of marriage:

Heterosexuals were the upstarts who turned marriage into a voluntary love relationship rather than a mandatory economic and political institution. Heterosexuals were the ones who made procreation voluntary, so that some couples could choose childlessness, and who adopted assisted reproduction so that even couples who could not conceive could become parents. And heterosexuals subverted the long-standing rule that every marriage had to have a husband who played one role in the family and a wife who played a completely different one. Gays and lesbians simply looked at the revolution heterosexuals had wrought and noticed that with its new norms, marriage could work for them, too.

Does bisexuality exist?

2005-07-05T08:12:00.000-04:00

United Church of Christ Backs Same-Sex Marriage

2005-07-05T00:15:00.000-04:00

Boston Gay Men's Chorus in Europe

2005-07-01T10:01:00.000-04:00

The Boston Gay Men's Chorus is currently touring Europe. They have had a mostly positive, emotional response, although they've also had to deal with some crap from conservative groups in Poland.

Enter the smoothies

2005-06-30T06:15:00.000-04:00

Forget the metrosexuals; the smoothies are the latest gay-inspired straight-boy trend in town.

While the metrosexual spends a lot at Barney's, shops for heirloom tomatoes at Dean & Deluca, keeps his CD collection carefully alphabetized, and nurtures a wide range of house plants without help from his gay friends, the smoothie is a horse of a different color. He isn't necessarily an effete city dweller; more often than not he lives in Iowa or Florida or Oregon or California. His interest in fashion isn't about keeping up appearances -- he's not some slick lawyer with a penchant for Armani or some young actor trying to look appropriately hip. The smoothie's interest in his "look" is more deeply felt and sincere than that, not to mention slightly misguided and disturbingly meticulous: Baseball caps are molded, painstakingly, into the perfect C-shape; stubble is trimmed into the perfect Don Johnson-style 5 o'clock shadow; "distressed" jeans, with their calculated faded patches and hemmed rips, are cleaned and pressed and tugged just below the waist; eyebrows are waxed, as is back, chest and (gasp) the family jewels to boot. The smoothie spends a lot not just on clothes and haircuts, but on highlights, spray-tans, manicures and pedicures, bodybuilding formulas, gym memberships, dry cleaning bills, man jewelry and hip-hop classes. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the smoothie is like a cross between a frat boy and Britney Spears.
...

Remember how, in the late '80s and early '90s, the camera was attracted to almost any tall, big-breasted blond, and we often had to sit through their rambling thoughts as well? Thanks to the work of pioneers like Fabio, today the camera loves the smoothie even more....

So, how did the gay male ideal get adopted by so many straight guys, or more important, how did the smoothie upstage the metrosexual? Well, first of all, the smoothie is actually an exaggeration of the gay male ideal: He's more buff, more hairless, more tan, and yet there are little bits of macho "whatever" clothing thrown in as a hedge, a little signal that he's not, in fact, gay.

Spain Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages

2005-06-30T05:59:00.000-04:00

Gay Marriage, eh

2005-06-29T06:05:00.000-04:00

Canada's House of Commons voted Tuesday night to extend gay marriage nationwide. There is opposition, and we'll hear about it should the conservatives rise to power... but yay, Canada!

Stonewall: 36th Anniversary

2005-06-28T21:00:00.000-04:00

Read about it here.
Once again, thanks to AmericaBlog for the pointer.

Gay TV network to debut

2005-06-27T09:41:00.000-04:00

Enduring Union

2005-06-26T20:33:00.000-04:00

This review of Stephanie Coontz's Marriage, A History debunks some of the myths that have plagued us about "mariage" in recent times. I find this very relevant to debates over gay marriage, and this book sounds like a good companion to E. J. Graff's What is Marriage For?

Tampa intolerance

2005-06-25T20:05:00.000-04:00

Tampa recently passed an anti-gay ordinance.

The Hillsborough County Commission approved by a vote of 5 to 1, with one abstention, a policy that directs the county government to "abstain from acknowledging, promoting or participating" in gay pride recognition or events. The measure was passed on June 15, after a Gay and Lesbian Pride Month display at the West Gate Regional Library here upset some library patrons.

Disney 1, Southern Baptists 0

2005-06-22T21:29:00.000-04:00

The Southern Baptist convention voted to end Disney boycott over benefits to gay workers. The Disney position hasn't changed. Right on, Mickey!

A look at the anti-marriage movement

2005-06-18T23:22:00.000-04:00

The NYTimes Magazine analyzes what makes these marriage opponents tick.

For [the anti-marriage activists], the issue isn't one of civil rights, because the term implies something inherent in the individual -- being black, say, or a woman -- and they deny that homosexuality is inherent. It can't be, because that would mean God had created some people who are damned from birth, morally blackened. This really is the inescapable root of the whole issue, the key to understanding those working against gay marriage as well as the engine driving their vehicle in the larger culture war: the commitment, on the part of a growing number of people, to a variety of religious belief that is so thoroughgoing it permeates every facet of life and thought, that rejects the secular, pluralistic grounding of society and that answers all questions internally.

Hey, there are bigots in Spain, too!

2005-06-18T21:34:00.000-04:00

I'm getting so tired of this bull. If we put half the energy into loving one another that we put into excluding each other, think what a different world this would be. If the ostentatiously pious practiced the kindness and humility that they preach, think of what a fairer world it would be.

Do these people realize that they are attempting to criminalize love, for goodness' sake?

Gay Vague

2005-06-18T18:09:00.000-04:00

Romney, the jerk

2005-06-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

Romney is once again to outlaw gay marriage... and more:

''If the question is, 'Do you support gay marriage or civil unions?' I'd say neither,'' Romney said last year. ''If they said you have to have one or the other, that Massachusetts is going to have one or the other, then I'd rather have civil unions than gay marriage. But I'd rather have neither.''

First gay wedding in Canadian military

2005-06-15T12:16:00.000-04:00

Awesome!

"Fruit" Gene

2005-06-02T22:18:00.000-04:00

The New York Times reports that activating a specific variant of one gene in the fruit fly can cause it to change sexual orientation:

In a series of experiments, the researchers found that females given the male variant of the gene acted exactly like males in courtship, madly pursuing other females. Males that were artificially given the female version of the gene became more passive and turned their sexual attention to other males.

Humans are obviously more complicated, and our behaviors are also shaped by our environment and our history. Still the implications of this finding are important, and not just in the realm of sexuality:

The finding supports scientific evidence accumulating over the past decade that sexual orientation may be innately programmed into the brains of men and women. Equally intriguing, the researchers say, is the possibility that a number of behaviors - hitting back when feeling threatened, fleeing when scared or laughing when amused - may also be programmed into human brains, a product of genetic heritage.

Surrogacy and gay couples

2005-05-27T09:21:00.000-04:00

Here's an article on gay couples who employ surrogate moms. In many cases, the surrogates prefer working with gay families to working with straight families.

Smelling Gay

2005-05-09T20:57:00.000-04:00

The New York Times reports on a Swedish study that gay and straight men respond differently to some pheromones: gay men and straight women respond to a testosterone derivative in male sweat, while straight men respond to an extrogen-like compound in women's urine. Whether these reactions are cause or effect of sexual orientation is still unknown. The article suggests that a hypothetical gene that makes men gay may persist in the gene pool if it makes women more fertile.

Banning gay sperm

2005-05-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

New FDA regulation calls on sperm banks to reject donations from gay men. This is, supposedly, to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus. Never mind that AIDS is increasingly a heterosexual disease and that screening tests are very sophisticated...

Justice Scalia, "Do you sodomize your wife?"

2005-04-19T11:48:00.000-04:00

A freshly out-of-the-closet law student asks Justice Scalia some hard questions.

Marriage and Taxes

2005-04-12T06:55:00.000-04:00

Here's a little April-14th commentary by EJ Graff.

(Stereotypical) Straight Men are so Weird

2005-04-12T06:46:00.000-04:00

Read about the man date--- two straight guys getting together to socialize around an activity that doesn't involve sports or business. Aside from the fear of being perceived as a gay couple, there are, at least for the men in this story, a myriad power issues and unspoken rules.

How did it happen that it got so awkward for two men to connect at an emotional or social level? The article says it didn't use to be like this; the modern taboos and rituals around the Straight American Male seem to have developed as a reaction to the gay rights movement and to women's lib.

Two steps forward, one step back

2005-04-07T21:01:00.000-04:00

Maryland lawmakers passed bills to allow unmarried partners to make medical decisions for each other and to extend hate crimes laws to cover sexual orientation. Of course, some conservatives are saying that one's life partner making medical decisions on one's behalf would "chip away at the traditional institution of marriage" and "rip families apart." Huh?

In the meantime, the Connecticut Senate approved a bill that "would make Connecticut the first state to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples without being pressured by the courts."

All this comes days after Kansas passed an anti-marriage amendment. Sigh.

Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional (washingtonpost.com)

2005-03-14T15:45:00.000-05:00

Hot off the presses:

SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge ruled Monday that California's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, saying the state could no longer justify limiting marriage to a man and a woman.

Hate Slime - The Orwellian new law that wasn't. [salon.com]

2005-02-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

Slate has a good piece debunking conservatives' arguments that hate crime laws are an infringement on free speech:

The basis of hate-crime legislation is the enhancement of penalties for conduct that is already criminal.

Anglicans demand temporary split

2005-02-24T19:17:00.000-05:00

As if we need further proof that some people miss the point of what religion can be about, Anglican leaders, meeting in Northern Ireland, have called on the US and Canadian Anglicans to withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council until 2008, making these churches no longer full members of the Anglican family.

Here's the clincher:

The Northern Ireland meeting had been meant as a chance to talk about a range of issues, including HIV/Aids and poverty, and it did spend some time doing so.

But most of it was taken up with debating the Windsor report, set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to try to resolve the crisis over homosexuality in the church.

Now we know. What would Jesus do? He would spend valuable time deciding how to shun his fellow man rather than alleviating the hardships that affect the masses.

Romney keeps trashing gay marriage

2005-02-24T19:04:00.000-05:00

At a President's Day party in Spartanburg County, SC, Mitt Romney once again spoke out against gay marriage: "It’s not right on paper. It’s not right in fact. "

The Boston Globe has something to say about this little road show:

If Romney thinks he can build a presidential candidacy by belittling his own constituents, he is likely misjudging the 6 million Americans he has already been elected to serve and the national audience he is now courting.

The Cost of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

2005-02-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

The Boston Globe reports:

Approximately 757 out of 9,488 soldiers discharged for being gay between fiscal years 1994 and 2003 were trained in "critical occupations, identified by [the Department of Defense] as those occupations worthy of selective reenlistment bonuses," according to the report.

At the same time, the Government Accountability Office, attempting to put a price on the effects of the policy, concluded that the armed forces have spent about $95 million over the last decade "to recruit replacements for service members separated under this policy." In addition, it estimated that approximately $95 million more was spent to train those replacements in the particular skill sets lost as a result.

Mass. Court to hear gay marriage challenge

2005-02-23T15:02:00.000-05:00

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear a case on whether the 1913 law used by officials to ban out-of-state couples from marrying should be allowed to stand.

The Pope on Gay Marriage

2005-02-23T06:19:00.000-05:00

In his new book, the tottering celibate head of a sexist institution, slow to accept human progress, that represses human sexuality while being involved in scandals of its own, has the gall to call gay marriage "Evil":

"It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man," he writes.

Recruiting the Royal Navy

2005-02-21T22:03:00.000-05:00

OK, this isn't exactly American news, except as inspiration of where this country could finally arrive one glorious day...

Va. House Passes Gay Marriage Ban

2005-02-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

RICHMOND -- The House of Delegates passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, despite a warning from the state's first openly gay legislator that the measure will one day shame the state as slavery and racial segregation laws did.

N.Y. Court Strikes Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriage [washingtonpost.com]

2005-02-04T17:27:00.000-05:00

From The Washington Post:

NEW YORK -- A judge declared Friday that a law banning same-sex marriage violates the state constitution, a first-of-its-kind ruling in New York that would clear the way for gay couples to wed if it survives on appeal.

And a more detailed follow-up:

Judge Doris Ling-Cohan found in favor of five couples who had sued the city clerk for denying them marriage licenses. But she stayed the decision for 30 days to allow an appeal, which means that same-sex couples will not immediately be able to marry in New York City, the only jurisdiction directly affected by the ruling.

Education department condemns PBS show

2005-01-27T09:09:00.000-05:00

Jan. 26, 2005 | WASHINGTON -- The nation's new education secretary denounced PBS on Tuesday for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters, saying many parents would not want children exposed to such lifestyles.

Anti-Marriage amendment re-introduced!

2005-01-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today, the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment was reintroduced in Congress today. You can read all about it here and take action here.

Ask your friends to join in telling Congress that there are real issues that need their attention and to desist from this mean-spirited attempt to marginalize their constitutents, neighbors, and families.

News alert! SpongeBob promotes homosexuality!

2005-01-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

Remember the whole Tinky Winky controversy? Well, the conservatives with too much time on their hands and not enough neighborly love are at it
again.

Va. focus of battle over gay marriage [boston.com]

2005-01-17T05:53:00.000-05:00

Boston.com / News / Special reports / Gay Marriage / Va. focus of battle over gay marriage

MassEquality.org || The Legislature Is Back In Session!

2005-01-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

MassEquality suggests that Masachusetts residents write to the legislature urging them to reject any anti-marriage amendments for the second time around.

Gay marriage amendment not coming soon [salon.com]

2004-12-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

Dec. 27, 2004 | Washington -- Opponents of gay marriage concede victory will not be swift in their attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution, even after prevailing in all 11 states where the issue was on the ballot last month.

Military Appeals Court Reverses Heterosexual Sodomy Conviction [nytimes.com]

2004-12-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - A military appeals court has overturned the conviction of a soldier for heterosexual sodomy in a decision that legal scholars and advocates for gay rights say may have broader implications for gays serving in the armed forces.

Cheryl Jacques resigning from HRC

2004-12-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

Supreme Court refuses to hear gay marriage case

2004-12-01T11:28:00.000-05:00

Court rules universities can bar military recruiters

2004-11-30T12:38:00.000-05:00

The 2-to-1 decision relied in large part on a decision in 2000 by the United States Supreme Court to allow the Boy Scouts to exclude gay scoutmasters. Just as the Scouts have a First Amendment right to bar gays, the appeals court said, law schools may prohibit groups that they consider discriminatory.

Internet porn is the new crack, Senate told

2004-11-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

Forget health care, oil wars, and decent employment. "Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday."

An individual associated with the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (!!) says

Pornography really does, unlike other addictions, biologically cause direct release of the most perfect addictive substance....That is, it causes masturbation, which causes release of the naturally occurring opioids...[emphasis mine]

Another salient quote from the article:

Judith Reisman of the California Protective Parents Association suggested that more study of "erototoxins" could show how pornography is not speech-protected under the First Amendment.

GLAAD viewer's guide on the 20/20 special about Matthew Shepard's murder

2004-11-27T00:21:00.000-05:00

GLAAD has released an alert informing viewers of the distortions and simplifications in tonight's 20/20 broadcast of “A Murder In Laramie: The Mystery And The Myth.”

Homecoming becoming less gender-rigid

2004-11-27T00:15:00.000-05:00

The New York Times has an interesting article on how gay and lesbian students are causing many schools to choose their homecoming "kings" and "queens" in a less stereotypical way.

An anti-marriage activist: musings on the psychology of intolerance

2004-11-26T12:11:00.000-05:00

The New York Times had an article today about Phil Burress, an activist in the movement against same-sex marriage rights over the past nine years.

The Times says "It is easy to think of the campaign to ban same-sex marriage as a recent phenomenon, ... [but] the movement's backbone is built on little-known activists like Mr. Burress, a former union organizer who has devoted the last decade of his life to stopping gay marriage."

I find it fascinating how this "self-described former pornography addict" is characterized as "closed-minded and intolerant of dissenting views;" one source for the article says "he and other spokesmen for the campaign believe that if you don't subscribe to their view, there is something morally wrong with you."

This sounds like yet another instance of a person trying to escape a life that feels out of control and unfulfilling not by deciding to live deliberately and reflectedly, but rather by throwing oneself at a new idea heart and soul and hanging on for dear life, lest any consideration of the world outside or any acknowledgement of shades of gray toss one into the chaos again. We humans crave comfort and stability, and perhaps the diversity of human experience, particularly when it enters into conflict with any dogma that is central to how an individual shapes his or her life, is a threat that must be annihilated, all the more so if one fears that the alternative is the abyss.

I'm sure the thinks he's on the right side of the issue (pun intended):

"I don't have a homophobic bone in my body," [Burress] said. "What I'm concerned about is having these things forced on our culture."

Fred Phelp reads The Washington Post...

2004-11-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

... and, in particular, the articles on growing up gay in America. His church of hate was trying to get this teenager excoriated by his church, but the community rallied around him. Here's the story.

Growing up Gay in America

2004-09-26T19:20:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post has an interesting series of articles on growing up gay in America. We in blue-state urban centers can all too easily find comfort in ouw own welcoming communities and forget that for many people, the struggle to be out and proud is still ongoing.

Read the series "Young and Gay in Real America."