Gay Marriage
Uniting Gay Rights and Labor for One of the Best Boycotts Around
Published September 22, 2009 @ 12:52PM PT
In January 2008, hotel owner Doug Manchester gave a whopping $125,000 to fuel an anti-gay movement in California that eventually helped organize Prop 8, the ballot initiative that stripped gays and lesbians of their right to marry in the Golden State. As a response -- as well as to draw attention to the embarrassingly bad labor conditions that certain employees working for Manchester face -- LGBT groups and labor groups united to start a boycott of two Manchester properties in San Diego. Those hotels are the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel and the Grand del Mar Resort.
Nearly two years later, this boycott has cost Manchester's properties upwards of $7 million in lost profits. And as it continues forward into its second year, two statewide California groups have come together to renew their call that as long as Manchester supports anti-gay policies and treats his employees with little to no dignity, nobody should patronize the Manchester properties.
Both the Courage Campaign and Equality California have launched SayNoToManchester.org, a Web site meant to galvanize supporters of the Boycott and call out Manchester for some shady tactics. Among those tactics is trying to buy off LGBT organizations with promises of money if they drop their boycott, and trying to divide LGBT activists from labor activists.
But the message that activists are sending is clear.
The LGBT community is united against those who fund bigotry, and we will not allow Doug Manchester to divide our movement. We will not patronize Manchester’s hotels until he makes a public apology for his $125,000 donation to ban same-sex marriage and negotiates an honest, fair resolution with boycott organizers.
A public apology for supporting discrimination. And end to bad labor practices. A commitment not to fund inequality and placate the interests of anti-gay groups who would rather see marriage discrimination instead of equal rights. Yup, that's what it will take to end this boycott. Not briefcases full of cash meant to buy off activists.
If you agree, sign Equality California's and Courage Campaign's pledge here.
Gay Marriage Poll Numbers in Iowa and Maine
Published September 21, 2009 @ 03:02AM PT
There are new poll numbers out in Iowa and Maine gauging support for same-sex marriage. Both states have legalized marriage equality, and both states are seeing a flurry of activity by opponents of LGBT rights to repeal marriage.
Let's look at Maine first, since anti-LGBT forces (led by Maine's Roman Catholic Church and outside groups like the National Organization for Marriage and Focus on the Family) have organized to place a measure on the November ballot that could repeal same-sex marriage if approved. As Kos reported last week, it's a pretty darn tight race, and if you take into account the margin of error, it's essentially a tie score in Maine. About 49 percent of folks would vote today to repeal marriage rights, while 47 percent would vote to keep marriage rights for same-sex couples. Those numbers show that we've got our work cut out for us in Maine -- which is why it's ever-so-crucial to support the efforts of the No on 1 campaign up there, which is fighting hard to preserve marriage equality.
Iowa has no ballot measure, but in the wake of the state's Supreme Court decision earlier this year recognizing marriage equality, nearly every anti-LGBT politician in the state has come out like gangbusters to bash LGBT folks. Given the number of Republican candidates running for governor who continue to blast gay marriage, as well as the National Organization for Marriage's money dump into the state to support a (losing) right-wing politician, one might assume that there's a populist rebellion on the horizon leading scores of Iowans pissed off that their state Supreme Court recognized some rights for LGBT people. Far from it.
The Des Moines Register released a new poll that shows 41 percent of folks oppose same-sex marriage, while 40 percent favor it. Call me an optimist, but given that there's no ballot campaign in the works, and a torrent of hateful rhetoric from the anti-gay right, those poll numbers are pretty damn good.
Even more heartening is the fact that 92 percent of Iowans say that legalizing gay marriage has had no direct impact on their lives. That certainly deflates a talking point of the anti-LGBT crowd that says same-sex marriage would threaten families or kids.
Of course, it would be great to see these numbers reversed. Better yet, it would be great to see marriage equality winning in these polls by a landslide. For Maine, the poll is a wake-up call that while the campaign to preserve marriage equality is close, there's much work to be done to take this from a "tie" to an outright win for equality.
In Iowa, these polls reaffirm that while the state is split, it's not a state that's becoming readily accessible to anti-gay, fringe messaging.
These are good numbers. But there's still much work to be done.
A Memo to the GOP: God Doesn't Choose You to Legislate Discrimination
Published September 18, 2009 @ 10:44AM PT
When it comes to Republican politics nowadays, the word "God" is invoked about every fifteen seconds. This weekend, with the Family Research Council's "Value Voters Summit" happening, you can expect that rate to jump drastically. But while it's certainly expected that religion might inform one's politics, only a downright fool would suggest that God chose someone for office so that they could pass anti-gay laws.
Yet that's what's happening in Arizona. Gov. Jan Brewer, who took office earlier this year after former Gov. Janet Napolitano was appointed Secretary of Homeland Security, took a bold anti-LGBT action and decided to repeal all domestic partner benefits for statewide LGBT employees. The move kills domestic partner benefits for about 800 statewide workers, many of them same-sex couples. The Governor followed up her anti-LGBT action with a shot of religious craziness.
"God has placed me in this powerful position as Arizona's governor' to help the state weather its troubles," said Gov. Brewer. Then she goes on to thank the Lord that she lives in a country of Christianity. Because that's in the Constitution....er, wait. No it isn't. We're a country that supposedly celebrates the separation of religion and state.
Not to be outdone by the Governor of Arizona, former Miss California Carrie Prejean strutted into the Values Voter Summit to announce that God chose her to oppose gay marriage on national television. Prejean, celebrating her opposition to same-sex marriage, said about her beauty pageant answer trashing marriage equality, "I’m so proud of the answer that I gave. God chose me for that moment."
Enough already. God is not choosing politicians or former beauty queens to embrace anti-gay platforms, much like God didn't choose George W. Bush to be President and God didn't choose Kanye West to perform live music before a universe of admirers.
There's a great quote by an American theologian named Reinhard Niebuhr who spoke to the idiocy of people who claim that God is speaking to them to fulfill a political agenda.
"The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism," said Niebuhr.
Fanatics. That may be a pretty harsh word. But given the rhetoric of Gov. Jan Brewer and Carrie Prejean, it might just be on point.
Charlize Theron Won't Get Married Until All Her Gay Friends Can, Too
Published September 17, 2009 @ 05:56PM PT
Looks like the latest Hollywood trend is to pledge not to get married until all people -- straight folks and gays and lesbians -- have the right to do so. Earlier this week, True Blood actor Mechad Brooks said he wouldn't tie the knot until same-sex marriage was legal, and now Charlize Theron adds her name to the list of celebs who'd rather not walk down the aisle until the aisle is inclusive of everyone.
Theron has long been a supporter of marriage equality, famously saying last year that laws like Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California, reminded her of South African apartheid. Discriminatory laws are discriminatory laws, according to Theron, whether they're on the books in 1980s South Africa or 2009 America.
Theron made her marriage equality comments on The View, where she was promoting her new movie, The Burning Plain.
"I don't want to get married because right now the institution of marriage feels very one-sided, and I want to live in a country where we all have equal rights," Theron said. She's been dating actor Stuart Townsend for more than eight years.
At eight years, you're already practically married, right? Still, making it official while so many folks aren't given access to marriage rights goes beyond Charlize's sense of decency.
"I think it would be exactly the same if we were married, but for me to go through that kind of ceremony, because I have so many friends who are gays and lesbians who would so badly want to get married, that I wouldn't be able to sleep with myself," Theron said.
Lack of sleep -- reason #419 to sign the National Marriage Boycott.
Principled and heartfelt stances -- reason #120 to love Charlize Theron. Video of her appearance on The View below.
Gay Marriage Doesn't Harm Kids. But Lies Do.
Published September 16, 2009 @ 08:50AM PT
Opponents of marriage equality in Maine took to the airwaves yesterday with an advertisement that said LGBT people (specifically, in their words, "homosexual marriage") would be a threat to children and taught in schools. The advertisement is dishonest, plays up on fears, and distorts the truth about Maine's same-sex marriage law. So what's an activist to do?
Hit back with an advertisement that completely disarms the negativity and misrepresentations championed by people who hate on same-sex marriage. That's what the No on 1 Campaign did today, with a new ad that tells the truth about same-sex marriage, and what will and won't be taught in Maine's public schools.
The ad features Maine teacher Sherri Gould, who has been teaching in Maine since 1983. According to Gould, what's taught in the classroom is fairness and decency. "We teach respect and Maine values. That will never change."
That's right. Respect. Fairness. Decency. Those are the things that are taught in Maine public schools. It's too bad that opponents of marriage equality in Maine can't go back and take a few classes themselves on these subjects. Instead they rely on tired and false innuendo to suggest that gays and lesbians pose a public threat. That's not decent or fair. It's downright manipulative. And Maine voters will know the difference.
Check out the No on 1 ad below:
The Defense of Marriage Act Was the Worst Vote of His Political Career
Published September 16, 2009 @ 05:47AM PT
Yesterday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the Respect for Marriage Act -- with the support of 90 members of Congress -- to effectively repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and send the message that the federal government shouldn't be in the business of defining marriage. Finally, for the first time since DOMA passed in 1996, efforts have begun in Congress to repeal it.
While Rep. Nadler is one of the leaders of the DOMA repeal efforts, there are two voices bringing a whole bunch of gravitas to the argument over eliminating DOMA. Voices like Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), pictured above, who voted for DOMA back in the day. His take on DOMA now?
It was the worst vote of his entire political career.
We'll second that, and say that it was probably the worst vote for all 342 U.S. house members who voted for the act, as well as the 85 U.S. Senators who signed onto it.
"[My] vote fed the bigotry," Rep. Blumenauer writes. "Once Congress had put its imprimatur on DOMA, it was a logical step for the homophobes and political cynics to intensify their efforts and make permanent a ban on gay marriage in both the U.S. and state constitutions -- spawning many state initiatives and intensifying the assault."
DOMA was bad law in 1996, and it's bad law in 2009. Even former President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law, and former Congressman Bob Barr, who authored the text of DOMA, have called for its repeal.
You can, too, by clicking here and sending a message to your Congress members to support the Respect for Marriage Act. Repealing DOMA is certainly going to take more than 90 U.S. House members. So the work on this begins, but it's work that's well worth the undertaking.
Oh, and if you want to thank Rep. Blumenauer for admitting his mistake in voting for DOMA thirteen years ago, feel free to send him a message on Twitter - @RepBlumenauer. Might we suggest, "@RepBlumenauer thanks for switching your position on the Defense of Marriage Act and working to end discrimination."
A True Blood Celebrity for Marriage Equality
Published September 15, 2009 @ 04:12AM PT
Mechad Brooks, also known as Benedict "Eggs" Talley from the HBO show True Blood, is taking a page out of the Brad Pitt book when it comes to the issue of marriage. For Brooks, he'd rather wait until every person -- gay or straight -- has access to marriage before getting hitched himself.
Huh, does that make him a good candidate for the National Marriage Boycott?
Sure sounds like it. Brooks told Honeymag.com that he was offended by Proposition 8 last year in California, and the destruction that the initiative caused in the lives of so many gays and lesbians. As a sign of solidarity, he'd rather not take any vows until laws like Prop 8 are overturned and buried (to use another HBO reference) six feet under.
"I haven’t even gotten that far (thinking about settling down). But yeah, I want a wife, I want kids. The whole thing. But I’m also not even concerned with marrying somebody until it’s legal for everybody to get married. And what I mean by that is the whole Prop 8 thing. I find it really offensive," said Brooks. "I just find it really problematic when you start throwing people’s rights away. Until we get our gay brothers and sisters back into a realm of consciousness that everyone else is in, it’s just not right. A woman who’s getting married — it’s probably going to be a gay man who made her dress, and a gay man who’s doing her hair and makeup, but he can’t get married. How messed up is that?"
Pretty damn messed up. Just ask the folks in Maine who are living through their own version of Prop 8 right now, in the form of Question 1. Bigoted ballot measures know no state borders.
