It’s Okay, Some of My Best Friends Are Bigots
Published November 16, 2009 @ 02:47PM PT
“I don’t hate gay people, I just believe in traditional marriage.” This is the new brand of anti-gay messaging that is trending among high profile conservatives. It is smart, it works well with the movable middle, and it is unbelievably infuriating for advocates of equality. This "it’s nothing personal" mindset attempts to create a false halfway point, where it is deemed acceptable to tolerate the existence of gay and lesbian people, but it remains unacceptable to offer them equal rights.
Lynn Vincent, the co-writer of Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, and Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who will not go away, are the latest to exemplify this dangerous rhetoric. In an interview love-fest between the two, Lynn and Carrie bond over how they buck their “fanatical homophobe” labels because they have gay and lesbian people in their lives. Lynn’s sister is a lesbian activist, and her best friend and her “longtime lesbian partner” were bridesmaids in Lynn’s wedding, while Carrie’s hairdresser and the guy who taught her how to pageant walk are both gay.
These women obviously do not understand how deeply condescending, disrespectful, and offensive their argument is. They are basically saying that gay people should be able to do your hair and teach you a fierce runway walk, but should not be able to get married. Though Carrie’s examples fall on the comical side, Lynn’s are more disheartening. How can she have the lesbians in her life be a part of her wedding, yet still have the audacity to believe that they should never enjoy the same opportunity? Why is Lynn’s love inherently more deserving than the love of others?
European Homosexuals are Recruiting in Africa?
Published November 16, 2009 @ 09:12AM PT
Nary a day goes by without the situation in Uganda getting worse for LGBT people, with the country's parliament considering one of the most homophobic and anti-gay pieces of legislation this side of the 1600s. Worldwide condemnation of Uganda's proposed "Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009" has sparked protests outside of Ugandan embassies, calls for global days of prayer to reject the bill, and action by U.S. politicians, including Rep. Tammy Baldwin who sent a scathing letter to the U.S. State Department calling Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill "appalling."
In the face of such worldwide scrutiny, one might think the President of Uganda would sound a more conciliatory tone. Far from it. Instead, President Yoweri Museveni has taken a hard line against LGBT rights, urging passage of the anti-homosexuality bill and accusing Europe's LGBT population of trying to recruit Africans to become homosexual.
President Museveni, speaking to a group of Ugandan children this weekend, said that Uganda's youth should fight hard to reject the forces of homosexuality.
"I hear European homosexuals are recruiting in Africa," said President Museveni. "We used to have very few homosexuals traditionally. They were not persecuted but were not encouraged either because it was clear that is not how God arranged things to be."
Sure, one-third of Ugandans live below the poverty level. But what does that matter when there are European homosexuals to stave off.
A Collection of Celebrities for Gay Marriage
Published November 15, 2009 @ 09:23PM PT
Turns out that when Shepard Fairey isn't being harangued by the Boston Police Department, or facing the wrath of the Associated Press, he's doing some very cool things for marriage equality. Fairey, the artist behind the iconic Obama image, has joined with a cadre of celebrities to create some artwork for gay marriage.
Maybe the best way to picture it is if a bunch of famous people went to art class. Fairey provided them with the image -- a powerful, fist in the air shot that became synonymous with gay marriage activism last year in the fallout from the passage of Proposition 8 -- and the celebs doctored them up. Some just gave signatures, others added some color and images and funk.
But all of them will be sold to benefit equality, with proceeds going to a southern California-based organization called FAIR. Virginia Madsen's image is there (and pictured here). Renee Zellweger's, too. And Ricki Lake, Robert DeNiro, Pete Wentz, Pamela Anderson, Chris Evans, and Natalie Portman, to name a few more.
Hands down it looks to be the largest collection of celebrities for marriage equality. Sadly, you won't find Jon Voight there. He's too busy hanging around with Rep. Michele Bachmann and accusing President Obama of moving the country toward socialism and causing "civil unrest."
But you will find dozens of other celebrities raising money for a good cause, and sending the message that same-sex marriage is one of the foremost civil rights issues of our time. And that's a sentiment that's easy to unite behind.
The Future of Gay Marriage in Latin America Begins in Argentina
Published November 14, 2009 @ 01:01PM PT
Gay marriage will become reality in Latin America, that's a fact. The only question is where it will happen first. Several countries have taken bold steps toward LGBT rights in the past few years, from Uruguay to Colombia. But this week Argentina took the boldest step of all, with an Argentine judge paving the way for Latin America's first legally recognized gay marriage.
The judge, Gabriela Seijas, ordered the city of Buenos Aires to recognize the marriage of two men, Alejandro Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello, who had sued the city's registry for failing to recognize their relationship as a marriage. In her ruling, Judge Seijas said, "The law should treat each person with equal respect in relation to each person's singularities without the need to understand or regulate them."
But the best quote of the day went to the mayor of Buenos Aires, who despite being part of a political party that is often reticent on LGBT rights, said that he would not stop the judge's ruling from taking effect.
"The world is heading in this direction," said Mayor Mauricio Macri. "What we have to learn is to live in liberty without violating the rights of others." Anybody want to see if this guy wants to be a politician up here in the U.S.?
A Potential Lesbian Mayor in Houston has the Right-Wing Up in Arms
Published November 14, 2009 @ 08:28AM PT
History was made in Houston on Election Day 2009, when Mayoral candidate Annise Parker finished ahead of a slate of candidates to qualify for a December run-off ballot. Parker, who is currently the Houston City Controller, is also openly lesbian, and if she's elected in her run-off campaign against candidate Gene Locke, she'll become the first openly LGBT mayor of a major, top-ten in size U.S. city.
That possibility has anti-gay activists in a tizzy. They are calling Parker's candidacy a "Gay Takeover" of the city of Houston, and said that her leadership would be a direct threat to Houston families. They're particularly worried that Parker is going to ban straight people from all public facilities, close down churches and turn them into bath houses, change the logo of the Houston Astros so that it has a more rainbow feel, and make "The Golden Girls" (which we all know turns young people gay) mandatory screening in all Houston elementary schools.
</sarcasm> Seriously, though, the "Gay Takeover" line is all truth, and it's another sign that right-wing activists in Houston have no good policy arguments against Parker's candidacy. So instead of throwing debates over substance at her, they're appealing to people's worst fears in order to stop Parker from becoming mayor.
The Highest Ranking White House Official for Marriage Equality
Published November 13, 2009 @ 05:15AM PT
Has the highest ranking White House official yet come out and signaled her personal support for the issue of marriage equality? Yes! Sort of. Well, that is, if the White House is OK with releasing the video tape of Obama's Director of Domestic Policy, Melody Barnes, speaking at a forum at Boston College where she let it be known that personally, she's OK with gays and lesbians marrying.
It's great news that someone so high up in the White House -- someone who literally has the President's ear almost daily -- supports same-sex marriage. The sad news? That instead of celebrating this as the rather monumental thing it should be, LGBT activists are left wondering why earlier this week the White House was trying to deny that Barnes supported gay marriage, and why it took nearly a week for video of the event to emerge.
Could it be that the Obama administration is nervous about a senior advisor saying that she supports same-sex marriage? Huh, now there's a question for Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Homophobic Chiefs Running Back Fired
Published November 12, 2009 @ 04:16PM PT
Anti-gay running back Larry Johnson found himself out of a job Monday morning after being released by the Kansas City Chiefs for "conduct detrimental to the club."
Last month, Johnson's affinity for anti-gay slurs, first in a hate-filled tweet and again to reporters in the locker room, prompted a widespread petition demanding he get the boot. And while he was already in hot water for insubordinate behavior toward his coach, pressure over his homophobic language clearly contributed to the decision to fire him. Chalk up one victory against the culture of homophobia in sports!
In fact, the Larry Johnson episode has sparked a vital dialogue for audiences that aren’t typically faced with gay interactions. Perhaps this saga will educate the sports world on the dangers of hate speech, like it educated Johnson’s agent Peter Schaffer. Initially perplexed by the hullabaloo surrounding Johnson’s comments, he and his client now know that the F-word is off limits. “I'm learning that there's a segment of our society that finds [f**] offensive and that it should not be used,” Schaffer explained.
Schaffer’s shocking ignorance was balanced out by the refreshing comments of Larry Johnson’s father, who proclaimed that he raised his son to be respectful of all people and to know that hate speech is not tolerated. Johnson Sr. hopes that his son is not defined as a bigot for the rest of his career –- but that's exactly what will happen unless Junior makes significant changes in his personal conduct.
Johnson will probably be snatched up by another team in a matter of days. Here’s hoping that he treats his new situation as an opportunity to be the man his father hoped he would be. Perhaps he will follow the path of retired NBA all-star Tim Hardaway, who progressed from his “I hate gay people” diatribe to eventually hosting a fundraiser to combat teen suicide in the gay community.
Here's hoping this scandal will create another unlikely ally in the journey toward openness and acceptance for LGBT people in the professional sports world.
