Monday, February 28, 2011

Via American Foundation for Equal Rights:

AFER - American Foundation for Equal Rights

Dear Daniel,
Today, California’s largest newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, published a powerful editorial which argued that gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry, starting immediately.

Last week, AFER’s attorneys filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, urging it to lift the stay of the district court decision that ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional, which would enable marriages to resume. Today’s editorial underscores the growing consensus that gay and lesbian couples should not have to wait to get married while the Prop. 8 case works its way through the legal system.

“Enough already,” the Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote. “…Every day that the case drags on, gay and lesbian couples who would like to marry are being deprived of their civil rights. That's not our wording; the federal trial judge decided that issue, at least for now. The denial of constitutional rights, even temporarily, is a deplorable situation that must meet high legal standards to be allowed to continue. In our view, those conditions have not been met.”
I encourage you to read the full editorial on the L.A. Times website, and to share it with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter. Help raise visibility for all the people who cannot wait to get married.

Sincerely,
Chad Griffin Portrait
Chad Griffin SignatureChad GriffinBoard President
American Foundation for Equal Rights

Via Courage Campaign:

Courage Campaign

Dear Daniel,

This week, we’re filing an amicus curiae letter to the Supreme Court of the State of California asking them to speed it up. We’re taking this step because couples are literally getting sick and dying while the Court is dragging its feet, and we’ve had it.
When the Court announced that it would look into the question sent to them by the Ninth Circuit regarding whether Prop 8 proponents had standing, they announced a schedule that would have the oral argument in “late September 2011.”  That isn’t good enough.

Help us show the California Supreme Court what happens when they drag their feet. Can you co-sign our amicus curiae letter to the California Supreme Court?

In the letter, we describe some of the heartbreaking stories of over 400 Courage Campaign members who wrote in to tell us how they are impacted by these delays.  Stories like those of Derence Kernek, who wants to marry his partner of over forty years before Alzheimer’s robs his partner, Ed, of the ability to even recognize Derence.

Four months really could mean the difference between getting a chance to marry and a lifetime of regrets. Throughout the trial process, the federal courts have moved along with breakneck speed, but now the California Supreme Court is slamming on the brakes.  For so many Californians, this could have devastating consequences.

Tell the California Supreme Court: Marriage can't wait! Please co-sign to our letter to the California Supreme Court and forward it on to five of your friends.
www.couragecampaign.org/NoMoreWaiting

We need the Court to see how painful any additional delay could be for so many Californians.
Thank you for your continued commitment to equality.

Sincerely,
Rick Jacobs
Founder and Chair, Courage Campaign
P.S. To see additional stories, and to provide your own, check out our newest project we’re launching this coming month, Testimony: Take a Stand.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

JMG Quote Of The Day - Albert Mohler


"When we talk about same-sex marriage, we talk about something that is already legal in one form or another in basically twelve states. So whether they call it marriage, as they do in a few states, or marriage-lite as they have now in twelve states, the reality is that a good number of Americans are living where they're already facing not just the inevitably, but the reality of same-sex marriage. I think it's clear that something like same-sex marriage - indeed, almost exactly what we would envision by that - is going to become normalized, legalized, and recognized in the culture. It's time for Christians to start thinking about how we're going to deal with that." - Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, speaking on a Focus On The Family radio show.

Stand by for the wingnut denouncements.


reposted from Joe

Via UOL: Jean Wyllys reage à ofensiva evangélica contra gay

Edson Sardinha e Eduardo Militão
Do Congresso em Foco
  • Jean Wyllys reage à ofensiva evangélica contra gay Jean Wyllys reage à ofensiva evangélica contra gay
Para frear contestação de benefício no Imposto de Renda para casais homossexuais, deputado ameaça questionar falta de prestação de contas por parte das igrejas. Ele diz que crítica a portaria da Fazenda “mascara” homofobia

Primeiro gay a se eleger deputado federal defendendo a bandeira dos homossexuais, Jean Wyllys (Psol-RJ) anuncia uma contra-ofensiva à iniciativa de parlamentares evangélicos de tentar derrubar a principal novidade da declaração do Imposto de Renda deste ano: a inclusão de parceiros homossexuais como dependentes para fins de dedução fiscal. O deputado disse que vai discutir esta semana com outras lideranças da Frente Parlamentar Mista pela Cidadania GLBT (Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais, Travestis, Transexuais e Transgênero), ainda em reestruturação, uma maneira de barrar o movimento articulado pelo deputado Ronaldo Fonseca (PR-DF), que considera o benefício ilegal.
Jean Wyllys afirmou ao Congresso em Foco que pretende utilizar o mesmo argumento “legalista” do colega, que é pastor da Assembléia de Deus, para cobrar que as igrejas, que têm imunidade fiscal, passem a prestar contas à sociedade. “Posso recorrer também à legalidade para exigir do ministro da Fazenda que ele explique por que as igrejas não prestam contas à sociedade. Se os partidos políticos prestam, por que igrejas não?”, questionou.

Pastor da Assembléia de Deus, Ronaldo Fonseca tem em mãos desde a quinta-feira passada um parecer técnico elaborado na Câmara (leia a íntegra) que contesta a concessão dos benefícios aos homossexuais, conforme revelou o Congresso em Foco. O deputado do DF estuda recorrer à Justiça e apresentar um projeto de decreto legislativo para sustar os efeitos da portaria da Fazenda que garantiu o benefício aos homossexuais. Ele também cogita chamar à Câmara o ministro Guido Mantega para dar explicações sobre sua portaria.

Apoiado no parecer, o deputado alega que a medida é inconstitucional, viola o artigo 226 da Constituição e precisaria do aval do Congresso para entrar em vigor. Ronaldo busca apoio da Frente Parlamentar Evangélica, que deve se decidir sobre o assunto nos próximos dias. “Na canetada, eu não vou [aceitar], não. Tem de ter o debate”, disse Ronaldo Fonseca na quinta-feira.

“Motivação homofóbica”

“Ele disse que na canetada, não. Eu digo que no grito da falsa legalidade, nós também não vamos aceitar”, respondeu Jean Wyllys. Para o parlamentar, a ofensiva evangélica sobre o assunto tem motivação homofóbica.  “A máscara do discurso deles é da legalidade, mas isso tem uma motivação homofóbica disfarçada”, acusou.

O deputado fluminense ressalta que a portaria que beneficia os homossexuais está amparada em parecer da Procuradoria-Geral da Fazenda, que está ancorado, por sua vez, no artigo 87 da Constituição, que define os poderes de Estado, e também no artigo 5, que diz que “todos são iguais perante a lei” no Brasil. Para ele, a portaria da Fazenda é legal. “O direito é extensivo aos homossexuais. Em nenhum momento, a lei diz que companheiro ou companheira tem de ser heterossexual. Pode ser tanto homossexual ou heterossexual”, afirmou o deputado.

Jean Wyllys diz que vai tratar do assunto na terça-feira em reunião com a deputada Manuela D’Ávila (PCdoB-RS) e na quarta, com a senadora Marta Suplicy (PT-SP), responsáveis pela reativação da frente parlamentar que defende os direitos dos homossexuais. O deputado também rebate o argumento utilizado por Ronaldo Fonseca, sustentado no parecer da Câmara, de que o governo está abrindo precedente a outras categorias ao atender às reivindicações dos homossexuais.

Impacto

Ele conta ainda que pediu um estudo à sua assessoria técnica para levantar de quanto será a renúncia fiscal com a dedução do Imposto de Renda por parceiros do mesmo sexo. “O impacto será muito pequeno. A Receita só vai aceitar a inclusão como dependente de casais reconhecidos pela Justiça, que ainda são muito poucos no Brasil”, afirmou.

O deputado diz que não pretende tratar a bancada evangélica como “inimiga”, mas cobra respeito dos parlamentares religiosos à causa dos direitos humanos e civis e à tolerância de credo. “A liberdade religiosa deles, em geral, só vale para um lado, não pensam em termos de pluralidade. Eles vêm sempre agindo nisso. Com minha presença e por estar trabalhando na frente parlamentar, isso acirra mais os ânimos. Não sou inimigo, nosso espaço é do diálogo. Se eles tiverem projeto de interesse coletivo, vou defender. Mas eles têm de se abrir ao diálogo, e não ficarem presos a dogmas”, declarou.

A nota da Consultoria da Câmara ressalta que o artigo 226 diz que apenas “é reconhecida a união estável entre o homem e a mulher”. Afirma ainda que a Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal obriga toda concessão de benefícios fiscais, como a dedução de imposto para os gays, lésbicas e transexuais vir acompanhada de impacto orçamentário e fonte de compensação da receita a ser perdida. De acordo com o estudo, isso não aconteceu.

Nota técnica

A nota alega ainda que a concessão desse benefício aos homossexuais abrirá brecha para outros segmentos da sociedade exigirem novas isenções de imposto. O texto cita como exemplo os irmãos solteiros que moram juntos; os filhos  solteiros que permanecem morando com os pais, às vezes adotando filhos; e as pessoas celibatárias que vivem juntas fraternalmente.

A consultoria da Câmara entende que o governo federal foi descuidado ao tentar encaixar os gays nas hipóteses de dedução de imposto. Em nota enviada ao site, a Procuradoria da Fazenda diz ter “plena convicção da constitucionalidade e legalidade de seu parecer”, que embasou a decisão do ministro Guido Mantega.

Lawrence O'Donnell Rewrites Gingrich & Beck Over DOMA Enforcement

MSNBC - Big Week For Gay Rights

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Via JMG: DOJ Notifies Court Of DOMA Withdrawal


Via press release from GLAD:
The Department of Justice followed Wednesday’s withdrawal from two DOMA cases in the Second Circuit, including GLAD’s Pedersen v. OPM by notifying the clerk of the First Circuit that they will also “cease to defend” the two consolidated DOMA cases, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. HHS. The DOJ has not sent a letter to the Congress declining to defend DOMA in toto in the Gill case, so its determination may only apply to the extent the court determines that heightened scrutiny is the proper standard of review for DOMA’s constitutionality. No matter what happens, the case will proceed with DOJ as the attorneys for the government defendants.

“It is increasingly clear to everyone what has been clear to gay and lesbian families for years - that DOMA’s denial of protections available to all other married families is discriminatory, harmful, and unjustifiable,” said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director and lead attorney on both Gill and Pedersen. “DOJ’s acknowledgement of this is momentous. At the same time, we know this isn’t the end of the road.” In a letter to the court Assistant Attorney General Tony West writes that “the Department will cease its defense of Section 3” in cases including Gill and Massachusetts. DOJ also “notifies the courts of our interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation of those cases,” and that “we will remain parties to the case and continue to represent the interests of the United State throughout the litigation.”

reposted from Joe

Friday, February 25, 2011

Via JMG: DOMA Renews Immigration Challenge


This week's DOMA news has set activists into high gear on many fronts. Immigration Equality founder Lavi Soloway emails us today with his latest move.
In New York, New Jersey and California three married, same-sex binational couples, two gay male couples and one lesbian couple, are facing Immigration Judges in deportation proceedings. Each will brandish a pending green card petition filed by the American spouse on behalf of the foreign spouse. In each case their lawyer, Lavi Soloway, will argue that deportation proceedings should be halted because the only thing standing between each couple and a green card is the Defense Of Marriage Act which the President and the Attorney General announced this week will no longer be defended in court based on their finding that the statute is unconstitutional. Soloway, an immigration lawyer and long time gay rights activist, argues that the Department of Homeland Security should cease giving effect to this unconstitutional law and put all deportation proceedings on hold where they involve married gay binational couples, who but for DOMA, would be eligible for green cards on the basis of their marriages.
Soloway notes that the issue is quite urgent because deportation from the United States stipulates a ten year ban on ever returning.


reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Gay Man Named WH Social Secretary


Longtime Obama fundraiser Jeremy Bernard (on left, with former partner Rufus Gifford), has been named White House social secretary. He's the first openly gay man to hold that position and the third in the job since Obama took office.
“Jeremy shares our vision for the White House as the People’s House, one that celebrates our history and culture in dynamic and inclusive ways,” President Obama said in a statement, “We look forward to Jeremy continuing to showcase America’s arts and culture to our nation and the world through the many events at the White House.” Bernard comes to the White House from the US Embassy in Paris, where he served as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador. Prior to this role, he worked as the White House Liaison to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Obama's first social secretary departed after that dumbass Real Housewives debacle. The second left to campaign for Rahm Emanuel.


reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Sen Patrick Leahy: I Will Cosponsor Feinstein's Bill To Repeal DOMA


Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) emailed his constituents today with a promise to cosponsor Sen. Dianne Feinstein's coming bill to repeal DOMA.
As a Vermonter who has been married for 48 years, I believe it is important to encourage and to sanction committed relationships; relationships that encourage us all to give back to our community; and relationships that complete our lives. Vermont led the way by being the first state to adopt a same-sex marriage law through a legislative process. Now that several states that have voted to give full marriage rights to same-sex couples, I believe that the Federal government should not interfere with those laws or discriminate between marriages sanctioned by State law. Vermont and other states have determined that committed same-sex couples and their families should be entitled to all the protection of that state-sanctioned union. The Defense of Marriage Act denies some Vermont families equal treatment, creating a system of second-class citizens. This goes against American values and it must end. In the coming days, I will join with Senator Dianne Feinstein to introduce legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. It is a core American value that all people should be treated equally by their government. Vermont has been leading the nation on this important civil rights issue and this week, President Obama and Attorney General Holder moved the Federal government in the right direction.
(Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)


reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Thrice-Married Serial Adulterer: Obama Could Be Impeached Over DOMA


Three times married serial adulterer and prospective 2012 GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich today suggested that President Obama could be impeached for his DOMA decision.
"I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job," said Gingrich. "His job is to enforce the rule of law and for us to start replacing the rule of law with the rule of Obama is a very dangerous precedent."
Gingrich would like to remind everybody that that marriage is between one man and one woman whom you abandon riddled with cancer on her hospital bed while you fuck the shit out of your mistress whom you later marry and cheat on with a third woman while screaming with Godly moral outrage about the infidelities of the president.


Mike Huckabee On Gay Parenthood, DOMA, & DADT

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Dan Savage


"You have to love how Santorum is out there mewling about being the victim here and about civility—this from the man who compared people in stable, loving same-sex relationships to dog fuckers and kiddie rapists, this from a man who would make gay and straight sodomy illegal, ban gay marriage and any other protections for same-sex couples, and prevent loving same-sex couples from adopting children who need homes. This from a man who would literally destroy my family if it were within in his power to do so.

"And the 'Savage Love' gang? All we did was make a dirty joke at his expense. There has been no effort to strip Rick Santorum of his civil rights, no moves to nullify his marriage, no one has suggested that his children be taken out of his home, no one is trying to prevent him from having more children. No one has compared Rick Santorum to a dog fucker or a pedophile. Compared to Rick Santorum, my readers and I have been models of decorum and restraint.

"And don't think you're fooling us, Rick. Now that you're running for president—eight years after we redefined 'santorum' — you're whining to attract a little attention to your campaign and because your advisors think that maybe you'll get a little traction playing the pansy-assed victim card, à la Sarah Palin, and rake in a few bucks. Oh, look at all that mean gay dude—one of the guys I want to oppress—he's picking on meeeeeeeeeee!"- Dan Savage.


reposted from Joe

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Via JMG: Hackers Group Warns Westboro Baptist: You Will Face Our Vicious Retaliation


The mysterious hackers group Anonymous, best known so far for their campaign against the Church of Scientology, has issued a stark warning to the Westboro Baptist Church.
We, the collective super-consciousness known as ANONYMOUS - the Voice of Free Speech & the Advocate of the People - have long heard you issue your venomous statements of hatred, and we have witnessed your flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism. We have always regarded you and your ilk as an assembly of graceless sociopaths and maniacal chauvinists & religious zealots, however benign, who act out for the sake of attention & in the name of religion. [snip]

ANONYMOUS cannot abide this behavior any longer. The time for us to be idle spectators in your inhumane treatment of fellow Man has reached its apex, and we shall now be moved to action. Thus, we give you a warning: Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites.

Should you ignore this warning, you will meet with the vicious retaliatory arm of ANONYMOUS: We will target your public Websites, and the propaganda & detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover. It is in your best interest to comply now, while the option to do so is still being offered, because we will not relent until you cease the conduction & promotion of all your bigoted operations & doctrines.

The warning has been given. What happens from here shall be determined by you.

WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE ARE LEGION.

WE DO NOT FORGIVE.

WE DO NOT FORGET.

EXPECT US.
This should be very interesting.

RELATED: Late last year Anonymous took credit for denial of service attacks that brought down the websites of Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal after the companies refused to process donations to Wikileaks.

(Via - Good As You)

reposted from Joe

Via 365Gay: Calif court to answer question on gay marriage ban

By The Associated Press 02.17.2011
 
California's highest court decided Wednesday to wade back into the legal morass surrounding the state's voter-approved gay marriage ban. Read more...

Via Belirico: State of Indiana v Gay Marriage

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

White Nationalist Recruiter Rebuffed At CPAC 2011

Via JMG: CA Supes To Hear Standing Issue


And on we go. Some will say this is a good thing, as it could be the next step to getting Prop 8 before the U.S. Supreme Court.


reposted from Joe

SACBEE.COM BREAKING NEWS ALERT



The state Supreme Court voted unanimously today to decide the legal standing issue in the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage case now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Read more.

Via JMG: Obama's Budget Maintains AIDS Money


The new proposed federal budget released yesterday by the Obama administration maintains funding levels for HIV research, treatment, and prevention. The AIDS Institute is surprised and grateful. Via press release:
The budget President Obama proposed yesterday for fiscal year 2012 maintains his Administration's commitment to domestic and global HIV/AIDS programs, and proposes increases for domestic AIDS medications and HIV prevention, along with research at the National Institutes of Health. "We realize the resources of the federal government are severely constrained, therefore, under today's fiscal environment, we are pleased the President has maintained his commitment to HIV/AIDS programs and even proposed some minimal increases," said Carl Schmid, Deputy Executive Director of The AIDS Institute. "While the proposed funding levels are far from what is needed to provide the necessary care and treatment for people with HIV/AIDS or to significantly reduce the number of new infections, The AIDS Institutes appreciates the budget requests and now urges the Congress to show a similar level of support."
Meanwhile many states continue to slash their own HIV prevention and treatment budgets, with ADAP waiting lists continuing to grow. Read POZ Magazine's sobering assessment.


reposted from Joe

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Iowa grandmother speaks in favor of gay marriage

DJ Bill Bennett Feat Matt Zarley


As a benefit for the Trevor Project, openly gay singer Matt Zarley has recorded a cover of Pat Benatar's 1984 smash We Belong. Below is a snippet of DJ Bill Bennett's remix. Both the single and its remix are now available on iTunes and at Amazon.



reposted from Joe

Private Romeo - Official Trailer

The BEARatones perform "California Dreaming"

Make It Better!

Via JMG: Donald Trump Opposes Gay Marriage


"No, I'm just not in favor of gay marriage. I live in New York. New York is a place with lots of gays, and I think it is great. But I'm not in favor of gay marriage." - Three times married Donald Trump, whose potential 2012 presidential run is being backed by GOProud. Before you dismiss his opinion as inconsequential, consider that Donald Trump is arguably the most famous New Yorker in the world and somebody whose support on this could have been quite useful.


reposted from Joe

Monday, February 14, 2011

Via JMG: Unmarried Until Gay Marriage


About a dozen married straight couples were "umarried until gay marriage" yesterday in a Central Park protest staged by performance artist Reverend Billy. More photos here.


reposted from Joe

Lady Gaga - CBS - 60 Minutes - Interview with Anderson Cooper(2/13/11)

Today's "Why I could never ever be a Republican Post" Wingnuts Turn On Ann Coulter (who to me is pure evil) via JMG:


After her CPAC declaration that "gays are natural conservatives" and should be actively recruited by the GOP, Ann Coulter has been the subject of blistering attacks across the right-o-sphere. Here's just a sampling of the reactions on Free Republic:
-"Big tent fag hag and muslim bodily fluids swapper."
-"I have no tolerance for homo-tolerants. Boo & shame on you Ann. You are a Catholic."
-"There are still fools and idiots who think this woman is a conservative. I bet within a year she will become a Democrat. Maybe then, she will grab a brain, a hamburger, and Obama’s Birth Certificate."
-"I guess it’s OK to destroy the traditional family as long as you call yourself a conservative republican.
-"Fame is a terrible drug, Ann. Shame. You were once brilliant."

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Inspired By The Hefty Cinch-Sak


No, seriously, that was the inspiration. For the quickly-wilting man, one presumes.


reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Editorial Of The Day


From the New York Times editorial board.
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is indefensible — officially sanctioned discrimination against one group of Americans imposed during an election year. President Obama seems to know that, or at least he has called on Congress to repeal it. So why do his government’s lawyers continue to defend the act in court? [snip] There are two crucial questions here. The overarching one, of course, is whether it is constitutional for the federal government to deny benefits to some people who are legally married under their state’s laws. Much also depends on the standard of review. How should courts evaluate claims that a law discriminates against gay people?

On the merits, this should be an easy call. A law focusing on a group that has been subjected to unfair discrimination, as gay people have been, is supposed to get a hard test. It is presumed invalid unless the government proves that the officials’ purpose in adopting the law advances a real and compelling interest. That sort of heightened scrutiny would challenge the administration’s weak argument for upholding the act. It would also make it more difficult to sustain other forms of anti-gay discrimination, including state laws that deny same-sex couples the right to marry. By now, such blatant discrimination should be presumed to be unconstitutional, and the Justice Department should finally say so.
Read the entire editorial.


reposted from Joe

Via HimalayaCrafts:

Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. ~ Buddha
♥ Namaste ♥ ~ HimalayaCrafts

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Via JMG: KENTUCKY: Gay Couple Denied Admission To Creation Museum's "Date Night"


On Friday a couple gay was turned away from a special "Date Night" event at Kentucky's Creation Museum after being told that their presence would add an "un-Christian element" to the venue. Blogger Joe Sonka describes his evening:
I rushed back from DC to my old Kentucky home last night to attend the spectacular "Date Night at the Creation Museum", where my date and I were to take in a nice dinner and listen to Ken Ham explain what makes a good relationship work. Unfortunately, we were told at the door that we would not be allowed entry. They explained to us that the Creation Museum Date Night was a "Christian environment", therefore the presence of two men eating dinner together would not be allowed. The very sight of this would "add an un-Christian element to the event" and "disrupt the evening for everyone". The Creation Museum rep further informed us that you cannot be a Christian if you are gay, asking "can you tell me what exactly is Christian about being gay?"
Sonka and his date were also denied refunds on their $71 tickets.

RELATED: In December the museum announced the construction of $25M "full-scale replica" of Noah's Ark.


reposted from Joe

Wendy Ho - Oprah Winfrey - HOfficial Video

Madonna - Express Yourself - MTV Video Music Awards

Via JMG: Rumsfeld Endorses DADT Repeal


Shortly after his CPAC appearance, former defense secretary Donald "War Criminal" Rumsfeld endorsed the repeal of DADT.
“First of all, we know that gays and lesbians have been serving in the military for decades with honorable service,” Rumsfeld said. “We know that [repeal of a ban on gays serving openly] is an idea whose time has come.” Rumsfeld says he has “enormous respect” for the ground commanders and service chiefs who have expressed concerns about the impact of gays serving openly on unit cohesion, and he urged the top brass to implement the new law “with care.” But Rumsfeld says that congress, which passed the repeal bill in the waning days of the last session, has expressed the will of the American people.
The Freepers are very unhappy with this.


reposted from Joe

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Via HimalayaCrafts:

In seperateness lies the world's great misery, in compassion lies the world's true strength ~ Buddha
♥ Namaste ♥ ~ HimalayaCrafts

Friday, February 11, 2011

Via JMG: ReasonTV Tours CPAC


ReasonTV took a spin around the CPAC exhibitor booths with stops to chat with the Young Libertarians, the John Birch Society, and GOProud.




reposted from Joe

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Today's "Why is it Republicans Hate us so?" Post:

Via JMG: Canada's Parliament Approves Transgender And Gender Identity Protections


By a vote of 143-135, the Canadian Parliament has narrowly approved a bill granting transgender and gender identity anti-discrimination protections nationwide. The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces a tough battle. Via Dented Blue Mercedes:
Bill C-389 now goes to the Senate, where it must go through three readings. Readings in the Senate don’t take months-to-years as they do for Private Members Bills in Parliament. However, as far as I know, a Senator still needs to be found who is willing to bring the bill to the floor. There could be some perils in the Senate. In the past, the Senate has mostly just ratified and tweaked legislation passed by Parliament, but as Harper has packed more conservatives into the Senate (rather than reforming it to create an elected Senate, which he once campaigned on), it has been sometimes used more undemocratically. In one recent such move, he used a lack of attendance of Liberal senators to kill a climate change bill. It is also still entirely possible that an election call could kill the bill before it is enacted into law. What would happen then is that as a community, we would need to press candidates and parties to pledge to finish what was started, and also to address other glaring omissions such as the absence of sex / gender from the hate crimes provisions from the Criminal Code of Canada.
(Tipped by Rex Wockner)


reposted from Joe

Why Marriage Matters: Freedom To Marry Launches National TV Ad Campaign



Via JMG: UPDATE: Rep. Christopher Lee (R) Resigns After Craigslist Adultery Scandal


UPDATE: GOP Rep. Chistopher Lee (NY) resigned tonight "effectively immediately" in the light of the scandal detailed below. Lee sent Fox News a short statement announcing his resignation and expressing regret "for the embarrassment caused to my wife and family."

Gawker has posted the Craigslist ad of married GOP Rep. Christopher Lee (R-NY), who has allegedly been using the site's "Women Seeking Men" section to seek out adulterous hook-ups in the Washington DC area. The gossip site has posted screen shots of numerous emails purportedly exchanged between Lee and a woman he angered by lying about his marital status.
Yesterday, we reached out to Rep. Lee, whose support for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and vote to reject federal abortion funding suggests a certain comfort with publicly scrutinizing others' sex lives. A spokesman for the Congressman confirmed that the email address belonged to Lee, and that he had deleted his Facebook account because our initial inquiry had him fretting about "privacy." (A screenshot of his account before it vanished is at right.)

So did the married Republican prowl Craiglist looking for hook ups? After first telling us that he couldn't comment until we forwarded every single email in question, a request we refused—shouldn't Lee know if he's corresponded with women on Craigslist?—Lee's spokesman eventually announced that the Congressman believed he'd been hacked, and provided an email he claims Lee sent to his staff about the security breach on January 21.
As noted above, Lee was among the U.S. House members who voted to retain DADT. His position on other LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage appears to be unknown at the moment.


reposted from Joe

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Via HRC: U.S. pastors are exporting bigotry to Uganda, with brutal results.

Dear Daniel,
Frank Mugisha
Frank Mugisha
I've heard some Ugandans falsely cite a "study" that one in four homosexual men have sex with children. This view is no accident. It's pure propaganda straight from the most extreme parts of the American right wing.
Is it any wonder that we are beaten, and attacked, and raped? Is it shocking that our own government sanctions cruelty and murder? With such hate flooding in from overseas, is it any surprise that gay Ugandans who dare to speak up – like my friend David Kato – have lost their lives?
I have seen the ugly extremism of a few anti-gay Americans, but I have also witnessed kindness and courage from many more. Hundreds joined me this week in vigils for the Ugandan dead. And my friends at the Human Rights Campaign tell me that since they sent the message below more than 36,000 of you have signed a petition calling on radical American pastors to stop exporting hate abroad. I cannot tell you how much I thank you.
If you haven't signed the petition yet, I hope you will do so now. To all those who have raised their voice already, I hope you will continue to fight by passing on the message below to your friends and family. Thousands of Ugandans are counting on you.
We simply want our neighbors to understand that gay and lesbian Ugandans deserve dignity and respect. My organization, Sexual Minorities Uganda, has fought the "kill the gays" bill and will continue to advocate for the freedom to be who we are. But we need your help to stop American extremists who are making our struggle so much harder.
Thank you for speaking up.
- Frank Mugisha

Human Rights Campaign
Dear Daniel,
Stop exporting hate.
Stand with HRC's Religion and Faith program. Tell American right-wingers to stop hateful proselytizing in Africa.
U.S. pastors are exporting bigotry to Uganda, with brutal results.
This is an issue close to my heart, because I've spent over a decade working for equality as a lay leader in my own church, and now, as acting director of HRC's Religion and Faith program – which helps religious leaders of all stripes speak out for equality and fight back when hatred is promoted in the name of religion.
On Thursday, that perversion of faith cost Ugandan gay rights advocate David Kato his life. He was bludgeoned to death in his home after his name was among those listed in an anti-gay magazine, under the headline "Hang them!"
Since at least 2009, radical U.S. Christian missionaries have added anti-gay conferences and workshops in Uganda to their anti-gay efforts in the U.S. – and now they're beginning to ordain ministers and build churches across East Africa focused almost entirely on preaching against homosexuality.
These American extremists didn't call for David's death. But they created a climate of hate that breeds violence – and they must stop and acknowledge they were wrong.
We'll deliver your signature to three men who have gone out of their way to promote hatred:
  • Scott Lively of Massachusetts held an anti-gay conference in Uganda with two other U.S. pastors. A few months later, a bill was introduced in Uganda that would make homosexuality punishable by death.
  • Lou Engle, a Missouri preacher whose rallies draw tens of thousands in the U.S., spoke at a rally in Uganda this year that focused on praying for the bill's passage. (Engle claims not to support some parts of the bill, but internal documents show he came to speak about "the threat of homosexuality," and defend the Ugandan government's efforts to "curb the growth of the vice using the law.")
  • And Carl Ellis Jenkins of Georgia is presiding over a group that's opening 50 new churches in Uganda to "help clean up bad morals, including homosexuality" according to his staff.
They have been stirring up hostility in a country where homosexuality is already illegal, violent attacks are common, rape is used to 'cure' people of their sexual orientation – and a shocking law has been proposed that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment or even death.
And they're in lockstep with some of the largest and wealthiest right-wing groups in the U.S. When the U.S. Congress considered a resolution denouncing the grotesque Ugandan death-penalty-for-gays bill, the extreme-right Family Research Council – now classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – spent $25,000 lobbying to stop the resolution from passing.
Religion should never be used to spread hate. These men do not speak for me or the millions of diverse religious people who support equality not in spite of our faith, but because of it.
That's what our Religion and Faith program is all about: helping people of faith from all different traditions speak out so we can reclaim the core religious values we hold dear in America.
At the heart of every religious tradition is love of humanity and love of creator – not hatred for our neighbors. Creating a climate of hate runs contrary to the very idea of faith – but that's exactly what the right wing in America is doing.
Whether or not we're people of faith, we cannot stay silent or stand idly by while a radical minority pushes a hateful agenda in God's name. Please stand with us and speak out today.
Sincerely,

Sharon Groves
Religion and Faith Program

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