Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Via JMG: People For The American Way Issues Report On Christianist Campaign To Keep Anti-Gay Bullying Legal And Frequent


People For The American Way today issued an extensive expose of the tactics used by the Christianist right to keep anti-gay bullying legal and frequent. An excerpt:
Rather than recognize and address the problem of bullying against students who are gay or perceived to be gay, Religious Right groups want schools to embrace a policy of inaction. Many resort to repeating discredited lies about sexual orientation and vilifying the LGBT community and its allies to back up their opposition to anti-bullying programs that mention anti-gay bullying. Concerned students, families, teachers, education professionals, and public officials should not be fooled by the far-right’s attempt to smear anti-bullying programs, and should instead ensure that schools address bullying with a direct, honest and comprehensive approach.
Read the full report.


reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Hetero Woman Murders Three Children


Once again, we see the brutal fallout of a God-ordained one man/one woman marriage.
The woman apparently had just had a fight with her husband, Jean Pierre, and loaded into her four children into the vehicle, driving a short distance into the river, police said Wednesday. Lashandra Armstrong, 25, and three children, ages 5, 2 and 11 months, died, submerged in about 10 feet of water. Armstrong's 10-year-old son, Lashaun, squeezed through a minivan window and swam to shore
Obviously, the purpose of this post is to underscore how, if this had been a gay parent, our enemies would right this moment be rushing to the state legislatures with renewed calls to outlaw our families.


reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NBA Fines Kobe Bryant $100,000


In a move the Human Rights Campaign calls "unprecedented," the NBA has fined superstar Kobe Bryant $100,000 for calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during last night's game. Via press release:
While Bryant acknowledged the outburst earlier today and said in a statement it did “not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian communities,” he failed to apologize or to take full responsibility for the homophobic slur. This afternoon, the NBA and Commissioner Stern issued a strong condemnation of Bryant’s action and in an unprecedented move, fined the Lakers’ superstar $100,000. “We applaud Commissioner Stern and the NBA for not only fining Bryant but for recognizing that slurs and derogatory comments have no place on the basketball court or in society at large, “ said Joe Solmonese, HRC President. “We hope such swift and decisive action will send a strong and universal message that this kind of hateful outburst is simply inexcusable no matter what the context.”

reposted from Joe

Via Freedom to Marry

Freedom to Marry header
Tell your governor to support the RFMA On March 8, Ron Wallen lost his husband and partner of 58 years, Tom Carrollo, to leukemia.

Even as he grieves, Ron also faces the loss of the home he and Tom shared. Unfairly denied the Social Security coverage his husband earned -- payments he would receive were it not for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act's "gay exception" -- Ron cannot afford to keep his home.

The sad truth is that Ron's story of discrimination isn't unique. Doug Gentry, married to a Venezuelan citizen named Alex Benshimol, faces the possibility of being torn apart from his husband because DOMA treats their marriage with contempt. If Doug and Alex weren't gay, Doug could sponsor Alex for American citizenship but, because of DOMA, they are treated as strangers under federal law. "It's gut-wrenching," Doug says.

Couples send us stories like these -- each heartbreaking, each infuriatingly unjust -- and the remedy is clear: We must overturn DOMA now.

http://freedomtomarry.org/OverturnDOMA

Freedom to Marry has worked closely with members of Congress on a bill to repeal this discriminatory law, which denies married same-sex couples federal protections that touch every area of life -- from birth to death, with taxes in between.

We stood with congressional leaders a few weeks ago when they introduced the repeal bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, in the Senate and House. But now we need to grow the support, make the case, build momentum, and add co-sponsors to the bill.

Will you take action now? Ask your senators and representative to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act. Send a letter today:

http://freedomtomarry.org/OverturnDOMA

On behalf of couples like Ron and Tom and Doug and Alex, and because discrimination has no place in America, Freedom to Marry will not stop until we've wiped this discriminatory law from the books. But we can only do it with your help.

Thanks for all you do,

Evan Wolfson
President, Freedom to Marry