An Alabama gay pride organization files a federal lawsuit last week against Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham, Alabama on the grounds of discrimination. Langford refused to allow city workers to hang banners in the city honoring Gay Pride Week.
Michael’s Note: This news appeared in my local newspaper today - one day after I wrote an article for a client on gay adoption. I wish I’d had this information when I wrote it!
Little Rock, AR - A proposal created with the express intent of banning gay men and lesbians from fostering or adopting children was cleared on Monday August 25, 2008, ensuring that it will appear on the ballot this fall in Arkansas. Not only would this measure make it impossible for same sex couples to adopt or join the overburdened foster care program, it would further prohibit unmarried couples who are living together from fostering or adopting as well.
Let me toss this into the crapper: on July 24, 2008 the Arkansas News Bureau reported that the organization behind this initiative - the Family Council Action Committee - had fallen about 4,000 short of the number of signatures required to bring the issue to the fall ballot. They were granted a thirty-date extension by the Secretary of State’s office.
Family Council Executive Director Jerry Cox was then quoted as saying that the adoption initiative this year aims to "blunt a homosexual agenda."
Buckle Up…here comes a blunt homosexual for ya…
One thing that readers of Pride and Opinions may not know about me is that I once founded and ran a nonprofit organization dedicated to teen suicide prevention. It is a subject about which I am passionate and devoted, and while I no longer work in that capacity I am no less devout in my support of anyone who does.
Teen suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are on average three times more likely to attempt suicide. Suicide is a tragedy regardless of the age of the person involved, but suicide among youth is particularly terrible as many young people lack the coping skills that come along with age and experience and often don’t see any alternative to taking their own lives.
When I read earlier this week about the Trevor Project’s 24-hour suicide hotline dedicated to LGBT youth, I couldn’t help but to be happy that someone has taken the initiative to reach out to this often ignored segment of our society’s youth. Through a new ad campaign called “I’m Glad I Failed”, the project reaches out by representing young people who have attempted suicide.
For anyone wishing to help spread the word about this project on their own web site, The Trevor Project has made a collection of ads available from their web site in several sizes and options. You can find a page with all of these downloadable ads here.
The Trevor Helpline, 866-4-U-TREVOR, is a free and confidential service that offers hope through its trained counselors.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, I urge you to contact the Trevor Helpline, or at least tell someone how you are feeling. If you are on LiveJournal, I moderate a community there called “Suicide Support” where community members offer support to one another and you are welcome to join as well.
I’m not the type to live in fear - never have been. In fact, I have only one true fear in life at all. My fear is that when I die I will be forgotten as though my life did not matter in the first place. In other words, I’m scared of not making a true impact, a difference, in the world around me.
When I first learned of the Gay American Heroes Project it was one of those "why didn’t someone think of this sooner?" moments. There have been so many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people killed in hate crimes and all too often those news stories are buried on some back page below the fold. the Gay American Heroes Project founder Scott Hall couldn’t accept that and decided to do something about it.
By building a national memorial to GLBT hate crime victims, Hall hopes to see to it that no member of the GLBT who is killed because of their sexual identity is ever forgotten, and it seems as though his idea his catching on.
A Final Note from Michael: It is hard to believe that a memorial of this nature has never been done before, but with the diligent efforts of men and women like Scott Hall, perhaps we will bring new light to the senseless murders of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender family. It is only through education that we can affect change, and only by raising our voices in unison as a community that we can ever hope to stand up and be counted.
I encourage each and every person reading this - regardless of your sexual identity - to visit the Gay American Heroes Project web site and learn more. If you are able, I hope you will support the organization in any way possible.
In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . .
And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
If we do not speak up for ourselves, who will?
If this post has informed, inspired or incensed you, please consider leaving a comment and sharing it with others via Stumble Upon, DIGG or by linking to it from your own web site or blog. If it hasn’t, let me know that too. It means I’m falling down on the job.
Tags: gay american heroes project gay lesbian bisexual trans transgender hate crime matthew sheppard scott hall glbt hate crime memorial
I remember when I was an undergrad that during GLBT pride week, or whatever it was called, that culminated in the Queer Union dance, there was always a sidewalk chalking that highlighted prominent GLBT figures throughout history. Though there was some question about individual people’s inclusion and whether those people were “really” gay, it was always provocative to be forced to rethink traditional historical narratives about family and important figures. Ramon’s Gay Life Blog at About.com has a good link to a Short History of Gay Rights, and here’s a good place to start:
Gay history. How far we’ve come given where we started.
“In 1779, Thomas Jefferson proposed a law that would mandate castration for gay men and mutilation of nose cartilage for gay women,” About.com Civil Liberties Guide Tom Head explains. “But that’s not the scary part. Here’s the scary part: Jefferson was considered a liberal. At the time, the most common penalty on the books was death.”
Today, some 224 years later, we must continue to demand gay equality. We must. LGBT teens make up 33% all teen suicides. Gays and lesbians are still targets of hate crimes. If my partner were severally ill, I would have no legal right to make medical decision or transfer my pension in the case of my death. The list of things I consider natural rights seems endless,. Yet I pause to celebrate how far we’ve come. I must, in hope of a brighter future.
A little learning’s never a bad thing.
GLBT, GLBT History
I always think of the PTA as the bastion of stay at home moms in all their stereotypes, but the Family Equality Council blog has a different take - they say that LGBT parents should join the PTA not only to create connections with other parents but also to increase diversity and inclusiveness throughout the school:
It’s particularly important that LGBTQ parents get and stay active in groups like the Parent Teacher Assocation (PTA). PTA activities often set the tone for the school culture. Parents build relationships with other parents and teachers through shared work and efforts to improve the schools, and therefore get invested in each other and each others’ families.
Being involved in the PTA should first be about improving the educational experience of a child’s life, but in the case of LGBTQ parents, involvement doubles as a way to make the school safer and more inclusive of diverse family types.
I admit, I hadn’t really thought of this angle, but it’s a good tip, especially since study after study indicates that hatred and discrimination decrease with actual contact to people who are different from oneself. What do you all think - would you join the PTA to increase diversity in your child’s school?
GLBT Families, GLBT, PTA
When I got married in 2004, my sister was my honor attendant, and did me the gigantic favor of wearing probably the only dress of her adult life. What I didn’t know, when asking her to do me this gigantic favor, was that my wedding fell on the weekend of the Minneapolis Gay Pride Parade. This was good for my sister, I guess, because our wedding was downtown in the same area as the parade, so there was quite the party. But it was one hell of a weekend, and not exactly un-busy, even though she wasn’t the one getting married!
If you’re trying to get things settled for your summer, Ramon’s Gay Life Blog at About.com has a good round-up of both the 2008 Gay Pride Dates and also the 2008 Black Gay Pride Dates, which definitely deserves more attention. As Ramon points out,
In many instances, LGBT people are thought of and referenced as one homogeneous community and not as the diverse cultures within it. Gay and lesbian people come from a variety of backgrounds and ethnic groups. One could say some of us represent a culture within a culture. These differences can pose unique challenges when addressing individual needs. And often times many LGBT people feel they better relate to same-gender-loving individuals in their own ethnic groups.
One example is African-American LGBT people, whose unique needs prompted the creation of a number of black LGBT prides in major cities throughout the country. These pride celebrations for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender African-Americans are growing in numbers and are usually scheduled during the same time of year as traditional gay pride parades.
Whatever your culture or persuasion, there’s a parade for you this coming June - find it!
GLBT, Gay Rights, Gay Pride, 2008 Pride Parades
Sorry for that impromptu little vacation last week. I promise to keep this here blog updated for the foreseeable future.
So, I know that the Oscars were a while ago, and that most people are over and done with them. But if you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed the best GLBT news to come out of them, which is that the documentary Freeheld won an Oscar. What’s Freeheld, you ask? 365gay.com says this:
(Hollywood, California) A documentary film on the struggle by New Jersey police officer Laurel Hester’s struggle to have her domestic partner recognized as her next of kin has won an Academy Award.
“Freeheld: The Laurel Hester Story” was directed and produced by filmmaker Cynthia Wade. The award was presented Sunday night at the 80th Annual Academy Awards, held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.
“We are thrilled that this powerful film, one that has the potential to change hearts and minds concerning fairness for gay couples, has been honored,” said Neil Giuliano president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “We congratulate Cynthia Wade on her achievement and say ’bravo’ to the Academy for their selection.”
Hester had been a lieutenant with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Diagnosed with terminal cancer she was forced to retire. In late 2005, as the disease progressed she appealed to the Ocean County, New Jersey freeholders to give her same-sex partner her death benefits.
Although New Jersey recognized same-sex couples it left it up to local governments to determine if benefits should be offered the partners of employees.
After listening to her request, and her concern that when she died her partner, Stacie Andree, might lose their home, with little discussion the freeholders rejected the request.
The story was picked up across the country and as pressure mounted on freeholders she was allowed to make a second plea a month later. Filmmaker Wade traveled to Ocean County and chronicled the events that followed.
Too ill to appear in person Hester (pictured) appeared via video tape from her hospital room.
In a frail voice, and often gasping for air, Hester begged for recognition of her partnership with Andree.
“All I’m asking for is that you sign the resolution and that you make a change, a change for good, a change for righteousness and a change in the lives of so many people that have dedicated themselves to county government.”
After the moving tape was played a second vote was held and resolution passed.
A month later Hester died. (story)
“Freeheld: The Laurel Hester Story,” premiered last year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Wade said that she promised Hester she would submit the film for consideration for an Academy Award.
Garden State Equality which had lobbied freeholders on Hester’s behalf held an Oscar party in New Jersey to watch the awards presentation. Members let out a cheer when the award was presented to “Freeheld”.
Garden State Equality chair Steven Goldstein said the film should spur on state lawmakers to amend the civil union law to provide for full marriage for same-sex couples.
“Because of the failure of the civil union law, there are new Laurel Hesters all across New Jersey,” said Goldstein.
” Same-sex couples denied equal benefits by employers, struggling to make ends meet, struggling to maintain their dignity, in the face of a civil union law that segregates, discriminates and humiliates.”
Last week a government commission released a report saying the civil union law had failed to provide the same equality as marriage.
The Oscar win is a triumph, and a stark reminder about the necessity of protections for GLBT relationships, because the threat of discrimination is all too real. I’m glad for them, but sad Laurel Hester couldn’t get what she needed.
Link via Lez Keep it Real.
Freeheld, Oscars, GLBT, gay marriage
Perhaps because of the fact that the Democratic nomination for president this year is between a black man and a white woman, questions of identity politics seem much more prevalent in mainstream news coverage. Basically, they seek to ask the question - to what extent is having a phsyical representation of minority participation in government as important or more important than the policies that that person represents.
Earlier this year on an episode of The View, Kathy Griffin summed up one perspective when she said that voting for Condoleeza Rice as president (were she ever to run) would not be a pro-minority act, since although she is a black woman, the policies she supports are not pro-women themselves. Others made the argument, when John Edwards was still in the presdiential race, that his policies made him a better friend to minorities than the fact that both Obama and Clinton are actual members of minority groups.
Now, some GLBT groups are seeking to get into the representation game by actively seeking openly GLBT folks to serve in the next presidential administration, regardless of their political affiliation. As 365gay.com notes,
The Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute, the Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Stonewall Democrats have formed The Presidential Appointments Project.
In a statement the groups said that the effort will be non-partisan. It is aimed at “growing the pool of openly LGBT professionals who would be qualified and ready to accept politically appointed positions in the next presidential administration.”
“Our goal is to make sure all Americans have an equal voice in their government,” said Chuck Wolfe, president of GLLI.
The Presidential Appointments Project will identify, recruit and vet openly LGBT applicants for thousands of executive branch positions that will be filled with political appointees after the next president is sworn in the organization said in the statement.
I think that this is an admirable goal, but that we shouldn’t substitute material representation for political change - if all the GLBT folks now in government as a result of this task force are there but don’t support programs to expand rights for Gay Families, it’s a step forward, but not a particularly big one. What do you think?
I tend to think of sexuality in pretty abstract terms, by which I mean that I’ve never really worried about what categories people fall into, and tend to fall in the camp of “let people define themselves however they like and I’ll deal with it,” since it doesn’t seem to affect me one way or the other. I don’t mean that in an apathetic way - I’m devoted to the cause of increasing inclusivity, but as a GLBT Ally who identifies as heterosexual, it’s never seemed to be my place to tell others how they should or shouldn’t define their sexuality.
So I found this article at Ramone’s Fay life Blog about “fearing” bisexuality to be interesting. He asks,
The bisexual man: a confused player that can’t be completely trusted by other men or women since neither can fulfill his complete desires. The bisexual woman: a sexually liberal confidant eager to share her desires with multiple partners of choice. These: perceptions that run rampant among skeptics who consider bisexuality a phase (or as a permission slip for infidelity) and not a position of sexual moderatism.
Ironically, bi misconceptions don’t go both ways (at least not equally). The men are easily seen as hosts of mistrust and the women: mavens of straight male fantasy. Are bisexual women more readily accepted than bi men? Why are bisexual women so often reduced to sex? Why is the bisexual man seen as having an insatiable sexual appetite?
His roundup of different reader reactions to bisexuality and its perceived stereotypes is interesting; I recommend reading the whole thing.
bisexuality, GLBT, stereotypes, bisexuality myths
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