Most of us are now aware of the legal battles and disputes that have occurred and continue to flame the differences between the Gay and Heterosexual Communities since the birth of Prop 8. The religious, secular, and political, communities have voiced their opinions and the legal outcome is yet to be determined by a higher court. California, The United States, and the World awaits the outcome of this legal battle which in many respects has set a precedent and perhaps shined light on some very outdated, prejudiced, bigoted beliefs. With that
said, within the complexity of the issues, lies a blatantly obvious misnomer that has been adopted to define the Gay Community’s fight for marriage equality.

The Gay Community’s stance and feverish fight to have equal legal rights under the definition of “marriage” has been mislabeled “Same Sex Marriage.” This title is being used   Read More »

Thoughtful, kind people genuinely disagree about same sex marriage. Some will never agree. Similarly thoughtful people tacitly tolerated slavery, anti-Semitism, sexism and other forms of prejudice when they knew it was wrong. The arc of history bends toward human justice and equality. For gay rights in America, the question is when?

The political courage to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and achieve full equality will come only when more non-gay citizens of both parties find the courage to “come out” of the closet of silence

More:
http://axisofreason.com/2009/06/29/heterosexual-closet-of-silence/

According to The Hill, Representative Patrick Murphy (D–Pa), an IraqWar veteran, will sponsor the Military Readiness Enhancement Act repealing the ban on gays in the U.S. military.

Read more:
http://axisofreason.com/2009/07/09/time-to-repeal-don’t-ask-don’t-tell/

Though I appreciate everything that President Obama has done, everything he has said and everything he stands for, the time has come to put his money where his mouth is. The gauntlet has been dropped.

In many interviews during his presidential campaign (and some before), he's been quoted as saying that he supports full equal rights for gays and lesbians. The fact that he doesn't support gay marriage but still says he supports equal rights is a discussion for another time. What is occurring now? The Obama Administration is experiencing pressure from the rulings of two federal judges stating that the federal government cannot hide behind DOMA to avoid giving benefits to employees in a same-sex relationship. So if these judges are to enforce their ruling (which the plaintiffs in the case are pushing for because the rulings weren't mere statements, they require consequences), how will the president respond?

The president is swept up in a historical, economical crisis in which he needs both parties of Congress on his side in order to pull the country out from its mire. Because of this, many argue that the LGBT issue is not a priority. But I disagree. Without the rights and full protections that marriage laws provide, same-sex couples have higher expenses, less disposable income and as a result, less money flows through our dry economy. (Not to mention all the money put back into the economy from all those weddings.) But putting the economic crisis aside, when in the history of our country have civil rights taken a back seat to a temporary crisis? Never.   Read More »

Lets be honest, the Supreme Court is demographically opposed the the overturning of Prop 8. With 6 Justices appointed by Republican Governors and only one by a Democrat, the conservative viewpoint is politically/likely going to be upheld.

I am obviously not an attorney. I never spent a day in law school. I have no respected role in law. What I do know is logic:
- The courts today wasn't fought over the humanity of encroaching on civil rights it, as in all Supreme Court cases, was fought over precedence of other decisions. If the courts vote in favor of Prop 8, they will be voting in favor of this idea, "The public's vote has precedence over all else."

In the short term this is scary, it is scary because we lost the Prop 8 fight and gay marriage in CA will be lost...for now.

The long term is this:   Read More »

Taken from Wikipedia Encyclopedia, online, with annotations by Jere:
The pink triangle was originally used (in inverted form) to denote homosexual men as a Nazi concentration camp badge. It has since been reclaimed, and turned upright, as a symbol of queer (different, progressive) resistance, gay pride and gay rights (change is good).
Since it's emergence in the English language in the 16th century (related to the German quer, meaning across, at right angle, diagonally or transverse), queer has generally meant "strange", "unusual", or "out of alignment".
By the 1900's the term was already starting to gain it's implication of sexual deviance. Subsequently, for most of the 20th century, "queer" was frequently used as a derogatory term for effeminate and/or gay males, and others exhibiting untraditional gender behavior.
Because of the context in which it was reclaimed, queer has sociopolitical connotations, and is often preferred by those who are activists, by those who strongly reject distinct sexual identities such as gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight, and by those who see themselves who see themselves as oppressed by the heteronormativity of the larger culture. In this usage it retains the historical connotation of "outside the bounds of normal society" and can be construed as "breaking the rules for sex and gender. It can be preferred because of it's ambiguity, which allows "queer" identifying people to avoid the sometimes strict boundaries that surround other labels. In this context, it is not a synonym for LGBT as it creates a space for "queer" heterosexuals as well as "non-queer" (straight acting) homosexuals.
The First Amendment to the Constitution, allows for freedom of speech, and we stand firm on that freedom. It also allows for everyone to have their own opinion: However in Germany and most of Europe, there are laws, on the books, preventing "Hate" speech in areas that would cause disturbance in the public peace.
We're here
We're queer
We're now in the 21st century and perhaps we need to fully understand what the term means. If someone calls me QUEER (in a derogatory manner, or other wise), I take it as a compliment, and will reply, "Thank You, at least I'm not like you!".

I really appreciate the "Fidelity " movie. It is important for many citizens to see gay people getting married and to understand the fact that we have families just like everyone else. The movie is a great educational tool for that purpose. I am extremely concerned about the legal battle that will ensue as a result of Ken Starr's legal initiative. Who is building the civil rights case in favor of same sex marriages. We need a really great team of well funded lawyers to do all the work that needs to be done. How is that proceeding and who will take the case to the Supreme Court?

Let me preface this by saying that I'm a straight male who was born in Texas and raised in Indiana. While normally I wouldn't define myself by my sexuality or my residency I think it has to be done to give credence to the plan that I hope to outline.

Overturning Prop 8 won't be easy, we are kidding ourselves if we think we can simply walk to the polls in 2010 and have enough voters to overturn it. This is uncharted territory not just for California, or just the United States but it is uncharted for the entire free world. The world is watching. Here are my proposed steps:

1. Let the lawyers do their job. This nation is ripe with intelligent lawyers who see the injustice behind Prop 8. We need to rally and unite them under a common belief and clear goals.   Read More »

President Elect Obama made a poor decision yesterday when he chose Evangelical Reverand Rick Warren of Orange County, CA., as the spiritual speaker of his historical inauguration. When Pastor Rick Warren was asked to clarify a statement -- if he actually equates same-sex marriage with incest, pedophilia and polygamy -- his answer was direct and unequivocal: "Oh, I do."

As a US President, Obama cannot please everyone and he will have to walk a fine line to keep everyone supporting him and I understand that. What I can't understand is the message he is sending to the last unprotected minority group yet to receive equal protection under our Federal and State laws. The Gay population. A group that solidly backed his campaign and helped to make him the next US President? This is the thanks he gives?

This is a huge blow to a group of people's lives and civil rights that religious extremists have vowed to make sure gays don't receive. This isn't even about marriage--it's about equality and Obama is smart enough to know that. This is a shameful political move and Obama is trying to broaden his support base to include evangelical Republicans. Reaching across the aisle so to speak. It's just political strategy as usual, BUT it comes at the expense of a minority group of people who worked tirelessly to get him into office. Not to mention a minority group of people who are publicly discriminated against and not protected under the law in the majority of this country.

If this sort of incident came at the expense of Jews or Blacks in 2008, people would be outraged. But gays? Different story every time. Unfortunately. One day I hope people will wake up to realize that even if same sex marriages become legal in California (for good!) the people in these marriages will have no protection under the law in 40 out of our 50 states. This means that if a Californian same sex couple who is married should be transferred in their job to another state, there is a good chance they will end up in a state where they have no rights or protection for their family or their children or their joint assets. This is the bigger issue here. Their family and marriage will no longer exist under the law! What happens then? We don't even have an answer to that! Why should these citizens who are not protected under their states law's be paying the same state taxes as everyone else? If a gay couple's home and/or property is not even going to be protected should something happen, then why are they paying the same taxes as everyone else who's families and properties and assets are protected? This is called Separate and Not Equal. Again, this is not about marriage nor religious beliefs. We cannot grant protection to some of our citizens and not others. Anyone care to remember Jim Crow laws?

Housing discrimination refers to discrimination against potential or current tenants by landlords. In the United States, there is no federal law against such discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and only thirteen states along with many major cities have enacted laws prohibiting it. What the US needs is a Federal Law that protects gays in ALL 50 states and we don't have that. It's called Civil Rights and equal protection under the law.

Many people will do anything they can to stop the normalization and acceptance of gay people into society as a result of their extremist religious views but no matter what they think the Bible says, 10% of the world's population is gay and always has been! And those numbers don't even include bi-sexuals which is a huge group of people. I know people will want to argue that number, but what needs to be assesed here is the number of gay people that will never make it public out of fear of discrimination and being ostracized from their families and communities. People are born gay, they don't wake up one day and choose it, so at some point, it would be good to start accepting that fact.

Religious extremists (and I say extremists here) have always feared evolution and diversity because that would mean they are unclear about what their religion means to them. They are the ones needing definitions for everything. I have seen the world fight for Jews. I have seen the USA fight for blacks and their equality and their protection under our constitutional laws. Who will fight for the gays? I thought Obama would but clearly I am wrong. Harvey Milk did in the 1970's until he was assassinated in his workplace, SF City Hall, where he was a city Supervisor.

I hope people begin to realize that the definition of marriage changed a long time ago when people were granted the right to marry someone outside of their religion , and then outside of their race (thank god!). The definition of marriage has changed (evolved) several times before. Marriage in today's world is a social institution, but many people will insist it is a religious institution--If this was the case, then Catholics should not be allowed to marry Protestants (under the laws of marriage) and Christians shall be forbidden to marry Jews and so on and so forth. I can think of plenty of marriages that would be illegal if this mentality existed today.

Just when I thought we put in a progressive man in office that would choose to do what's right, and protect all people, he delivered a harsh blow to gay people everywhere. Obama said in his defense speech around choosing Warren that everyone knows he's a fierce advocate for gay rights and their equality. Really? I don't feel that way. I don't even know anymore who will take this on and demand it be a civil rights issue that we start working on fixing now. I feel saddened by the truth of this dim lighted situation gays face. I thought things would be changing for everyone for the better but Obama just killed that notion fast.

I realized yesterday again, that we have a long hard road ahead and the enthusiasm I hoped to feel surrounding Obama's historical inauguration has now been tainted. These are people's lives on the line, and it's a very thin and fragile line until we see Federal Legislation put forth that will protect America's last unprotected minority citizens, the gay population of all 50 states.

I hope you will take action and start speaking to your friends and family on behalf of this very serious civil rights issue. Gay people, like all people, deserve protection under the law. This is not a religion debate.

Hollywood Protest against Prop 8, 11/22 2 pm (Protest)
Los Angeles, fight to invalidate Prop 8!
Come to Hollywood and Highland at 2 pm on Saturday, November 22nd, to protest against Prop 8. Bring signs and energy!

Because we will be in a highly visible and populated area, we ask that all attendees be respectful, not create vulgar signs, and not obstruct automobile or pedestrian traffic during our protest.
--Families are welcome--

Links for making signs:
http://www.kevinfurstdesign.com/
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Downloadable+Protest+Signs


Location:
http://www.hollywoodandhighland.com/information_directions.php

Don't want to drive or look for parking?
METRO FROM UNION STATION: (810 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA 90012), take the Red Line North to Hollywood and Highland.

FROM NORTH HOLLYWOOD: Take Red Line South from North Hollywood (Lankershim Bl. & Chandler Bl., North Hollywood 91601)

BUS FROM WEST SIDE: Take the Rapid 704 to Hollywood and Highland.

BUS FROM WEST HOLLYWOOD: Take the Metro Local Line 2 to Hollywood and Highland.

BUS/METRO FROM BURBANK: Ride Metro Local Line 183 (SEPULVEDA-VENTURA) heading north to North Hollywood Red Line Station and follow North Hollywood directions.