Sunday Funnies: Maine, Mormons, Guy Fawkers, & Glenn Beck -
It was a week of big losses and big victories for the LGBT movement.
But one big winner? Biting satire calling out the ridiculousness of the anti-equality forces.
First up is the Daily Show’s take on the Maine Marriage Vote:
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cCan’t Get Queer From Herewww.thedailyshow.com
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Can’t Get Queer From Here Maine voters want to be tolerant of gays, but they ban same-sex marriage anyway.
More Videos after the jump…
Continue reading “Sunday Funnies: Maine, Mormons, Guy Fawkers, & Glenn Beck” »
WWJD? Incite Hate Crimes Against LGBT People, according to this "Pastor" -
The furious explosion of nutjobs over the passage of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act continues…
Our old fundie friend, Pastor Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (yeah, that’s clue number one about his point of view), is back at his gay hating ways. But this time he’s taking it to a whole new level. Cass and crew are headed to DC on November 16th to protest the Hate Crimes Act in front of the Department of Justice. Their tactic?
The “Rally for Religious Freedom” in front of the Department of Justice in Washington is intended to force Attorney General Eric Holder either to address the issues or be put in a position of ignoring those who say they are violating the provisions of the federal law, Cass said. “We’re basically going to defy the law, and challenge it,” Cass told WND. “We’re going to declare the whole counsel of God, including those parts that some may consider ‘inciting a hate crime’ to see if the attorney general is going to come down and arrest a group of peaceful clergy exercising their First Amendment rights.
Continue reading “WWJD? Incite Hate Crimes Against LGBT People, according to this “Pastor”” »
LGBT Election Night Results Open Thread: Maine, WA State, Kalamazoo & Beyond -
Last night was a big night for LGBT rights and issues- Marriage Equality in Maine, Relationship Recognition in Washington State, and a Human Rights Ordinance in Kalamazoo. 
Add that to the openly gay candidates (Annise Parker in Houston) and races that effect our movement (the New Jersey Governor’s Race), and you have a busy night for all things LGBT.
We’re going to use this open thread to update election results, talk about the races, follow everything that matters to you. Jump in the comments, add the races you’re watching, and give your commentary throughout the evening!
We’ll be updating this post all night as results trickle in!
Maine Question 1 Results: 84% Reporting
NO (yay!): 47.4% Yes (boo!): 5
2.6% *Winner-UGH*
The Associated Press has declared Yes On 1 the victor. We lost. A recount is expected. Campaign Statement after the jump.
Washington State Referendum 71 Results: 100% Reporting
Approve (yay!): 51% *Winner*
Reject (boo!): 49%
We won Washington State. LGBT residents keep domestic partner benefits.
Kalamazoo Ordinance 1856 Results:
WINNING PRESS RELEASE AFTER THE JUMP
Yes (yay!): 65% *Winner!!*
No (boo!): 35%
More races (NJ, VA, Houston, St Pete FL, Chapel NC, & more!) and results as they come in after the jump!
Continue reading “Election Night Results Open Thread: Maine, WA State, Kalamazoo & Beyond” »
Obama Signs Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act and Announces End of HIV Travel Ban -
President Obama announced an end to the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban during the signing ceremony for the vital Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act this afternoon. 
The travel ban, a legacy of Jesse Helms, has been in place since 1987. It prevented HIV+ non-U.S. citizens from traveling or immigrating to the United States unless granted a special waiver from the the Department of Homeland Security.
Here’s some of what Obama had to say (Read the full transcript here):
Twenty-two years ago, in a decision rooted in fear rather than fact, the United States instituted a travel ban on entry into the country for people living with HIV/AIDS. Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of this disease — yet we’ve treated a visitor living with it as a threat. We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic — yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country.
If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it. And that’s why, on Monday my administration will publish a final rule that eliminates the travel ban effective just after the New Year. Congress and President Bush began this process last year, and they ought to be commended for it. We are finishing the job. It’s a step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment, it’s a step that will keep families together, and it’s a step that will save lives.
Video & more after the jump…
Obama Signs Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill into Law -
President Obama has just signed the first ever piece of pro-LGBT federal legislation into law.
The Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act was attached to the Defense Authorization Bill and added gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to existing hate crimes laws.
We have a long way to go, but today is historic. By signing, the President sends a clear message that it is not okay to kill gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard for so many years on this legislation.
Reactions from the orgs - including a joint statement by 30 LGBT orgs - and Judy Shepard after the jump as they come in (check back for updates)…
Continue reading “Obama Signs Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill into Law” »
Stephen Colbert Wants You to Approve Referendum 71 -
The Colbert Report took aim at Washington State’s Referendum 71 on last night’s episode.
Colbert used his popular “The Word” segment to decimate the opposition to LGBT partnerships. The word was “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and looked at how the anti-LGBT forces were trying to keep the names of petition signers secret. Colbert fires away, telling them, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, that they should keep their bigotry in “the closet that the gay people have abandoned.”
Classic.
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cThe Word - Don’t Ask Don’t Tellwww.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorMichael Moore
After the jump, watch the ridiculous, fact-free ad that Colbert ripped apart. Scandinavia, indeed…
The New 'Hate Crimes in Florida' Report -
From the Sun-Sentinel
:
The number of reported hate crimes in 2008 decreased statewide but surged in South Florida, with the region’s three counties accounting for the highest numbers in an annual report released Thursday by the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
For a third straight year, Broward County led the state in hate crimes, with 25 reported incidents, a 47 percent jump from 2007. Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties tied for second, with 18 cases each. Statewide, 182 hate crimes — the lowest number in a decade — were reported by 72 law enforcement agencies, a 5.7 percent decrease from 2007. But while the rest of the state has seen hate-crime totals dip since 2005, South Florida’s figures have risen in the past two years.
…
[Broward] Ten of the county’s hate crimes were based on racial discrimination; sexual orientation was a factor in nine. Six were religion-based. A violent act was reported in 16 of the countywide incidents.
These numbers are bad enough, but take into account the fact that hate crimes (especially against LGBT people) are notoriously under-reported and the situation looks even more grim.
Hopefully once the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act goes into effect nationally, Florida can get more resources for reporting, investigating and preventing the surge in hate crimes in our state.
Continue reading “The New ‘Hate Crimes in Florida’ Report” »
Criticize Homophobic "No Homo" in Hip Hop and get your Pink Slip from Fox "News" -
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, a political analyst and associate professor of education at Teachers College in New York, 
is learning what we all have known for awhile: Fox News doesn’t like any support of “the gays” or any criticism of the network.
Hill was a talking head on Fox News. Key word being “was.”
HIll had been an outspoken critic of the term “no homo” in Hip Hop, both on Faux News and in essays online like the one on Black Voices
:
By punctuating even the most sexually non-suggestive sentences with a homophobic disclaimer, we reinforce the idea that gay and lesbian people are worthy of ridicule, shame, and surveillance.”
How did Hill find out about his firing by Fox? By google alert. Stay Classy, Faux News…
FL Republican Ros-Lehtinen sends out Pro-LGBT Mailing -
South Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who has long been an ally to the LGBT community, sent out a mailer to constituents letting them know exactly where she stand on equality:
Everyone deserves equal treatment and protection under our laws and our Constitution, regardless of their sexual orientation.
(click to enlarge)
Continue reading “FL Republican Ros-Lehtinen sends out Pro-LGBT Mailing” »
High School Hand Holding as Punishment... with a Dash of Internalized Homophobia -
The Advocate has a brief story up on a Colorado high school football coach who made two players hold hands and run together as punishment during a recent practice:
Officials from the Aurora Public Schools say they are investigating the claims that Coach Grant Pippert told freshmen Rafael Merced and another student to hold hands and run together after a brief altercation. The two were taunted by their teammates, who called them derogatory names. Merced told KMGH-TV News that he felt the experience was humiliating.
The other students jeered and called them gay, and the teasing continued throughout the week. The school system is investigating. This act is bad enough- using the perceived “eww-factor” of same-sex affection and solidifying anti-gay attitudes in kids.
What caught me more off guard, however, were some of the comments from Advocate readers…
Continue reading “High School Hand Holding as Punishment… with a Dash of Internalized Homophobia” »
Need Insane Fundie GOP Congressmembers? There's an App for that! -
This makes me me smile. And it also scares the crap out of me because it is all true. This brilliant video parody of an iPhone App commercial takes aim at the bigoted, homophobic, fear-mongering, racist, misogynistic nut-baggery coming out of the Republicans in Congress:
From the creator of the video at the Waking Up Now Blog
:
Republicans sound like they’re conducting a giant experiment in saying whatever they can get away with, and I suspect they’re surprised as any of us by some of the results. That’s probably too harsh, though. What’s worse is that a good chunk of them might believe the stuff they say. That’s the difference between, for instance, Glenn Beck and Michele Bachmann. Either way, the country loses.
More after the jump…
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Sunday Funnies: InfoMania's 'No Homo' -
The brilliant and irreverent satirist Brian Safi, from my favorite nerdy show on my favorite nerdy channel - InfoMania, is back exploring more LGBT issues and stereotypes as they are portrayed by the clueless media and pop culture. This clip from last week’s show deals with the new hip hop term for not being gay: “No Homo”:
Are you terrified that people may think you’re gay? No worries, hip hop has coined a phrase to get you out of the stickiest situations. Just throw in a “no homo” and you can say pretty much anything you want!
Continue reading “Sunday Funnies: InfoMania’s ‘No Homo’” »
FL LGBT News Rond-Up: Hate Crimes, The Gay Market, Helping Youth, and More -
Here’s a little round-up of this and that from around the state that I thought you should know! As always, leave more stories and links that we might have missed in the comments!
* Jacksonville’s LGBT youth in crisis have people who help - Agency helps teenagers find foster care, and deal with sexual orientation.
* Sheriff: Beatings in South Florida Possibly Hate Crimes - Nearly 100 people gathered Thursday night in Wilton Manors to celebrate the life of a man who died this week after being attacked and beaten. Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said he believed the crime against him may have been a hate crime.
* Trial Of Second Florida Gay Murder Suspect in Ryan Skipper Case Begins - The trial of William David Brown, the second suspect accused of killing 25-year-old Ryan Skipper, began Monday in a Polk County, Florida courtroom.
More News from around the state after the jump…
First Ad Hits the Air for One Kalamazoo's Anti-Discrimination Fight -
In November, Kalamazoo, Michigan’s ballot initiative over the LGBT-inclusive human rights ordinance will be voted on. The campaign to approve the ordinance, One Kalamazoo, has released it’s new ad: “Neighbors.” From the campaign:
The ad, starring volunteers and community leaders, was shot in downtown Kalamazoo and explains why a YES vote stands for fairness and equality.
Some personal reflections after the jump…
Continue reading “First Ad Hits the Air for One Kalamazoo’s Anti-Discrimination Fight” »
LGBT Strategy: "My Way or the Highway"? -
LGBT Rights. The Gay Movement. Queer Liberation. Full Equality. The Homosexual Agenda.
All are names that get thrown around in the fight for equal right for LGBTQ people. And all have different connotations and baggage that go along with them. Ask any person what they think the “strategy” for getting rights should be and you’ll get a different answer each time. As GW Bush would no doubt say, it’s strategery at its best.
The National Equality March, Obama’s HRC Dinner speech, lawsuits moving through the courts, Democratic Party foot dragging, and many other events have brought the debate about what the overall strategy should be as we move forward to the forefront. Do we protest and pressure in the streets or lobby in back rooms? Do we move state by state or bypass it and go to straight to the Federal government? Do we pass pieces of legislation as we can, like a fully inclusive ENDA, or move for a Equality Omnibus Bill?
The debate is always set up as “either/or” when, in my mind, it should be “do it all.”
Continue reading “LGBT Strategy: “My Way or the Highway”?” »
