Tag Archives: Gay rights

Hate Radio In Sacramento

This is truly disgusting.

Two radio jocks on KRXQ, a Sacramento, CA, station engaged in a remarkable dialogue about transgender people, in which they advocated violence against transgender children.

Sample quotes:

“If my son, God forbid, if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes. I would throw a shoe at him. Because you know what? Boys don’t wear high heels. And in my house, they definitely don’t wear high heels.”

“You know, my favorite part about hearing these stories about the kids in high school, who the entire high school caters around, lets the boy wear the dress. I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they end up in therapy.”

We don’t have a lot of local media in California, and increasingly, a substantial segment of the population gets their ideas from talk radio outlets like this.  And here’s what they’re hearing.

If Rob, Arnie, & Dawn in the Morning on KRXQ have one advertiser left within a week, something’s wrong.  GLAAD has an action item for this.  According to the comments in this Huffington Post piece, Chipotle and Snapple have already dropped their ad support for the show.  Contact the station’s general manager here:

John Geary

Vice President & General Manager

KRXQ-FM

(916) 339-4209

[email protected]

On The Legal And The Personal In The Prop. 8 Case

The Sacramento Bee will host a live webcast discussion with legal experts about the implications of the California Supreme Court’s ruling on Prop. 8, on minority rights, the First Amendment, equal protection and even religious freedom.  It promises to be a good discussion, and it starts at noon.

But considering that the Court has, for now, given up on its ability to protect the civil rights of the minority in the face of mob rule, the logical arguments must also incorporate the emotional ones, and what must be now taken into account are the personal stories, highlighted here by state lawmakers.

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, confided in a Capitol press conference that her daughter is lesbian.

“This is a decision that affects all Californians in a very personal way,” Skinner said of the ruling on Proposition 8.

“It impacts my family in saying that somehow my daughter’s love for the woman who is her partner is not as valid as the love others have for the opposite sex.”

Skinner appeared at a news conference with the Legislature’s four openly gay members, all Democrats – Sen. Mark Leno, San Francisco; Sen. Christine Kehoe, San Diego; Assemblyman John Perez, Los Angeles; and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, San Francisco.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican, spoke briefly at the event, noting that he has one daughter who is lesbian and the other “straight.”

“They don’t have the same rights today,” Sanders said.

I want to add my voice to that personalization by highlighting this section of an LA Times piece on some of the 18,000 married couples, now granted separate rights than their fellow gays and lesbians.

Julie Nice, a University of San Francisco law professor specializing in constitutional and sexuality law, sees the emergence of the legally married gay class as yet another inconsistency in the nation’s laws governing same-sex marriage.

“This kind of chaotic patchwork is not sustainable,” Nice said of laws recognizing the right of gays to marry in five states, granting recognition to legal marriages conducted elsewhere in a few others and now California’s validation of the pre-Proposition 8 marriages while denying the status to other gays […]

Several gay couples were in attendance as West Hollywood officials sought to chart a path forward in the fight for same-sex marriage rights after the high court’s decision. Although Mark Katz, 58, and Robert Goodman, 48, continue to be recognized in the state as legally married, they deemed the ruling “tragic.”

“This is as if we were freed slaves living in a slave state,” said Goodman, a career counselor. “We were able to keep our marriage, but none of our brothers will be able to marry.”

Mark Katz is my cousin.  The rhetorical bomb-throwing must run in the family.  But they are wonderful people, with an adopted son, and while yesterday’s ruling secured some of their civil rights, they are not satisfied with being put on a kind of island, where their friends and fellow citizens must live under a separate system.

The legal ramifications of this are truly troubling, and ought to be examined thoroughly.  But my first thought turns to my cousin.  And those familial connections, and the new connections forged through organizing, will eventually be how these rights are achieved for everyone.

The Road from Here to Marriage Equality

Today we must turn anger into action.

It’s cold comfort to many that history is moving in the right direction, with five states already on their way to marriage equality. But it’s our job to make sure history moves faster towards equality here in California.

We must redouble our efforts in California to finally win this fight for equal rights. Please, take a moment today and lend your voice to this just cause.

Sign our petition for marriage equality.

Join the tireless efforts of the Courage Campaign and Equality California.

Let’s be respectful. But let’s be clear. We must start changing minds today. I know many of my fellow Californians may initially agree with this ruling, but I ask them to reserve final judgment until they have discussed this decision with someone who will be affected by it.

Please talk to a lesbian or gay family member, neighbor or co-worker and ask them why equality in the eyes of the law is important to every Californian. Please talk to local business leaders who know that this will cost jobs and make California less competitive. Please remember we all know someone who is hurt by this decision today. Please reach out to these friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors and discuss why this decision is wrong for California.

California, at its best, is a beacon of equal rights and equal opportunities. If we want to prosper together, we must respect one another.

That’s why we must resolve to restore marriage equality to all Californians. Let this work start today. Sign our petition and join the efforts of the Courage Campaign and Equality California.  

LA City Council Unanimously Passes Resolution Condemning Iraqi Torture of Gay Men

On Wednesday, after hearing several emotional speeches, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a resolution that “calls upon the government of Iraq to prevent the persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and protect the right to life and the right of all its citizens to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The resolution, sponsored by openly gay council member Bill Rosendahl, is the first public statement by a city or official government body in the United States condemning the torturous actions and murder of gay men in Iraq. Among the atrocious actions is the rounding up of gay men, gluing their anuses shut and giving them a diarrhetic, causing their digestive systems to shut down, ending in death.

The hearing began with an opening from Rosendahl, stating “While we’re standing here in this great country, right now, in Iraq . . . We are seeing gay people rounded up and killed. As I’m standing here, our people are being murdered. Our government needs to focus on it.”

Rosendahl then handed the proceeding over to Hossein Alizadeh from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, whose organization's motto is “Human Rights for Everyone. Everywhere.”

Mr. Alizadeh read a letter from a 25-year old gay man in Iraq who feared for his life.

“My problem is that I’m a gay, and as a gay man I can’t live a normal life in Iraq because,” the letter read. “Every time I walk on the street I wonder what may happen to me today. To protect myself, I have to lie to everyone and pretend that I am a straight person. It is really hard to be a 24/7 liar out of the fear of death…I keep asking myself if this is going to be MY LIFE!!!

“I have no one to turn to.

“My family doesn’t know about my homosexuality…if they find out, they will disown me because I will become a disgrace to them. They may even try to kill me to protect their honor.”

The letter is posted in full at the bottom.

While reading this letter, Mr. Alizadeh played the following a PowerPoint presentation that included text from posters distributed throughout Baghdad, calling for the death of homosexuals, as well as witnesses and quotes from news reports.

Mr. Alizadeh concluded his presentation, stating, “There are hundreds of people like him in Iraq that are being tortured to death and killed everyday.”

Following the reading of the letter, Ally Bolour, Immigration Attorney specializing in LGBT asylum and co-chair of the IGLHRC board, spoke. “I’ve been working human rights, asylum cases for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folk from all over the world. And after almost thirteen years of being in this business, I’ve seriously thought I’ve seen it all. When I heard and what I saw what’s happening to Iraqi gays, just one word came to mind, one phrase – unconscionable, ” Mr. Bolour said. “How can we as the civilized west, the civilized world, sit by, idly, and not do something?”

The floor was then opened up for public commentary. The crowd in the chamber room contained many union members present for other issues, including the service workers' union SEIU, who were waiting to hear a resolution that would pressure the local airports to provide health insurance to their members.

When those from the public spoke in support of the Iraq resolution, the union members stood in solidarity. In a further show of support, Jose Morales, member of the executive board of the SEIU of local chapter 1877, spoke with a translator.

“We’re an organization that opposes discrimination wherever it is,” Mr. Morales declared. “Whether it’s in Iraq, whether it’s in Mexico, and we’re here today in opposition to what’s happening in Iraq. So we’re here today to demand dignity and respect all over the world for our people.”

Rosendahl then stood up, amending the resolution's motion and heightening its urgency by adding a call to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “to take action, to end the persecution and murder of Iraqi gays, including but not limited to making a strong public and international statement, condemning the action and exerting all necessary pressure on the Iraq government to take action.”

At this point, council members took emotional stands of support for the resolution. Councilmember Tony Cardenas stood first. “We as a country stand for equal justice and equal rights for every single human being,” he said. “I think the city of LA should stand up and say we’ve been made aware of this, and because we’re aware of it, we’re saying as a city, that we shall not stand silently and just watch it happen.”

Councilmember Janice Hahn followed with an emotional declaration. “It’s just so hard to hear. It’s so hard to listen to this. It’s unbelievable torture. And it’s interesting that we’ve had this broad civic debate in this country about where we stand as Americans on torture, “she said. “This is certainly a level of torture that I think really rises above all the memos the war memos that we’ve seen released during the last month.”

“And when I say the pledge of allegiance, when it gets to the end phrase, 'with liberty and justice for all,' I always add 'someday,'” she continued. “I believe there is not justice for all at this moment, and as long as we hear stories about that on this planet I will not be able to say that there is liberty and justice for all anywhere. An injury to one is an injury to all. We pray that this type of torture will come to an end.”

District 10 Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr. had an important objection to Rosendahl's earlier statement. “I take issue with one statement that you [Rosendahl] made when you said 'these are my people.’ That’s not true. They are human beings. They are our people. And I think we need to get away from that. People need to just start seeing people for who they are.”

He continued, “I feel real personal where it relates to this because there’s not a member here that doesn’t have a relative, even if you don’t want to admit, that is either gay or lesbian. I got like nine in my family! OK. Every week it seems like I get a new addition. That’s my family, ok. That’s my people.”

He then referred to the importance of the resolution. “The least we can do is stand up and say, 'We know this is going on, it’s wrong, and we’re lifting our voice, saying it’s wrong. Stop it.' I don’t see a reason why the president could not say something about this.”

Councilmember Ed Reyes followed. “This is the 2nd largest city in the country. For this council to make a statement, it will be heard. It will be heard by many.”

Mr. Reyes then made a connection between the torture and the bullying of LGBT youth in America. “Right now, today, throughout the country today, there are children who are being bullied, there are kids being attack because of the way they are, how they behave, because of the tendency to be different. And that’s wrong. And it’s all connected. The message of allowing this to occur, of sticking our heads in the sand, it’s wrong.”

“The United States went to Iraq on the basis of protecting human rights,” Councilmember Jose Huizar reminded the chamber. “And when we see it’s actually gotten worse in respect to gays and lesbians we got to raise the flag and say, 'This is wrong.'”

President of the Council, Wendy Greuel, then called for a vote. The resolution passed unanimously 12-0 to thunderous applause.

I’m a 25 year old graduate student from Baghdad and my name is Ahmad. I want to thank you very much for caring about me and my problem. Finally, after many desperate years of hopelessness I found a group of people that understand and care about me.

My problem is that I’m a gay, and as a gay man I can’t live a normal life in Iraq because:

• My life is in danger. I live in continuous fear of people finding out that I’m gay.

• I can’t express my deepest emotions. I can’t love…I can’t tell those who I care about that I love them… It is like being tortured from inside.

In the past few months I have heard of many cases of violence against gay men, including killing, torturing, and public humiliation of us. The religious vigilantes (known as Maghawer) have kidnapped many men suspected of being gay. No one knows anything about the fate of those gays.

 

The Maghawer’s most popular method of torture for homosexuals is putting silicon glue on their anus to shot down their digestive system and then force them to take laxative drug to make them suffer.

 

Every time I walk on the street I wonder what may happen to me today. To protect myself, I have to lie to everyone and pretend that I am a straight person. It is really hard to be a 24/7 liar out of the fear of death…I keep asking myself if this is going to be MY LIFE!!!

 

I have no one to turn to. Not even other gay men or my family members. Recently I have been blackmailed by men I had sex with in the past. They told me either I have to have sex with them again or they will out me to my family, neighbors and even classmates. I had to choose between scandal and public humiliation and prostitution. But I decided that I can’t have sex with people I don’t love … so I decided to transfer to another college in Northern Iraq.

 

My family doesn’t know about my homosexuality…if they find out, they will disown me because I will become a disgrace to them. They may even try to kill me to protect their honor. I always have to pretend in front my family that I ‘m “normal”…but like any other straight man, my family wants me to marry a woman … I try to avoid that conversation as much as I can but there is a lot of pressure on me to get married.

 

I am not happy with myself. I am not proud of who I am.

 

A while back I went to a psychologist to see if he can treat me. I told him about my problem…he told me that homosexuality has no treatment in Iraq and only experienced doctors in developed countries can give me therapy.

 

The news made me so depressed that I started thinking of committing suicide. I feel even without vigilantes killing me, I AM ALREADY DEAD FROM INSIDE. I just want to know what wrong I have done. Do I have a choice to be gay? Do I want to humiliate myself? Do I want to live in constant fear and anxiety? Do I want my family & friends to hate and abandon me if they discover my truth? Do I want myself to be killed on the hand of uneducated people for something I didn’t choose?

 

I don’t want to make it long for you…but I want to let you know that I have already suffered too much and I don’t have the power to go through more pain and suffering.

 

And finally I want to thank you for your support and help…

 

My Regards and Best Wishes to ALL of YOU…

Iwill soon blog about my own personal account, including a public comment at the hearing I gave.

Prejean The Plumber

America’s Next Top Anita Bryant, Miss California Carrie Prejean, is turning her second place in a beauty contest into a national spokesmodelship for opposition to gay rights.  This is an improvement on what you get out of second place in a beauty contest in Monopoly, which is only $10.

What happens when a young California beauty pageant contestant is asked, “Do you support same-sex marriage?” She is attacked viciously for having the courage to speak up for her truth and her values. But Carrie’s courage inspired a whole nation and a whole generation of young people because she chose to risk the Miss USA crown rather than be silent about her deepest moral values. “No Offense” calls gay marriage advocates to account for their unwillingness to debate the real issue: Gay marriage has consequences.

Did I miss the memo where her resentment at answering a question poorly (remember “we live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage”?  Um, no, that’s kind of the point) inspired a nation?  I mean, the Republicans really have to do a better job with their folk heroes.  For one they have to be, um, heroes, not unemployed plumbers or second-place beauty contest winners.

FWIW, here’s the ad from the National Organization For Marriage.

Yes, if we as a country don’t stand up for the rights of bigots, we will have shamed ourselves.  Won’t somebody think of the gay-bashers?

Keep an eye on this Carrie Prejean.  If the right tries to do with her what they do with their other presumed victims, she’ll have a national speaking tour and a talk show after Limbaugh within a week.

Let’s Not Forget Our Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance

To the Flag

Of the United States of America

And to the Republic

For which it stands

One nation

Under God

Indivisible

With liberty and justice

For all

When was the last time you really thought about the words that you had to speak everyday at the beginning of class throughout your childhood?  At that time, after awhile, you spoke it by rote while barely placing your hand over your heart, not really paying attention to what you were saying, giggling with your friend at the next desk over about some joke on the playground.  So over time, it lost all meaning.

But suddenly, your rights are stripped away, and you think, “How the hell did this happen?”  And then you remember.  “Didn’t I pledge something, about a Republic?”  And suddenly, that droning recital you gave every morning at school has a whole lot of meaning.

I pledge allegiance

Those of us fighting for our equal rights have been accused of being non-American, of trying to thwart the very foundation of our country.  Yet, if I remember right, my history teacher told me that the very reason our country exists was because the colonists who worked their hands to the bone to establish this country (or worked their slaves’ hands to the bone), believed they didn’t have a voice in how they were governed.  “Taxation without representation,” became their motto.  And if I’m not confused, am I not paying taxes NOW for numerous benefits I’m being denied?  Where’s my representation?  So fighting for my rights, my equal rights, to those benefits, is in the exact nature of how our country even began!  I’m standing by my allegiance!



To the Flag

Of the United States of America

. . . 48, 49, 50.  Yep, there’s still fifty stars on that flag.  Meaning, all states make up the Union.  Oh, wait, there’s thirteen stripes, representing the original thirteen colonies that fought for their voices to be heard.  So if I’m interpreting the flag correctly, those fifty stars stand in solidarity with the intent of the colonies to have equal representation.

So why is it that each state can decide for itself whether or not to allow some people marry?  Why is that I can get married in Connecticut, but then drive to North Carolina and suddenly not be married?  That doesn’t sound like a Union to me.

And speaking of the Union as a whole – the federal government doesn’t recognize some marriages while it does others?  Even going as far as to discriminate against its employees?  Doesn’t that go against the very essence of equal representation that its creation was based upon?

And to the Republic

For which it stands. . .

A republic.  A republic?  What’s that?

A Republic is representative government ruled by law (the Constitution). Then what’s a democracy?  A democracy is direct government ruled by the majority (mob rule). A Republic recognizes the inalienable rights of individuals while democracies are only concerned with group wants or needs (the public good).  Of course, if everyone remembered this, or agreed with said definitions, maybe I would still have my rights.  Hopefully, President Obama will remember.

One Nation

Under God

“Under God” was an addition first introduced by the Knights of Columbus.  Need I say more?  Their version of God is not quite mine.  I do believe in a higher power, but I don’t believe that the higher power is condemning me to hell for loving another person, whether or not they are of the same sex as I.



Indivisible

One nation.  I pledged that.  I’m not trying to tear us apart. I’m trying to regain my rights and fight for the rights that my fellow citizens already enjoy.  If anything, that’s unifying our nation. But I believe if someone is actively trying to take someone’s rights away, they’re trying to divide.  So in effect, are they not breaking their pledge?

With Liberty

I don’t have the liberty to marry whom I want.  I did.  At least in California.  But that was taken away.  But a bare majority.  (Re-read what a Republic is)

. . . and Justice for all.

Ah.  Justice.  I’m still waiting to see if the California Supreme Court will issue justice here.  During the Proposition 8 arguments, they kept referring to the will of the people, almost as if they had the final say.  But in a republic, “people” is singular.   Each individual has a say.   Each.  And their say is protected.  In a democracy, “people” is plural, and the majority rule.

I believe I am a “people.”  I believe my LGBT community is a “people.”   And my will, along with theirs, is to have the same rights as my fellow citizens.

Having those rights is justice.

Sources:

Citizens for Constitutional Government, “Republic vs. Democracy”

Wikipedia, “Addition of the words ‘Under God'”

Prop 8 Campaign’s Hypocritical Effort to Hide Donors Gets Slapped Down

U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. has ruled against the Prop 8 campaign in their attempt to hide their donors from public disclosure. I don’t yet have a copy of the decision, but I’ll hunt it down and get a more detailed analysis.

You can find a great rundown of the case at Melissa’s place. She went to the hearing today, so I expect she’ll be providing more information on the hearing soon. Basically, the campaign alleged that their donors’ first amendment rights were being violated by the disclosure requirement.  Their argument was that the potential harassment and boycotts chilled the donors expression via money to the campaign.

To wit, the Judge said:

The court finds that the state is not facilitating retaliation by compelling disclosure.

Of course, all of this was quite funny, and massively hypocritical, given the context of the Prop 8 campaign’s attempted blackmail of equality minded donors. Well, what’s good for the goose must surely be good for the gander.  We should be getting that full list of campaign donors any day now.  I sort of doubt that we’ll see anything too major on there.

One more note on Prop 8 disclosure. A Late Contribution document has already been filed, and the Mormon Church itself (not Mormon people, but the actual Church) gave over $30,000 ($30,354.85 to be exact) in the last few days of the campaign. (Downloadable PDF here) Not the huge mega-donation they have used in some other states, but people should know just how instrumental one religious movement was to the passage of this discriminatory measure.

Gay Rights on the Ballot Bibliography

Cross-posted at DailyKos.

On the “Day Without a Gay”, I took the day off from work where I decided to use my time and skills where I was strongest.  As a librarian I have a knack of finding sources and providing them to the researcher potential of sources.  

So on that day, I headed to a major research library (I work at a community college library that would be limited in resources on what I needed to do), where I would have access to electronic resources, with print sources nearby, if needed.

Already by reading one book and one article, I learned about past Mormon Church activism that defeated the Equal Rights Amendment, but also learned how an anti-gay amendment was defeated in Idaho because the No campaign successfully appealed to Mormons in that state: http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

The idea here is if people do their research, they can make golden discoveries.  I believe if activists and a campaign are more information literate, they will be smarter in their outreach, strategies, let alone help the general public become more information literate as well, on the issue of LGBT rights and Marriage Equality.

Campaigning Against Anti-Gay Ballot Initiatives Bibliography

Includes scholarly articles on key population studies, articles on the framing of same sex marriage, impact of anti-gay campaigns, particularly from the 90s to the Present, and other related articles.  There’s also a few articles on closely related, but has the potential of having key insight and are likely worth reading.  This is a ROUGH DRAFT, meaning a future version may be split into sections, let alone other useful journal article citations will likely be added (especially as more articles come out on the Proposition 8 campaign, its impact afterwards, and this year’s earlier California Supreme Court ruling, for example).

References

Adam, B. D. (2003, Apr.). The Defense of Marriage Act and American Exceptionalism: The “Gay Marriage” Panic in the United States. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 12(2), 259-276. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Agee, C. (2006, Sept.). Gayola: Police Professionalization and the Politics of San Francisco’s Gay Bars, 1950-1968. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 15(3), 462-489. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

All Eyes on California this November. (2008, Sept.). Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, 15(5), 22-23. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost LGBT Life

Amendment 2 and the Denver Post. (1993, Sept. 19). The Denver Post, Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from NewsBank

Andersen, R. & Fenter, T. (2008). Cohort Differences in Tolerance of Homosexuality: Attitudinal Change in Canada and the United States, 1981-2000. Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(2), 311-330. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from Oxford University Press Journals

Angle, M. (1994, Oct. 15). Initiatives: Vox Populi or Professional Ploy?. Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 2982-2982. Retrieved Oct. 15, 1994, from EBSCOhost Military & Government Collection

Barrett, J. (2008, Dec. 16). The Age of Ignorance. Advocate, 1021, 4-4.

Bernstein, M. (2002). Identities and Politics: Toward a Historical Understanding of the Lesbian and Gay Movement. Social Science History, 26(3), 531-581. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Brandzel, A. L. (2005). Queering Citizenship?: Same-Sex Marriage and the State. GLQ, 11(2), 171-204. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Broaddus, T. (2000). Vote No If You Believe in Marriage: Lessons from the No On Knight/No On Proposition 22 Campaign. Berkeley Women’s Law Journal, 15, 1-13. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost LGBT Life

Brown, F. (1993, Sept. 19). Amendment 2 Attitudes Unchanged Since the Election. Denver Post, Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from NewsBank

Brumbaugh, S. M., Sanchez, L. A., Nock, S. L., & Wright, J. D. (2008, May). Attitudes Toward Gay Marriage in States Undergoing Marriage Law Transformation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 345-359. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from Synergy Blackwell Premium

A California Travesty. (1978, Oct. 28).  New Republic, 179, 8-8.

Camp, B. J. (2008). Mobilizing the Base and Embarrassing the Opposition: Defense of Marriage Referenda and Cross-Cutting Electoral Cleavages. Sociological Perspectives, 51(4), 713-733. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from Caliber

Campbell, D. E. & Monson, J. Q. (2008). The Religion Card: Gay Marriage and the 2004 Presidential Collection. Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(3), 399-419. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from Oxford University Press Journals Online.

Carbado, D. W. (1999). Black Men on Race, Gender, & Sexuality: A Critical Reader. New York: New York University Press.

Carpenter, C. & Gates, G. J. (2008, Aug.). Gay and Lesbian Partnership: Evidence from California. Demography, 45(3), 573-590. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Chan, P. (2008, June). Stonewalling through Schizophrenia: An Anti-Gay Rights Culture in Hong Kong?. Sexuality & Culture, 12(2), 71-87. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost LGBT Life

Chapman, T., Leib, J. I., & Webster, G. (2007). Race, the Creative Class, and Political Geographies of Same Sex Marriage in Georgia. Southeastern Geographer, 47(1), 27-54. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Chauncey, G. (2004). “What Gay Studies Taught the Court”: The Historians’ Amicus Brief in Lawrence v. Texas. GLQ, 10(3), 509-538. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Colorado to Vote on Barring Gay-Rights Laws. (1992, May 24).  New York Times. p. 31-31.

Dailey, J. D. & Farley, P. (1996). Colorado’s Amendment 2: A Result in Search of a Reason. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 20(1), 215-277. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite

Denike, M. (2007). Religion, Rights, and Relationships: The Dream of Relational Equality. Hypatia, 22(1), 71-91. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2008, from Project MUSE

Diamond, S. (1994). The Christian Right’s Anti-Gay Agenda. Humanist, 54(4), 32-34. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost LGBT Life

Dickinson, T. (2008, Dec. 11). Same-Sex Setback. Rolling Stone, 45-47. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete

Donovan, T. & Bowler, S. (1997). Direct Democracy and Minority Rights: Opinions on Anti-Gay and Lesbian Ballot Initiatives. In S. L. Witt & S. McCorkle (Eds.), Anti-Gay Rights: Assessing Voter Initiatives (p. 107-126). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Donovan, T. & Bowler, S. (1998, July). Direct Democracy and Minority Rights: An Extension. American Journal of Political Science, 42(3), 1020-1024. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete

Douglas, D. (1997). Taking the Initiative: Anti-Homosexual Propaganda of the Oregon Citizen’s Alliance. In S. L. Witt & S. McCorkle (Eds.), Anti-Gay Rights: Assessing Voter Initiatives (p. 17-32). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Egan, P. J. & Sherrill, K. (2005, Apr.). Marriage and the Shifting Priorities of a New Generation of Lesbians and Gays. PS, Political Science & Politics, 38(2), 229-232. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from ProQuest Research Library

Ehrenreich, B. (2008, Dec. 16). Anatomy of a Failed Campaign. Advocate, 1021, 34-36.

Feigenbaum, E. F. (2007). Heterosexual Privilege: The Political and the Personal. Hypatia, 22(1), 1-9. Retrieved Nov. 9, 2008, from ProQuest GenderWatch

Feltner, T. (2001). Working Anita Bryant: The Impact of Christian Anti-Gay Activism on Lesbian and Gay Movement Claims. Social Problems, 48(3), 411-428. Retrieved Dec. 10, 2008, from Caliber

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An Evening With Some Community Organizers

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the 15th Anniversary Awards Dinner for LAANE (The Los Angeles Alliance For A New Economy), which brought 1,000 people to the Beverly Hilton (including Mayor Villaraigosa, Sean Penn, and more) and raised $500,000 for their cause.  I know I get depressed reading about endless budget fights and cutbacks to schools and health care, so it’s important to take comfort (and some valuable lessons) in those doing important work – and fighting some of the most powerful and entrenched interests in the city and the country – and winning.

LAANE is a group dedicated to fighting for economic and environmental justice by building coalitions and waging campaigns to improve the lives of people in underserved and at-risk communities.  Their success stories include some of the most astonishing victories of the last decade – the living-wage campaign in Los Angeles, the (eventually) successful grocery worker’s strike, the campaign to keep Wal-Mart out of Inglewood in 2004, the fight for justice for hotel workers near LAX.  More recently, they achieved success with a landmark blue-green alliance of nearly 40 environmental groups, community organizers and labor organizations like the Teamsters, to clean up the Port of Los Angeles, which resulted in a huge victory for clean air and clean water which will also provide good-paying sustainable jobs for truck drivers.  The Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports is a model for the nation, to combine economic security and respect for the environment at the ports, and Chuck Mack & Jim Santangelo from the Teamsters were honored last night (sporting leis flown in by a Teamster rep from Hawaii).

Another of their campaigns is the “Construction Career Policy,” dedicated to providing local residents in low-income communities the opportunity to get middle-class, union construction jobs on projects happening in their area.  This has resulted in thousands of jobs for at-risk and underserved communities of color, and the goal is for 15,000 jobs over the next 5 years.  Mayor Villaraigosa presented Cora Davis, a construction business owner and leading advocate for the program, with an award.

Finally, in the wake of the movie “Milk,” many are remembering the work of Cleve Jones, an activist in San Francisco during the era and the leader of the AIDS Quilt Project.  Today, Jones is a community organizer working for UNITE HERE, and he has worked with LAANE on their campaigns to create living-wage jobs and improve working conditions for the 3,500 hotel workers around LAX Airport.  Sean Penn, who became friendly with Jones over the last year working on “Milk,” presented him with an award for his service.  In his speech, Jones talked about these noble working-class people, many of them immigrants, “the ones who are serving you dinner tonight,” and he paid tribute to their struggle and dignity.  He also had a few words to say about the passage of Prop. 8, which left him heartbroken and drew eerie parallels to the Prop. 6 campaign he worked on with Harvey Milk in 1978.  But, Jones said, the real parallel moment is 1964, a time when civil rights for African-Americans in the Deep South appeared remote.  “Now is the time for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to sign a new Civil Rights Act restoring fundamental rights for every American in this country.”  It’s not the tactic you hear from the leading gay rights organizations, but Cleve doesn’t hold much of a brief for them either:

The new (gay rights) activists have impressed some gay rights veterans.

“They’ve shown a clear ability to turn out large numbers of people,” said Cleve Jones, a longtime gay rights advocate and labor organizer. “It’s also clear that they are skeptical of the established L.G.B.T. organizations. And I would say they have reason to be.”

Overall, it was inspiring to see a community-based organization so dedicated to restoring fairness, justice, dignity and respect to a part of a population that frequently doesn’t have a voice in political affairs, and more important, to see them get results.  LAANE is doing some great work.

On behalf of Utah, Let Me Say I’m Sorry (with video of SLC Prop 8 protest)

I have visited Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City every winter to see the buildings and trees lit up for the holidays – and I promise it’s the most beautiful sight you’ll ever see.  They won’t turn on the lights for another 21 days, but I would have given anything to have been there tonight.

Let me explain.  

In a week when much of the country is celebrating monumental progressive victories, I feel nothing but the constant shame of knowing how much money and manpower the Mormon Church and residents of Utah have poured into the passage of California’s Proposition 8.

I’m 26, gay, and from Salt Lake City…  To say the fight over Prop 8 – and the other three anti-gay ballot measures that were enacted into law this week – is personal is one hell of an understatement.

I’m used to watching progressive victories from the sidelines. It’s always been hard to reconcile the thriving liberal oasis of Salt Lake City and Park City with the rest of our ultra-conservative surroundings.  I’m all too used to the long arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that extends into every aspect of life in Utah – as well as into your psyche.

I need to apologize – to every couple in California whose marriages hang in the balance; to every closeted gay kid in Utah who is even more terrified than before – on behalf of Utah itself. It rips me up that my heritage has suddenly turned so dark – but the gathering rage of the last few days has given me a new, first glimpse of hope.

So how dare they!  How dare they take on a fight AGAINST equality – and do so in the name of faith and religion and marriage and values.  How dare they defile the love I hope to one day celebrate at my own wedding. How dare they twist my mother’s spirituality – which has always been the bedrock of our family – into something hurtful.

I envy my mom’s faith sometimes – I wish I could be so sure of things.  Which brings me to this week.  As I have watched the outpouring of support for LGBT equality – the righteous rage evident in protests throughout California to the countless blog posts America Blog and Daily Kos – I have been made sure again.  Sure of the goodness of humanity and the great potential America.

It has made me finally confront what I’ve been so studiously ignoring these past few months: my own sense of responsibility – as a Utahn – for this hateful mess.

I remember all too clearly the day I heard that Canada had legalized gay marriage and I realized in an instant that I had never let myself dream or even hope for such a thing in my own country.  It was like the world shifted out from under me and I could breathe for the first time and it was too good to be true.

I believe that I will see marriage legalized throughout the United States in my lifetime – just not yet.  It’s almost unbelievable to be typing those words, to be honest.  But as we fight until we reach that day, I am equally aware that there will be moments of reckoning.  This is one of them.  My children – those grandkids my mom can’t wait to meet – will ask us how such things could happen, how times could ever have been so dark.  And in the wake of the devastating passage of Proposition 8 in California, they will ask me what I did to stop it.

My answer cannot be “nothing.”

So now it’s our turn.  Tonight, there was a protest in front of the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City.  They were expecting maybe 100 people at best…  But over 3,000 Utahns turned out to show their support for LGBTQ equality.

I’ve spent every winter of my life looking up at the lights of those trees.  But I would trade a lifetime of Christmases to have been there tonight to protest the role of the Mormon Church in passing Prop 8.  I would give anything to have been there standing with my friends and family to prove to America – and if I’m honest, to prove to ourselves – that not all of us are agents of intolerance.

That even on this darkest of nights – and even in Salt Lake City, Utah – love and hope and justice and equality can shine brighter than the lights of any Temple on earth.

Crossposted at www.amplifyyourvoice.org