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Bad news for the Right: There already are gays in the Boy Scouts
In addition to being deeply offensive, BSA’s policy has always struck me as profoundly stupid. Maybe it’s just my own experience, but who did they think was joining the Scouts? In my troop, at least, it wasn’t just the “normal” kids. It was those of us who were a little… off. A little too awkward. A little too hyper. A little too helpful. A little too queer. In short, it was the kind of kid who grows up to be interesting, committed, successful and, none too rarely, gay….
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The worth of your child in Alabama Public Schools: $2,655
The Lauderdale County Board of Education in Florence, Ala. has decreed that Queer students, racial minority students, overweight students, or any students that do not meet the standards of normalcy of the local community are worth precisely “2 weeks suspension without pay.” For the average teacher in Alabama this comes to roughly $2,655.
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When Christians are Christianity’s worst enemies
Hi, I’m a Christian. As a gay man, I understand all too well why those words conjure up fear, loathing, and dramatic eye rolls among my LGBT friends. But I’m proud of my faith. I love its emphasis on grace, mercy, and love. I love Jesus’ teachings about forgiveness, service, putting others first, and giving people more than they deserve. I love that he was known for befriending the outcasts and “sinners” while condemning the religious leaders. We could use a little more of that attitude today! But as much as I love my faith, sometimes my fellow Christians make me want to scream.
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Jadin Bell: The Lynching of a Butterfly and the Modern Mob
The officials are calling the impending death of young Jadin a “suicide”. It was not a suicide; it was the destruction of something innocent, something beautiful, something of supreme contribution exposed to an environment that valued it not at all. The facts support their word perhaps. No argument. A 15 year old boy took a rope to a playground and without assistance from any visible being, hung himself.
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‘Would it have bothered you if your daughter, Whitney was gay? Absolutely.’
We will never know the sort of life Whitney Houston might have had if her Mother had been just a bit more compassionate, loving and accepting toward her daughter. If she is harboring this much anger still – one can only imagine what Whitney had to listen to while she was alive.
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Despite Dan Cathy’s new gay friendship, nothing has changed at Chick-fil-A
Campus Pride executive director Shane Windmeyer revealed Monday that he and Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy are now friends, and explains that his organization has suspended its campaign against the anti-gay chicken company — which has franchises on many university campuses. But Windmeyer fails to actually explain any concrete changes taking place at the company — Chick-fil-A is not ending the bulk of its anti-gay giving, Chick-fil-A is not implementing any LGBT-inclusive policies like nondiscrimination protections, and Dan Cathy is not apologizing for his vitriolic comments.
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What happens when a son tells his gay dad, ‘You are not my Mom’
I always figured there were certain hateful statements my sons would make, especially ones that say I am inadequate. Such statements would come out in the future during some teen age angst scrapple where I was laying down the law and they were going for my vulnerable jugular. My sister told me once, “If your kids don’t shout out that they hate you at least a few times, then you aren’t doing it right.” Up until now, no such shout out has occurred…
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Separate but equal is never equal – Ever.
I don’t want to rain on anyone’s LGBT Inaugural moment, however… Even though the President mentioned Stonewall along with Selma and Seneca Falls in the same sentence, he doesn’t really see gay marriage as a civil rights issue that needs to be helped along by the federal government. For the truth of the matter is, no matter what President Obama may say, and no matter where he is when he says it – he still believes that marriage equality belongs in the hands of the States.
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David Kato remembered: A hero then, and a hero now
David Kato advocated for the freedom of LGBTI Ugandans and for their right to their natural born sexual orientation in a heightened climate of hostility and homophobia … Today on this second anniversary of the death of Kato, his friends, comrades, human rights defenders, and LGBTI people around the world are expressing their love, comforting each other and extolling the virtues of this great hero, with comments, memories and prayer for the peace of his dearly departed soul.
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‘As much as he can, he gets it.’
In his second inaugural address, the President called for the equality of gays and lesbians like no President has ever done. Even now, as I think about the transcript of his speech and reading those words “Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall” my throat tightens, my eyes water. With that line he presented a seminal moment in the history of gay rights – the Stonewall riots – as a transformative moment in American civil rights history. There is no question. The President of the United States, who is African-American, views the battle for gay rights as a battle for civil rights. As much as he can, he gets it.