The Oklahoman publishes fair article about the LGBT community

The Oklahoman newspaper is often criticized for being too conservative by many in Oklahoma. I'm one of those who have been frustrated by, what I feel, is their lack of balance especially in political and social discourse.

I am a firm believer that progressive change here in the conservative heartland of America has ramifications that are felt across our nation, especially when it comes to LGBT civil rights equality. I was pleased to read this article in the business section of the Oklahoman:

So, a gay worker whose company offers domestic partner benefits must pay income taxes on the portion of the premium for his partner that his employer pays.

The Human Rights Campaign says DOMA takes more than 1,000 benefits from same-sex couples, including the ability to claim Social Security benefits and use the expanded estate tax exemptions.

So how many GLBT workers are there? Is the stat even important? The issue isn’t about numbers. It’s about antidiscrimination. It’s about respect. It’s about people.

I'm looking forward to the day when this kind of article appears in The Oklahoman's editorial page. Read More...

Study: Brains of gay men similar to those of straight women

Can I be Bea Arthur's brain?

From the LA Times:

The brains of gay men resemble those of straight women, according to research being published Tuesday that provides more evidence of the role of biology in sexual orientation.

Using brain scanning equipment, researchers said they discovered similarities in the brain circuits that deal with language, perhaps explaining why homosexual men tend to outperform straight men on verbal skills tests -- as do heterosexual women.

The area of the brain that processes emotions also looked very much the same in gay men and straight women -- and both groups have higher rates of depressive disorders than heterosexual men, researchers said.

The study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, however, found the brain similarities were not as close in the case of gay women and straight men.

It's funny, but my foreign language classes in college, and I took a lot of them (four languages at once, my senior year - don't ask why), were always filled with straight women and a dappling of gay men. I wonder if the creativity thing goes along these lines as well (is creativity a feminine trait, or a gay one for that matter?) Then again, it's just as possible that societal pressures influenced my class make-up - real men take engineering, not French, blah blah. Read More...

Okay, this is a bit weird...

President Obama's speech at the Hate Crimes signing reception this evening at the White House included the following sentence:

Mr. David Bohnett and Mr. Tom Gregory and the David Bohnett Foundation -- they are partners for this reception. Thank you so much, guys, for helping to host this.

Private citizens and a private organization "helped host" the event. What does that mean? Did they pay for the food or drink or something? I know in the past the President has had corporate CEOs pay for their own lunches when meeting with the president, but this isn't exactly a lobbying visit by rich CEOs. Just curious what this actually means - maybe they simply helped draw up the guest list or something.

The President's remarks in full are after the jump. Here's the video to them:



REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT RECEPTION COMMEMORATING THE ENACTMENT OF THE MATTHEW SHEPARD AND JAMES BYRD, JR. HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

East Room
5:45 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, everybody. Thank you so much, and welcome to the White House.

There are several people here that I want to just make mention of because they helped to make today possible. We've got Attorney General Eric Holder. (Applause.) A champion of this legislation, and a great Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. (Applause.) My dear friend, senior Senator from the great state of Illinois, Dick Durbin. (Applause.) The outstanding Chairman of Armed Services, Carl Levin. (Applause.) Senator Arlen Specter. (Applause.) Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House, Representative John Conyers. (Applause.) Representative Barney Frank. (Applause.) Representative Tammy Baldwin. (Applause.) Representative Jerry Nadler. (Applause.) Representative Jared Polis. (Applause.) All the members of Congress who are here today, we thank you.

Mr. David Bohnett and Mr. Tom Gregory and the David Bohnett Foundation -- they are partners for this reception. Thank you so much, guys, for helping to host this. (Applause.)

And finally, and most importantly, because these were really the spearheads of this effort -- Denis, Judy, and Logan Shepard. (Applause.) As well as Betty Byrd Boatner and Louvon Harris -- sisters of James Byrd, Jr. (Applause.)

To all the activists, all the organizers, all the people who helped make this day happen, thank you for your years of advocacy and activism, pushing and protesting that made this victory possible.

You know, as a nation we've come far on the journey towards a more perfect union. And today, we've taken another step forward. This afternoon, I signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (Applause.)

This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade. Time and again, we faced opposition. Time and again, the measure was defeated or delayed. Time and again we've been reminded of the difficulty of building a nation in which we're all free to live and love as we see fit. But the cause endured and the struggle continued, waged by the family of Matthew Shepard, by the family of James Byrd, by folks who held vigils and led marches, by those who rallied and organized and refused to give up, by the late Senator Ted Kennedy who fought so hard for this legislation -- (applause) -- and all who toiled for years to reach this day.

You understood that we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits -- not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear. You understand that the rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights -- both from unjust laws and violent acts. And you understand how necessary this law continues to be.

In the most recent year for which we have data, the FBI reported roughly 7,600 hate crimes in this country. Over the past 10 years, there were more than 12,000 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation alone. And we will never know how many incidents were never reported at all.

And that's why, through this law, we will strengthen the protections against crimes based on the color of your skin, the faith in your heart, or the place of your birth. We will finally add federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. (Applause.) And prosecutors will have new tools to work with states in order to prosecute to the fullest those who would perpetrate such crimes. Because no one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability.

At root, this isn't just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another
-- whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus. It's hard for any of us to imagine the mind-set of someone who would kidnap a young man and beat him to within an inch of his life, tie him to a fence, and leave him for dead. It's hard for any of us to imagine the twisted mentality of those who'd offer a neighbor a ride home, attack him, chain him to the back of a truck, and drag him for miles until he finally died.

But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity -- the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share.

We have for centuries strived to live up to our founding ideal, of a nation where all are free and equal and able to pursue their own version of happiness. Through conflict and tumult, through the morass of hatred and prejudice, through periods of division and discord we have endured and grown stronger and fairer and freer. And at every turn, we've made progress not only by changing laws but by changing hearts, by our willingness to walk in another's shoes, by our capacity to love and accept even in the face of rage and bigotry.

In April of 1968, just one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King, as our nation mourned in grief and shuddered in anger, President Lyndon Johnson signed landmark civil rights legislation. This was the first time we enshrined into law federal protections against crimes motivated by religious or racial hatred -- the law on which we build today.

As he signed his name, at a difficult moment for our country, President Johnson said that through this law "the bells of freedom ring out a little louder." That is the promise of America. Over the sounds of hatred and chaos, over the din of grief and anger, we can still hear those ideals -- even when they are faint, even when some would try to drown them out. At our best we seek to make sure those ideals can be heard and felt by Americans everywhere. And that work did not end in 1968. It certainly does not end today. But because of the efforts of the folks in this room -- particularly those family members who are standing behind me -- we can be proud that that bell rings even louder now and each day grows louder still.

So thank you very much. God bless you and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END 5:53 P.M. EDT Read More...

Religious right demanding that Mars (aka Snickers), Domino's and Ikea take a stand against gay couples adopting children

What a weird thing to demand. But that's what the American Family Association is now doing. They're demanding that Mars (parent company of Snickers), Domino's and Ikea stop advertising on ABCs TV show "Modern Family" because - get this - a gay couple adopts a child.

It gets even funnier. AFA also demands the ads be pulled because in the show a woman and her mother have "a dysfunctional relationship with high tension and negativity." Yeah, that's not reality.

I write this to highlight just how bigoted the religious right really is. They're demanding that no one advertise on a TV show because a gay couples adopts a child? Because the show had the audacity to show an adult who has a tense relationship with her mother? Are they nuts?

It will be interesting to see if any of the three companies respond. Especially since the American Family Association was caught peddling the anti-gay "science" of a known hate group. Such hateful "science" that the Southern Poverty Law Center said it has "echoes of Nazi Germany." You'll also recall that the AFA has had a Jewish problem for years.

Hard to believe Mars, Domino's and IKEA want to be seen aligning with a group like that.

Mars, you'll recall, makes Snickers. And Snickers, you'll recall, had a big PR disaster in the gay community a few years back with their violent anti-gay Super Bowl ad. As for Domino's, they've been trying to forever to shake off the bad press they get for their founder being a right-wing nut. And Ikea... Ikea? The religious right honestly thinks a Swedish company - a company from a country that allows gay marriage - that has its own gay ads is going to pull its ads from a TV show because the show has a gay couple adopting a child? Really?

Here's one of the IKEA ads, I love the last line.

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Att Gen Holder doesn't have enough knowledge about Maine Question 1 to comment

Andy Towle was at the White House DOD authorization/hate crimes bill signing today, and got to ask Attorney General Eric Holder if he'd like to clarify his odd answer he gave about Amendment 1 in Maine when he was there earlier this week.

Holder's answer? He doesn't really know anything about what's going on in Maine, so he can't comment.

Really? The Attorney General of the United States goes to Maine this week, when the biggest story in in the state is Amendment 1, and he'd like us to believe that no one briefed him on it. And then, after flubbing an answer about the amendment while he was in Maine, the Attorney General then goes to a big gay big gay bill signing in the White House, and opens himself up for questions, but he doesn't get briefed on the number one issue in the gay community this week, asides from the hate crimes signing, Amendment 1 in Maine.

Bottom line: Holder is very aware of Amendment 1, but the administration is afraid to comment. Why couldn't Holder just reiterate what the president has already said, that the amendment is "divisive and discriminatory," and he doesn't support things like that.

The Obama administration is far too skilled at taking something good - Obama's statements on the divisive and discriminatory amendments, and the day of the bill signing of the hate crimes bill - and turning those positive things into a moment of divisiveness itself. What are they so afraid of? Read More...

The day the hate groups took over the anti-gay campaign in Maine

The picture below says it all.



I took the photo in the Maine State Capitol earlier today. From left to right are Peter "Porno Pete" LaBarbera, a volunteer from the Stand for Marriage Maine campaign, Paul Madore from the Grassroots Coalition, and Brian Canemaker from Mass Resistance, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. LaBarbera has also been tied to hate groups, helping to peddle their anti-gay junk "science" that's been said to have "echoes of Nazi Germany" by the SPLC.

Madore, LaBarbera and Camenker don't think the anti-gay campaign has been homophobic enough, so they brought their freak show to Maine. And, it was a freak show. These guys think about gays and gay sex more than gay people do. They're obsessed in a very creepy way.

The guy with the sign was standing there because Madore wanted people to know that these guys are all part of the anti-gay campaign led by the Bishop of Maine. So now we know. Read More...

Obama signs hate crimes bill

Obama's statement on hate crimes at the bill signing:

[T]here is one more long-awaited change contained within this legislation that I'll be talking about a little more later today. After more than a decade of opposition and delay, we've passed inclusive hate crimes legislation to help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray, or who they are. (Applause.)

I promised Judy Shepard, when she saw me in the Oval Office, that this day would come, and I'm glad that she and her husband Dennis could join us for this event. I'm also honored to have the family of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who fought so hard for this legislation. And Vicki and Patrick, Kara, everybody who's here, I just want you all to know how proud we are of the work that Ted did to help this day -- make this day possible. So -- and thank you for joining us here today.

Read More...

Latest on intersexed South African runner, Caster Semenya

This case has always peaked my curiosity because of the implications of an intersexed person and how society treats them once it is discovered they have both male and female genitalia. It's kind of hard for the right wingers to sputter, "but... but... but... God made Adam and Eve!" When you have a case like Caster Semenya.

The International Olympic Committee will convene a special conference of medical experts to draw up guidelines for dealing with “ambiguous” gender cases in the wake of South African runner Caster Semenya’s sex-test controversy.

IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his panel will organize a symposium in Florida in January to look at gender issues and advise sports bodies how to respond.

“Sometimes you come across cases that are uncertain and ambiguous, and it changes from being a sports matter to a medical matter,” Ljungqvist said. “That’s where we need to have a review.”

Sometimes you come across cases that are uncertain and ambiguous? Sigh... Personally, I think G-d has just been reading too much Judith Butler. Read More...

Family Research Council: Obama program to help gay elderly is wasted since gays die young anyway. Is FRC again using "science" of known hate group?

Aside from the hateful venom here, what's really interesting is that the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins appears to be, yet again, quoting the research of a known hate group. The whole "gays die young" thing is the brain child of Paul Cameron, a debunked "doctor" who was kicked out of various medical societies, and whose anti-gay research, the Southern Poverty Law Center says, has "echoes of Nazi Germany." The SPLC also labels Cameron's organization a "hate group." (Links to proof of all of this are in this post.)

You'll note that the Family Research Council, to this day, still publishes Cameron's anti-gay "Nazi Germany" research on its Web site.



And keep in mind - who started the campaign against gay Obama administration official Kevin Jennings? FRC, the group that promotes the anti-gay research of Nazi Germany-esque hate groups. Seeing a pattern here?

Interestingly, who else is promoting the "Nazi Germany" science of Paul Cameron, claiming, falsely, that gays all die young? None of than Peter LaBarbera, the man attending an anti-gay press conference, as I write, in Maine alongside the leader of another known hate group, as labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center: Brian Camenker of Mass Resistance.

The one good thing is that the religious right is so hateful, so anti-gay, so bigoted that it's extremely difficult for them to hide their hate and their animus. And yet again, we caught them. Read More...

A Maine Father wants equality for his daughter, he's a "papa bear protecting his cubs"

First we had Mr. Spooner, and now we have the video of Paul and Jeanette speaking for Equality Maine at the hearing last April. I can't convey how powerful this video is. Its even more powerful when you realize it's from a Mainer Catholic Vietnam veteran. Like Paul says, he is simply "sorta like a Papa bear up here protecting my cubs."


If Mr. Spooner's touching testimony brought tears, you better go get the kleenex again.

Then, get on the phone and Call for Equality. Read More...

ESPN's blatant homophobia

A reader writes about a segment he saw on ESPN earlier today in which they talked about a football player getting into trouble for using the word "fag." So how did ESPN handle it? Let our reader explain:

I don't know what the show was -- I'm on the west coast, so it's a 3:48 timeslot PT. Three guys were reporting Larry Johnson's gay slur and the apology that made it worse. The question -- should he be suspended.

So the three guys talking included one who was dressed in a "flamboyant" (nudge nudge) neckscarf over his sports coat and tie, and opened the segment talking about competing for the "male model" award.

Frat boy humor skating on this side of naming what they're doing. But in essence, doing what Johnson did, without the slur. (Johnson's slurs were "fag" and later, "faggot" as an adjective.) It's obviously a thing with Johnson when he's pissed. I don't think that Johnson is homophobic in the full sense -- he's homophobic in the sense that "gay" is a slur for "bad". ESPN, on the other hand, is homophobic in the full, conscious sense -- currying (ratings) favor from manly sports fans by ridiculing (supposedly) gay mannerisms. Disgusting.

Someone really ought to go after ESPN for this.

Read More...