Anti-gay groups file lawsuits against Washington State and Maine

The anti-gay forces aren't going to let state laws interfere with their gay-bashing campaigns. In both Washington State and Maine, which have strong campaign finance laws, the homophobes are suing those states over those campaign finance laws.

In Washington State, the opponents of Referendum 71 are challenging the state's contribution limits. Don't forget, these are the people who put R-71 on the ballot:

A Lynnwood-based organization that opposes the state's domestic partnership law and is working to defeat Referendum 71 has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Tacoma seeking to circumvent campaign contribution limits of $5,000 and to keep secret the names of those who make smaller donations.

State campaign finance laws require campaigns to disclose names and addresses of those who donate over $25 to a campaign. Campaigns must also include employer names and addresses as well as the occupations of donors contributing over $100. The laws limit to $5,000 contributions from businesses and individuals made within 21 days of the general election.javascript:void(0)

The attorney for the Family Policy Institute of Washington, which filed the lawsuit through its newly formed Family PAC late Wednesday, acknowledged that there are substantial contributions in the offing that the campaign wants to accept but can't because of the limits.

At The SLOG, Dominic Holden named the Executive Director of the Family Policy Institute, Joseph Backholm, the "Douchebag of the Day." Deservedly so.

In Maine, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is helping to fund the lies from the anti-gay campaign in Maine -- and probably breaking Maine's campaign finance law. The state is conducting an investigation. NOM is showing its disdain for Maine by suing the state:

The biggest contributor to the group trying to overturn Maine's gay marriage law is suing the state over its campaign reporting requirements.

The state ethics commission voted Oct. 1 to take a closer look at contributions by the National Organization for Marriage after it was accused of circumventing Maine law by not reporting the names of many donors. The group responded with a constitutional challenge filed Wednesday in federal court in Bangor.

The National Organization for Marriage is the biggest contributor to Stand for Marriage, which is leading a referendum drive to overturn Maine's gay marriage law. Joining in the lawsuit is a second group, American Principles in Action.

These groups are despicable. Read More...

87-year old WWII vet "Becomes Face of Same Sex Marriage Campaign"

Last night, John posted the video of Phillip Spooner, an 87-year old WWII vet who testified at the hearing in support of the marriage equality bill. He's the father of a gay son and wants his son to have full equality.

That video has had over 322,000 410,000 views on YouTube. And, the great news is that the response to the video is pushing this story into the Maine traditional media. According to a local Portland t.v. station, Mr. Spooner has become the "Face of Same Sex Marriage Campaign":

87-year-old Philip Spooner supports same sex marriage. The World War II veteran spoke in favor of same sex marriage at public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center last spring. The video of his speech is now an internet sensation - it has received thousands of hits from people all across the world. Spooner says he is a life-long Republican who believes gay and lesbians should have equal rights.

Love the guy.

Stand for Marriage, of course, disagrees with Mr. Spooner. Read More...

Judy Shepard's statement on passage of the Hate Crimes bill, named for her son, Matthew, and James Byrd

What can we say about the inspiring Judy Shepard that hasn't been said? The woman really was the moral force behind the hate crimes bill. She issued this statement today:

"Dennis and I are extremely proud of the Senate for once again passing this historic measure of protection for victims of these brutal crimes," said Judy Shepard, president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board. "Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor, has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile. Hate crimes continue to affect far too many Americans who are simply trying to live their lives honestly, and they need to know that their government will protect them from violence, and provide appropriate justice for victims and their families."

I'd only say that most Americans are extremely proud of Dennis and Judy Shepard. Read More...

Religious right has been lying about hate crimes for years. Now, they'll be exposed.

Last weekend, two Maine newspapers, the Bangor Daily News and the Maine Sunday Telegram, urged Mainers to vote No on 1. Interestingly, both papers noted that during the 2005 campaign on gay rights, when the right-wingers tried to remove sexual orientation and gender identity, those right-wingers predicted a flood of lawsuits. Both papers noted this did not happen. In other words, the scare tactics from the other side have been proven wrong.

For the past few years, the opponents of hate crimes have been spreading lies about the potential impact of this law. GOPers like John Boehner have spread the lie that hate crimes are thought crimes. The theocrats claim pastors who preach against gays will be imprisoned. It's B.S., but those were the talking points. Alvin McEwen intends to track this:

The religious right's main lying claim about lgbt-inclusive hate crimes legislation is that it will lead to attacks on the free speech of those who think that homosexuality is a sin.

They say that pastors will be arrested in the pulpits for simply saying that homosexuality is a sin.

Well as soon as President Obama signs the Matthew Shepard Act, I will be creating an online clock that will count up how long it should take from Obama signing this bill to the arrest of a pastor for simply saying that homosexuality is a sin.

Of course no pastor will be arrested for simply calling homosexuality a sin. And that is the point of the online clock.

The religious right likes to spin a fear story. I say we hold them to it.

I say we hold them to it, too. Over the next few years, none of the predictions from the right-wingers will come to fruition. They're liars. And, we'll be able to show it.

Every time we make progress towards LGBT equality, we also undermine the lies and scare tactics from those who hate gays. Read More...

BREAKING: Hate Crimes bill will become Hate Crimes Law

The U.S. Senate just passed, by a vote of 68 - 29, the conference report on the Department of Defense Authorization. That was the final step in the legislative process for this bill, which contains the hate crimes language.

The GOP used every trick in the book to block this legislation because it contained that hate crimes legislation -- as evidenced by Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and a filibuster, which was beaten back earlier today.

The Defense bill now heads to the White House for President Obama to sign it into law. This will be the first pro-LGBT legislation to become law in the history of our nation -- but won't be the last, even in this Congress.

Congratulations and thanks are due to Judy and Dennis Shepard who have been instrumental in making this happen. Read More...

Saxby Chambliss hates the hate crimes bill -- and "special class" it protects

During the debate on the Defense bill, Georgia's Senator Saxby Chambliss didn't even try to hide his homophobia:
Read More...

The Catholic Church has become an anti-gay political operation in Maine

Our friend, Adam Bink from OpenLeft, has been in Maine for the past week, working on the No on 1 campaign. Today, he has a very interesting and insightful post on the Catholic Bishop of Maine, who has taken a very political role as the leader of the anti-gay side. Adam's post includes an interview with Ann Underwood from Catholics for Marriage Equality. Here's an excerpt:

Q: What kind of response have you had from both Catholics who may be favorable to your message as well as rank-and-file Catholics who may be less favorable?

To be honest, I haven't heard anything from anybody that hasn't been favorable. I get so much enthusiasm, especially from younger Catholics, who are the face of the Church we'd all like to see, the face of the Church of a God of expansive and not exclusionary love. One of the things that's struck me in this campaign is when the Bishop did his six statements, he never cited Scripture. He never talked about Jesus. He never talked about God. He never talked about love, justice, fairness and compassion. He had a strict political message. And what we've been trying to do with our buttons is say God is love. We're speaking out of our tradition and out of the Gospels and speaking about love, not a political action. My experience with the people I've been talking with and the stories I was hearing, I thought I would be doing something political. I really feel I'm doing something more pastoral, and listening to people's stories, hurt, and hope.

I don't think Bishop Malone has done himself any favors with his outspoken role in a campaign that's based on lies and hate. The Catholic Church in Maine has been shutting down parishes. And, Malone is on the verge of conducting a major capital campaign. He's trying to raise large amounts of money to keep his church functioning. But, Malone made the anti-gay campaign his top priority.

The Bishop's outspoken role may make him a hero to the National Organization for Marriage, but it's been damaging to his flock. When I was in Maine earlier this month, I was struck at the very strong feelings Catholics have towards the Bishop and his role on the anti-gay side. And, it wasn't limited to young people. This was coming from my 73-year old mother and father and people their age. These folks are the Bishop's target market -- and they are opposing him. It's sad, really. The Catholic Church should be a powerful voice for social justice. Instead, it's become an cabal of angry old men who think being homophobic is a virtue.

The Mormon church lost a lot of credibility because of Prop. 8. The Catholic Church in Maine is facing the same fate over Question 1. Read More...

Military studies, for the past 50 years, show that the gay ban is based on hooeey

And yes, that's the official word. Not really. But study after study, for literally 50 years, has shown that the ban can't be justified by any of the morale and cohesion arguments, or anything else. Read More...

Senate beats back filibuster on Hate Crimes bill

UPDATE: Here's the roll call vote. Five Republicans vote yes: Collins, Lugar, Murkowski, Snowe and Voinovich. Feingold was the only Democrat to vote no.

By a margin of 64 - 35, the Senate just voted to invoke cloture on the conference report for Department of Defense authorization. That means the Senate can move toward final passage of the conference report, which includes the Hate Crimes language. This was a major hurdle, basically a filibuster -- and it's been overcome. Passage in the Senate is the final step in the legislative process. (The hate crimes bill did pass, and beat a filibuster, in the last Congress, so this wasn't completely unexpected. But, this is the first time hate crimes made it into the Dept. of Defense authorization conference report. ) This should pretty much guarantee that the bill will again pass both houses of Congress and head to the president soon for his signature. Read More...

Sean Bugg's interview with Dan Choi

Metro Weekly's Sean Bugg did a long interview with Dan Choi. He's got a great story and it's a good read, but I found this particularly interesting:

MW: Have you gotten any shit from friends in the Army or anyone else about being known as an ''activist''?

CHOI: Yeah. [Laughs.] Actually, I've gotten it from other activists. I know a lot about initiations and traditions that people have to sort of pay your dues -- in the military, there are procedures and protocols. You gain rank. Here, you don't have that as much, but there are different traditional ways, that we have paid dues within the community, at least from what I'm understanding, and so a lot of people have pointed out that. I wouldn't go to the point of saying that I don't deserve to be in this role, but they say, ''You sort of came out of nowhere.''

Uh, thank god he "came out of nowhere." Here's a message for anyone who has sent that message to Dan or any new activists: Get over yourselves.

The idea that only long-term activists or existing organizations can help us achieve full equality is absurd. The track record isn't exactly stellar. If we're not finding new spokespeople and new leaders, we're never going to succeed. Read More...

Senate will take up Dept. of Defense authorization, which includes Hate Crimes, today

The Senate is scheduled to take up H.R. 2647, the conference report for the Dept. of Defense authorization bill. The Hate Crimes act is included in thsi legislation. The conference report, which cannot be amended, already passed the House. Via the Senate Digest, written in Senate-speak:

A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing for further consideration of the conference report at approximately 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, October 22, 2009, and that there be one hour for debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Levin and McCain, or their designees, prior to the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the conference report.

Basically, the Senate will need 60 votes to proceed. That should happen early this afternoon.

It's been a ten-year process to get the hate crimes bill passed. In 2007, both the Senate and the House passed versions of the legislation. The Senate even broke a filibuster to add hate crimes to the DoD authorization. Bush threatened a veto, so we needed a new President. We got that. The bill should become law soon. Read More...