Church,
I got to go to the Macklemore concert on Friday night. If you want to hear about how that went, ask me, seriously, I want to talk about it until I die. The whole thing was great; but the best part was when Macklemore sang “Same Love.” Augustana’s gym was filled to the ceiling with 5,000 people, mostly aged 18-25, and decked out in thrift store gear (American flag bro-tanks, neon Nikes, MC Hammer pants.
House across from Westboro Baptist Church turned into massive tribute to LGBT pride | The Raw Story
Aaron Jackson, co-founder of the charity group Planting Peace, explained his new Equality House project to The Huffington Post on Tuesday.
The house, which is directly across the street from the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, is being painted the colors of the rainbow, a symbol of LGBT pride.
“I read a story about Josef Miles, a 10-year-old kid who counter-protested the Westboro Baptist Church by holding the sign that says ‘God Hates No One,’” Jackson said on HuffPost Live.
Read the article at The Raw Story.
Editorial
Barney Frank
Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement as a follow-up to his recent comments during the Democratic National Convention about the Log Cabin Republicans.
I am not surprised that members of the Log Cabin Republicans are offended by my comparing them to Uncle Tom. They are no more offended than I am by their campaigning in the name of LGBT rights to elect the candidate and party who diametrically oppose our rights against a President who has forcefully and effectively supported our rights.
That is the first reason for my admittedly very harsh criticism. This election is clearly one in which there is an extremely stark contrast between the two parties on LGBT rights. The Democratic President and platform fully embrace all of the legal issues we are seeking to resolve in favor of equality. The Republican candidate for President and the platform on which he runs vehemently oppose us in all cases. On the face of this, for a group of largelyLGBT people to work for our strong opponent against our greatest ally is a betrayal of any supposed commitment to our legal equality.
But my use of “Uncle Tom” was based not simply on this awful fact that they have chosen to be actively on the wrong side of an election that will have an enormous impact on our right to equality, both in fact and in the public perception of the popularity of that cause. If the Log Cabin Republicans – or their even more outlandish cousins, the oddly-named GOProud –were honestly to acknowledge that they let their own economic interests, or their opposition to strong environmental policies, or their belief that we need to be spending far more on the military or some other reason ahead of any commitment to LGBTequality, and on that ground have decided to prefer the anti-LGBT candidate to the supportive one, I would disagree with the values expressed, but would have no complaint about their logic.
The damaging aspect of the Log Cabin argument, to repeat the most important point, is that they may mislead people who do not share their view that tax cuts for the wealthy are more important than LGBT rights into thinking that they are somehow helping the latter by supporting Mitt Romney and his Rick Santorum platform.
It is a good thing for Republicans to try to influence other Republicans to be supportive of LGBT rights. The problem is when they pretend to be successful when they haven’t been, and urge people to join them in rewarding the Republicans when they have in fact continued their anti-LGBT stance. I have been hearing the Log Cabin Republicans proclaim for years that they were improving the view of that party towards our legal equality. In fact, over the past 20 years, things have gotten worse, not better. Most recently, on DOMA, when the House Republicans offered an amendment to reaffirm it, they voted 98% in favor of it, while Democrats voted more than 90% against the amendment. And it is not surprising that they have not been successful. Giving strong political support to people who are maintaining their anti-LGBTstance is hardly an effective strategy for getting them to change it.
The argument Mr. Cooper and the others in the Log Cabin Republicans have put forward in their defense is that they have succeeded in getting the Republicans to reduce the extent to which they denounce us, and, in Mr. Cooper’s phrase, the fact that Paul Ryan is “willing to engage” with gay Republicans. That is where Uncle Tom comes to mind. They are urging people to vote for the anti-LGBT candidate over the most supportive LGBTcandidate and platform imaginable because the “antis” are calling us fewer names and are willing to talk to some of us. It is this willingness to acquiesce in a subordinate status as long as the masters are kinder in tone, although in substance, that emulates Uncle Tom.
I note Mr. Cooper points to a couple of Republicans as reasons for supporting that party and helping advance its anti-LGBT crusade. As to Representative Ryan, in addition to his “willingness to engage with them,” Mr. Cooper cites his vote for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. In fact, Paul Ryan has an overwhelmingly anti-LGBT voting record, including opposition to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and a transgender-inclusive hate crimes bill, and support for a constitutional amendment not just to ban future same-sex marriages but to dissolve existing ones. It is true that on one occasion he voted for ENDA, but he did so only after voting minutes before for a Republican procedural maneuver – a motion to recommit the bill – which falsely invoked the specter that passage of ENDA would compel same-sex marriage and which, if it had passed, would have killed the bill. In other words, Paul Ryanhas always voted against us, except for one occasion when he voted for us only after first trying to make the bill he theoretically supported inoperative.
Mr. Cooper also cites Susan Collins. She was very good on the question of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But the argument that supporting Susan Collins advances LGBT rights ignores the fact that Senator Collins has twice defeated Democrats who were far more supportive of our issues than she was. And an example of that is the current referendum in the state of Maine on marriage. We have a very good chance of winning in Maine, and winning a referendum is important both for the substantive rights of the people in Maine and for the political point that it demonstrates. Unlike the two Democratic Representatives from Maine, Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud, Susan Collins has been stubbornly silent. That is, in a state where marriage is on the ballot, and in a year in which she is not up for reelection, Senator Collins is withholding her support from us, unlike any Democrat who would have run against her. And remember, these are the best that the Log Cabin Republicans can cite.
Some have complained that in comparing the Log Cabin Republicans toUncle Tom, I was ignoring the fact that they are nice. I accept the fact that many of them are nice – so was Uncle Tom – but in both cases, they’ve been nice to the wrong people.
ADDENDUM
Recent headlines in the Washington Blade make the point as clearly as I did. In the August 10th issue, a headline proclaims that the “Log Cabin seeks to purge anti-gay language from Republican [platform] document.” In the August 31st issue, another headline states that “Republicans affirm anti-gay views in platform, speeches.” In the September 7th issue, a third headline reports that “Democrats embrace marriage; hundreds of LGBT delegates take part.”
Read the original story at LGBTWeekly
By Zack Ford
Boston Spirit magazine has dug a bit deeper into Mitt Romney’s past interactions with LGBT people, particularly during his time as governor. Many of these stories are known: his firing of two state employees ostensibly for marrying their same-sex partners, his dissolution of the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, his blocking of an anti-bullying guide because it contained the words “bisexual” and “transgender,” and histestimony against marriage equality to the Senate Judiciary Committee after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled the state’s ban was unconstitutional. But this new profile illustrates a more profound level of insensitivity to the experience of LGBT people than his past position statements suggest.
David Wilson and Julie Goodridge, two of the plaintiffs whose case led to the legalization of marriage equality in Massachusetts, described meeting with Romney to discuss their experiences. According to Wilson, “it was like talking to a robot. No expression, no feeling.” At one point, Romney remarked, “I didn’t know you had families.” Goodridge recalls her final exchange with the governor, which proved to her that he had “no capacity for empathy”:
GOODRIDGE: Governor Romney, tell me — what would you suggest I say to my 8 year-old daughter about why her mommy and her ma can’t get married because you, the governor of her state, are going to block our marriage?
ROMNEY: I don’t really care what you tell your adopted daughter. Why don’t you just tell her the same thing you’ve been telling her the last eight years.
Romney described the meeting to the press as “pleasant,” as Goodridge cried.
This lack of understanding for the experience of same-sex families seems to have played out even on the occasions in which he was open to supporting LGBT protections. Josh Friedes, who once served as advocacy director for the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition, explained Romney’s business-informed rationale:
FRIEDES: He made clear that he was willing to listen to business leaders about the issue of family recognition. The impression was that if business leaders told him certain benefits and protections would increase the productivity of gay workers, he would be open to supporting those. … It was not really about what these protections would do for gay families, but what they would do for the titans of industry… It felt like there was a lord/serf relationship.
Ardith Wieworka knows she cannot prove that she was fired as the state’s Office of Child Care Services just because she was going to marry her same-sex partner, but she remembers what Romney’s administration told her when they fired her: they wanted someone more “like them.”
Read the original at Think Progress
Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A new strategy unveiled Monday aimed at reducing the suicide rate in the United States includes a section on the rate of suicide for LGBT people — saying they may be particularly at risk because of “minority stress” and “institutional discrimination” resulting from anti-gay laws on the books.
The 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, made public on World Suicide Prevention Day, was published by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. Secretary of Health & Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and former Defense Secretary of Robert Gates launched the alliance in late 2010 in part to address the suicide rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans returning home.
The strategy details multiple goals for reducing suicide, such as integrating suicide prevention into health care policies and changing the way the public talks about suicide and suicide prevention. In addition to veterans, the study identifies particular groups that may face a higher suicide rate, such as individuals with mental and substance abuse disorders, individuals in justice or child welfare settings and LGBT people.
Andrew Lane, a gay member of the Action Alliance’s executive committee, said the strategy lays the groundwork to reduce the suicide rate among LGBT people.
“The 2012 NSSP represents a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to highlight the unique health needs of the LGBT community and ensure government responsiveness,” said Lane, who’s also executive director of the Johnson Family Foundation.
The strategy attributes the prevalence of suicide in the LGBT community to “minority stress” stemming from cultural stigma as well as “institutional discrimination” that comes from laws that deny benefits and protections for LGBT people that are provided to others.
“These negative outcomes, rather than minority sexual orientation or gender identity per se, appear to be the key risk factors for LGBT suicidal ideation and behavior,” the strategy states. “An additional risk factor is contagion resulting from media coverage of LGBT suicide deaths that presents suicidal behavior as a normal, rational response to anti-LGBT bullying or other experiences of discrimination.”
Among the factors that the strategy has found that reduce suicides among LGBT youth are family acceptance and access to mental health treatment. The Action Alliance also recommends reducing LGBT-related prejudices and associated stressors, improving access to LGBT-affirming treatment, working to reduce bullying and eliminating discriminatory laws. Notably, the strategy makes no mention of any particular discriminatory law against LGBT people that should be eliminated.
In a statement, Sebelius hailed the strategy as means to help organizations’ work in preventing suicides throughout the country.
“Our message today is one of hope,” Sebelius said. “The national strategy will bring together the nation’s resources, both public and private, in an organized effort to provide life saving services and improve the ability of individuals, friends and family members to recognize the warning signs of despair and take action to save lives.”
Sebelius announced HHS would provide $55.6 million in new grants for national, state, tribal, campus and community suicide prevention efforts, which were made possible under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act and the Affordable Care Act. The Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a new outreach campaign called “Stand by Them: Help a Veteran.”
According to the strategy, whether LGBT people have a higher suicide rate than others is unknown because sexual orientation or gender identity isn’t recorded upon the death of an individual. However, the strategy does say studies indicate suicide ideation and attempts are higher for LGBT people.
“A meta-analysis of 25 international population-based studies found the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts in gay and bisexual male adolescents and adults was four times that of comparable heterosexual males,” the strategy states. “Lifetime suicide attempt rates among lesbian and bisexual females were almost twice those of heterosexual females.”
The strategy makes particular note of the rate of suicide among LGBT youth. An analysis of studies found that LGB youth were three times more likely to report a lifetime attempt than straight youth, and more four times more likely to report a medically serious attempt.
A note of suicide among transgender people, saying population-based studies haven’t yet included transgender participants, but non-random surveys show the problem particularly affects transgender people. A 2009 study from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force force found that 41 percent of adult respondents reported suicide attempts.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, praised the strategy.
“We applaud the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the efforts underway to improve the health and well-being of LGBT people – particularly youth that need to know there are people out there ready and willing to help them,” Cole-Schwartz said. “With public and private resources coming together this is a positive step toward lessening tragic deaths by suicide.”
It’s not the first time a national strategy has been issued to address the problem of suicide in the country, nor is it the first one to address the trend of suicide among LGBT youth. In the 2001, HHS under the direction of the Bush administration’s Surgeon General David Satcher unveiled a similar study about the national suicide rate that includes a paragraph addressing LGBT suicide. But this earlier strategy isn’t as detailed people for LGBT people, nor does it contain any explicit reference to suicide rates among transgender people.
Read the original story at Washington Blade
Chris Kluwe, Minnesota Vikings, Punter
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has spoken out in favor of a Maryland ballot initiative that would legalize gay marriage. Yahoo has published a letter that Maryland state delegate Emmett C. Burns Jr. wrote last week to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, urging him to “inhibit such expressions from your employee.” This is Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe’s response to Burns.
Dear Emmett C. Burns Jr.,
I find it inconceivable that you are an elected official of Maryland’s state government. Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level. The views you espouse neglect to consider several fundamental key points, which I will outline in great detail (you may want to hire an intern to help you with the longer words):
1. As I suspect you have not read the Constitution, I would like to remind you that the very first, the VERY FIRST Amendment in this founding document deals with the freedom of speech, particularly the abridgment of said freedom. By using your position as an elected official (when referring to your constituents so as to implicitly threaten the Ravens organization) to state that the Ravens should “inhibit such expressions from your employees,” more specifically Brendon Ayanbadejo, not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person’s right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit.
2. “Many of your fans are opposed to such a view and feel it has no place in a sport that is strictly for pride, entertainment, and excitement.” Holy fucking shitballs. Did you seriously just say that, as someone who’s “deeply involved in government task forces on the legacy of slavery in Maryland”? Have you not heard of Kenny Washington? Jackie Robinson? As recently as 1962 the NFL still had segregation, which was only done away with by brave athletes and coaches daring to speak their mind and do the right thing, and you’re going to say that political views have “no place in a sport”? I can’t even begin to fathom the cognitive dissonance that must be coursing through your rapidly addled mind right now; the mental gymnastics your brain has to tortuously contort itself through to make such a preposterous statement are surely worthy of an Olympic gold medal (the Russian judge gives you a 10 for “beautiful oppressionism”).
3. This is more a personal quibble of mine, but why do you hate freedom? Why do you hate the fact that other people want a chance to live their lives and be happy, even though they may believe in something different than you, or act different than you? How does gay marriage, in any way shape or form, affect your life? If gay marriage becomes legal, are you worried that all of a sudden you’ll start thinking about penis? “Oh shit. Gay marriage just passed. Gotta get me some of that hot dong action!” Will all of your friends suddenly turn gay and refuse to come to your Sunday Ticket grill-outs? (Unlikely, since gay people enjoy watching football too.)
I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won’t come into your house and steal your children. They won’t magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won’t even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population—rights like Social Security benefits, child care tax credits, Family and Medical Leave to take care of loved ones, and COBRA healthcare for spouses and children. You know what having these rights will make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Do the civil-rights struggles of the past 200 years mean absolutely nothing to you?
In closing, I would like to say that I hope this letter, in some small way, causes you to reflect upon the magnitude of the colossal foot in mouth clusterfuck you so brazenly unleashed on a man whose only crime was speaking out for something he believed in. Best of luck in the next election; I’m fairly certain you might need it.
Sincerely,
Chris Kluwe
P.S. I’ve also been vocal as hell about the issue of gay marriage so you can take your “I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing” and shove it in your close-minded, totally lacking in empathy piehole and choke on it. Asshole.
The letter that got Kluwe all fired up.
Posted by Ilona Idlis
Labor leader Randi Weingarten delivers a speech on the importance of reelecting Barack Obama at the first gathering of the LGBT Caucus at the Democratic National Convention. (Photo by Ilona Idlis/UW Election Eye)
CHARLOTTE — There was much that the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Caucus celebrated when it convened for its first meeting during the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. For the first time, all 50 states, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico, sent an official LGBT participant. Over a dozen hailed from Washington state alone.
Together, the delegates, alternates and other sanctioned staff counted 535 strong and made up 8% of the total delegate count. Couple that with the over 30 LGBT members of the national committee and the largest transsexual delegation, and the Democrats have the most gay-friendly political convention in American history.
“We wouldn’t have needed a room this size a few years ago,” quipped speaker Tammy Baldwin to the packed hall. Baldwin, an LGBT Wisconsin state representative, is running to become the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate in 2012.
Baldwin and many other caucus speakers praised the Obama administration for its support and advancement of the gay community: the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and POTUS’ personal affirmation of marriage equality.
LGBT Texas delegates throw their hands in the air during the state-by-state row call at the end of the packed caucus meeting. (Photo by Ilona Idlis/UW Election Eye)
“We have to fight for a perfect union,” said Valerie Jarrett, who’s the President’s Senior Adviser. “I believe under President Obama, we’re more perfect than we were four years ago.”
The statement was met with a standing ovation and a chant of “Four more years!” But for all of the room’s excitement, the speakers did not just dwell on the community’s victories. Instead, they pointedly described how quickly they think that progress would disappear given a Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan victory.
Kathleen Sebelius — the Secretary of Health and Human services who last evening addressed the entire convention an hour before the First Lady — stressed that the changes they applauded hung on executive orders and administrative regulations. They weren’t Congress-given laws, and as such, could be reversed.
If Romney is elected, it’ll be gone in 30 days, Sebelius said gravely. “Those footprints would be gone for another decade.”
The most fiery speech of the caucus came from labor leader Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation and AFL-CIO. Her petite frame and booming voice captured attention.
“Their platform is the most repressive, anti-human being, anti-gay, anti woman, anti-children ticket,” she declared. “Are we going to reelect a president who believes that we should have the right to marry, or have a party that wants to turn back the clock on our families?”
In this room, the answer was obvious. The key to victory was staying visible and campaigning actively until election day — “the more they know us, the more they love us.”
“The people in this room have won the hearts and minds of the American people,” Weingarten said. “Because we said who we love is as important as who we are.”
Sebelius instructed the delegation to network across state lines and fine-tune their message while at the DNC, then return home energized and ready to work for the next 60 days.
“You work as hard as you can, because on November 6th, we need to continue the march to equality and the only way to do that is to reelect President Barack Obama,” Weingarten concluded.
Washington state delegate Chris Porter attended the LGBT caucus and left motivated to work harder. (Photo by Ilona Idlis/UW Election Eye)
The message hit home with Washington state delegate Chris Porter of the 7th Congressional District.
“[The thought of a Romney victory] makes me extraordinarily nervous,” Porter said, “but it also energizes me to make me want to do more. I have to knock on doors, answer questions, email my candidates and just put myself out there.”
Porter said in 2008 he applied to be a delegate, but hesitated to check the LGBT box on the paperwork. Now he wants to make himself a part of the conversation.
“The more people come out and the more people put themselves out there — inevitably those misconceptions go away and people realize, “Gee, that person is very much like me,” he said.
After this week, Porter plans to resume volunteering with Washington United for Marriage, the Jay Inslee campaign and the President’s reelection efforts with greater vigor.
“It’s important because our state is on the same precipice as our national agenda,” he said. “We’re more than the Evergreen State. We embrace everybody.”
Watch a clip of Randi Weingarten’s speech below.
Read the original story at Seattle Times
By Matt Comer
Special to LGBTQ Nation
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — First lady Michelle Obama was an honored guest this afternoon at a Human Rights Campaign and Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund luncheon to honor LGBT elected officials.
Fresh off her captivating prime time convention speech kicking of events on Tuesday evening, Mrs. Obama brought LGBT supporters to their feet as she asked for their help in reelecting her husband.
Michelle Obama. Photo by David Lari.
“Our president, my husband, has stood strong for the values of freedom, justice and equality that make this country great,” Obama said, speaking 20 minutes late though with no discernible consternation from those gathered to see her.
When she talked about ensuring that “all Americans are treated fairly, no matter who you are or who you love,” a man called “I love Barack!”
“I do too,” Obama said. “We have something in common.”
Later, she spoke about giving everyone the right to “do what Barack and I did and marry the loves of our lives.”
In asking for help in the campaign Obama turned parental.
“You see my face,” she said. “It’s my serious first lady face.” She added, to the crowd’s laughter: “My mom face. You heard me, Sasha.”
She asked LGBT voters to find five, 10 or more additional friends who can turn out to the polls in November.
The convention, she said, would “set the stage for what is at stake in the election and what should guide us over these next four years.” She asked those gathered if the democracy they envisioned meant turning elections over to “whoever buys the most ads on TV.” The crowd booed back and said, “No!”
Several high-profile LGBT and straight ally leaders were present, including convention chair and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias and U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, Jared Polis and Tammy Baldwin.
Also present were New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Clinton White House advisor Richard Socarides and Diego Sanchez, Frank’s legislative assistant and Capitol Hill’s first out transgender staffer.
Six out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens say they feel unsafe at school. Eighty-two percent of that same group say they’ve been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation, while 71 percent say they’ve heard homophobic remarks like “dyke” or “faggot” used with some frequency at school.
These are just three of the more disturbing statistics revealed by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network‘s (GLSEN) 2011 National School Climate Survey. According to GLSEN researchers, the annual poll — which comprised 8,584 student respondents from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia — aims to “consistently examine the experiences of LGBT students in America’s schools.”
However, it wasn’t all gloom and doom. As GLSEN officials are quick to point out, the 2011 survey found a continued overall decline in anti-LGBT language, as in previous years. This year, they add, the survey shows a significant decrease in victimization based on sexual orientation for the very first time.
While acknowledging that the 2011 survey ”marks a possible turning point in the school experiences of LGBT youth,” Dr. Joseph Kosciw, GLSEN’s Senior Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives, added, “An alarming number of LGBT youth still face barriers that inhibit their ability to receive an education. And although we have seen an increase in school supports that can improve school climate for these youth, many of these young people reported being unable to access these supports in their schools.”
The GLSEN survey comes on the heels of a new University of Michigan study, which found that the phrase “that’s so gay” could have deep consequences for LGBT youth. The resulting data found that LGBT students who heard the phrase frequently were more likely to feel isolated and experience headaches, poor appetite or eating problems than those who didn’t.
GLSEN officials also point out that the Democratic National Convention Platform included “explicit language affirming the need for anti-LGBT bullying prevention efforts,” while the Obama administration “hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention.”
Read the original story at Huffington Post
