First they were allowed to get married, and then they were told they couldn't. One day they had human rights, the next day they were stolen. But today in California they won another big victory.
“All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same sex-couples the right to be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation ‘marriage,” the judge wrote, adding: “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gay men and lesbians in California."
I'm so proud of my brothers and sisters who refused to give up. And I'm so grateful to the plaintiffs who led the charge. Like this lesbian couple and their teenage sons.
"Today, the 9th Circuit [Court of Appeals] said to our family that we are equal under the law," she said, adding that now, "we can see over the dark wall of discrimination."
Canada has not plunged into a state of amorality, nor have churches been forced to perform same-sex marriages. Canadians go about their day-to-day lives, not noticing a difference. The U.S. has nothing to fear by putting equality first.
Right. I thought so. Now for the two REALLY hard questions eh?
I see that just days after their latest Proposition 8 victory in California, the Christianist bigots at the National Organization for Marriage have released another disgusting video.
Accusing gay people of threatening children.
Which is not only disgusting and evil, it's also ABSURD.
Because why would gay people threaten the young like these hatemongers do? When the kids are on our side. Ask them, in your most panicky, alarmist, Mormonified voice: Aren't they horrified at the very idea? Aren't they shocked at the very thought of two people in love having their union officially recognized and validated by the state? Please note the response. Please observe how the kids merely look at you as though you're more than a little bit deranged and prehistoric, so out of touch you might as well be Dick Cheney talking up the diesel-powered rectal thermometers he so loved back in World War I.
Here is what it tells you: Gay marriage is a foregone conclusion. It's a done deal. It's just a matter of time. For the next generation in particular, equal rights for gays is not even a question or a serious issue, much less a sinful hysterical conundrum that can only be answered by terrified Mormons and confused old people and inane referendums funded by same. It's just obvious, inevitable, a given.
Which is just what I say all the time eh? The future will be brighter.
In the meantime I hear the Christianist bigots had a victory rally.
And it was a DISASTER....
Yeah how WOULD you feel? I can tell you that right now this lover boy feels he's lucky he's made it to Friday. Because I have to admit I've been feeling a bit discouraged. But I've been practicing my big gay shrug.
And I'm pretty confident the future weekend belongs to us...
I believe this battle will be won at the ballot box, when attitudes change. And politicians stop being cowards.
But it still hurts me to see how disappointed my brothers and sisters are in California tonight. And like every gay person in the world tonight it also makes me angry. On the other hand I know we're going to win in the end. And I'm so proud of the way the Prop Hate fighters have battled the bigots. They didn't have the money the homophobes had.
But still they fought back so proud, so strong, so gentle...
And still are. Sometimes I wish we weren't so gentle. If I was loose in the streets of California tonight I probably would have got into trouble.
But I wouldn't ask my brothers and sisters in California to change a thing. Because their struggle for equality and respect is as beautiful as they are. And that's why they are going to WIN.
On the other hand that doesn't mean I won't be wearing this t-shirt tonight....
In solidarity eh? Oh yeah....one more thing.Although I'm really angry, and scarily butch, and REALLY ready to rumble. May the Gay God help me. I still LOVE this sappy video...
Oh no. I've been so busy fighting Stephen Harper's attempts to turn Canada into a fascist state, I completely forgot that today is the day that I'm supposed to call in gay. Now I think it's always great idea to show that gay people are EVERYWHERE. And I really wish it would turn out like this:
But what if it didn't? What if it turned out like THIS? Ring. Ring. ME: Hello Boss it's me Simon !!! THE BEAST: Yeah what do you want? Don't you DARE tell me you are going to be late ... AGAIN. Because two people phoned in sick and we're REALLY busy. ME: Oh....well...um...you see boss I just want to phone in....um....GAY? THE BEAST: You what ????? You want to phone in sick EH? ME : No no boss ....I want to call in GAY. You know to show that gay people are EVERYWHERE. THE BEAST: * heavy silence*.... OK.... OK....that's it you little shit disturber....you radical...you separatist...you commie slacker....you're FIRED !!!!!!!!! Which is why although I hate to say it I think this a dum idea. Especially in a time of recession. Because there are better ways to accomplish the same purpose. Like coming out to your co-workers, instead of pulling a disappearing act, or getting fired. And helping gay organizations all year round...instead of just one day. Then there's the other reason I won't be calling in gay today. I work in a place where a lot of people depend on me. I'm on a team that must deal with some pretty desperate situations. All my co-workers know I'm gay, and they treat me with respect. And we're always understaffed, so I could never let them down either. As for my boss...well he's not really a beast. He's a really decent guy. Who just happens to be gay too. So if there was a conversation it would probably go like this: MY BOSS: Hello Simon? I'm sorry to bother you, but as I'm sure you know today is Call in Gay Day, and I really really need to hear ....for the love of Baby Jesus or Judy Garland....that please please please you WON'T. ME: Don't worry boss I'll be there EARLY. I'll just be talking gay a lot. MY BOSS: OMG. You mean even MORE than usual. *Groan* See you later....
Good luck today kids. All ideas to try to get straight people to respect us more as human beings, and show them that we really are everywhere, are good.
It's just that some are better than others. The important thing is to keep trying and never give up.
Gawd. Never a dull moment. Long live our beautiful cause !!!
If you're a crazy Christianist, and you like to pray for the homosexuals, just a few days after taking away their human rights. It's probably not a good idea to do it in the heart of San Francisco's gay district. On a Friday night. When gay people are really angry.
"Their rights were respected.They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood." Oh sure the kookamunga Christianists are screaming like banshees that we're being intolerant...and THEY are being persecuted.
WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! But I say as long as you don't hurt them, or break the law, let them know how we feel about their garbage religion.
It was a miserable day. Wet and windy. But about sixty people turned out to join in the Day of Protest against Proposition 8. Even though we're Canadians and we have our rights. And it was GREAT.
Great to send a message of solidarity to our brothers and sisters in the United States who are still fighting for their human rights.
And hear the cars honk as they went by. Great to stand up up for love. How often do you get a chance to do that? Or say thank you?
Great to support gay couples. And those who dream of marrying the one they love. One day...
Something bigger than I am. Bigger than all of us. And really really BEAUTIFUL.
Oh sure I wished it hadn't rained today. I wish more people had turned out. But I'm glad I was there.
Because whatever the religious fanatics and pig bigots say or do, I know that I'll never stop fighting them. And because our enemies made love a battlefield. We have no choice but to whup their sorry asses. Because love is EVERYTHING.
It's been ten days since Obama was elected and Proposition 8 was approved. And for millions of gay people a night of jubilation and joy turned to disappointment and sadness. And then ANGER.
And who can blame them? How would you feel if your rights were taken away? If you were made to feel like second-class citizens. If you were insulted all the time, and assaulted and sometimes murdered. And then they told you your love wasn't good enough to get married. And they didn't just put you down, they hurt the one you love.
Oh yeah. Anger can be therapeutic and keep you going when nothing else does.
But it's time to move on.
That's why I'll be joining gays and lesbians and their straight friends at this Day of Protest tomorrow.
I know it's a small gesture. And I'm a Canadian not an American. But I want to show my solidarity with my brothers and sisters in the U.S. because the fight for human equality knows no borders. And we are FAMILY.
I want to show the religious fanatics in that country, and this one, that I will never be intimidated by their hateful garbage. Or stop fighting them. And three I want to go because I LOVE the mission statement of the Day of Protest's organizers.
Our movement seeks to encourage the LGBTQ community not to look towards the past and place blame, but instead to look forward toward what needs to be done now to achieve one goal: Full equality for ALL. We stand for reaching out across all communities. We do not stand for bigotry, for scapegoating, or using anger as our driving force.
We will encourage our community to not let anger steer the conversation, but with an understanding that anger is a human reaction and we hope that it can be used as a catalyst toward positive change.
Because it IS time to move on, and channel all that anger into a massive movement for positive CHANGE.
And speaking of change....look what one of our friends, Shepard Fairey, who made the famous Obama poster... made for us today.
Isn't that neat?
Anger passes. But silence is HISTORY.
Our love, and the love and support of our straight friends, is stronger than their hate.
And the bigots will be BEATEN... ------------------------------------------------------------- P.S. in case you missed them...here are the times and places of the Canadian protests.
As the wave of protests against Proposition 8 continues. And demonstrators chant "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right." The man accused of bashing two lesbian moms plays the victim and the race card.
Mr. Scott's lawyer said in the news release his client has been a victim of racial and physical abuse and is looking forward to his day in court. "The parties responsible will be held accountable for the racially motivated and unprovoked attack he suffered." All 250 lbs of him. WhileTrick Trick plays the faggot song.
“I’ma go on the record right now with this. Homosexuals are probably not gonna like this album. I don’t want your f**got money any goddamn way. I don’t like it [homosexuality]. Carry that s**t somewhere else.”
“It’s just that every time that you turn on the TV, that sissy s**t is on. And they act like its f**king okay. The world is changing for the worst when s**t like that happens. And I address that issue. I address it hard as hell.”
“He goes both ways/Either way he’s gay/Ain’t no other way to say/He’s a f**king faggot so I’m lettin’ off my AK/Bust ‘em in his forehead/He ain’t worth lettin’ live/A man and man shouldn’t raise another man’s kids!”
Dan Savage explains why gays and lesbians didn't take their struggle to the streets BEFORE the election. Gay people generally aren't the placard-waving, bomb-throwing, chaps-wearing, communion-wafer-stomping radicals we're made out to be by the Bills O'Reilly and Donohue. Most gays and lesbians are content to be left to alone; many gays and lesbians go out of their way to ignore political threats and political activism and political activists. Only when gays and lesbians are attacked—only after the fact—do gays and lesbians take to the streets. Most gay people grow up desperately trying to pass, to blend in; most of us flee to cities where we can live our lives in relative peace and security. We don't go looking for fights. And most gay people walk around without realizing that they've internalized the dynamics of high school hells some of us barely survived: it's better to pass, to stay out of sight, to avoid making waves, lest you attract negative attention, lest you get bashed.
But once you get bashed, once someone else throws the first punch, then you fight back—what other choice do you have?
And I say enough is ENOUGH.
If the bigots think gays are angry now.
They ain't seen nothing yet... --------------------------------------------------------- P.S. If you want to see some of that anger...Or you need a small victory. You can watch Dan Savage make a seething monkey out of a Christianist bigot.
Oh yeah, I know. Dan really shouldn't interrupt so much.But you can't argue with these Christianist bigots only confront them.
OMG. I paid my daily visit to the Blogging Tories today. And I got a HORRIBLE shock.
There in the midst of all that seething and heaving blogging depravity was this shimmering post.
I've discussed same-sex marriage issue with many of its opponents, and I've never been given a convincing reason why letting gays and lesbians marry will ruin that ancient institution for the rest of us.
With a great link:
Who precisely does gay marriage hurt? Can anyone give me a serious answer to that? If your society is so fucking fragile that the idea of homosexuals committing their lives to one another - just as social conservatives say they want everyone to - is threat to your society, then maybe your society just isn’t worth saving. At what point does the government and, by extension, the people, mind their own fucking business?
Wow. That was EXCELLENT.
I couldn't believe my eyes. If I wasn't sitting down I would have had to sit down, if you know what I mean.
Could the Blogging Tories...the home of Small Dead Chihuahuas, the Halls of Macaroni, Celestial Clunker, The Stoopid of Dr Roy, and of course the Nerd Monster Lezra, have been so inspired by the Coming of the Obama, that they were turning over a new leaf?
And then I read the comments:
So what happens when schizophrenics decide it's their right to marry farm animals? Or when bipolars want to marry rocks? Or when the criminally insane want to marry a harem of their dead victims? Well... we're being asked to accomodate one group of mentally ill's bizarre requests... why not all of them? Why are we bending over backwards to accept one kind of mental illness as normal and good but others we treat and try to cure?
.....to legitimize such sinful behavior by granting it the status of marriage is just too much, and should be resisted by all legal means. To such a believer you might as well allow thieves to steal as much as they like and call it "spreading the wealth around", or allow people to commit infanticide and call it "the right to choose".
Personally, I refuse to call two weiners or two buns a hot dog. I insist that a hot dog must have both a weiner and a bun. If it doesn't it's not a hot dog. Same with marriage.
And then I wasn't shocked anymore. And I took another look at the Blogging Tories. And no they hadn't changed. Too many of them are still the same wretched bigots.
The Nazis are INVADING Remembrance Day? Uh oh. Never mind the paddywagon to the HRC Gulag. How about an ambulance to the insane asylum? Somebody. Quickly.
But good for Damian and Skippy. I don't envy them. With the right-wing movement in North America shrinking into the hands of the Christianists and the crazies, they've got their work cut out for them.
OK. I knew that the Mormon Church was the biggest financial supporter of Proposition 8, that stripped the right to marry from gays and lesbians in California. You know the former polygamists with the Magic Underwear. But how about some of these other big donors? Like Elsa Broekhuizen, the mother of Erik Prince, the founder of the mercenary thug firm Blackwater. Uh.....um....does that mean we can now call her Elsa the Bitch of Blackwater? And then there's the MYSTERY man, the reclusive multi millionaire and ultra Christianist wacko with Tourette's Syndrome, Howard F. Ahmanson.
While Ahmanson once resided in a mental institution in Kansas, he now occupies a position among the Christian right’s power pantheon as one of the movement’s most influential donors. During a 1985 interview with the Orange County Register, Ahmanson summarized his political agenda: “My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives.”
Ahmanson’s most controversial episode related to his funding of the religious empire of Rousas John Rushdoony, a radical evangelical theologian who advocated placing the United States under the control of a Christian theocracy that would mandate the stoning to death of homosexuals. Nice eh? No wonder they hid him. I can only imagine how embarrassing it might have been if he was addressing some fancy bigot banquet and suddenly blurted out:
KKKKKK.....KILL the fucking faggots from SODOM !!!!!!!
Too bad our side didn't find out sooner...or use attack ads like the bigots did. All our ads were gentle ones appealing to the better angels of humanity....and look where it got us. But it doesn't matter. Fuck Ahmanson and Elsa the Bitch of Blackwater, and the loony Rushdoony. They can keep their hate. That's why I am a hate fighter. And besides we don't just have truth, justice, and human decency on our side on our side. We have a lot of good straight people like Drew Barrymore...marching in West Hollywood tonight....
Hey. With that .....
.....and the burning desire to beat the living shit out of those bigot BASTARDS. How can we lose eh?
I didn't really want to write about this story. It's too depressing. If I had been there I would have told the gay yobs to shut their yappers or I would do it for them. Because being angry doesn't give you the right to be a racist. That's BAD and we're supposed to be better than that. On the other hand making it sound like the entire gay community should apologize for the actions of a few, like some have, doesn't cut it either. Gay people have a right to be angry. Or in my case very disappointed. And black homophobia is a real problem. I was born black. I can't change that," said Culver City resident Bilson Davis, 57, who voted for Proposition 8. "They weren't born gay; they chose it," he added, reflecting a commonly held belief that many researchers dispute.
Los Angeles resident Christopher Hill, 50, said he was motivated by religion in supporting Proposition 8. Civil rights, he said, "are about getting a job, employment." Gay marriage, he said, is not: "It's an abomination against God." Black voters DID vote heavily for Proposition 8. Many polls before the election, confirmed the Great Divide. Nobody can deny it, it IS disappointing. And voting to take away other people's human rights when you know how much discrimination hurts, is cruel and UGLY. And this black blogger says it better than I ever could.
Basically, "we" have a lot of nerve when we call for the limiting of someone else's rights. Especially when there are so many black people who are gays and lesbian who don't feel the love and support of our community. All because we are so wrapped up in one passage in Leviticus and not the numerous others we ignore (shellfish, anyone?), not the other parts of the Bible we ignore, not acknowledging that we cherry pick and interpret as we choose in an effort to do to others what was done to us.
Make us not human.
Having said that I think it's unfair and wrong for anyone to single out black people. It's a religious problem more than a racial one.They didn't determine the result. Many more white bigots voted for Prop 8 than black ones did. And we need to build more bridges to the black community. Not blow up the few ones we have.
But for that to happen many in the black community are going to have to do some soul searching. Because we didn't vote to take away THEIR rights.
And trying to diminish our long struggle against oppression, or failing to recognize that gay marriage is an equality issue, and that being prevented from honouring the ones we love, like others can, strikes at the very heart of our humanity, or portraying us as privileged racists is not just wrong...it's OFFENSIVE. And it really bothers me. Especially since my beautiful idealistic companion Sébastien is at this moment helping to feed the hungry in this desperate country.
Trying to help the poor suffering black people of Haiti who he loves with all his heart. And both us us have fought racists and supported black rights since we were both young teenagers. And since I'm worried about him and I already miss him a lot I need to be tarred as a racist ...at a time like this.... like I need a hole in the head. It could make me really ANGRY. Or lose hope. Except that I remember what Sébastien said shortly before he left the other day. Simon don't blame black people. It's OK to tell them we are disappointed, and that they have to deal with the homophobia in their community. Just like we have to deal with the racism in ours. But they are not our enemies. We were defeated by religious intolerance, Mormon money, and straight homophobia. And don't forget the GOOD part. Huge numbers of young straight people, of all colours,voted against Proposition 8. So if the politicians and the courts don't fix the problem. Sooner or later the new generation WILL.
And also remember that one of the best things we can do to make that day come sooner, is just show people how incredibly strong, beautiful and BRAVE our love is. Like we do.
And these guys did...
Because when you do that AMAZING things can happen. Gay people, straight people, blacks, whites, latinos, asians or whatever. All together ...one day...in the promised land. I promise you. C'est la PROMESSE de notre génération. Oui Sébastien. You're right. Take care eh? The struggle is hard.
As if it wasn't bad enough that one of the big reasons gay people lost the right to marry in California, is because so many black people voted against them.
Now the foul homophobe Barbara Kay says blacks shouldn't be ashamed of that...because gay people aren't really an oppressed group.
African-Americans, Jews, aboriginals, the Roma people and other historically disadvantaged ethnic or racial groups experience their collective memory through the narratives they inherit from their parents and grandparents and ancestors. Indeed, they are a true identity group because they have a collective history and common memories. The sufferings they endured are directly related to who they are historically, to characteristics and events they cannot change, to their skin colour and bloodlines, to the deeds of their ancestors. Where is their commonality with individuals disconnected from the great chain of human history, whose "identity" isn't a culture, an ethnicity, a race or a civilization - just a mere sexual preference that rules out both a collective past and a collective future, the sine qua nons of a true identity group.
Oh yeah. No collective memory? What about this one?
Or what about these gay teenagers in Iran?
Or the thousands of gay people who are attacked and murdered every year just because they are gay? Or the millions and millions who are forced to live miserable lives in the shadow of prejudice?
As I said yesterday gay marriage is about a lot of things.
And a marriage certificate is not just a piece of paper. Like Kay seems to think:
Beside the true discrimination blacks have suffered, the lack of a symbolic piece of paper in an otherwise unencumbered life is as insulting as moaning and groaning about your sniffles to a cancer survivor.
It's about equality and respect. And stopping the hate and the killing.
*Sigh* I could go on and on but why bother?
Kay is nothing but a skanky homophobe. An absurd fetus fetishist who recently wrote that "belief in God is a prophylactic against superstition.” Huh?
A Muslim basher who calls Quebec "Quebecistan," and a Christianist wingnut who believes that Sarah Palin's racist redneck movement is a "feminist revolution without the feminists." Kookamunga. In short, a twisted fucking MORON.
So I think I'll just offer her my Tarzan salute.
You know...the skanky wanky salute. Golly. I can only hope that the National Post folds soon....and that Kay will be forced to hand out her hatemongering shite on street corners.... so she can be engulfed by a swarm of monster flies. Because while decent people HATE stinky bigots. You know the flies will LOVE her....
It's not every day that you see gay people clashing with police. Or marching on Mormon temples. Or just taking it to the streets.
I've never seen gay people so angry. And I LOVE it. Because these usually gentle people have every right to be angry. Enough is enough.They may have to accept the bigotry of the majority. But they aren't going quietly and they'll NEVER stop fighting. Not just because they don't consent to being treated as second-class citizens, and are not about to let anyone put down their lovers ...or their humanity. Like FUCK OFF. Eh? But because the kind of hideous homophobia that these crazed religious fanatics preach is KILLING gay kids.
"Until that day, I fear for the lives of your gay sons and lesbian daughters. The ones who can’t talk to you about it, and suffer silently. They’ll be dying for your choice, because teen suicide rates in gays and lesbians is driven by fear, and by feelings of worthlessness that proposition 8 reinforces.
Until that day, I fear for the children of gays and lesbians, who will face ridicule and discrimination at school because their families “aren’t real” and their mommies or daddies “aren’t really married.”
Which is why none of us can stop fighting. And why of all the signs and t-shirts that I have seen at these angry gay protests. I'd KILL to have this one...
Because that's EXACTLY how I feel. Those miserable bigots need to hear that message. Loudly. And gay kids RULE.....
California's black and Latino voters, who turned out in droves for Barack Obama, provided key support for a state ban on same-sex marriage.
Exit poll data showed seven in 10 black voters and more than half of Latino voters backed the ballot initiative, while whites and Asians were split. I expect that a lot of old white bigots would vote against gay marriage. They are prisoners of their past.
What I can't accept is that people who have suffered the pain of discrimination, like black people have, should vote to inflict it on others. That's not just wrong. It's OBSCENE.
And although I understand where it comes from: Religious voters also were decisive in getting Proposition 8 passed. Of the seven in 10 voters who described themselves as Christian, two-thirds backed the initiative.
It can't be excused or denied anymore. Which leaves me, and many others, somewhere between ANGER.
I’m not sure what to do with this. I’m thrilled that we’ve just elected our first African-American president. I wept last night. I wept reading the papers this morning. But I can’t help but feeling hurt that the love and support aren’t mutual. I do know this, though: I’m done pretending that the handful of racist gay white men out there—and they’re out there, and I think they’re scum—are a bigger problem for African Americans, gay and straight, than the huge numbers of homophobic African Americans are for gay Americans, whatever their color.
And HOPE. It cannot be denied that this feels like a punch in the gut. It is. I'm not going to pretend that the wound isn't deep and personal, like an attack on my own family. It was meant to be.
In this battle we have already had far more defeats than victories. But each time, we have come closer to our goal. And in the hearts and minds and souls of so many, we have changed consciousness for ever.
As for the Mormon Church that bankrolled most of The Discrimination Crusade.....even though they too are another group that should know better. They now seem to want gay people to forgive and forget. Huh? Good luck. BTW have the rest of you had a chance to catch this little horror show yet?
Because for 18-thousand married couples in California, and thousands of others who were hoping to tie the knot one day, that's what it FEELS like today. Forgive? Forget? After hurting all those people. And ruining my Obama party.
So it really happened. He did it. History has been made. America has a black president. The black people of that country have finally ARRIVED. And young people played a big part, by turning out in record numbers, and voting overwhelmingly for Obama. Hope won out over fear...and the Republicans were crushed . If I was any happier I think I could FLY. Except that I am also disappointed. Because Proposition 8 ....that would ban gay marriage in California....is heading for victory. Largely because black people turned out in record numbers and voted overwhelmingly FOR it. African-Americans voted for Proposition 8 by a 69 percent to 31 percent margin. However, 55 percent of white voters and 52 percent of Hispanics voted against the proposition. Isn't that ironic? On a night when we are celebrating equality, the people most affected voted to take equality away from others. Thanks to crazy religion. And Mormon money. But more about that later. Not tonight. Tonight is a night to focus on hope rather than disappointment. Tonight is the night to CELEBRATE.
Hmmm.....I guess after what happened tonight black people can say we DID it. Young people can say we COULD. Or we showed you. And gay people get to say yes we can. Yes we WILL...
