The Northwoods Is No Place For A Pink Flamingo
Activism
A Huge Win – Prop 8 Unconstitutional
Aug 4th
Anyone still reading this blog after a summer of very few posts from me knows that I followed the Prop 8 trial in California rather closely. As a gay man I’ve always found it absurd that this very basic right that heterosexuals take for granted was never an option for me because I am attracted to men and not women. My sexuality is not questionable, I am what I am and there is no disputing that. Today, the judge in this case ruled that the premise of Prop 8 violates BOTH the due process and equal protection clauses of the federal Constitution. In other words it was found that the ban on same sex marriage brought about by Prop 8 in California was an improper ballot initiative and is now null and void.
There were 3 possible outcomes for this trial (from the Prop8 Trial Tracker Blog)
- LOSE – Prop 8 is a permissible act of the people acting legislatively.
Well, I’m not sure how much I need to explain this one, but it’s the worst case scenario for us. In this situation, Judge Walker would be saying that the people, acting as the state’s legislature, had a “legitimate” interest (any interest really) in regulating against marriage equality, and that Prop 8 was rationally related to that interest. This is the so-called “rational basis” test. Now, the Defense of Marriage Act recently failed that test, but that doesn’t mean Prop 8 couldn’t pass.
Of course, this doesn’t mean the case is over, just that we are on hold as we move forward through the system - Win – The implementation of Prop 8 is unconstitutional.
This is how we win, without getting everything we really want. This would clearly be a win for our community in the state of California, but would provide relatively little precedent value for other states. The basic rationale here would be that by allowing the 18,000 couples to be married, and not future couples, the state has violated the equal protection of those couples who were not able to wed. This rationale was suggested in a couple of the amicus briefs filed on behalf of the plaintiffs. It could be seen as something of a middle ground, but let’s be honest, it will not satisfy anybody who opposes marriage equality. And it further muddies the underlying issues when what we really need is clarity. Could it happen? Yes, it very well might. But this rationale would be a lame attempt at Solomonic baby-splitting that would present more questions to be answered by other courts. - WIN – Prop 8 is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and/or the Due Process Clause
This would be our ultimate victory, and really, what Olson and Boies are going for in this case. As I presented above, there are two possible rationales, and I’ll discuss those below. But skipping over the logic, the net result would likely be the complete nullification of Prop 8. However, Judge Walker is likely to issue a stay pending appeal, especially if he overturns Prop 8. In other words, don’t make wedding plans just yet.
We got the 3rd which is the best of the 3 and now sets the stage for the eventual appeal to the 9th circuit court of appeals. This win, going int0 an appeal is far better than going in with a loss. As I’ve said before, this fight is long from being over but this is a huge step in the right direction. You can expect to see over the next several weeks cries of judicial activism on the right (never mind that this judge was appointed by a Republican president) and hollering about the “will of the people”. This very decision however expels the idea that any majority has any right to VOTE FOR discrimination against a minority. If the decision is affirmed, it may easily nullify every state Constitutional ban on gay marriage that exists today (Michigan’s included).
The appeal process is expected to take up to 2 years to reach SCOUTS. By that time however, it is likely that additional states will have acted to affirm same sex marriage or begin work on repealing bans. It is sometimes tough to say but as California does, the rest of the country tends to follow. It is the largest state with the largest economy with some of the heaviest hitting political clout you can get. It’s not going to be all roses and rainbows but the trajectory is clear. Marriage will be an option for me in my lifetime if I wish to choose it and that, ultimately, is what it’s about. My right to choose my mate, to choose the person I love.
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This is Not A Hate Crime
May 7th
You be the judge. How might you have voted had you been seated in the jury box? I think you know my answer and it’s not what the jury said. (note, the black screen at the start of this is part of the video).
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Say What?
May 3rd
54 million Americans over the age of 18 do not believe in evolution.
And this is acceptable?
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Teabagging for White Men
Apr 20th
Well, good luck getting this video to play for you but it’s worth the wait if you have the patience. It’s a popular video and YouTube is being slow. Here are the Teabaggers, in their own words on Tax Day 2010. Below the video some rather telling stats from a recent poll regarding the makeup of the Teabagger movement. Pretty much confirming what I already knew if you ask me.
From the Huffington Post today (as well as in many newspapers around the country):
A recent New York Times/CBS poll confirmed the obvious: Tea Party activists are overwhelmingly white, male, conservative, lower-income, and GOP-leaning. Nearly all passionately believe that President Obama is shoving the country to socialism. All lambaste the federal government for giving the company store away to the poor. The poor in this case are blacks. That race lurks perilously just beneath the surface with Tea Party activists is beyond dispute. To many the equation is government programs equal hand outs to undeserving blacks and the poor and that in turn equals money snatched from the pockets of hard working whites.
Read the Rest of the scathing poll here and learn many of the rest of the reasons that you should abstain from teabagging.
HERE is the actual Poll the was conducted.
And HERE is the New York Times article.
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It Continues…
Apr 18th
and each time I run across a story like this it will be re-posted and linked to on this blog until such time as it stops happening. Obama recently signed a Presidential Order stating that any medical institution receiving Medicare/Medicaid funds must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, those who do, will lose their funding. The goal was to make head way at preventing this sort of thing from happening. We’ve seen 2 stories like this now in 2 months and thousands more go unreported and untold. For you heterosexual married rereads of this blog, what might YOU do if your spouse landed in the hospital for whatever reason and despite your marriage (and the rights you have through that marriage to make medical decisions for your incapacitated spouse) were told not only your directives were unimportant, they also had no legal bearing. Think about the things you take for granted.
Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.
One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes…
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Teabagging for Jesus
Apr 17th
Pay special attention to the last part of this important video:
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When Your Writing is Validated
Apr 11th
it feels nice. This follows my post and comments the other day of the Ugly Betty Videos. Check out the link, the author is about the same age as I am. This is from the Independent Gay Forum, a conservative blog where Andrew Sullivan has been a regular contributor. Primarily gay libertarian perspectives on social issues.
Sometimes we don’t notice our victories until long after a battle has been won. Over the last couple of years, gay marriage has secured territory most people didn’t even realize was contested, and its loss will be far more devastating to gay marriage opponents than their victories in all the court cases and all the elections in the world.
I’m talking about sweetness.
Our opponents demonize us — sometimes subtly, sometimes explicitly, but viciously and relentlessly. Their chief weapon is sex – ours, not theirs — overlaid with a self-righteous piety that is funny when Dana Carvey does it, and wrongheaded no matter whose pursed lips it leaks out of. But while everyone from the Pope on down has been focused on the inherent disorders and immorality of homosexual sex, another front in the gay rights battle opened up: Gay teenagers in love.
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Where was this show
Apr 8th
when I was 17 and why has it taken 18 years to finally get to this point on National TV? I hate to be sentimental but honestly I’d have given anything to have had a role model on TV that was not some kind of freak show during that time in my life. It’s funny, you don’t realize the things that today’s generation has that you never thought were possible when you were growing up until you see it happen. This applies to all kinds of things but it’s particularly true here.
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Some things take a long time
Mar 24th
I don’t usually write much about kids. Honestly I just don’t have that much interest but once in a while there are things that come up that deserve to be written about, one of which has had national media attention, the other might in only a matter of days. This is about High School Proms. Yes, that tragic event that occurs once in a kids life and hopefully not more than that where they awkwardly go out to dinner at a restaurant they can’t afford, buy flowers for their dates that they can’t figure out how to put on, dance to music that they don’t like, and eventually leave and go off to some after-party that is always far more interesting than the prom. This year has been a little special and it has to do with gay kids.
First: Mississippi Prom Canceled after Lesbian’s Date Request – From USA today and nearly every other national Media outlet in the country. This is a story about Constance McMillan of a small town in Mississippi that sought to bring her date, another girl, to the prom so she could be uncomfortable at the prom right along with everyone else. The school board ended up denying her request and also, canceled the prom entirely to avoid having to allow her to bring her date. Their position was that she was quite allowed to attend, just not with another woman. With the FULL support of her parents, She and the ACLU sued the school board and yesterday a Federal judge ruled that Constance’s civil rights were violated and the school board acted inappropriately. During all of this parents organized a “private” prom since the school was no longer going to have one. Guess what, Constance was not invited. This story is not over and you’ll hear more about it.
Second: Derrik Martin GOT the OK to bring his boyfriend to his prom in a little town in Georgia, the school board not really even discuss the matter only saying that they had no policy against it. How did Derrick’s parents react to the news? They swiftly kicked him out of the house.
There is one thing that I want to focus on here in both of these stories and that is the parents. EVEN in 2010, parents all over this country continue to forcefully kick their children out of their house because their child had the self-confidence and courage to come out of the closet. I bet you didn’t know that one of the largest groups of homeless youth’s are GLBT kids. Throughout my life I have met a number of people who have not spoken to their parents since high school because their parents could not deal with their sexuality. It really troubles me that this 18 year old senior, who is an honors student and already has a scholarship to a university in the fall now has to prepare for the next phase of his life with no support from his parents. On the other hand Constance will not have the same issue. She also is 18, an honors student and headed to collage in the fall with the full support and encouragement from her parents. It should bother EVERYONE reading this blog when this sort of thing occurs.
I was pretty fortunate. While I’m sure that my parents had to make adjustments in their thinking when I came out to them and I know that each of them had various concerns, not once did I ever have to deal with any of the coming out process without their support. Coming Out is a big deal, especially for a teenager. 50 years from now it might not be but even today, it still is. Those of you that are straight will NEVER fully appreciate what it takes and what it means to come out and I say that with all due respect, it is simply not something you will ever experience. I was 17 or 18 and I had written a lengthy letter through which I came out to my parents. I spent a good 2 months writing that letter, and re-writing it and during that time I had built my own alliances with my friends in case things went the wrong way once I came up with the courage to give my parents that letter. I had a place to stay if I had needed it, I had a support group of people outside of my own family if I needed it. Well, I never needed to utilize any of that because while it did take some getting used to, my sexuality did not define my existence to my parents. It was not a simple process for any of us but it was not an issue that would end our relationship or traumatize it beyond repair. I was still their son and especially as a minor, they still understood that they had an obligation to put up with me until I was at least 18 or until I got out of high school. They of course continued long after that and continue to support me today. Derrick is never going to have that sort of support from his parents and he’s at an age when honestly he might need it the most. I know that was the case for me, I needed my parents more after high school than during it it seems. His relationship has fundamentally changed because his parents are unable to accept their son for who he is. It’s sad and it should upset you to know that this STILL occurs in this country in 2010.
So, the next time you are talking amongst your friends and one of them tells you they just kicked their kid out of the house because he was a queer and well Jebus just don’t like them queers you know, think long and hard about will happen to that kid and why your friend suddenly doesn’t love him or her anymore. It should make you really question that friendship.
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The Anti-Christ has Risen
Mar 23rd
According to a Harris survey to be released tomorrow, 24% of polled Republicans say they believe the president is the anti-Christ.
Are you shocked? I hope not. This is coming from the party that has officially fallen off it’s rocker. In the last 2 days, they’ve called Barney Frank a faggot to his face, they’ve yelled BABY KILLER to rep Stupak, and they have obstructed anything and everything they possibility could over the past several weeks to try and prevent the passage of Health Care Reform. Which passed anyway.
There was a time in my life, in the not to distant past, when I was able to agree and even support many of the things Republicans claim to be about. Small Government, states rights, immigration reform…. I can say that in a lot of ways I still agree with those principals but there is one thing that all those are not: They are NOT part of today’s Republican party. This party has done so much damage to itself over the past year that it’s going to be a very long time before they can regain any sort of dominance in Washington. The Republicans have been taken over by TEABAGGING fools, who have no agenda other than obstructionism, who wanted to put Sarah Palen in the White House, and who scream the fact that they are racists homophobes every time Fox News puts them on the TV. Then there is Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh, I can’t even go there because I don’t want to lose that much peace from my life.
If you’ve not read it, check out an editorial today in the New York Times – An Absence of Class, he hits the nail right on the head.
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