Wow. After a week or so of writing mostly about race and ethnic diversity, it was something of a relief to get back to talking about LGBT-related issues. (Trust me. Talking about this stuff is a walk in the freaking park compared to talking about race. At least in my opinion.) Of course, you can imagine, I can never fully escape one or the other.
At the beginning of the week two different people emailed me about a book that's already on my Amazon wishlist, Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians And Gays in Black Churches. After reflecting on the number of times I've blogged about the subject, I picked up the phone, called the publisher and got them to send me a review copy. (It's in the mail.) Then there was the anti-gay rant by Wellington Boone at the Values Voter Summit, that reminded me of a few other black ministers who've sounded off on the subject. On that I can only echo the author of the book I mentioned earlier, ""This black-church-sanctioned homophobia produces a lot of twisted black people." Then there was the matter of the (black, gay, Christian, ordained minister) of Palm Springs welcoming the "Love Won Out" conference to his city, and the question of whether the tolerance of intolerance is the new tolerance. And that was just my week. There was lots going on elsewhere.
- Speaking of the LWO conference, Ex-Gay Watch had lots of great posts about it this week, including this one by Daniel, which points out that LWO wasn't entirely honest when they said "the event was not aimed at influencing political decisions on gay marriage." I guess they forgot to tell that to the session leaders and the people who put literature on the conference hall chairs during the sessions.
- Pam noted that 500 protesters turned out to greet LWO in Palm Springs, and that a representative from NARTH was among the speakers. The same organization whose website recently featured an article endorsing slavery. At least until that article disappeared.
- Of course black gay groups were not amused by NARTH's defense of slavery.
- And when NARTH was critiqued for the slavery defense on their website? Well, they took the opportunity to address "acts of intimidatin by the gay activists."
- The Denver Post, by the way, says 200 protesters showed up to protest LWO.
- By the way, LWO is coming to Atlanta in November, and Daniel at Ex-Gay Watch is looking for ideas on how to respond to the visit.
- I wouldn't take child rearing advice from the "ex-gay boosters," nor would I recommend anyone else do so. AZnomad point to a good example of just how crazy it gets, with one mother's seven point for plan for keeping your kids from turning teh gay.
- You can also spank the gay out of them. But if you neglect your parental duties, the might take it out on an innocent pillow.
- Whatever you do, don't fail to take action, or else you'll look up one day to find your 15 year old boy was just elected carnival queen. Once he gets a feel for that tiara, he'll get a taste for more, and that leads to other things.
- However, if you fail there's a chance their peers will pitch in with sufficient ridicule and harassment to make your kids miserable enough to consider conversion (or something else). Students in Pennsylvania schools are going there part to straighten our their queer peers. Other high school students are reaching out to help a teacher in a similar situation. Even NARTH would approve.
- But even the heartland isn't safe anymore. Two members of the Iowa senate have introduced a bill to to protect gay and lesbian students from bullying, even though everyone knows (and NARTH said so) that a little ridicule goes a long way to reinforcing "necessary boundaries."
- It just gets worse. Parents in Philadelphia now have to fight the possibility that their kids might be taught that (a) gay people existed in history and (b) may have made important contributions.
- Like the contributions of lesbian psychics to the infomercial industry.
- A high school administrator in Georgia's Dekalb county had the good sense to punish two lesbian students for holding hands -- writing them up for "inappropriate bodily contact, sexual harassment and indecent exposure" -- only to have that decision overturned by school administrators. So your kids might be exposed to same-sex hand holding in the hallways.
- With scientists now studying gay brothers in hopes of tracking down a "gay gene," your kids could be taught that people are born gay.
- And speaking of how people are born, Bitch Lab points to a New York Times article about children who are born intersexed, and activists who are fighting to delay sex reassignment surgery until the kids are old enough to decide for themselves. Could one of your kid's friends change gender from one school year to the next?
- Even computer games aren't safe anymore. Fortunately the makers of the City of Heroes game have taken the wise move of banning gay characters as well as gay references in character names.
- Don't forget to check out their comic book collections, lest the come across a gay Batwoman. Or worse yet, they might be producing their own gay comics.
- College isn't safe either. It used to be you could send a kid to college and if they joined a fraternity or sorority the most you had to worry about was a little hazing and maybe a light case of alcohol poisoning. Now even these bastions of heterosexual stereotypes are discussing gays in their midsts, and even welcoming them.
- Fortunately, law students at the College of William and Mary still have the courage to speak out.
- And a citizen in Wisconsin showed his displeasure to a group of lesbians who dared to discuss the state's anti-gay marriage amendment in public. To give you an idea of the kind of ideas this marriage issue puts into the heads of gay people, one of the chastised lesbians said after the attack, "Should I hide in the corner and have people not notice me? Screw that. I shouldn't have to feel that way. I should be able to be who I am without fear of being injured or worse." Now, thanks to the courts, some people have completely forgotten their place.
- Why can't we have more gay people like that nice Republican congressman Tom Foley, who had the decency to stay in the closet all these years -- until he got caught emailing lovenotes to a teenage male page? Doesn't it seem like these people just end up getting twisted after they come out of the closet?
- I know some gay people think otherwise, like the gay activist/blogger who said "Healthy gay men who are mature and dealing with their sexuality in a mature way don't hit on kids who are 16 years old." Well, up until now, Foley was healthy enough to support DOMA and decline to endorse repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell." So he was doing just fine.
- And then there's the contagion of gay marriage to content with. BigRock warns that it's already spreading from Massachusetts to Rhode Island. As we speak, gay and lesbian couples can cross the border to make lifetime commitments to one another.
- If you want to know where that leads, read Sean Robertson's diary about a friend of his who got deported away from his ill partner's bedside. Just imagine! If they could have married, this man might still be in this country, taking care of his partner. What kind of example would that set for children?
- Next thing you know, they'll want to be included in Family Day.
- Don't forget to read DrForbush's diary about Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's reminder that the gay marriage issue is even more important than the war on terror.
- Voter's Colorado, right in the backyard of LWO sponsors James Dobson & Focus on the Family are already losing their focus on gay marriage. They've failed to sufficiently support the GOP candidate who compared gay marriage to bestiality with enough campaign donations to surpass the Democratic nominee.
- Plus Colorado voters are no longer as frightened of gay marriage as they should be. It's almost as if they don't know the grim future that awaits us if gay marriage becomes legal. Most of them already have one foot on the slippery slide by supporting domestic partnership benefits.
- It looks like citizens in Rochester, NY aren't as scared as they should be either. Their city council sent the state legislature a strongly worded letter that can summed up in three words: legalize gay marriage.
- Of course, that's to be expected in a country where only 22% think gay marriage is an extremely important issue. That's down from a peak of 63% right after the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision.
- And in California, Boi from Troy says more voters now support gay marriage; 47% approved when recently asked "Do you favor or oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to be legally married?", and only 46% say were opposed. This is the same state where the legislature passed a bill legalizing gay marriage not long ago.
- So, how far do we want this to go? Do you want to let gays lead the whole world down the highway to hell? What kind of world do you want to live in?
- Do you want to live in a world where people of faith support equality for gays and lesbians?
- Do you want to live in a world where some straight couples who forego marriage find common ground with gay couples who can't marry? Do you want to find out what's possible if these two groups combine their resources on these concerns?
- Do you want to live in a world with laws that protect these people, and those who support them, from the natural outrage of decent citizens? Do you want to live in a world where they have organizations go to court for them when they face the same?
- Do you want to live in a world where gay federal employees get health benefits for their partners?
- Do you want to live in a world where gay couples have the right to file taxes as married couples?
- Do you want to live in a world where more and more companies prohibit discrimination against gays, and even give them benefits?
- Do you want to live in a world where these gay "families" and their children are actually seen in furniture commercials?
- Do you want to live in a world where children of gay parents can actually find books about their families? Books that other kids might read, and find out that these families even exist?
- Do you want to live in a world that recognizes the parental rights of gays and lesbians, and allows these families to continue to exist?
- Do you know which vision you want to see succeed in the end? Division, intolerance, persecution, and theocracy? Or love, inclusiveness, fairness, and democracy?
- Which vision includes an equal place for you, your family, your friends, and loved ones? Which vision do you want to be your reality?
- What kind of world do you want to live in, and what will you do to make it so?
Sorry this is late folks, but the week was a busy one and I spent most of Friday traveling with the family, as I will for the rest of the weekend. So, here's a set of Saturday morning links for to take you through the weekend. And, yes, those last two items are without links. But the questions seemed important enough to stand on their own. The last one is one I'm asking myself more often lately.
I'm sure there's stuff I forgot or missed. If you got 'em, share 'em in the comments. And if you want to get an email alert when the round-up is posted, or find stuff during the week that you want to share, drop me an email.