The Movement: November 2008
Keeping LGBT Hope Alive
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 30, 2008 11:30 AM |For those of you who are feeling pessimistic about the possibility of achieving full equality for LGBT people, I present Jason McElway: iPhone users: Click to watch Jason's story is not about LGBT issues, but his amazing story shows what...Read More
NY Gays Jilted at the Altar by Democrats?
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 29, 2008 4:00 PM |Despite raking in big time campaign contributions from LGBT people across the U.S., Democrats in the New York State Senate may be backing away from their pledge to bring a marriage bill to a vote. After a pledge from New...Read More
What I'm Thankful For: Harvey Milk
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 29, 2008 11:30 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Travis Ballie is a student activist at American University. He is a D.C. resident inspired by the Prop 8 protests and hoping to contribute to the"DC For Marriage" coalition. This man was the queer movement's Barack...Read More
Does the LGBT Movement Need to "Get Real?"
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 29, 2008 10:00 AM |There is a moment in every Dr. Phil show were he tells the guests of the day that they need to "get real" and stop the behaviours that are causing them pain and emotional distress.I think it is high time...Read More
Candace Gingrich on Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 26, 2008 4:30 PM |A few weeks back Keith Olbermann made on of his trademark commentaries about the passage of Prop 8 and the stripping away of marriage rights from same-sex couples in California. Last night Olbermann re-visited the subject in an interview with...Read More
An Interesting Social Experiment
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 26, 2008 1:00 PM |I recently came across an interesting blog post over at Religion Dispatches. Tom Ackerman published his "Marriage Manifesto", which is a fun little social experiment and statement that I think I might try during this holiday season. Ackerman decides to...Read More
Marriage, Polygamy and Gays
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | November 26, 2008 11:00 AM |One of the religious right's standard splutterings is that legalizing same-sex marriage will open the door to legalizing polygamy. Many of us have dismissed these splutterings as just another boogeyman that the right is conjuring up...one that will make voters...Read More
No "Milk" for Cinemark
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 25, 2008 6:00 PM |The film distribution company for the new film Milk needs to get a clue: Alan Stock and Cinemark Theaters should not profit from anti-gay hate. Alan Stock, the CEO of Cinemark, donated $9,999 to support Prop 8 and strip marriage...Read More
Haters promise to "Rise above the Hate"
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 25, 2008 4:30 PM |The poor, beleaguered, anti-gay bigot forces that waged campaigns across this country based on homophobia, fear, and intolerance have now had enough of the "hate" being directed at them and their anti-equality allies in the wake of the Nov 4th...Read More
Florida Gay Adoption Ban On Its Way Out
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | November 25, 2008 11:00 AM |This is a big win. Yes, it's only a trial court judge. Yes, it will be appealed. But this is the case that I suspect will finally end Florida's ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians, once and for...Read More
Isn't Oppression Bad and Calling it Out Good?
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | November 24, 2008 6:00 PM |Or did I get it backwards. In an LGBT online support community I participate in a few participants were purposefully using the wrong pronouns for a trans person in the media who they did not like. When several people pointed...Read More
Fundies Launch "Protect DOMA" Website
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 24, 2008 3:00 PM |The Alliance for Marriage Foundation, which you may remember as the group that drafted the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment, has launched a "Protect DOMA" website and started a campaign to "preserve the federal Defense of Marriage Act." Here's the goal...Read More
HRC: A comment from Dyssonance
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | November 24, 2008 1:00 PM |Note from Bil: I'm trying out a new feature with our software that allows me to take a comment and move it up to the front page as a post. Serena's post about HRC's Transgender Day of Remembrance video from...Read More
MILK: A Sneak Peek and a Few Historical Reflections
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | November 24, 2008 12:00 PM |An anti-gay California ballot initiative. Gay folks marching in the streets. Is it 2008? No. It's 1978. And if you don't know that part of our history, you'll get a good feel for it in "MILK," the biopic that opens...Read More
Why Gay Marriage Is an Asian-American Matter
Filed by Prince Gomolvilas | November 24, 2008 11:30 AM |When Asian Week asked me to write an op-ed piece about the aftermath of Proposition 8 and how the issue of gay marriage ties into the Asian-American community, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. After the an...Read More
Standing Firm, Moving Forward
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 24, 2008 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Rea Carey is Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund. Over the past few weeks, the nation witnessed an outpouring of emotion and determination from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)...Read More
What Harvey Milk Tells Us About Proposition 8
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 23, 2008 7:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Rob Epstein is the director of the Oscar winning film "The Times of Harvey Milk", and is this years' recipient of the International Documentary Association's Pioneer Award. Thirty years ago on election night Harvey Milk gave...Read More
Queer Lit: What I'm Reading (Offline)
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | November 23, 2008 5:30 PM |Earlier this year, I realized that I don't read nearly as much in print as I used to. That, and some other things (like the fact that I typically spend more than 10 hours a day at my laptop, and...Read More
Stories from the Helpline
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 23, 2008 2:00 PM |Editor's Note: "Stories from the Helpline" is a recurring feature on The Bilerico Project, bringing in the personal accounts of Helpline counselors from The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis...Read More
An Open Letter To White Gays and Lesbians at the Silverlake Prop 8 Rally, by Alette Kendrick
Filed by Yasmin Nair | November 23, 2008 11:30 AM |This letter has been widely posted on the web, and I'm including it here for Bilerico readers. The writer, Alette Kendrick, is a friend of a friend, and I'm posting this with her permission. Dear white gays and lesbians at...Read More
GLBTQ&A Rules
Filed by Eric Marcus | November 23, 2008 10:00 AM |This past week I did a presentation at the annual GLSEN Hudson Valley PrideWorks conference on how to answer the questions we all wind up getting asked by parents, friends, strangers, and colleagues (and often get asked over and over...Read More
You Gotta Give 'Em Hope Roundup
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 22, 2008 7:00 PM |Its been a fantastic week at Bilerico with both contributors and guest bloggers offering provocative ideas on how to kick the LGBT movement into high gear. Here's a taste: Monday: Why Prop 8's Passage Could Be A Good Thing -...Read More
Ugly Betty: Young Gay Love
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 22, 2008 5:30 PM |Everyone knows by now that I am a television junkie. One of my favorite, and probably the gayest show on TV (sorry Project Runway), is Ugly Betty. While it is based on the over the top telenovela style of shows,...Read More
Ten Years - 400 Dead... And Counting
Filed by Monica Roberts | November 22, 2008 2:30 PM |Thursday was the tenth anniversary of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It's the day transgender people around the world pause and remember our fallen brothers and sisters along with our allies and friends. It was also a day of mixed...Read More
HRC Posts Video for Transgender Day of Remembrance
Filed by Serena Freewomyn | November 22, 2008 11:30 AM |The HRC posted a video on its website this week to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance. It co-opts the images of Lawrence King and Robert Eads, and urges our community to demand hate crimes legislation. iPhone users: Click to watch...Read More
Remembrance into Action: Honoring Trans Women of Color
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 22, 2008 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Amanda Morgan is a Vaid fellow with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. Transgender Day of Remembrance feels especially sad this year, with Duanna Johnson and Latiesha Green, two black trans women, murdered...Read More
Disposable People
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | November 21, 2008 3:00 PM |Last night I gave this speech at Day of Remembrance, addressing the way trans identity, race, gender, immigration, sex work, and police brutality have all become major factors in anti-trans killings. Every year we take this time to review the...Read More
How We Blew It: California's Prop 8 Defeat
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 21, 2008 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Terry Leftgoff formerly served as the highest ranking openly gay officer of the California Democratic Party and oversaw numerous campaign efforts including local unified Democratic campaigns for Bill Clinton, Dianne Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer, among others....Read More
2008 Amendment Battles LiveBlog with Kate Kendell, Nadine Smith and Barbara McCullough-Jones
Filed by Bil Browning | November 20, 2008 6:45 PM |Welcome everyone to Bilerico Project's LiveBlog with three leaders of this year's anti-amendment battles in California, Florida and Arizona - Kate Kendall (No on 8), Nadine Smith (Equality Florida) and Barbara McCullough-Jones (Equality Arizona). All three women have agreed to...Read More
TDOR: Some Personal Thoughts
Filed by Donna Rose | November 20, 2008 6:00 PM |Another Transgender Day of Remembrance (or TDOR, for short) is upon us. It occurs on Nov. 20 each year in commemoration of the murder of trans-woman Rita Hester and is our opportunity to celebrate the lives and mourn the deaths...Read More
The Obama era, legally speaking
Filed by Nan Hunter | November 20, 2008 5:00 PM |The bittersweet combination of the Prop 8 loss and the Obama win, combined with the Dems picking up more seats in both houses of Congress, means that a much greater focus on federal-level policy-making is in the offing in lgbt...Read More
A modest marriage proposal
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 20, 2008 12:00 PM |Editors' Note: The following is a guest post by Chris Crain. Chris is former editor of the Washington Blade, Southern Voice, and gay publications in three other cities. He blogs at CitizenCrain.com and is the editor of GayNewsWatch.com. He lives...Read More
The Value of a Life
Filed by Mercedes Allen | November 20, 2008 10:00 AM |Today marks the 10th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, with commemorations happening through today and some into the weekend. Thanks to Tobi for giving the day-before link to what's happening. The following was originally written for GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine,...Read More
California Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Prop 8
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | November 19, 2008 6:30 PM |The California Supreme Court has just ruled that it will hear the challenge to Prop filed by various groups, including the National Center for Lesbian Rights. While it doesn't mean we will win the case, had they refused to hear...Read More
A Gender Primer
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 19, 2008 5:00 PM |Editors' Note: With Transgender Day of Remembrance coming up, it seemed appropriate to re-post Michele O'Mara's great primer on gender from last year. She works with transgender clients in her private practice. What is gender identity? Gender identity occurs from...Read More
Trans Day of Remembrance
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | November 19, 2008 4:00 PM |Tomorrow is the Tenth International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize the trans people who have been killed due to anti-trans hatred or prejudice. Events will be happening all over. Look around your local community listings to see...Read More
Five Stages of Grief in 14 Days
Filed by Kate Kendell | November 19, 2008 12:30 PM |Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. In the past five years, I've become more familiar than I would have liked with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's five stages of grief. In that time, both of my parents and my baby brother died, all too...Read More
Broad Outlines For Change Within the GLBT Movement
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 19, 2008 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Wayne Besen is an author, activist, columnist and public speaker. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Truth Wins OUT, an organization founded to combat the 'ex-gay' myth and right wing propaganda. As far as...Read More
Broad Outlines For Change Within the GLBT Movement
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 19, 2008 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Wayne Besen is an author, activist, columnist and public speaker. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Truth Wins OUT, an organization founded to combat the 'ex-gay' myth and right wing propaganda. As far as...Read More
Two Wrongs Never Make a Right
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 18, 2008 6:30 PM |Two wrongs never make a right. Over the weekend, a protest got violent. If the answer, as some believe, is to take arms against this sea of trouble... then count me out. I'll have no part of it. I am...Read More
An open letter to President-Elect Obama
Filed by Bil Browning | November 18, 2008 5:00 PM |NOTE: Originally this post was the focus of a website Alex Garcia and I were going to launch tomorrow. We even have the site built! We wanted to publish an open letter to President-Elect Obama with the LGBT community's expectations...Read More
"Sleeping" With the "Enemy"
Filed by Prince Gomolvilas | November 18, 2008 3:00 PM |After I posted a temperate and somewhat optimistic response to the disappointing news of Proposition 8's passage (which eliminates same-sex marriage in California), a friend of mine e-mailed me, insisting that I tap into my inner righteous indignation. "Foster some...Read More
Redefined Marriage? Grow Up
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 17, 2008 6:30 PM |Ugh. My least favorite Mormon in all the world is getting under my skin. A woman- who will remain nameless- is complaining. Homosexuals are going to redefine her marriage. How? I can't even imagine how my being married in MA...Read More
No on 8 wasn't no on hate
Filed by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore | November 17, 2008 3:30 PM |I tried my best to ignore Proposition 8, I mean to ignore all the attention around marriage, even as I received a voicemail message featuring a recording of Barack Obama, a message from Barack Obama himself, another announcement coordinated by...Read More
How the Well-Oiled Mormon Machine Helped Pass Prop 8
Filed by Pam Spaulding | November 17, 2008 1:30 PM |In the end, Protect Marriage estimates, as much as half of the nearly $40 million raised on behalf of the measure was contributed by Mormons. That was the statement confirming the extent of the financial involvement of the members...Read More
Why Prop 8's Passage Could Be A Good Thing
Filed by Scott Kaiser | November 17, 2008 12:30 PM |Yes, Prop. 8 passed in California as we're all aware, and the sky is falling. Gay marriages have been outlawed in the state in a blatant display of homophobia infecting politics. This is the worst possible thing to happen to...Read More
A New Birth of Freedom - Now Is the Time
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 17, 2008 11:00 AM |Editors' Note: Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES AIDS quilt, and Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black are today's guest bloggers. They have launched the new site Seven Weeks to Equality to push President-Elect Obama to quickly pass pro-LGBT legislation. On...Read More
Photos from L.A. Rally Against Prop 8
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 16, 2008 7:30 PM |Karen Ocamb sent these amazing photos from the L.A. march that was part of the National Day of Protest....Read More
It's Not The Size That Matters
Filed by Scott Kaiser | November 16, 2008 6:30 PM |I would like to thank everyone who participated in yesterday's rallies for marriage equality across the nation. The protests were a top news story all over the Internet and on many television stations. It could not be dismissed or ignored....Read More
Photos from the Chicago Anti-Proposition 8 Rally, November 15, Federal Plaza
Filed by Yasmin Nair | November 16, 2008 2:00 PM |I was there to cover the event. As you might imagine, my feelings were -- shall we say -- mixed. There were at least 1000-1500 people, quite possibly a lot more than that (I'm waiting for official numbers). I was...Read More
Saving Young Lives: The Trevor Project
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 16, 2008 2:00 PM |It is no secret that helping and supporting LGBT youth is one of my greatest passions. That is why I am making sure everyone knows about The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that operates the only...Read More
Prop 8 Demos: a Contrarian Caveat
Filed by Nan Hunter | November 16, 2008 1:00 PM |I write this as demonstrations against Prop 8 occur around the country. That's great - although I distance myself from anything framed as anti-Mormon per se. While it's been tough to have been too busy to be blogging the last...Read More
It's The End Of The World As We Know It
Filed by Rebecca Juro | November 16, 2008 12:00 PM |At least, I hope it is anyway. Stonewall didn't do it. The Briggs amendment didn't do it. The Defense of Marriage Act didn't do it. The horrific misuse of Don't Ask Don't Tell to facilitate the most intense anti-gay witch...Read More
City Hall Park Protest in Manhattan
Filed by Father Tony | November 16, 2008 8:30 AM |The thousands who gathered in protest at Manhattan's City Hall Park on Saturday November 15, 2008 (as did concurrently folks in dozens of other communities across the nation) raised signs and voices and received encouraging words promising a world of...Read More
Are we still marching?
Filed by Cathy Renna | November 15, 2008 7:00 PM |My three year old asked us this as we began the long walk back to our car after the Washington, DC protest march this afternoon. It was her first protest and she was enthralled by the people, sights and sounds....Read More
10,000 Rally in DC for Equality
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 15, 2008 4:57 PM |UPDATE: New photos after the jump. An amazing and energetic of more than 10,000 LGBT people and allies marched from the U.S. to the White House to demand full equality for LGBT people. The rally was part of the National...Read More
Hundreds Rally in Detroit for National Day of Protest
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 15, 2008 4:30 PM |What do we want? EQUALITY! When do we want it? NOW! That was the chant that rang out through downtown Detroit, Michigan today as over 300 hundred dedicated protesters rallied in the freezing rain and sleet as part of the...Read More
Is Homosexuality Genetic or Chosen? Does That Matter?
Filed by Yasmin Nair | November 15, 2008 3:30 PM |In the swirl of Prop 8 madness, and the rush to blame the black community for its defeat, comes William Saletan's myopic piece for Slate, about "Blacks, Gays, and Immutability." Saletan uncritically rehashes the idea that blacks voted for Prop...Read More
Duanna Johnson: Your Outrage, Support Needed
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | November 15, 2008 1:00 PM |The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition has set up a way to donate to the fund for Duanna Johnson's funeral online. Please help share the funeral expenses as a community. And please read this: "Can the LGBT Community Spare Some Outrage...Read More
Duanna Johnson: Your Outrage, Support Needed
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | November 15, 2008 1:00 PM |The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition has set up a way to donate to the fund for Duanna Johnson's funeral online. Please help share the funeral expenses as a community. And please read this: "Can the LGBT Community Spare Some Outrage...Read More
Keith Olbermann's Message
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 15, 2008 10:00 AM |Editor's Note: Zythyra is an acoustic musician, writer and activist who lives in NH. Like many LGBTIQ Americans, I was both elated and devastated by the election results this past week. I am absolutely elated that President-elect Barack Obama won...Read More
The New Bicep
Filed by Father Tony | November 15, 2008 8:30 AM |Congratulations to the compact team of gay (un)organizers for a superbly (un)planned and (un)structured protest at the Mormon Temple in New York City on November 12, 2008 (and to the lone blogger responsible for the nationwide town hall protests scheduled...Read More
What Would Harvey Milk Do?
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 14, 2008 4:00 PM |In this time of incredible passion, anger and energy in the LGBT community, these words by Harvey Milk could not ring more true. iPhone users: Click to watch...Read More
Protests not Convenient? Deal with it.
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 14, 2008 1:30 PM |I have been amazed at the online and grassroots explosion that the National Day of Protest has spawned. It started with one small blog then took on a life of its own, with hundreds of cities around the country now...Read More
Should We March On Churches?
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 14, 2008 12:30 PM |Wednesday, 10,000 people marched and rallied against the Mormon church in New York City angry about the loss on Prop. 8. I think it's a mistake. When we start making villains out of other people, we are no better. When...Read More
Gay vs. Black... no thanks
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 14, 2008 10:00 AM |Bill O'Reilly's taken on the "Blacks destroyed same-sex marriage" meme, and he's asking for a minority war. iPhone users: Click to watch I wonder why he'd want a minority war?...Read More
You wanna know why the gays are apathetic?
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 13, 2008 6:30 PM |After the jump is a post I wrote over at my diary on Daily Kos. It got a reaction there so I thought I'd pass it along over here. I saw just a few too many threads with kind straight...Read More
California Supreme Court Could Rule This Week On Prop 8 Lawsuit
Filed by Jeremy Bishop | November 13, 2008 2:30 PM |I've been traveling on the road, so apologies if this has been posted, but it seems to have slipped through the radar screen nationally. According to The Sacramento Bee, California Supreme Court Spokeswoman Lynn Holton says that the Court could...Read More
The Gays are Pissed. Now What?
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 13, 2008 8:00 AM |Every other blog post is about gays erupting in righteous anger over the passage of Prop. 8, hate-monger James Dobson's induction into the Radio Hall of Fame or some other issue. But, what are we accomplishing other than giving people...Read More
An amazing protest at the Mormon Temple in Manhattan
Filed by Father Tony | November 13, 2008 1:00 AM |Thousands upon thousands they came, descending upon my ordinarily sedate Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan's Upper West Side. They were gay, straight, young old, male, female, black, white, local, foreign and everything in between and beyond. They were gorgeous. (If...Read More
Don't mess with the drama queens
Filed by Bil Browning | November 12, 2008 6:00 PM |File this under the "WTF were you thinking?!" file... The Artistic Director for California Musical Theatre, Scott Eckern, donated $1000 to support passage of Prop 8. After considerable outrage in the theater community, Scott has decided to resign his position....Read More
Protests everywhere
Filed by Father Tony | November 12, 2008 2:30 PM |Suddenly, there are gay rights protests and demonstrations everywhere. Some have attracted boisterous crowds. Some only a pair of silent sign-holders. In an effort to keep track of these and to provide readers with a format for adding new information...Read More
While we're at it...
Filed by Eric Leven | November 12, 2008 1:30 PM |Man, there's this pulse in the air. Something is happening and I feel very proud and inspired by the gays. I thought this might be a nice opportunity to share some Gay history while allowing those who were active during...Read More
We are not equal - the abused second class Americans
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 12, 2008 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Carlos Mock has published three books and is the Floricanto Press editor for its GLBT series. He was inducted in the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame in October of 2007. He grew up middle-class...Read More
Indiana Equality: The jester of Mitch Daniels' court
Filed by Jerame Davis | November 11, 2008 11:30 PM |I recently received an invitation from Indiana Equality to an event at the Governor's residence they're calling "Holiday IN the Governor's Residence". Beyond the totally dorky name, as I read this email invitation, I was both amused and infuriated. Obviously,...Read More
National Day of Protest- Nov 15th
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 11, 2008 6:00 PM |Everyone has been asking what they can do in response to California's Prop 8, Florida's Amendment 2, Arizona's 102, and the other setbacks in Equality for our community. Well, someone has answered that question. Join the Impact has started a...Read More
Police continue to harass gay men for existing
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 11, 2008 2:30 PM |This is bullshit: His arrest is just one of a number of improbable arrests that officers from the Manhattan South Vice Enforcement Squad made in Blue Door Video this year and in at least one other city porn shop in...Read More
The queers are upset that I'm not an upset queer
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 11, 2008 12:00 PM |Editors' note: Ryan Miller, a native Texan, attends the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he is studying Higher Education Administration as a Point Foundation scholar. He completed a bachelor's degree with honors in journalism as a Point Foundation scholar...Read More
If Not Marriage for All, How About Marriage for None?
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | November 11, 2008 11:00 AM |The simplicity and brevity of same-sex marriage bans like prop 8 leave a lot of room to look at alternatives. I can't help but see something like this and think, Okay, I can work with that. Only marriage between a...Read More
We are going to fail again and again unless we get a clue
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 10, 2008 7:00 PM |After the No Campaign failed last week and Proposition 8 passed, the orgs that worked against it were quick to point out why they had really done a great job this year. Sure, some mistakes were made, but there are...Read More
No More Mrs. Nice Gay
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 10, 2008 5:30 PM |Editors' note: Robin Tyler was the original plaintiff, along with Diane Olson, in Tyler vs. the County of Los Angeles, which gave lesbians and gays the right to marry in California when the state Supreme Court ruled in their favor....Read More
Ordinary Couples at the Indianapolis LGBT film festival
Filed by Don Sherfick | November 10, 2008 9:00 AM |In June 2007 my partner Jerry and I (upper right) joined nine other gay/lesbian couples who had been together for over 10 years to film "Ordinary Couples/ Extraordinary Lives!". It's but one of the nearly 20 featured works to be...Read More
Homophobic Dreier mailer - It's just as bad from the left
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 09, 2008 7:00 PM |I have to go back and hit this item, too. This mailer went out in California's 26th district against semi-closeted Republican David Dreier: Howie Klein's Blue America PAC paid around $20K to run this ad. I find it extremely homophobic....Read More
The Fight in Florida: Where do we go from here?
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 09, 2008 4:00 PM |There is no doubt about it- Nov 4th was a bittersweet and historic day. Barack Obama shattered a glass ceiling by becoming the first African-American elected to the office of the Presidency. But for many in the LGBT community, it...Read More
Moving Forward Together: The Dream of Marriage Equality Remains Alive
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 09, 2008 2:30 PM |Editor's Note: Jacqueline Wing is the communications manager at The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. On Wednesday morning, I realized that...Read More
Moving Forward Together: The Dream of Marriage Equality Remains Alive
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 09, 2008 2:30 PM |Editor's Note: Jacqueline Wing is the communications manager at The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. On Wednesday morning, I realized that...Read More
Mean Times
Filed by Rebecca Juro | November 08, 2008 7:00 PM |So, the election is over and like so many in our community I'm still not sure whether to be happy, sad, both, or neither. Not only did our guy win, but the Democrats took virtually complete control of Congress, reducing...Read More
Come on, Rogue!
Filed by Kate Clinton | November 08, 2008 5:30 PM |While the American family and our extended international family were whooping it up for the historic Obama victory, I banged pans and wept for joy with the best of them. But I also had that dissociated, not-quite-part-of-feeling I had at...Read More
The Days Ahead
Filed by Kate Kendell | November 08, 2008 2:30 PM |I write this with a heavy heart. I, like you, have sacrificed everything in our fight to defeat Prop 8. And on Tuesday, we lost. This is an outcome that is fundamentally unjust, unfair, and wrong. We banded together as...Read More
Let's Change the Paradigms of Gay Organising
Filed by Yasmin Nair | November 08, 2008 1:00 PM |A full 27% of gays voted for McCain in this year's election. That's up from 23% in 2004, the percentage that voted for Bush. It's easy to dismiss these Republican-leaning gays as either self-loathing or deluded, but perhaps the numbers...Read More
Shall we dine?
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 08, 2008 11:30 AM |Editors' note: Diego Sanchez is the Director of Public Relations & External Affairs AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc. and currently serves on the HRC Business Council. Sometimes fingers are used to point, figuratively and literally. At other times, the...Read More
What Can I Do?
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 07, 2008 8:30 PM |I've read some armchair evaluations of the No on 8 efforts. I have to admit, it hurts too much to read the criticisms of the campaign. Was it perfect? No. Even if we won it was not perfect. No campaign...Read More
Fallin' For The Okey-Doke
Filed by Monica Roberts | November 07, 2008 7:30 PM |I'm coming to you live from beautiful Boulder. CO. I'm here to give the keynote address later tonight for the opening of the TRANScending Gender Conference being held on the CU-Boulder campus November 7-8. I was flying from Da Ville...Read More
Prop 8 updates: Lawsuits, protests, and civility
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 07, 2008 3:00 PM |Lawsuits. Three lawsuits have been filed to prevent Prop 8 from taking effect, one by the ACLU, NCLR, and Lambda Legal, another by the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco and Santa Clara County, and the other by Gloria...Read More
You can't take this away from me
Filed by Joe Solmonese | November 07, 2008 12:00 PM |Proposition 8 broke our hearts, but it did not end our fight. Like many in our movement, I found myself in Southern California last weekend. There, I had the opportunity to speak with a man who said that Proposition 8...Read More
Forgetting the horse they rode in on
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 07, 2008 11:30 AM |Blabberhead-in-chief, David Broder, yesterday: These insiders can judge Obama better than I can, but I think they read him correctly. The expanded Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate may tempt Obama to consider a mirror-image of George W....Read More
They are Marching in the Streets
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 07, 2008 10:00 AM |I asked for this and it's happened. In San Francisco, in West Hollywood, in Los Angeles and soon in San Diego, night after night, they have been marching. Thousands of people holding their No on 8 Signs, politicians, activists have...Read More
Our Choice on Prop 8 and African Americans: Reckless Carping or Productive Change?
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 06, 2008 8:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Cindy Rizzo is a long time Projector. She blogs at Personal=Political=Polemical. Losing California has been a major demoralizing event for our community and there's no way to minimize that. Frankly I feel robbed--robbed of the opportunity...Read More
Our Choice on Prop 8 and African Americans: Reckless Carping or Productive Change?
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 06, 2008 8:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Cindy Rizzo is a long time Projector. She blogs at Personal=Political=Polemical. Losing California has been a major demoralizing event for our community and there's no way to minimize that. Frankly I feel robbed--robbed of the opportunity...Read More
Voices from California
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | November 06, 2008 5:00 PM |Thought I'd point your attention to two nuanced, moving posts by two of my favorite CA queer women reckoning with what to make of Tuesday's events: At Chicks Dig Me, Joan Kelly asks "California--reddest blue state in the union?" And...Read More
Voices from California
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | November 06, 2008 5:00 PM |Thought I'd point your attention to two nuanced, moving posts by two of my favorite CA queer women reckoning with what to make of Tuesday's events: At Chicks Dig Me, Joan Kelly asks "California--reddest blue state in the union?" And...Read More
Race, sexuality, and Proposition 8
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 06, 2008 3:00 PM |In the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, I'm troubled by the resurgence of "blame black people" rhetoric coming from some some gay people. It's not that African Americans didn't vote for Prop 8 in a higher percentage than...Read More
A New Morning In America
Filed by Monica Roberts | November 06, 2008 11:00 AM |Okay, so I was wrong. It's one time I will happily say (and will write the post on November 5 if it plays out) I was wrong about an issue. I've always told friends that I believed the United States...Read More
Holding My Breath on Prop 8
Filed by Storm Bear | November 05, 2008 5:30 PM |I am holding my breath on the outcome of Prop 8. The margin is narrow and there are a lot of absentee and provisional votes to be counted. More after the flip....Read More
Hate and Bigotry Pass in Florida
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 05, 2008 2:30 PM |Florida's Amendment 2, the dangerous and deceptive "Marriage Protection" Amendment, has passed. A supermajority of Floridians, 62% (4,662,558) versus just 38% (2,851,598), has decided that our state needs to enshrine hate, bigotry, and homophobia in our state constitution. And my...Read More
California's Prop 8, election night blogging
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2008 9:50 AM |BIL - 9:49am (11/5) Prop 8 will pass. From CNN's results: Yes - 5,125,752 - 52% No - 4,725,313 - 48% 95% of precincts reporting We'd need 400k votes to win. Only 500k votes are still outstanding. Alex - 1:18...Read More
Ballot initiative results from Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, and Florida, oh and King County
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2008 4:30 AM |Arkansas Act 1 Arkansas voters passed Initiative Act 1 with 57% of the vote yesterday. The measure bans unmarried couples in that state from adopting or foster parenting. It doesn't affect single parents' ability to parent. This is the most...Read More
Congressional election night thread
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2008 2:24 AM |Alex - 2:24 In Minnesota House races, CNN called it for Michele "McCarthy of the 21st Century" Bachmann. At least she'll be able to publish that expose of all the unpatriotic Congresscritters. CNN also says Ashwin Madia lost. He was...Read More
Results: Florida's Amendment 2 Passes
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 05, 2008 2:00 AM |Waymon- Now that Amendment 2 passed, where do we go from here? More indepth discussion on Amendment 2. Waymon- Detailed results and commentary, click here. Waymon- 1:48am MSNBC calls it: Florida's Amendment 2, the so-called "Marriage Protection" Amendment, passed. Waymon-...Read More
Results: Arkansas's unmarried couples adoption ban passes
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2008 1:36 AM |Alex 1:36 And CNN also called it for this one: Arkansas's Initiative Act 1, the ban on unmarried adoption, has passed. Alex - 11:22 With 28% reporting, the act is up 59-41. This isn't looking good, and it's absolutely ridiculous....Read More
Results: Arizona's same-sex marriage ban - Prop 102 - passes
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2008 1:33 AM |Alex - 1:33 It's official - CNN called it. Arizona's Prop 102 passed. Alex - 1:14 With 90% of precincts reporting, it's 56-44. We lost this one. Alex - 11:15 With 58% of precincts reporting, it's 56-44 Alex - 10:33...Read More
New York Senate: Democrats could take over tonight
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2008 12:04 AM |I'm also following the NY Senate here, because it's two people away from a Democratic majority. The state has a Democratic Assembly and a Democratic governor. This is important on two issues, GENDA and same-sex marriage. Their Assembly has already...Read More
Prop 8 updates: New poll, extortion, endorsements, rallies, and ads
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 03, 2008 8:00 PM |New poll. SUSA has their last poll out, and it puts Prop 8 losing at 47-50. We ought to round these up after the election and see who did the best job, SUSA, PPIC, or Field Poll. New endorsements. Barack...Read More
Log Cabin Greed
Filed by Bo Shuff | November 03, 2008 3:30 PM |Self preservation is human nature. It is in fact animal nature. However, one of the fundamental components of the American psyche is a sense of community. That those defined in common by geography, demography or other common factor will look...Read More
'TheCall': A day-long religious frenzy for Yes on 8
Filed by Pam Spaulding | November 03, 2008 11:00 AM |Saturday "TheCall," a 12-hour rally to boost support for Yes on 8, was held in San Diego's Qualcomm stadium. The festival of fundies believe they will save marriage, the homosexuals and the state of California by communing during the movement's...Read More
Julie Bindel and the Trans vs. Feminism Tug-of War
Filed by Mercedes Allen | November 03, 2008 10:00 AM |Feminism and transsexuality have long pushed each others' buttons. Feminism often seeks to break gender roles and stereotypes, break gender barriers, and yet transsexuality says that "there's something inborn in me that I can't escape or deny," at which point...Read More
Arkansas: Going to the polls to ban adoption by Unmarried Couples
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 02, 2008 6:00 PM |This measure would prevent unmarried, cohabiting couples from adopting or fostering children. Even though it would prevent straight, unmarried couples from adopting or fostering (and I'm sure there are far more of those than there are gay couples in Arkansas),...Read More
Quick update on Connecticut's Question 1 to hold a constitutional convention
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 02, 2008 5:00 PM |This one came up late in the game for LGBT nutmeggers. Every 20 years the question has to appear on the ballot in Connecticut to have a Constitutional Convention, and the year is this one. Since Connecticut's constitution doesn't allow...Read More
Arizona's proposition 102 updates
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 02, 2008 4:00 PM |The other contributors and I have been providing lots of updates about Prop 8 in California, and Waymon's been doing an excellent job providing coverage of Florida's Amendment 2. California's taken the time, money, and focus of the LGBT community...Read More
Sunday Funnies: McCain on SNL and Colbert on Prop 8
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 02, 2008 11:30 AM |McCain took to the airwaves last night on Saturday Night Live. Here's his opening sketch with Tina Fey/Palin. Did this seem like a really harsh, weird dig on Palin to anyone else? I think it only made the McCain Campaign...Read More
Happy Halloween
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 01, 2008 5:30 PM |I missed Halloween. Heavy sigh. I have been known to get requests from neighborhood parents in regard to my costume choice. I really like Halloween. But today I was driving all over Fremont, California checking out polling stations, deciding which...Read More
Obama Takes Gay Rights Stand Four Days Before the Election -- Can This Be Real?
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | November 01, 2008 4:00 PM |In a move drawing outrage from gay rights leaders and the San Francisco District Attorney, the campaign to eliminate marriage for same-sex couples in California mailed flyers to voters with a picture of Barack Obama -- and Michele -- and...Read More
The Abomination of Government Marriage
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 01, 2008 11:30 AM |Editor's Note: Allison Bricker is a lifelong political junkie. She has worked in various capacities on several local, statewide, and Congressional campaigns. She currently works as a Senior Political Analyst at a public opinion/research and analysis firm based out of...Read More
