The Movement: April 2009
The Miss California/NOM craziness continues
Filed by Bil Browning | April 30, 2009 6:00 PM |Alex posted this morning about Miss California Carrie Prejean appearing in an anti-gay marriage commercial for the National Organization for Marriage. The ad is out now and also features HRC President Joe Solmonese and blogger Perez Hilton. But have you...Read More
HRC Releases "Introduction to Welcoming Schools" Guide
Filed by Dana Rudolph | April 30, 2009 1:30 PM |The recent suicides of two young boys after repeated bullying at school have made many of us, myself included, wonder what we could do. One of the ways the HRC Foundation Family Project has responded is to push up the...Read More
Hussel hussel hussel, grind grind grind
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 30, 2009 12:00 PM |I'll be the first to say that the whole Carrie Prejean marriage drama won't affect legislation all that much. Perez probably didn't convince any one to switch teams, and Prejean seems to be speaking only to people who are already...Read More
When queer communities of color are not needed to win marriage rights
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | April 29, 2009 6:00 PM |With Iowa being the fourth state to approve marriage equality, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans' optimism is high, believing many more states will follow suit. "We're hoping this momentum is contagious," Daniel Richards of Rhode Island told me....Read More
Hate crimes legislation passes House
Filed by Bil Browning | April 29, 2009 4:55 PM |The House of Representatives has passed fully inclusive hate crimes legislation. The bill has been introduced in the Senate already and is expected to pass soon. Obama has pledged to sign it (and urged the House to pass HR 1913)....Read More
The "outing" of 83,000 anti-gay Arkansas citizens
Filed by Pam Spaulding | April 29, 2009 2:00 PM |In what is sure to anger and frustrate the fundies yet again, KnowThyNeighbor has launched a searchable database of Arkansans who signed a petition to ban gay adoption and foster care rights. The information is a matter of the public...Read More
100 Days - 0% Equal
Filed by Juan and Ken Ahonen-Jover | April 29, 2009 12:00 PM |Today marks the first 100 days of the new administration. President Obama has been saying that we should hold our government accountable. So, we have created the Legal Equality Index. This is a tool that can be used to hold...Read More
Marriage Fight in DC Heating Up
Filed by Michael Crawford | April 29, 2009 9:30 AM |The movement for marriage equality is building momentum at an amazing pace. The first gay and lesbian couples were married on Monday in Iowa. The marriage bill in Maine is being fast tracked and will be voted on in the...Read More
Report Back from the Feminist Porn Awards
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | April 28, 2009 3:00 PM |The Feminist Porn Awards were rocking last weekend. On Friday, the awards ceremony was held in, of all places, a church. Clips were played from each winning film, and I must say that I can't help but recommend them all....Read More
Hunting the elusive white stag
Filed by Bil Browning | April 28, 2009 2:00 PM |I'm a big fan of fantasy novels and King Arthur legends. One of the recurring storylines common in the genre is hunting the white stag - a metaphor for the hero seeking purity and justice. Of course, the white deer...Read More
Iowa to begin marrying gay couples today
Filed by Michael Crawford | April 27, 2009 1:00 PM |Andy at Towleroad reminds us that today is the day when gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry in Iowa. This is a great day for Iowa and for the nation. Seven DC residents including myself participated in...Read More
Overlooked in the Miss USA Flap
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 27, 2009 12:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Ben Finzel is a Washington D.C.-based public relations professional. A former Congressional staffer and Clinton Administration appointee, his career has focused on public affairs, public education campaigns and media relations. By now, you've likely heard or...Read More
New Outrage! documentary: Is outing justified?
Filed by Bil Browning | April 27, 2009 11:00 AM |We haven't talked about outing too much on Bilerico Project and with Outrage!, the new documentary on outing closeted anti-gay political figures hitting the big screen, the topic will soon be a national discussion. The movie outs Florida Governor Charlie...Read More
Top ineffective ways to "convert" gay Christians
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 26, 2009 5:30 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Wendy writes about life, love, spirituality, humor, plus LGBT issues at Burning or building bridges in the community? Here are some top ineffective ways to “convert,” convince, coerce, cajole or otherwise change gay Christians. Quote scripture...Read More
Lambda Legal gets big win for children of disabled parent...but case shows the risk of parentage orders
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | April 26, 2009 1:00 PM |Lambda Legal announced this week that the Social Security Administration has agreed to grant child benefits to the two children of a father receiving social security disability benefits. The issue concerned recognition of the parent-child relationship based on two California...Read More
Yes. Perez, You ARE a Representative of the Gay Community
Filed by Monica Roberts | April 23, 2009 3:30 PM |I'm not a representative of the gay community, in the same way that being Cuban, I'm not representative of the Latino community. I just speak for myself. And I'm Perez Hilton, Rick Sanchez. I can be offensive. I don't...Read More
Porn for Social Activism
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | April 23, 2009 1:30 PM |Last month I wrote about the use of sexual media to raise awareness around different issues. That post, Porn for Education, focused on written porn, which is almost always an individual production. Getting involved in video pornography, however, requires... shall...Read More
How Many More?
Filed by Kate Kendell | April 23, 2009 1:00 PM |When one of my NCLR staffers forwarded me a news article today, I thought it must have been a mistake. It detailed the suicide of an eleven-year-old boy who hung himself after relentless bullying at school. I had just read...Read More
Marriage polling
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 23, 2009 11:30 AM |Several polls were released this week for states that have marriage legislation pending. Here are the numbers, with Vermont thrown in for good measure. Here's where the poll numbers are (all numbers are from the most recent polls and are...Read More
Twitter, gay rights and controlling the message
Filed by Bil Browning | April 22, 2009 7:30 PM |While Twitter has taken the world by storm and we've talked about using social media for LGBT organizing, I'd like to expand the topic just a bit. I'd like to delve into how our community is getting its news and...Read More
Supporting Vermont
Filed by Juan and Ken Ahonen-Jover | April 22, 2009 2:00 PM |The election of a pro-equality candidate for Vermont Governor next year provides a unique possibility to replace anti-equality Governor Jim Douglas who vetoed two pieces of equality legislation. He vetoed the marriage bill, which was overridden. He also vetoed the...Read More
Why I Don't Do 'Bi'
Filed by Jessica Hoffmann | April 21, 2009 4:30 PM |Editors' note: This post ran over a year and a half ago on TBP and has been one of the most popular. Since there are lots of new readers on the site, we thought we'd run it again. Enjoy! It's...Read More
Miami Beach Pride: the celebration and the parade
Filed by Father Tony | April 21, 2009 2:00 PM |A wonderful time. An old-school Mayor throws an old-school Pride and everyone cheers....Read More
Momentum for marriage is building...
Filed by Michael Crawford | April 17, 2009 12:00 PM |The movement to win marriage equality is getting bigger, stronger and more diverse each and every day. People across the DC and across the nation are opening their hearts and minds and realizing that marriage is and should be a...Read More
How about the whole story on taxes and same-sex married couples?
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | April 17, 2009 10:30 AM |Gary Gates does amazing work. He is singlehandedly responsible for the wealth of knowledge we have about same-sex couples from census data. I turn to him for data for my own work. But his co-authored Huffington Post piece today doesn't...Read More
LGBT Parenting Roundup
Filed by Dana Rudolph | April 16, 2009 5:00 PM |Here's a compilation of recent stories about LGBT parents, LGBT kids, schools, and other related matters: Tragedy: GLSEN reports, "An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself Monday [April 6] after enduring bullying at school, including daily taunts of...Read More
Maintaining a Unified Front
Filed by Kate Kendell | April 15, 2009 6:00 PM |In light of the recent good news out of Vermont, Iowa, Washington D.C., Washington state, and the city of Gainesville, Florida, I've been reflecting about the values of our community and the goals of our movement. As a progressive, feminist...Read More
Faith Community and LGBT Community Come Together
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 14, 2009 5:00 PM |I went to a funeral yesterday. Of a little boy. 11 years old. He lay in the coffin, in a grown up suit, dead. So little. He killed himself last week because he was taunted, over and over, for being...Read More
State Fairness
Filed by Kate Clinton | April 14, 2009 2:30 PM |When I was growing up in Syracuse, New York I was not a big fan of our annual State Fair. The mid-way was too freaky, sticky and crowded but I loved bumper cars and Whac-a-mole. As a budding butch from...Read More
Stuck in Binary
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 14, 2009 11:30 AM |Editors' note: Monica Helms is the president of the Transgender American Veterans Association. This is the second part of her "Stuck in..." series. Think of how dull the world would be if everything came in just twos. We would only...Read More
Marriage in DC: The 411
Filed by Michael Crawford | April 11, 2009 1:00 PM |Its been quite a week in the movement for marriage equality. The Iowa Supreme Court legalized marriage between same-sex couples in a unanimous decision. The Vermont became the first state to legalize marriage legislatively when the state's legislature overrode the...Read More
Whether you like it or not, Gavin Newsom is awesome
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 10, 2009 10:30 AM |Jerame posted on Gavin Newsom being honored by the Task Force this week with a Leadership Award earlier this week. He also won an award, indirectly, at the Pollies two weeks ago. The Pollies are the awards political consultants give...Read More
The Task Force New York Leadership Awards
Filed by Jerame Davis | April 08, 2009 5:30 PM |Monday evening I attended the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's New York Leadership Awards. This year's honoree's were San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and fashion designer John Bartlett. Presenting the award to Newsom was New York City Council speaker...Read More
It's Not Over Yet: "Protect Isabella Coalition" Forms to Keep Girl from Lesbian Mom
Filed by Dana Rudolph | April 08, 2009 2:30 PM |In this week of euphoria over the marriage victories, let's not forget we still have a long way to go. Today, "a coalition of concerned Virginia citizens" has formed the "Protect Isabella Coalition" to "create awareness of what it labels...Read More
Husbands and wives and partners, oh my!
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 08, 2009 1:30 PM |I think this is an interesting conversation to be having if taken in the right context, so here's something that Markos Moulitsas said yesterday: You know what would help with marriage equality? For gay couples who have committed themselves to...Read More
Don't Be Invisible - Join "The Count"
Filed by Dr. David Fawcett | April 08, 2009 10:00 AM |Did you ever wonder about the LGBTQ population where you live? How many of us are there? How old (or young) are we? What races and ethnicities do we represent? What is the status of our health, or our households,...Read More
VICTORY! Vermont Votes for Marriage Equality!
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 07, 2009 5:00 PM |Editors' Note: This post comes via HRC Back Story and includes on-the-ground commentary from HRC's National Field Director Marty Rouse. BREAKING: The Vermont House voted 100-49 to override the marriage bill veto! The House vote, which followed the Senate voting...Read More
Reflecting on Vermont
Filed by Ellen Andersen | April 07, 2009 1:00 PM |I'm a little bit shaky inside right now. Part of it is the whiplash that comes from moving from a state (Indiana) where LGBT people have been fighting a rearguard action to defeat an anti-marriage amendment to a state where...Read More
Dear President Obama: Tell That to My Child
Filed by Dana Rudolph | April 07, 2009 12:00 PM |Dear President Obama: In less than a week, the White House lawn will be swarming with children and their parents, gleeful participants in the White House Easter Egg Roll. Children of LGBT parents will be among them, as they have...Read More
Poll: 70 Percent of Jamaicans Oppose Any Rights For LGBT People
Filed by K Travis Ballie | April 07, 2009 9:00 AM |In the recent flare up about the "boycott" of Jamaica over its homophobic, transphobic policies we have seen largely progressive whites arguing with progressive whites. I don't want to state my own opinion on the debate here, because I want...Read More
Beyond the Tipping-Point: The Modern HIV Crisis Among Gay Men
Filed by Dan O'Neill | April 06, 2009 9:30 AM |Editor's Note: In addition to being a Bilerico DC contributor, Dan O'Neill is chair of the HIV Prevention Working Group. HPWG is a program of The DC Center. The gay community is now experiencing a rather devastating case of déjà...Read More
And in another sign of the coming apocolypse...
Filed by Ellen Andersen | April 05, 2009 1:00 PM |Sweden's Parliament voted overwhelmingly (261-22) this week to eliminate the legislative distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships. Starting May 1st, same-sex couples will be permitted to marry legally, rather than enter into a registered partnership. The law does allow clergy...Read More
Love makes a family...but only through marriage
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | April 04, 2009 5:30 PM |On a day when most people were focused on the marriage win in Iowa , I read the news that the Connecticut group Love Makes A Family is disbanding. Its "core purpose" was achieving marriage for same-sex couples, and, having...Read More
Lostmissing: a public art project
Filed by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore | April 04, 2009 2:30 PM |You know when you have a friend who you think will always be there -- no matter what, at least you'll have that friendship, right? Lostmissing is a public art project about the loss of that relationship, a specific relationship...Read More
Compare and contrast
Filed by Alex Blaze | April 03, 2009 3:00 PM |A vast majority of LGBT people vote Democratic in elections, and that led GayPatiotWest to ask why gay people aren't more receptive to conservatism. He said that it's a "political conformity" brought on by "time socializing with their gay peers."...Read More
First thoughts on Iowa marriage decision
Filed by Nan Hunter | April 03, 2009 12:00 PM |First, hats off to Lambda Legal for a truly spectacular job in winning this case. In retrospect, this decision may come to seem almost as important as the first one in Massachusetts. Why? The decision was unanimous, the first time...Read More
Where Did Everybody Go?
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 02, 2009 4:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Jack Denelsbeck is the NY State Technical Assistance Manager for ACRIA (AIDS Community Research Initiative of America), where he coordinates and facilitates HIV and HCV health literacy workshops both statewide and nationally. An LGBT activist for...Read More
Where Did Everybody Go?
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 02, 2009 4:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Jack Denelsbeck is the NY State Technical Assistance Manager for ACRIA (AIDS Community Research Initiative of America), where he coordinates and facilitates HIV and HCV health literacy workshops both statewide and nationally. An LGBT activist for...Read More
Barney Frank needed not to explain why he called Justice Scalia a homophobe
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | April 02, 2009 1:30 PM |When Democratic U.S. Representative Barney Frank called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe," criticizing his likely support of the Defense of Marriage Act, his remarks were wrongly taken as only a personal attack on Scalia. But Barney Frank's remark...Read More
Utah Mandates All Children to Be Raised by LGBT People
Filed by Dana Rudolph | April 01, 2009 2:30 PM |In a special session of the Utah Legislature, lawmakers of both houses approved a bill that would require all children born in the state to be raised by LGBT people. A delegation rushed the bill to the governor's desk, where...Read More
I'm Joining HRC
Filed by Monica Roberts | April 01, 2009 11:30 AM |This may come as a shock to all of you who've known me for years as one of HRC's most virulent critics, but I'm pleased to announce that I am joining the Human Rights Campaign outreach team to the African-American...Read More
