It Gets Better - Turtle Creek Chorale

Dan Savage's Reaction to Obama's Video

President Obama: It Gets Better

Gay Kids Are Dying, Fuck Your Feelings

Dan Savage: October 14, 2010

Dear Dan: I was listening to the radio yesterday morning, and I heard an interview with you about your It Gets Better campaign. I was saddened and frustrated with your comments regarding people of faith and their perpetuation of bullying. As someone who loves the Lord and does not support gay marriage, I can honestly say I was heartbroken to hear about the young man who took his own life.

If your message is that we should not judge people based on their sexual preference, how do you justify judging entire groups of people for any other reason (including their faith)? There is no part of me that took any pleasure in what happened to that young man, and I know for a fact that is true of many other people who disagree with your viewpoint.

To that end, to imply that I would somehow encourage my children to mock, hurt, or intimidate another person for any reason is completely unfounded and offensive. Being a follower of Christ is, above all things, a recognition that we are all imperfect, fallible, and in desperate need of a savior. We cannot believe that we are better or more worthy than other people.

Please consider your viewpoint, and please be more careful with your words in the future.

—L.R.



Savage:

I'm sorry your feelings were hurt by my comments.

No, wait. I'm not. Gay kids are dying. So let's try to keep things in perspective: Fuck your feelings.

A question: Do you "support" atheist marriage? Interfaith marriage? Divorce and remarriage? All are legal, all go against Christian and/or traditional ideas about marriage, and yet there's no "Christian" movement to deny marriage rights to atheists or people marrying outside their respective faiths or people divorcing and remarrying.

Why the hell not?

Sorry, L.R., but so long as you support the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, it's clear that you do believe that some people—straight people—are "better or more worthy" than others.

And—sorry—but you are partly responsible for the bullying and physical violence being visited on vulnerable LGBT children. The kids of people who see gay people as sinful or damaged or disordered and unworthy of full civil equality—even if those people strive to express their bigotry in the politest possible way (at least when they happen to be addressing a gay person)—learn to see gay people as sinful, damaged, disordered, and unworthy. And while there may not be any gay adults or couples where you live, or at your church, or in your workplace, I promise you that there are gay and lesbian children in your schools. And while you can only attack gays and lesbians at the ballot box, nice and impersonally, your children have the option of attacking actual gays and lesbians, in person, in real time.

Real gay and lesbian children. Not political abstractions, not "sinners." Gay and lesbian children.

Try to keep up: The dehumanizing bigotries that fall from the lips of "faithful Christians," and the lies about us that vomit out from the pulpits of churches that "faithful Christians" drag their kids to on Sundays, give your children license to verbally abuse, humiliate, and condemn the gay children they encounter at school. And many of your children—having listened to Mom and Dad talk about how gay marriage is a threat to family and how gay sex makes their magic sky friend Jesus cry—feel justified in physically abusing the LGBT children they encounter in their schools. You don't have to explicitly "encourage [your] children to mock, hurt, or intimidate" queer kids. Your encouragement—along with your hatred and fear—is implicit. It's here, it's clear, and we're seeing the fruits of it: dead children.

Oh, and those same dehumanizing bigotries that fill your straight children with hate? They fill your gay children with suicidal despair. And you have the nerve to ask me to be more careful with my words?

Did that hurt to hear? Good. But it couldn't have hurt nearly as much as what was said and done to Asher Brown and Justin Aaberg and Billy Lucas and Cody Barker and Seth Walsh—day-in, day-out for years—at schools filled with bigoted little monsters created not in the image of a loving God, but in the image of the hateful and false "followers of Christ" they call Mom and Dad.

Gay Couple Denied Wedding Announcement by Major NH Newspaper

Greg and Aurelio, who are marrying this weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire, where same-sex marriage became legal on January 1, are being denied a wedding announcement by the Union-Leader, New Hampshire's second-largest paper.

NOM and Carly Fiornia

gay teen takes his life — another case of anti-gay bullying

Terrel Williams, a 17-year-old native of Beverly Hills, CA, took his life on October 13, just hours after being attacked by five other high school students, and pushed and thrown into a brick wall at Clover Park High School in Lakewood, WA.

Terrel’s mother, Cheryl Williams, found her son in their Lakewood home — he had hanged himself in his bedroom closet. Terrel left a suicide note:

“I’m sorry to my immediate loved ones, but I feel suicide is the only way out. I felt coming out, and being happy with Daric, was the best thing I could’ve ever done. But I didn’t think it would lead to my death at an early age.

“Today, was the record worst day of my life, some kids at school stole some of my stuff that I got from people I really cared about, and that really pushed me over the top, next to being shoved into a wall, and my ribs being broken.”

Anderson Cooper Schools Christine O'Donnell On Constitution

Rally To Restore Sanity's Roots: 'Real America'

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
On Topic: In the News - The Real America
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Anita Hill Contacted By Virginia Thomas, Clarence Thomas' Wife

The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called Anita Hill to ask her to apologize for accusing the justice of sexually harassing her, 19 years after Thomas' confirmation hearing spawned a national debate about harassment in the workplace.

Virginia Thomas said in a statement Tuesday that she was "extending an olive branch" to Hill, now a Brandeis University professor, in a voicemail message left over the weekend.

In a transcript of the message provided by ABC News, which said it listened to the recording, Thomas identified herself and then said, "I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day," Thomas said.

When Hill heard the voicemail, she contacted Brandeis' public safety office, which in turn informed the FBI.

"I certainly thought the call was inappropriate," Hill, who worked for Clarence Thomas in two federal government jobs, said in a statement released Tuesday night.

"I have no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony," she added.

Alec Baldwin is Angry He Can't Marry Jesse Tyler Ferguson

No Scout leadership post in NC for Mormon parents

A Presbyterian church was happy to have Jeremy and Jodi Stokes as Cub Scout leaders, at least until officials there found out they are Mormons and told them they would have to step down because the church does not consider them real Christians.

The Stokeses enrolled their sons as Scouts at Christ Covenant Church, a Presbyterian congregation about 10 miles from Charlotte, then expressed interest in volunteering as leaders. Church officials were initially thrilled earlier this month, the Stokeses said, until they saw on the couple’s application forms that they belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After two Scout meetings, the Stokeses were told their sons, 6 and 8 years old, could remain in their packs, but the parents couldn’t serve as leaders.

“I can’t believe they had the audacity to say, ‘You can’t be leaders but we want your boys,’” Jodi Stokes said. “Are you kidding me? Do you really think I’d let my boys go there now?”

Hours Before Spirit Day, Another Gay Teen Suicide

The Michigan Messenger is reporting that a nineteen-year old Oakland University student has succumbed to suicide, just hours before the start of today’s nationally-recognized “Spirit Day,” an event created to honor and show support for LGBTQ teens who took their lives because of anti-gay bias and bullying.

“Local officials report the body of 19-year-old Corey Jackson was found in a wooded area of the campus. Police and the medical examiner’s office tell the Oakland Press the young gay man hung himself.

“The suicide happened Tuesday night, as activists across the nation were preparing for a Facebook driven day of activism to counter a wave of suicides of young gay people across the country that have been tied to bullying.

“Police say there is no indication bullying was a factor in Jackson’s suicide.

“And while bullying may not be a factor, Melissa Pope, director of the university’s Gender and Sexuality Center said the issue points to larger, hidden epidemic of suicides among LGBT youth.”

“We must look beyond the term “bullying” to the overall treatment of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community to begin to grasp the long-standing epidemic of suicide among our LGBT youth."

“While the national press has picked up this issue over the last two months, we have been losing high numbers of LGBT youth to suicide for decades. In recent years, we’ve labeled the cause as bullying. But the root cause goes deeper – it goes to the very core of our society that discriminates against the LGBT community on all levels, including the denial of basic human rights that are supposed to belong to every person.”

DOJ Appeals for Immediate Stay

The Department of Justice is asking the ninth circuit court of appeals to rule before the end of day Wednesday on a federal judge’s rejection of its request for a stay of her worldwide injunction on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“We respectfully request that the Court enter an administrative stay by today October 20, 2010, pending this Court’s resolution of the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, which would maintain the status quo that prevailed before the district court’s decision while the Court considers the government’s stay motion,” said the filing.

Federal judge Virginia Phillips rejected the Justice Department’s motion for a stay late Tuesday afternoon, Pacific time.

Anti Gay Slurs at High School Football Game

At North High School in Eastlake, Ohio (home of the Rangers!) "dozens" of students are now on YouTube screaming "powder blue faggots" at the South High competition, who wear blue uniforms. Student Heather Ike recorded the video: "I sat there for a little bit thinking it would stop, and it happened again, and it happened three times."

High Schoolers Behind 'Powder Blue Faggots' Chant Won't Be Suspended

When students at Ohio's North High School in Eastlake, Ohio, began taunting their football team's opponents with a "power blue faggots" cheer (a nod to the color of Willoughby South's uniforms), Principal Jennifer Chauby (pictured) insists she "was at the game and heard the students chanting in the stands. The assistant principal and I stopped it immediately." The clip of the chant is only 30 seconds, so maybe Chauby did step in to stop it! Except student Heather Ike, who originally uploaded the clip to YouTube, noted, "No teachers or parents from the sidelines intervened to stop the problem, and this chant occurred 3 times in the first 3 minutes of the game." Okay then. But now that the game is over (the Rangers lost), how is Principal Chauby handling the aftermath? By not suspending anyone.

Because there were too many kids shouting the cheer. And even though Chauby has identified many of the students in the video, it's not like she can suspend the entire school, or something.

Chauby said that a number of students admitted that they were just following everyone else and that they didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. Chauby also said that she didn't see what good would come from suspending about 300 students. "What the students learned is a life lesson," Chauby said. "This is an opportunity to learn from a mistake."

But they will be punished.

Superintendent Keith Miller said he is disgusted and this behavior will not be tolerated. He attended the game, but missed the pregame and didn’t hear the students. “We will take disciplinary action against those students,” he said.

And everybody is at least getting a talking to.

South High Principal Paul Lombardo said Chauby and Willoughby-Eastlake administrators are doing their best to get rid of negativity at games. “The administrators are on the sidelines by the student section,” he said. “We do our best to put a stop to inappropriate actions we see or hear from students. We have asked kids to leave the game."

Chauby said there was general announcement made on Monday to the student body stating she was disappointed in their behaviors. She has been meeting with students to identify those who were chanting, however, her main goal is to educate. “It’s important to educate students on how hurtful that term is to so many people,” she said. “Every student I spoken to didn’t realize the gravity of that word.”

[Superintendant Keith] Miller said the school plans to hold an assembly, and Chauby will continue to talk to students in groups or one-on-one. “The student body has taken notice (of their actions),” he said. “The students said they didn’t mean anything negative by the chant.” Chauby said the school has groups in place that deal with issues of bullying. “The school has a gay-straight alliance group that meets after school,” she said. “We also have an anti-bullying program we started to address any issues students been having because of race, orientation, ethnicity, or status in school. We hope that has helped open the lines of communication to address those needs.”

"Didn't mean anything negative by the chant?" Is this man kidding himself? They meant to taunt the other team. By using a word that marginalizes an entire class of students. Would the response be different if they screamed "powder blue niggers" or "powder blue kikes"? I believe so.

Chauby says the chant is nothing new — it began several years ago, but it hadn't resurfaced (to her knowledge) until this game. And when parents wonder why their complaints about bullying fall on the deaf ears of administrators, it's because of people like Chauby, happily in the dark about what's going on inside their own schools.

In Debate, Christine O'Donnell Asks, 'Where in the Constitution is the Separation of Church and State?'

At a Widener Law School debate this morning against her Democratic opponent Chris Coons Delaware Teabagger GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell inspired gasps and laughter from the audience as she appeared not to know that the First Amendment calls for barring the government from establishing religion, the AP reports:

Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked him.

When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"

‘Hang them’: Uganda paper publishes photos of gays

The front-page newspaper story featured a list of Uganda’s 100 “top” homosexuals, with a bright yellow banner across it that read: “Hang Them.” Alongside their photos were the men’s names and addresses.

In the days since it was published, at least four gay Ugandans on the list have been attacked and many others are in hiding, according to rights activist Julian Onziema. One person named in the story had stones thrown at his house by neighbors.

A lawmaker in this conservative African country introduced a bill a year ago that would have imposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts and life in prison for others. An international uproar ensued, and the bill was quietly shelved.

But gays in Uganda say they have faced a year of harassment and attacks since the bill’s introduction.

The legislation was drawn up following a visit by leaders of U.S. conservative Christian ministries that promote therapy they say allows gays to become heterosexual.

“Before the introduction of the bill in parliament most people did not mind about our activities. But since then, we are harassed by many people who hate homosexuality,” said Patrick Ndede, 27. “The publicity the bill got made many people come to know about us and they started mistreating us.”

Briefs Filed to Keep Prop. 8 Ruling

Plaintiffs in the ongoing legal battle to overturn California's ban on marriage equality filed a brief with the ninth circuit court of appeals Monday to stress their view that the law is unconstitutional.

Theodore Olson and David Boies, lead attorneys for the plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court has stated marriage is a fundamental right of all individuals at least 14 times.

Additionally, lawyers for the city of San Francisco also filed briefs to counter an appeal brought forward to the court by Proposition 8's sponsors. The city wrote that Prop. 8's sponsors failed to make a sound case for preventing marriage equality while still allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt children, according to the Associated Press.

Judge Likely To Deny Government On Gay Troops Order

A federal judge said on Monday that she is learning toward denying a government request to delay her order halting the military from enforcing its ban on openly gay troops.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips said she would review the arguments from Justice Department lawyers and issue a ruling as early as Monday, or by Tuesday.

"My tentative ruling is to deny the application for a stay," Phillips said at the start of the hearing.

Phillips said the government has not proven that her order would harm troops or in any way impede efforts to implement new regulations for the military to deal with openly gay service members.

If she rejects the request, Justice Department officials say the Obama administration would appeal. Experts say they will likely find friendlier venues in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco and, ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court.

Anti-transgender bullying alarmingly high

More than half of transgender or gender non-conforming people who experienced bullying or harassment have attempted suicide, according to a recently released study.

The National Transgender Discrimination Survey, conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality, revealed that 41 percent of respondents had attempted suicide, compared to a national estimated rate of 1.6 percent.

"From our experience working with transgender people, we had prepared ourselves for high rates of suicide attempts, but we didn’t expect anything like this," said Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "Our study participants reported attempting suicide at a rate more than 25 times the national average."

In state races, gay marriage resurfaces as issue

This election will be the first since the 1990s without a measure to ban gay marriage on any state ballot, yet the divisive issue is roiling races across the country during a time of tumult for the gay rights movement.
In Minnesota, New Hampshire, California and New York, gubernatorial campaigns have become battlegrounds for rival sides in the debate, with the Democratic candidates supporting same-sex marriage and the Republicans opposed.

In Iowa, voters will decide whether to oust three state Supreme Court justices who joined last year's unanimous decision making the state one of five where gay marriage is legal.

And in Rhode Island and California, Democratic candidates are seeking to become the fourth and fifth openly gay members of Congress. The Californian, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, has a husband and 4-year-old twins, and would be Congress' first openly gay parent.

The races are unfolding on a rapidly shifting gay rights landscape, with activists elated by important court rulings, irked at setbacks in Washington and jolted by high-profile cases of anti-gay violence and bullying-provoked suicides.

The mixed emotions have been evident in recent days as a federal judge ordered a halt to enforcement of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The Obama administration says it agrees with the judge that gays should be allowed to serve openly. Yet to the frustration of gay activists, the administration appealed the ruling, saying it preferred that Congress repeal the policy.
"It's the best of times and worst of times," said Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights.

"Culturally you see a huge increase in acceptance of gays and lesbians, and in the federal courts you see for the first time a willingness to embrace the Constitution as a vehicle for securing equality for gay people," Socarides said. "Yet in our nation's politics, we see essentially the opposite."

He said President Barack Obama has failed to deliver on his pledges to gays regarding marriage recognition and repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

"The president made a conscious decision coming in that these were second- and third-tier issues," Socarides said. "People were very excited by him. But he overpromised and underdelivered."

Obama said Thursday that the military policy "will end and it will end on my watch," but he acknowledged the constraints of the legal process.

Obama! A Modern U.S. President

NOM Releases New Ad Against Marriage Equality

Looks like The National Organization for Marriage is still trying to associate the King name with their cause.

NOM, which earlier this month released ad attacking New Hampshire Governor John Lynch for signing gay marriage into law, has now partnered with The Minnesota Family Council to release an ad that encourages voters to support Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer because he does not support marriage equality. The ad uses images and soundbites of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a voice-over that is a vacuous and blatant scare tactic.

Says the ad:

"Gay marriage has consequences. Legal experts predict same-sex marriage will result in a flood of lawsuits against individuals, small businesses and religious groups who don’t accept it. When Massachusetts imposed gay marriage, second graders were taught that boys could marry other boys. In the District of Columbia, Catholic Charities was forced to end its eight-decade old adoption and foster care programs."

Justin Bieber to Take Public Stand Against Homophobic Bullying After Being Hit with 'Faggot' Slur

Justin Bieber was targeted by a homophobic slur on Friday night by his opponent during a game of laser tag.

The NY Post reports: "During the game of laser tag Friday evening in British Columbia, an overly aggressive player kept targeting Bieber which lead the frustrated singer to tell him, 'That's enough.' ... 'What are you gonna do about it, f*ggot?' the kid responded. 'Excuse me?' the 16-year-old star said in disbelief. 'You're a f*ggot' the belligerent player repeated. At that point Bieber pushed the kid's hand out of his way to make his escape from his tormentor. Police said they were reportedly investigating a claim of assault made by the 12-year-old's father against Bieber. But a police source told the celebrity gossip website that investigators do not believe Bieber was at fault."

TMZ adds: "Law enforcement tells TMZ it was the boy's father who filed the complaint hours later ... and our source says the father was heard at the scene repeatedly telling people, 'I'm a lawyer.' The police investigation is ongoing, but our sources say police already know the fault does not lie with Bieber."

Now TMZ reports: "Justin Bieber will take a stand against bullying and homophobia after he was on the receiving end of some hateful words this weekend...Bieber is telling friends he had no idea how hurtful these comments could be -- but even though he's a straight teenager, he now wants to take a stand against bullying and homophobia. We're told Bieber will be going public -- probably within the next week -- to lend his support to the anti-bullying campaign. And this is interesting ... our sources say Bieber's own people wanted to keep the specifics of the confrontation under wraps, but Justin felt it was important for people to know what happened."

Walmart Sells "Ex-Gay" Kids Book

More than 100 Walmart stores are selling a book for kids and parents that suggests gay people can overcome “sin” and convert to heterosexuality with the help of counseling, according to Q Salt Lake.

Chased by an Elephant: The Gospel Truth About Today’s Stampeding Sexuality is written by Janice Barrett Graham, whose husband, Stephen, runs the antigay group Standard of Liberty.

In the book’s introduction Graham says she wrote the book to “help shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite.”

Graham’s son Andrew claims he successfully changed his sexual orientation and is now a happily married man. In his book Captain of My Soul, Andrew Graham writes that he was “lured into same gender internet pornography during his high school years, and recruited into cursory homosexual experimentation with older men while at Brigham Young University.”