Fierce, Advocate!

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes one suffices: NOPE. At least that's how The Advocate summarizes Obama's progress on promises to gay voters on the cover of their September issue. Harsh, but true, and clever, too; this pink-hued take on the "Hope" poster has our commander-in-chief not looking upward and inspirational, but sideways, like he's avoiding our eye-contact. Guilty much?

The question mark at the end of "Nope" softens the message a bit; at eight months in, Obama's betrayal is not yet a forgone conclusion. And although they call Obama "a player" for making promises he apparently had little intention of implementing as President, the article criticizes the gay community, too. The gay rights movement is described as "impotent", its leaders torn between "wanting equal rights and wanting to get invited to parties at the White House."

Look we've said it before, and we'll keep saying it until the 45th President is sworn in: we support this President, because we believe he has the best interests of all Americans in mind, but we expect some support in return. And enough with the "he's got a lot on his plate" arguments. Even the White House, on the eve of his 200-days-in-office mark, admits some of his challenges are getting a little easier. The battle for healthcare is a biggie, but the President can offer us more than mere tokens in the meantime. Congress is already moving on ENDAand DADT, with repealing DOMA not far behind...it remains to be seen what response or actions the White House will offer, despite Candidate Obama's pledges to implement all of these civil rights initiatives. We'll wait and see.

Utah Not Quite a Fascist Theocracy (yet)

Salt Lake City prosecutors have dropped criminal tresspassing charges against Matt Aune and Derek Jones. Remember them? They were handcuffed and roughed up by Mormon church security guards after they were spotted kissing and holding hands in a plaza that abuts the LDS temple. Mormon authorities claim the pair were engaging in "groping, profane and lewd language," which Aune and Jones dispute. But since the church owns the plaza, they felt they could police the behavior of anyone walking through.

Prosecutor Sim Gill disagreed, at least in this case, citing the ambiguous nature of Main Street Plaza, which many, including Aune and Jones, mistake for a public park.

"Fairness requires that either that property be not open to the public or you condition that [openness] in a way that the person who comes on understands that it is private property," says Gill, although he stresses his decision "should not be viewed as limiting" the church's right to exercise control over its property in the future. Translation: if you want to operate a iron-fisted theocracy on your church grounds, you need to make that clear to passers-through.

Noted A**hole Calls Twitter "Gay"

"It's gay. If one more person asks me if I have a Twitter, I'm going to tell them, 'Twitter this [bleep], mother[bleep]er," Kid Rock tells Rolling Stone.

Charming.

He also says "I don't have anything to say, and what I have to say is not that relevant."

No arguments here.

Save Giovanni's Room!

Like many independent bookstores these days, Giovanni's Room is facing hard times. Serving Philly's queer community for 36 years, it's now the oldest gay bookstore in America. Two older stores, the Oscar Wilde Bookstore in New York, and West Hollywood's A Different Light, both went under earlier this year.

For many, their first connection with the gay community, or even their first contact with factual information about being gay, came from visiting stores like these. They're an important part of our history, and Giovanni's Room has been an active and vital part of Philly's Gayborhood, too. The store hosts authors and other events at their 12th and Pine location, bought in 1979 after being ousted from a previous rental by a homophobic landlord who wouldn't even set foot in the store. The converted rowhome is now a landmark in the Gayborhood. In addition to furthering gay literature, journalism and history, it serves as the requisite clearinghouse for gay trinkets and sundries like keychains, magnets and bumperstickers. You can't have a proper gayborhood without a place to buy same-sex greeting cards. Do you know how hard it is to find a non-hetero-centric anniversary card? Alex and Andy do.

In today's world of online and big box retailers, times are tough enough for little brick-and-mortar operations like Giovanni's Room. In fact, it's that very brick and mortar that's causing their latest misfortune. The exterior wall facing 12th Street has become structurally unsound, and needs to be rebuilt, costing $50,000. The repairs are set to begin next month, but the store needs help -- and lots of it -- if it's going to survive.

What can you do? For starters, you can shop there; Giovanni's Room will stay open during the renovation, or you can order from their website. Donations are also being accepted. Contact Ed Hermance at Giovanni's Room, 345 South 12th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107215, or call (215) 923-2960. And spread the word: tell your friends to help save Giovanni's Room!

GOP: The Next Generation

I’ve read quite a few news stories about waiting for the “racist generation” to die out. Some say that ignorance fades – and tolerance rises – with each generation. How many of us can say that we’ve seen changes in our own families? Did you have racist grandparents that somehow yielded more tolerant grandkids? But of course when it comes to racism we still have quite a ways to go.

But I’m not here to talk about that. I want to talk more about gay rights, and homophobia. In other words, I want to write about waiting for the “homophobic generation” to die out.

I can already see the changes in my own life. I graduated high school in 1990 – not all that long ago. But it was virtually unheard of to be "out" in High School in my day. Sure, we all speculated about the sexuality of our classmates, just as people likely speculated about mine. There were no same-sex couples at my senior prom, nor was there a gay-straight alliance in my school. That’s changed in the 19 years since I’ve graduated. We’ve all seen the stories – gay couples going to their prom, and teachers and students alike forming and joining gay-straight alliances. And, overall, the number of people who actually know someone gay is on the rise.

Yet in politics it has remained relatively polarized. It has been easy, and often convenient, for me to make simple general statements such as: most gay people are Democrats, the Democratic Party is more tolerant of gays than the Republican Party, and most Republicans don’t support gay rights. The Republicans even used opposition to gay marriage as a huge rallying point in the 2004 presidential campaign, and this certainly riled up the conservative base and got them out to vote. Did people vote for Bush, or against gay rights?

But now in 2009 something is happening. Some Republicans are starting to come out in support of gay rights. Are we seeing a new, more tolerant face to the Republican Party? Or is this simply desperation within a party that most agree is sinking fast?

Or is the “homophobic generation” indeed starting to die out?

Alex and I already posted about Dick Cheney’s support of gay marriage, which was shocking in its own right. Now we have Meghan McCain, daughter of Senator John McCain, speaking openly and loudly in favor of gay rights; she even came out against Proposition 8 in California. And she’s not only a Republican, but the daughter of a Republican that has voiced opposition to gay rights. I guess we can say that she’s the more tolerant generation.

She stated that she feels that the “old time” Republicans are scared of change. Take a listen:



So, is Meghan McCain the face of a new, more tolerant Republican Party? Is she the next generation of a party that will now embrace equality for gay Americans?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to go all Log Cabin on you ... trust me. For every Meghan McCain, there's still a hundred Rush Limbaughs. And even if the GOP changes on this one issue, I still have differences, as a liberal, with much of the party platform. But it certainly is a refreshing step.

And Meghan can be my galpal any day!

Kiss Off

Picture it: two lovebirds, strolling hand in hand through a park at night; one leans in and kisses the other on the cheek. A charming little scene, no? Well, not if the park abuts a Mormon temple, and the two lovebirds are both male. In this case, the scene ends with our lovebirds pinned to the ground, handcuffed by church security guards.

This really happened, two weeks ago in Salt Lake City. On July 9th, Matt Aune and Derek Jones say they were walking home from a concert and decided to take a shortcut through Main Street Plaza. Holding hands while walking, Aune says he put his hand on his partner's back and kissed him on the cheek. This attracted church security guards, who told the men to leave the plaza, which just happens to be owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The guards told the pair that public displays of affection are barred on the plaza, but the men protested, saying they had seen many couples holding hands and kissing there. Tensions flared, and the church guards handcuffed the men, pinned them to the ground, and called the police, who issued both men citations for criminal tresspass.

That's the thing about Main Street Plaza. It is private property; the LDS church aquired it from the city in a controversial land swap in 2003. The church wanted control of the land next to their temple so they could prohibit protests, smoking, sunbathing and other "offensive, indecent, obscene, lewd or disorderly speech, dress or conduct," according to church officials.

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, "it remains a popular pedestrian thoroughfare, and a site where couples often pose affectionately for photos." I wonder if hand-holding, hugging, or kisses on the cheek are included in that definition of "affection." No doubt the couples in those cases are straight, and left alone by church security guards.

Of course, church spokesperson Kim Farah had a different version of the story. "They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol." Farah doesn't specify that the "profane and lewd language" occured after the pair were handcuffed and manhandled by church guards. It's also fair to point out that what constitutes " passionate kissing" and "groping" is probably in the eye of the beholder. In the end it's the church's word against the couple's. Who do you believe?

This past Sunday, a protest was held near Main Street Plaza. About 100 people showed up and held a mass "kiss in." Both gay and straight couples took part, engaging in "gentle displays of affection"; hugs and pecks on the cheek. This, of course, was met with counter protesters, carrying signs denouncing homosexuality, and the two groups engaged in shouting matches. Dan Savage has some beautiful photos of the protest here.

Schadenfreude

From AfterElton: "Bruno, the movie that everyone has an opinion about, is tanking at the box office...Ever since the movie opened on July 10th with a very healthy one-day take of $14.4 million, the film's box office news has gone from bad to worse."

Black or White?

And I Told About Equality

And It's True

Either You're Wrong

Or You're Right

But, If

You're Thinkin'

About My Baby

It Don't Matter If You're

Black Or White

Michael Jackson, Black or White

In all the news, gossip and paranoia circulating since Michael Jackson's death three weeks ago, the question of his sexuality seems almost obscured. Ironic, isn't it? People speculated about it for years, but now everyone seems most interested in his artistic legacy, his kids, the battle over his estate, and the investigation into his death. The media coverage between his death and memorial service touted his enormous talent and early success, but seemed oddly restrained, almost awkward, when relating the later, more tragic turns in his life. I guess it's a fine line to tread between respecting a recently-deceased (and still significantly beloved) celebrity's memory, and objectively reporting the more discomforting details of his life.

Jackson's sexuality is, for some, clearly discomforting, but probably for different reasons. Two big questions loom: was he gay, and was he a pedophile? A new book by celebrity biographer Ian Halperin attempts to answer them. In Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, Halperin claims to have interviewed two of Jackson's adult male lovers, and says "virtually everybody I've interviewed about Jackson has told me: He's gay." Halperin writes "it's clear that Michael was homosexual and that his taste was for young men," but stresses that he was not sexually interested in boys as young as those who accused him of molestation. "Even those who are his most ardent defenders, people who maintain that he is innocent of the molestation charges, insist that he is homosexually inclined," he wrote.

I've read many comments on the internets from fans offended that his sex life is even being discussed now, but it's an undeniable part of his legacy as a performer, artist and celebrity. You'd think his fans would rally around any source proclaiming his innocence from child molestation claims, but some seem almost equally horrified by the suggestion he might have been gay. Is it because they still equate the two? The old myth that gay men like "little boys" still persists, despite much evidence that pedophilia exists across the full spectrum of sexual orientations. Gay men are no more likely to molest a child than straight men, and anyone with an ounce of brain cells should grasp this.

But that doesn't prove or disprove anything in Jackson's case. I guess that's my fear; that if people are thinking of Michael Jackson as gay, it will further the lie that we're all child molesters, too. I've heard other gay people support this: "we don't want him," they say. "Too tainted." Ouch. I can't go that far; I'm still a fan from way back. Yes, Michael was a a freak for sure, but he had a rough life, a horrible childhood, and a monster of a father. I was a little 13 year-old gayling when he moonwalked across the Motown 25 stage, at the peak of his ridiculous cuteness, still identifiably male, black and human. I was mesmerized, like we all were, in that pop culture moment. My music tastes changed, his life and appearance became increasingly more bizarre, but I guess I still have a soft spot. I'd rather believe he was just a closeted gay man with personal problems galore, and not a pedophile, but I'm afraid some will just assume he was both; another disgusting gay pervert who couldn't be trusted around children.

We'll likely never know the truth about Michael Jackson, but it's difficult to separate his career and public image from his sexuality. Aside from the pedophile topic, there's his gender-bending appearance, crotch-grabbing dance moves, tabloid-fodder relationships. Although some will obviously exploit it, it seems like a valid topic. His career, even his life, or at least our perception of it, are inseparable from his sexuality.

Drama on Ice!

Remember that really bitchy girl in high school that was always trying to steal everyone’s boyfriend?

Or that desperate girl in college that was always trying to turn gay men straight?

And that conniving, back-stabbing slut that wants to break up your marriage, and not only steal away your man, but your baby, too?

Sounds like a bad soap opera, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It’s Linda; the home wrecker...of the penguin world.

You may remember the touching story of Harry and Pepper, the male Magellanic penguins that paired up a few years ago at the San Francisco Zoo. Single females came calling at the burrow they shared, but neither were interested. The two even incubated and hatched an orphaned egg in the nest they shared. They seemed like any other penguin couple, except, you know, gay.

That was until Linda broke them up. According to zookeeper Anthony Brown, Linda has a bit of a reputation. She dumped her own partner a few years back and took up with another penguin just hours after his partner had died. Girl moves fast! Then that penguin died, and within weeks she was seen entertaining Harry in her burrow. Hussy! As if that wasn't bad enough, the two confronted Pepper and violence ensued, forcing all three to be separated. This actually is a soap opera!

The initial story of Harry and Pepper actually started a lot of dialogue on homosexuality: hey, if it’s natural and normal in the animal world, maybe it’s natural and normal in the human world, right? Except now we're not sure what this is. Is Harry gay? Bi? Was the nature of his relationship with Pepper really analogous to heterosexual penguin relationships? We're not zoologists so we can't claim to know, but it gets you thinking. Is Harry closeting himself with Linda? Is she blackmailing him? Or maybe she's doing all this to get back at Pepper for something?

Anthropomorphizing these animals is easy, especially with a scheming harpy like somebody Aaron Spelling dreamed up thrown into the mix. But when it comes to sex, and sexual relationships, well...there's a reason we humans call it "the birds and the bees." Sex is pretty animalistic, and sexual desire is a primal force for people and animals alike, so it seems logical that if there are gay people, there are gay animals. And if there are gay animals, why not bi ones? And why not homewrecking animals, too? Maybe we're not assigning human traits to animals when we process these relationships...maybe we're really recognizing the roots of our own behavior?

As for our penguin love triangle, Pepper was recently brought back to the penguin exhibit, where he's taken up his old spot, while Harry and Linda are still together in her nest. Things are calm now, but everyone's waiting to see what happens next. Molting season is coming up later this month, and Brown says couples often "shaken up" at that time. "It'll be interesting to see if Harry spends any of that time with Pepper," he said. "Well have to wait and see."

What's a soap opera without a cliffhanger?

Someone with a Backbone

What do you get when you mix together:

- A Congressman
- An Iraq war vet
- A supporter of overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell
- A cute Irishman

Why, you get Congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional district (Bucks County). You also get a member of Congress with a backbone.

Second-term congressman Patrick Murphy, a member of the Armed Services Committee, plans to sponsor a bill that would overturn the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy. Murphy was elected in 2006 after defeating Republican incumbent Michael Fitzpatrick; a major feat in itself with the 8th Congressional district being historically Republican. Oh, and he was the first Iraq vet ever elected to the Congress.

Why is this exciting?

First, President Obama has, on many occasions, stated that he would sign any bill into law that overturns DADT.

Second, support in Congress has been positive. Murphy and his supporters are securing new signatures daily.

Third, someone in Congress finally has the balls to get the ball rolling on this. As we've discussed on several occasions, DADT has been under enormous scrutiny and has been a major point of discussion.

Fourth, the bill is being sponsored by someone who was a soldier. Murphy knew soldiers dismissed under DADT; Murphy can speak first-hand on the implications of discharging skilled soldiers, and on how those in the trenches really feel about DADT. Murphy can speak first-hand on why this policy is stupid, and discriminatory.

Listen to Murphy yourself:

We'll be toasting to you this weekend Congressman Murphy!

Schlemiel, Schlimazel, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated.

As I reported yesterday, Joyce Dewitt was arrested for DUI, forever tarnishing the image of Janet Wood. I just hope she didn't lose her job at the flower shop.

It seems that another TV icon from the 1970s/80s has joined her, but the story was lost under all the Michael Jackson hoopla. Yes, Eddie Mekka, aka Carmine Ragusa, aka the Big Raggo, was busted for DUI last week in Las Vegas. Shirley Feeney has yet to return our calls for comment.

What next? Marla Gibbs arrested for prostitution? Ernest Thomas becomes a suicide bomber? Jean Stapleton arrested for murder?

Sigh.

Maybe this will cheer you up:

Distürbed

Remember how we said we were going to see Brüno? Alex insisted on going, not for entertainment, but for research. The marketing smacks of a minstrel show in pink-face, but you can't judge a movie without seeing it, right?

Oh, yeah, you can.

Get this (and spoiler alert, if you care): word is coming out that the ending was changed before release. The original ending featured a "violent gay-bashing." Comedy gold! And so clever, too. In a version of the film screened in February, Brüno, the gay, scantily clad, sexually inappropriate, ridiculously coiffed, borderline-retarded Austrian entertainment reporter played by Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), faces his lovesick assistant in a cage match before a crowd of Arkansas wrestling fans. Instead of fighting, though, they make out, and are attacked by the crowd. The scene cuts to a press conference where Brüno announces their intent to marry, but, according to Richard Day, who attended the screening, "the boyfriend is now drooling, seemingly brain-damaged, and in a wheelchair, played for laughs.”

Day, a writer, director and producer (Arrested Development, Ellen) and actor Jack Plotnick were the only two openly gay people at the February screening. Day says they both voiced their concerns to the other industry types present, but "by the time I got to the bashing, the audience started defending the movie. They were annoyed with us for ruining the party."

Where to start with this? We wanted to see this movie to determine first-hand who Cohen is mocking, gay people, or homophobes? We could possibly look past the offensive stereotyping, if there was some hint of a redeeming message underneath it. Maybe Cohen's formula of kamikazi-interviews and staged spectacles before hostile crowds would evoke some new understanding of homophobia, exposing an unexpecting audience to an ultimately gay-positive image.

Well, forget that. Cohen crafted the whole scene as a prank, of course, according to a report on the Smoking Gun from last year. Locals were lured by Craigslist ads promoting "Blue Collar Brawling," and the promise of $1 beers and "hot chicks." What they got instead was two men playing homosexuals, with the intent to incite the crowd, all to complete a joke where the punchline is a gay man beaten to within an inch of his life.

Where's the message in that? What IS the message? Is it "beating up gay people is funny?" Or is it "gay bashers are funny?"

Because neither is funny to us. Call us humorless, but this is just beyond defense, and it hints at a bigger problem of tone that won't be fixed by simply changing the ending (it's now a scene of domestic bliss). The idea that this film was ever intended to target homophobia, and not gay people, is now proven false. It's one thing to sterotype speech or mannerisms or even sexual proclivities for laughs, but to make light of the brutal hatred and violence inflicted on gay people by bashers is just too much. It's just not funny. It's cruel, and vicious, and hateful. If you laugh at this, you have a problem.

Richard Day has an interesting take on it. He met with Cohen and director Larry Charles before shooting started, when all they had was an outline. Charles had told him they wanted "a gay voice" involved in the project, but after he gave his two cents, he never heard from them again until the screening. Day's take on that first peek at Cohen's vision for Brüno? "It read like it was written by people who didn’t know much about actual gay life."

Sounds like they still don't.

We're not wasting our money on this one.

Enough is Enough!

Kids, it's been a long few weeks.

The news has been running non-stop on the many celebrity deaths of the last few weeks: Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Karl Malden, Billy Mays ... just to name a few of the biggies.

Last Friday Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska, causing quite a media frenzy on whether or not this is the end of her political career, or just the beginning.

The economy continues to plummet, with the United States seeing the highest unemployment rate in decades. Congress is already talking about a second stimulus plan.

We began a new military surge in Afghanistan, and brave Americans are losing their lives daily. Seven just yesterday.

I thought to myself, what other unpredictable tragedy could bestow this great nation? How many more horrible things could we as a nation take? And just what will be the one thing to throw me over the edge, to complete my nervous breakdown?

Then it happened. The most tragic thing I read about in months. Nay, years.

Joyce DeWitt was arrested for DUI.

Janet Wood. Arrested. For drunk driving. Probably coming home from the Regal Beagle.

I can't talk about it. I have to go.

Until I return, maybe this will cheer you up:

Perez Hilton is Not a Homophobe! He's a Racist!

See, he wanted to call will.i.am a n*****, but whatever brain function he operates under switched to "faggot" at the last second. Isn't that so much better? Actually, no, and not just because both words are hateful and disturbing. Our man Perez, who is still trying to position himself as some sort of voice of the gay community, choose a gay slur over a racial one because the gay slur is "even worse." You can parse that sentiment a million different ways, but it still leaves me feeling nauseous. Ponder, for a moment, how Perez's brain ranks "faggots" below "n******," or why he would choose to verbalize that concept to a reporter for a gay publication. You can read all about it (if you really want to) in Benoit Denizet-Lewis's interview from The Advocate .

PEREZ HILTON, GO THE FUCK AWAY!

The Pursuit of Happiness

Living in Philadelphia, we sometimes take the city's rich history for granted. Old City has its charms, but it's congested with tourists by day, and bar-hoppers at night. Not that we have anything against either; we're just hopelessly jaded locals. Sorry, but we've had our fill of Betsy Ross impersonators, and the South Jersey West social scene doesn't hold much interest for us. Still, it's hard to miss the historical importance of Independence Hall, where the founding fathers declared our independence from an empire, and formed a new nation. The Declaration of Independence, first read publicly 233 years ago today, deemed all men equal, and asserted the inalienable rights of the people, including "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It was revolutionary.

Radical, even, which makes what happened on Independence Hall 44 years ago all the more fitting. In 1965, a group of gay men and women picketed Independence Hall, protesting the federal government's discriminatory policies against homosexuals. 39 people took part that day, members of homophile groups, the precursors to modern gay rights groups. These groups met secretly, many members requiring extreme caution and discretion. Imagine the courage of people like Frank Kameny, Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin, holding signs in public that identified themselves as homosexuals, at a time when it was dangerous to do so. They decided a conservative dress code would present the best image; men wore suits and women wore dresses. They picketed silently for 90 minutes that afternoon, in front of Independence Hall on the Fourth of July, enduring hostile taunts from the public.

Despite snide comments and dirty looks, the protests were peaceful. They repeated each year after that, until the last one in 1969. The Stonewall riots in New York City had broken out less than a week earlier, and silent picketing suddenly seemed a too passive form of protest. In 1970 the first gay pride parades were held, and new, more open and aggressive activism was leading the charge for equality.

The pursuit of happiness is an interesting concept; it's been invoked in legal cases that stuck down anti-miscegenation laws. Judges have recognized that "happiness" includes love, and marrying the person of your choice, regardless of what societal norms or historic precedent dictate.

As our nation continues to strive for a more perfect union, and a better realization of equality, we honor all the great Americans who have worked to achieve those goals. We remember our founding fathers, and the brave and radical colonists who first fought for our freedom, and we remember the brave and radical men and women who first fought for our rights as gay people. Happy Independence Day!

Um, thanks?

We've already written a few posts about Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), but this latest development in the saga deserves some attention.

This CNN headline "Defense chief giving 'don't ask, don't tell' a closer look" makes it seem that perhaps, just perhaps, top Pentagon officials are finally starting to acknowledge how ridiculous this policy is. So, good news for gays?

Not really.

What Defense chief Robert Gates wants to do is make the policy more "humane" ... now, how does one make pure and simple discrimination more "humane?"

He is proposing that if a member of the military is outed due to "vengeance" or a "jilted lover" then the policy can be flexible. Here's the thing that drives Alex and me crazy: if the policy was enacted to protect those poor, innocent heterosexual soldiers from the discomfort of serving with us horrid gays, then why does it matter how the person was outed? They're still gay. The other soldiers still know it.

How about this for something more humane: drop the policy.

I still feel hope that the very fact that top officials are now talking about the policy will eventually lead to it's total repeal. Perhaps even during the Obama administration. As Alex posted the other day, Obama has already reinstated his plan to overturn it, after massive criticism from the gay community.

We'll see.

Foul

Andy wrote a while ago about how we hate when people use the word gay as a synonym for stupid or weak or weird. We hear it all the time in public, like every other gay person, and not just from teenagers. Many who do this claim it's not meant to slur actual gay people, because they're not using the word to refer to someone or something that is actually homosexual. Um, ok. Is that sorta like saying it's ok to call someone a n----- if they're not actually black?

The whole argument is rendered bogus by signs and t-shirts Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper saw at the Sox-Cubs game last weekend. The word gay isn't used, but the two male pictograms holding hands under a rainbow make the message clear: Cubs fans are gay. And not just in the stupid or weak or weird sense, but in the literal sense as well. Cubs fans like holding hands with men under rainbows. Cubs fans are fags.

Well, sports fans are assholes. OK, that's wrong, because Alex and Andy are sports fans, too, and in a city renowned for its vicious fandom. Booing Santa is one thing, but this element of jock culture is bullshit. We get it: trash talk is about cutting your opponent down, and in a testosterone-fueled battle that usually means attacking his "manhood". Fine, play your little reindeer games, but leave us and our lives out of it. It would be nice if the assholes selling this crap realized their market of sports fans actually includes gay people, but clearly they're going for the lowest common denominator.

We'd expect as much from the mouth-breathers in the nose-bleed seats, but Roeper claims some of the people displaying this image may actually be liberals who support gay rights, which is what really disturbs us. This kind of casual homophobia (and don't tell us it's not) from people who should "know better" is what keeps this bigotry alive. Kids see and hear it from their parents, and mimic it on the playground, and another generation of gay kids grows up thinking they're stupid, weak and weird.

No More Promises

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a cocktail reception for gay leaders Monday, ostensibly to mark the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. Observers know that this was really an attempt at damage control, after gay activists have criticized the President's lack of effort to fulfill campaign promises to end DADT, overturn DOMA, and pass ENDA. The President gave a speech where he reiterated those promises, receiving polite applause from those present. He went on to say that, by the time he's done, most of us "willl have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration." The crowd cheered.

WTF? No, seriously. He's not running for President anymore. He IS the President. While overturning DADT with the stroke of a pen might shock the system, he easily has the authority, the political capital, and the support of the public, to issue an executive order that would stop the discharges while the policy is under review. As for DOMA, he still says it's unfair, but why did his Justice Department defend the law recently, using language comparing us to incest and pedophilia that came straight from the far-right's playbook? As for how we'll feel when he's "done" fulfilling these promises: we'll believe it when we see it. Get back to us then if you want cheering from us.

Why are these champagne-sipping suck-ups cheering? We've mentioned before that it pains us to criticize this President; we know there are big problems facing the country that he's trying to deal with. Wars, the economy, healthcare; all impact far more people than the issues the gay community is focused on. Yet we still see these issues all intertwined; isn't discharging qualified soldiers in a time of war a matter of national security? Wouldn't granting marriage benefits to same-sex couples help insure vulnerable families? Shouldn't protecting a class of people from job discrimination be a priority in an economic downturn?

We're not cheering anything until this administration finally starts keeping its promises.

To hell with the suck-ups: we're takng our gripes straight to Washington for the National Equality March on October 11th. I doubt we'll be sipping cocktails in the East Room with Barack and Michelle, but we'll make sure they hear from us! Don't forget to register for the march, and we'll see you in DC!

Board Recommends Firing Gay Iraq Veteran

Lt. Dan Choi faced a panel of military officers for violating the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy yesterday, as we mentioned. The board recommended firing Choi, who plans to appeal. More than 150 letters of recommendation were presented to the board, and every witness, on both sides, testified that Choi was "an asset to the unit." Choi is a West Point graduate, Iraq War veteran and Arab linguist.

Smarmy Bigot Refuses to Apologize

Gay activists and allies confronted Pennsylvania Senator John Eichelberger in Harrisburg yesterday. Remember him? He's the same-sex marriage foe who claimed gay Pennsylvanians like us aren't being punished by inequality, because the Commonwealth is "allowing them to exist." Oh, so our legal standing is non-existent, but we should shut up about that because at least we're not, I don't know...being stoned in the streets? Gee, thanks, Senator. "We're not trying to exterminate you, so pipe down, gays!" This is like the post-Bush GOP's version of compassionate conservatism: let the gays live. They get no rights and no protections, but at least we won't openly advocate killing them, like some people. I guess when your starting place is a point of near-absolute hatred, this is progress.

Armed with a petition demanding he apologize for those and other remarks he made earlier this month, members of Keystone Equality waited two hours for an exchange with the Senator that lasted about a minute. They caught it all on video, so check it out:



Good work, Keystone Equality! Thanks for keeping the heat (and the spotlight) on this bigot!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Translate

Army Lieutenant Dan Choi will be in military court today, facing trial for "moral and professional dereliction" under the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy. In case you can't figure it out, his "moral and professional dereliction" is being openly gay.

Lieutenant Choi will likely be found guilty, and be dishonorably discharged from the United States Army. In other words, he will be fired for being gay.

So, who will the Army ... and ultimately we Americans ... be losing?

Lieut. Cho is a West Point graduate, an Iraq combat veteran, and fluent in Arabic. It's that last point that is quite critical, considering that the United States is currently involved in several wars in countries were Arabic is spoken.

To quote New Jersey Assemblyman Rush Holt from his May 8th piece, "Choi is an Arabic linguist--exactly the kind of critically-skilled soldier and leader his infantry platoon needs if they deploy to a country in which Arabic is the common language. Bluntly stated, his dismissal from the military--and the dismissal of other gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) servicemembers--will put lives at risk."

DADT becomes even more disgusting when you look at the numbers. Since President Obama took office, 272 servicemembers have been discharged under DADT. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network highlights the statistics: 12,342 discharged between 1994 and 2007. For being gay. Men and women who are willing to die for this country. Over 50 of these Americans are fluent in Arabic, equating to a huge skill loss.

The good news is that DADT is getting more negative attention since President Obama took office. We already discussed our disappointment with President Obama on this matter, but it's refreshing to know that members of Congress are beginning to take the repeal of this policy to heart. Nearly one hundred members of congress have signed a letter in support of repealing the policy; polls show that the majority of Americans are fine with openly gay people serving for this country; polls and studies show that members of the military, including those of high rank, support the repealing of this policy.

There are moments in our history that we look back and laugh at ... take Prohibition. What a failed experiment! We feel certain that in a few years we, too, will look back at DADT and judge it for what it is: a ridiculous policy, that at its very root is unamerican and unconstitutional -- a failed experiment!

Congress, get busy. Now.

Before we lose more brave Americans like Lieut. Choi.

Rainbow Lounge Riots

As we posted yesterday, June 28th marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which many credit as the start of the gay-rights movement. Forty years have passed since we gay folks had to fear for our professional careers and our general safety just by having a drink and identifying as homosexual in public.

As Alex said,"what a different world we live in."

Or do we.

It so happens that the same night many gay and lesbian Americans were celebrating this anniversary, and being thankful for how far we've come, that a little gay bar called The Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas was raided by local police. June 28th, gay bar, police raid, paddy wagons, multiple arrests, injuries --- sounds a bit too familiar, doesn't it?

Like with the Stonewall raid, this lead to protests, but luckily more peaceful ones. Later on Sunday, several hundred protestors met on the steps of the county courthouse, protesting the raid and demanding an investigation.

So, now the police find themselves in a pickle, as more city officials are questioning their motives, and more and more newspapers are picking up the story. Their response: those gays were not only intoxicated and resisting arrest, but they hit on us while we were doing our job. This is playing on one of the most negative stereotypes out there: that all gay men are sex fiends, and even while being arrested all we can think about is sex.

Although what happened in Fort Worth is inexcusable, I have to focus on the changes of the last 40 years that DO make this different. Joel Burns, Fort Worth’s first openly gay City Council member, put in nicely stating “Unlike 40 years ago, though, the people of this community have elective representation that will make sure our government is accountable and that the rights of all its citizens are protected.”

Heck, the very fact that a town in Texas has an openly gay City Council member speaks wonders to the progress made in the past 40 years.

So, what now? As yet more states are contemplating the passage of laws that allow same-sex marriage (Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey), as the federal government slowly begins to grant rights, and as more people come out we need to recognize that we HAVE come a long way, while at the same time acknowledge that we still have to be on guard, and still have lots to fight for. As Alex said in a previous post, we'll be at that March on Washington in October. Not just to thank those who were at Stonewall 40 years ago, but for those that still face discrimination everyday.

Forty Years Ago Today...

After the announcement that the 2010 Census would be collecting data from gay couples, Andy and I were talking about, well, the gays. How many are there, really? Not just committed, self-identifying couples, but all of us; single, coupled, out, not out. Estimates vary wildly, and one should always consider the source of such claims, so no one really knows. The Census can’t tell us. It won’t poll single gay people, and closeted gays probably won’t identify themselves to a census taker, anyway.

Besides hard numbers, it would be interesting to see a true demographic breakdown of the gay population, across age, race, income levels, etc. The media tends to rely on stock images of us, and perceptions skew white, young and male. Well, unless the topic is marriage, in which case two middle-aged lesbians represent us. Or two middle-aged men. In Hawaiian shirts, usually.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being middle-aged; I turned 40 this year, and the gay rights movement is celebrating its fortieth birthday today. Exactly forty years ago, a bunch of drag queens, dykes and sissies fought back against a world that wouldn’t allow them to live openly. The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village was raided by the police in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. It was an era when someone could be locked up just for looking gay, let alone actually acting on it; sodomy laws were still on the books, and the American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality a mental illness.

Bars like the Stonewall were virtual speakeasies; Mafia-run, often lacking liquor licenses, or even basic amenities (the Stonewall had no running water behind the bar; glasses were sloshed around in a tub of water before being reused). Patrons needed a password to enter. Raids were frequent, even if the owners had paid their bribes to the right officials that month. Bartenders would often get a tip-off, and signal when a police raid was imminent, shutting off the trippy black lights around the dance floor. The house lights would come on, allowing couples dancing close to separate. “Transvestites,” as drag queens, transsexuals, and anyone else who didn’t conform to gender norms were known then, might have a minute to ditch their wig or otherwise “straighten up” their appearance. Along with butch lesbians, effeminate men would usually be the prime targets of police harassment, and could be jailed for cross-dressing. Under-aged drinkers were also usually present; homeless gay teenagers often slept in nearby Sheridan Square.

That night, things went differently than usual. Many bar-goers refused to cooperate, and police wagons were called in. A crowd gathered outside. People resisted arrest; as the crowd grew larger, those being arrested urged them on. First pennies, then bottles, then bricks were thrown; the police were outnumbered, and barricaded in the Stonewall. A riot was underway, which soon gave birth to a movement.

What a different world we live in. I was born at a time when just being gay was enough to get you thrown in jail. People like us couldn’t even enter a gay bar without fear of harassment, blackmail, or arrest. The way one dressed, or danced, or had sex in the privacy of their own home with another consenting adult; all were matters governed by the state, judged by the authorities, and subject to harsh punishment. Although bigots persist, and there are many areas of society that don’t allow us to live openly, and we have a long way to go until we achieve full equality, we’ve come a long way, baby. We’re grateful for everyone who paved the way for us; the activists and the organizers, and the dykes and drag queens, too. At a time when we're prone to being defined by stock images of cheerful domesticity, it's important to remember it was a bunch of radical queers in a bar who set things in motion. We think it’s only fitting, to mark this anniversary, to raise a glass in salute! Happy fortieth birthday, gay rights movement!

Stephen Colbert: Obama is Stonewalling

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Stonewalling
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

(We'll be back Sunday with original material!)

Slow News Day

Wow, there is absolutely NOTHING to talk about today, right?

Instead, let's watch videos. Our friend Brian sent us this clip of Sophia Petrillo explaining same-sex marriage. No, really.




Also, our good (but a little dirty) friends at Homopop found this hilarious parody of the Perez Hilton meltdown, starring the always adorable Breckin Meyer. Enjoy!

Today's Hypocrite: Mark Sanford

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admitted to an extramarital affair today, after a nearly week-long disappearance that neither his staff nor his own wife could explain. A father of four, Sanford was gone six days, including Father's Day. He was in Argentina visiting his mistress, a married mother of two that he's known for eight years.

Sanford, a Republican, is a vocal defender of "traditional" marriage. He opposes same-sex marriage, civil unions for gay people, and gay adoption.