Know Your LGBT History - Danitra Vance

Danitra Vance was under utilized when she was a member of the Saturday Night Live cast and that is a real shame. She was an excellent comedian as the above sketch clearly shows.

From Wikipedia:

Born in Chicago, Vance graduated from nearby Thornton Township High School in 1972. In high school she was active in theater and was a member of the debate team. She later attended Roosevelt University and graduated with honors. She then studied drama at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Vance was the first African American woman to become a SNL repertory player (not to be confused with Yvonne Hudson from season six, who first appeared as a recurring extra and was hired as a feature player), and was the first lesbian cast member hired (though her sexual orientation wasn't known until her death in 1994). She is best remembered for the sketch "That Black Girl", (a spoof of the 1960s sitcom That Girl), and for her character Cabrini Green Harlem Watts Jackson, a teenage mother who dispensed advice on the do's and don'ts of being pregnant. Both were recurring characters during her time on SNL.

Vance appeared on SNL during a time of great transition for the show; Vance herself became frustrated because her roles in sketches were limited both in visibility and in range - she was often cast in a skit as a secretary, a nurse, a waitress, a young unwed mother dependent on welfare (her recurring character, Cabrini Green Jackson, easily fell into this category), or a maid. This was made evident during the episode hosted by Oprah Winfrey in spring of 1986 where in the cold opening, Vance played Lorne Michaels' personal slave (in the guise of 'Celia' from The Color Purple) who convinces him to force Oprah into performing stereotypically black roles by beating her (as Oprah's character 'Sofia' was in the movie), only to have Oprah strangle him in a headlock before shouting the show's opening line. In a short musical sketch on the same episode, Vance sang "I Play The Maids" (a spin on the Barry Manilow song, "I Write The Songs"), a satirical song that expressed frustration over black actresses (and herself) being typecast as maids in films and on television shows. Ironically, one of Danitra Vance's celebrity impersonations was of Cicely Tyson (in The Pee Wee Herman Thanksgiving Special sketch), who avoided film or TV roles that stereotyped black women.

Perhaps adding to her frustration was her dyslexia which, according to an SNL Trivial Pursuit question and testimony from Al Franken for the book Live From New York: The Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, made it hard for her to read from cue cards and memorize lines (though it wasn't made apparent in most of her appearances).

Vance ultimately chose to leave SNL at the end of the season (along with many other cast members from that season who were fired, including Joan Cusack, Robert Downey, Jr., Randy Quaid, Terry Sweeney -- another homosexual cast member who was hired for the 1985-1986 cast — and Anthony Michael Hall).

She was awarded an NAACP Image Award in 1986 and later won an Obie Award for her performance in the theatrical adaptation of Spunk, a collection of short stories written by Zora Neale Hurston.

Vance was the second female lead opposite Nancy Allen in Limit Up, where she played a guardian angel on assignment for God being played by Ray Charles. She had small roles in The War of the Roses and Little Man Tate and a more significant role in Jumpin' at the Boneyard, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990, Vance underwent a single mastectomy and incorporated the experience into a solo skit, "The Radical Girl's Guide to Radical Mastectomy." The cancer recurred in 1993 and she died of the disease the following year in Markham, Illinois. She was survived by her longtime companion, Ms. Jones Miller.

Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Catholic bishops playing 'persecution card'' and other Friday midday news briefs

Catholic Bishops: ‘Religious Liberty’ Includes Right To Discriminate Against Gay People, Impose Values - Because apparently it's "persecution" to not be allowed to use gay tax dollars while you discriminate against gay people.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue Speaks Out Against Anti-Gay Amendment One: VIDEO - Way to go, Governor Perdue!

Partisan NOM bullies now bullying NH Republicans - A certain group is getting too big for its britches.

PTA chapter in NY addresses needs of gay students - This is pretty cool!

Linda Harvey Decries Gay-Rights 'Radicals' who are 'Out to Wreck' Morality and 'Legitimize Deviance'- Enjoy a good laugh brought to you by crazy Linda Harvey.

MN For Marriage makes odd choice to publicly post strategy call; so listen - Another state, another viciously homophobic pastor.

El Paso Mayor John Cook, Recall Target, Takes Stand Against Anti-Gay 'Bigotry' - Meet one of my new heroes - the mayor who is catching hell for standing up for gay equality.

Religious right spokesman attacks legitimate study on gay health

Matt Barber

Matt Barber of the anti-gay Liberty Counsel is upset.

Apparently a new study has confirmed what many of us knows when it comes to how homophobia hurts gay health:

A conservative attorney disagrees with the findings of "Private Lives 2," a study of Australian homosexuals that suggests discrimination, not lifestyle, is the reason why homosexuals seek psychological counseling -- a conclusion similar to that reached by the American Psychological Association.

The online study was conducted by Malbourne's La Trobe University with the support of Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, as well as the Victoria state government and the Australian national depression initiative. But Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action, tells OneNewsNow other research has repeatedly concluded that it is the lifestyle -- not discrimination or lack of societal "acceptance" -- that results in homosexuals seeking counseling.

He believes groups like the APA have lost credibility over the years by suggesting otherwise.

"The APA has really in large part simply become a political activist organization," Barber decides. "They are no longer objectively a scientific group that views things through an objective prism; but rather, they are pushing a political, sexual, anarchist agenda."

He says the APA is helping "to facilitate" those caught up in the lifestyle to continue a destructive, unhealthy, immoral and biologically wrong way of living and thinking. "So for the APA to help them rationalize these behaviors, it's really irresponsible of the American Psychological Association to do this," the attorney submits.

That's the gist of the article. Barber offers no proof of his claims that the APA is a "political organization." Nor does he offer up any of the "other research" which supposedly concludes that the supposed homosexual lifestyle is the reason for depression in gays.

Basically it comes down to the fact that Barber simply doesn't like the conclusion of the Australian study and that's why he is trashing it. Nor does he like the fact that the APA has done research confirming the same conclusions of the Australian study.

You see the Australian study refutes theories put forth by Barber and other religious right phony experts that homosexuality itself is a dangerous "lifestyle." Usually when folks like Barber push this notion, they cite health statistics, like those from the Centers of Disease Control.

But no legitimate study nor any medical organization has ever said that homosexuality in itself is a "dangerous lifestyle." They usually cite outside factors, such as homophobia.  The following is what the CDC said when it comes to HIV/AIDS amongst gay men:

Stigma and homophobia may have a profound impact on the lives of MSM, especially their mental and sexual health. Internalized homophobia may impact men’s ability to make healthy choices, including decisions around sex and substance use. Stigma and homophobia may limit the willingness of MSM to access HIV prevention and care, isolate them from family and community support, and create cultural barriers that inhibit integration into social networks.

Racism, poverty, and lack of access to health care are barriers to HIV prevention services, particularly for MSM from racial or ethnic minority communities. A recent CDC study found a strong link between socioeconomic status and HIV among MSM: prevalence increased as education and income decreased, and awareness of HIV status was higher among MSM with greater education and income

To put it more succinctly, Matt Barber is  typical of the religious right spokespeople. When researchers come out with something they disagree with, they whine about how gays have "infiltrated" or simply cherry-pick the research to push their bogus conclusions about the gay community.

Barber has no expertise in science, research, or health. The reason why he didn't cite any proof to back up his charges is because he doesn't have any.

And he knows it.

Mormon Church trying to overturn marriage equality in Maryland

From the Huffington Post comes this unfortunate bit of news:

Mormons are gathering signatures to bring a referendum on Maryland's marriage equality law to the ballot in November, as the state's pro-gay marriage coalition hires a new leader and a recent poll shows more support in Maryland for the law.

The Washington Blade reports that Mormon Church members are actively working to overturn the law legalizing same-sex marriage that was signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley in March, making Maryland the eighth state to legalize gay marriage. Maryland's law will go into effect in January 2013, if the state's voters don't repeal the law in November.

The Blade published an email sent to Mormons in D.C. and southern Maryland, asking for help gathering 200,000 signatures to bring a referendum on the law to Maryland voters in November -- here is an excerpt from the email:

As you have probably heard, the Maryland legislature passed a same sex marriage bill last February. A coalition of inter-denominational churches throughout Maryland has joined together to try to get a referendum on the November ballot that would allow the residents of Maryland to vote on this bill before it becomes law. Martha Schaerr, who is a member of the LDS Church, is organizing signature collection within Montgomery County and within the LDS Church. We need to collect approximately 200,000 signatures by the end of May. We are looking for people to gather signatures within the LDS community. If you are willing to help with this important effort please contact Martha Schaerr as soon as possible at martha.schaerr@gmail.com or Teressa Wallace at wallacemail@juno.com.

And what's more, when pressed about its possible involvement, the Mormon Church denies it. However, it is difficult to believe this denial:

Mormon Church officials told The Blade that it is not involved with the referendum effort -- but The Blade finds parallels between the Maryland effort and the Church of Latter-day Saints' efforts in California:

Dale Jones, an LDS spokesperson, said the church has no direct involvement in the effort to overturn the marriage law in Maryland. 

“While the Church’s position in support of traditional marriage is well established, the effort in Maryland is not being organized through the Church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City,” Jones said. “Members, of course, will make their own decisions regarding their involvement in local issues.”

But the message recalls the Mormon Church’s lead role in passage of Proposition 8 in California in 2008. The First Presidency of the Church, or its governing body, publicly backed the initiative and reportedly encouraged members during church services to take an active role in contributing money and get-out-the-vote efforts to support the ban’s passage.

Read the entire article here.

'Gays compared to iceberg which sank Titanic' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Father Ryan Refuses Anti-Gay Petitions, Calling Them "Hurtful and Seriously Divisive" - A Catholic priest REFUSES to push anti-gay petitions on his congregations. This is a much needed story to remind folks that it's not the Catholic community which is attempting to undermine lgbtq equality. The leadership is.

Religious Right Marks Anniversary of Titanic's Sinking by Exposing the 'Iceberg' of the 'Radical Homosexual Agenda' - Because apparently gays sank the Titanic. I wonder how these folks celebrate Bastille Day.

Meet Romney’s Pro-Marriage Equality Donors - Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council will probably "love" this.


Maggie’s double-speak on same-sex adoption - Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage is being two-faced about gay adoption? Is there any lgbtq issue that this woman is NOT hypocritical about?

Michele And Marcus Bachmann's 'Ex-Gay' Clinic's Practices Described By Undercover Lesbian Filmmaker - Guess who got caught again?

10-year-old produces awesome anti-bullying videos

This is so good that it needs to go viral. From Think Progress:

California 10-year-old Gerry Orz (“G”) has produced a series of anti-bullying videos based on his own experiences growing up with two moms in advance of next week’s GLSEN's Day of Silence:

Family Research Council itching to be humiliated again

The annual GLSEN's Day of Silence is coming up next week and religious right groups are just chomping at the bit to disrupt it.

To the uninitiated, the Day of Silence is an annual event in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.

Since this event and the organization behind it, GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) deals with the plight of lgbt students, they both have been in the crosshairs of religious right groups who claim that Day of Silence is simply another way to supposedly "indoctrinate" students into homosexuality.

Every year, we can always count on religious right groups and spokespeople pushing hysterically false tales of alleged "homosexual indoctrination. And unfortunately, this year will be no different.

The Family Research Council just published the following:

 . .  for Connecticut Pastor James Loomer, protecting students wasn't on his school district's agenda. This week, at a meeting of the Milford School Board, members denied his request to stop the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) national "Day of Silence." At past events, GLSEN was caught distributing pamphlets that promote everything from child sex to pornography. "If parents [knew] the inappropriateness of the materials, they'd be enraged," Pastor Loomer said. Still, the Board wouldn't budge. They insist on moving forward with the event on April 20 in the name of "tolerance."

For the record, GLSEN  has never been caught distributing pamphlets promoting child sex or pornography because GLSEN has never distributed any pamphlets promoting these things.

And if anyone should be aware of this, it is the Family Research Council.

Last year,  the Family Research Council pushed a video falsely accusing GLSEN of distributing an explicit safe-sex guide to children. GLSEN, through its lawyers, sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding that FRC remove the video. Subsequently the Family Research Council was forced to change the video to this:



Although FRC did not acknowledge that it had to make changes, the conclusion that the organization had pushed a false claim against GLSEN and then was forced to retreat with its tail between its legs was abundantly clear.

And yet it seems that FRC has not learned a thing from last year's humiliation because the organization is obviously looking to be embarrassed again.

Is Chris Matthews changing his mind about hate group leader appearing on his show?

It seems that Faithful America may be getting through to Chris Matthews in regards to hate group leader Tony Perkins appearing on his show Hardball:



From Faithful America:

Last month, some Faithful America members caught up with Chris Matthews at a book signing and asked him directly about their campaign asking MSNBC to stop booking hate group leader Tony Perkins on their network.

In that interview, Matthews initially protested but ultimately admitted that “you may be right. I may agree with you, but not right now.”

Yesterday, Matthews was asked again about the problem, and he expanded on those concessions:

MATTHEWS: Why don’t you think I should have him on my show?

Q: You said that you wouldn’t have Franklin Graham on your show earlier this year because he tells hateful lies and I was wondering if you thought that was a different standard.

MATTHEWS: Well you got to make your case, you know. I talked about this with my producers last night and we’re trying to decide how to deal with it. My view is I don’t like censoring opinion and Tony Perkins has been on this show and he hasn’t said something like that on my show, he doesn’t talk like that on Hardball.*

Q: Do you think it gives him credibility when he’s on Hardball though, for what he says off Hardball?

MATTHEWS: You know I think that’s an argument — that’s a good argument. I’m thinking about it. You’re doing the right thing, you’re doing the right thing keep it up. You know where I stand on the issues that I care about, you know. And I’m probably with you on these issues but I got to think it through.

In what will likely come as a disappointment to the right-wing activists who have been celebrating Matthews’s comments as an endorsement of their “right” to spread lies on TV, Mathews clearly indicates that he’s taking these concerns seriously, doesn’t have a good answer, and has already begun conversations with his producers about it.

Faithful America, GLAAD and the other organizations and individuals who are working to educate the media about the problems with hosting spokespeople who tell hateful lies should take this as a sign that they’re making real progress and should keep up their efforts.

*As before, Matthews seems to have forgotten about his November 2010 show in which Perkins specifically cited debunked research to claim that gay men are more likely to molest children.

The religious right's no-good, all around bad day continues

The hacking of NOM's social network only scratches the surface when it comes the abysmal day religious right organizations are having. Several other incidents happened today which left these phony morality groups staggering. Let's look at some of them, shall we:

National Organization For Marriage Website Hacked On Same Day Group Endorses Mitt Romney - First there is the big story. The National Organization for Marriage's social network was hacked big time. You just know that they are going to blame us for it.

Denunciation of ex-gay study:

Researcher Robert Spitzer Retracts Landmark Ex-Gay Study - A major study which the religious right have thrown in the face of the lgbtq community as proof that gays can change their orientation as been retracted by its author. Knowing the religious right, watch how they will conveniently omit this new information while continuing to use the study.

Being abandoned by allies:

HUGE – pro-Proposition 8 witness comes out against NC’s Amendment One in N&O op-ed - How is this for a kick in the face. A witness who testified for Proposition 8 - the California law banning marriage equality - has denounced the effort by religious right groups in North Carolina to pass a similar law in that state. Good for you, David Blankenhorn.

Infighting with regards to Presidential candidates:

Perkins Accuses Romney Of Supporting ‘Special Employment Rights Based Upon Sexual Behavior’- Uh oh. On the day in which NOM endorses Mitt Romney for president, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council throws a monkey wrench into religious right support for Romney.

Ugly faux pas:

FRC quietly scrubs pro-Santorum 'math murder' post - See what happens when you push hyperbole.

NOM was hacked! See the post below this one to see the damage!

National Organization for Marriage apologizing for race-baiting scandal? I wish

 Editor's note - It's been confirmed that the National Organization for Marriage's social network was hacked in a MAJOR way. Aw nuts! And here I thought the group had turned a new leaf. See this Huffington Post article for more details.

This morning, the gay blogsphere is all abuzz about the following which appeared on the National Organization for Marriage's Facebook page:

I personally thought that NOM's facebook page was hacked. But then the following message appeared on NOM's twitter page:

 And now the following appeared on NOM's blog:

Friends of marriage,

In the last couple of weeks you've heard some pretty bad things about this organization. I must admit that we were angered when our in house documents were released but we've since had time to reflect on the strategies we've employed to divide Americans against each other on the issue of marriage. Truth be told, marriage is about bringing people together, not pushing them apart and that's exactly what this organization has been about over the past few years.

Aside from that on an unrelated matter, we've stifled free speech on our social media online properties. We're rectifying that this morning by removing the bans on the hundreds and hundreds of our opponents our staff imposed. We want to encourage an open and fair discussion about marriage and that can only happen if we welcome our outspoken opponents back into the dialogue.

We apologize for our transgressions. We're turning over a new leaf with constitutional and civil rights as our primary focus going forward. We hope you will stand with us as we turn things around for the better.

 So after all of that ducking and dodging, NOM has finally admitted to attempting to drive a wedge between the black and gay communities.

And it only took them two weeks after the scandal broke. Figures.

.

Related posts:   

Church leader disgraces his integrity to run interference for NOM

National Organization for Marriage begs for money while blaming media for scandal

NOM won't stop exploiting African-Americans and lying about it

NOM faces 'headline' embarrassment at religious right publication

NOM continues sad attempt to quell 'race-baiting' scandal

Why has NOM's chairperson been silent during scandal?

'Maggie Gallagher fails to NOM's defend homophobic 'race-baiting' during interview' 

Civil rights legend calls out NOM for homophobic race-baiting
  
NOM's evasion of race-baiting scandal is as bad as the controversy itself

Maggie Gallagher offers another bad explanation for NOM's race-baiting

'What NOM implied about white gay men and black babies' and other ways it played divide and conquer game

NOM leaders express pride in sleazy divide and conquer strategy

NOM's deliberate manipulation of black, gay communities is nauseating

Court documents prove NOM's plan to divide black, gay communities

Church leader disgraces his integrity to run interference for NOM

Bishop McKinney

Today the National Organization for Marriage is trumpeting a column written by Bishop George McKinney, a member of the board of the Church of God in Christ, in The Daily Caller. The column seeks to refute NOM's recent race-baiting scandal.

However, Bishop McKinney's column will probably raise eyebrows seeing that he went out of the way to avoid addressing the scandal head-on, even to the point of  attempting to distract folks from what NOM's internal documents actually said in regards to driving a wedge between the black and gay communities. This the first paragraph of Bishop McKinney's piece:

On March 30, an MSNBC news anchor accused the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) of “race-baiting” for (among other charges) writing in a 2009 in-house document, “We … need to … interrupt the attempt to equate gay with black, and sexual orientation with race; we need to make traditional sexual morality intellectually respectable again in elite culture.”

McKinney is citing another part of NOM's internal documents. In his piece, he did not cite the part of the internal documents which talked specifically about driving a wedge between the black and gay communities. It was this part which led to the scandal:

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies,” reads one document. “Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key to raising the costs of pushing gay marriage to its advocates and persuading the movement’s allies that advocates are unacceptably overreaching on this issue. Consider pushing a marriage amendment in Washington D.C.; Find attractive young black Democrats to challenge white gay marriage advocates electorally.”

And I have a feeling that what Bishop McKinney did was not by accident. He then proceeds to go on a tangent in his column by using talking points that we have heard Maggie Gallagher and company use before, i.e. "you can't equate race with sexual orientation," "marriage is for men and women to come together to create the next generation," gays are trying to redefine marriage," etc.

However for me, the fact that Bishop McKinney felt the need pull attention away from the specific portion of NOM's internal document, the portion which talked about exploiting the gay and African-American difference of opinion on marriage equality, says a lot more his motivations and his integrity.

Actions do indeed speak louder than words. And no matter how Bishop McKinney tries through words to make NOM's cause - and thus his cause - sound noble, his actions (in this case, a deliberate attempt at misdirection) betray him.

By all means, please go to The Daily Caller piece and point this out in a respectful manner.

'What the heck is sodomy-based marriage anyway?' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

The folks in North Carolina are pulling out all of the stops to defeat that awful anti-family amendment, Amendment One. The following videos are two former mayors of Charlotte, Harvey Gantt (a Democrat) and Richard Vinroot (a Republican) speaking on how Amendment One is a bad idea:



For more information about the video, see Pam's House Blend.

In other news:

No Special Rights PAC, Maine Anti-Gay Marriage Group, Seeks End To 'Sodomy-Based Marriage' - It's always about sex with these anti-marriage equality folks. They think more about sex than 100 cloned horny 18-year-olds.

White House Kicks Off LGBT Heroes Video Contest - I totally agree. There are a myriad of unsung lgbt heroes who do not get their due. Plus this will totally tee off the religious right (sorry, that last part was the b*^%tch in me coming out.)

HRC & Freedom to Marry to Cardinal Dolan: End Support of NOM - For all of the criticism they get, the Human Rights Campaign has been batting a thousand with their aggressive pushes on NOM. And let's not leave out Freedom to Marry either.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to Prevent Same-Sex Couples Hospital Visitation Rights - Go ahead, Walker. You got almost everyone in Wisconsin angry at you. By all means, do what you can so that the gay community doesn't feel left out.

National Organization for Marriage begs for money while blaming media for scandal

Editor's note - It's one of those two post mornings. After reading this, pan down and read how actor Kirk Cameron forgets about his so-called Christian principles in order to promote his movie.

Knowing fully well that attempts to explain its race-baiting scandal is failing, the National Organization for Marriage is attempting to use the scandal in order to raise money. From its blog today:

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Will you please make one URGENT gift right now to help protect marriage?

When the New York Times and other media outlets ran with a ridiculous narrative about NOM being racially divisive and politically poisonous, I have to admit, I was angry—but not surprised.

After all, in the middle of this artificially created media flurry, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and their allies at the Huffington Post published stolen IRS documents from NOM that are protected by federal laws.

This is what we're up against...every single day. I don't know if there is a limit to how low radical same-sex marriage activists will go to get what they want—no matter what you and I think.

Our coalition of Americans from every walk of life, regardless of race or religion has won tremendous victories for marriage. And with 2012 being such a critical year, our opponents are desperate to divide us.

We must stand up and fight back...we must make our voices heard...we must make sure the lies of radical same-sex marriage activists don't become commonly accepted "truth" because nobody is working to expose their lies.

And that's exactly why I launched this campaign to raise $200,000 by April 17.

Won't you please make an IMMEDIATE gift of $1,000, $500, $100 or even $50
to help protect marriage—knowing that your donation will be matched by another
to double its impact?

So according to NOM, the scandal was created by the media, most specifically The New York Times and The Huffington Post teaming up with the Human Rights Campaign.

And of course NOM's plea for money wouldn't be complete without the photo of various functions highlighting the African-Americans and members of the Hispanic community who supports NOM's efforts have been exploited by NOM:

The only thing that comes to mind is I hope those folks didn't sign a release. That way, maybe they can get NOM to pay them for the use of their images.

Surprise! Kirk Cameron is a hypocrite

Recently, Kirk Cameron received a lot of flack - deservedly so - for his claim that homosexuality is "destructive." And like so many others, when faced with criticism when making such ugly comments, Cameron played the victim.

And unfortunately, people bought that junk. I wonder if folks are going to buy this meeting of Cameron and high profile Mormon Glenn Beck. From Religious Right Watch:

 (Kirk) Cameron featured Beck at the kickoff event for his movie Monumental, about how America needs to return to its theocratic Pilgrim roots, where Beck told Cameron that God confirmed to him in prayer that what they are doing is right and wants them to warn the country about America’s impending collapse.

Beck’s appearance and discussion of his talks with God in Cameron’s Religious Right “documentary” may raise eyebrows since Cameron in 2006 co-hosted an anti-Mormon film with evangelist Ray Comfort. In the show, Cameron said that it was likely Satan who appeared to Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, as the Angel Moroni and led him to golden plates that became the Book of Mormon, and even said that Mormons are “following a false Jesus” and “will end up in Hell forever.” “If you’ve ever spoken to a Mormon, sometimes you know how frustrating it could when they use the same words you do but they mean something different and you’re not sure how to finish the conversation,” Cameron said.

And if you need proof of Cameron's anti-Mormon video, check this out:

Vote for MarriageNC ad filled with misrepresentations and false views

Vote for MarriageNC has come out with another ad in an attempt to push that awful anti-marriage equality amendment, Amendment One, in the state:




These folks sound reasonable, don't they? Especially the African-American pastor Patrick Wooden.

Don't buy it.

Wooden's comments is sprinkled throughout the video, but I took note to 1:13 - 1:55 of this video when he claims that those on his side of the argument aren't trying to impose their views on anyone. He also attempts to make it seem that gays do not face discrimination. And he also claims that he is not opposed to gays doing well in America.

Wooden's "I don't have any animus against the gay community" inference is a total misrepresentation. Remember his comments in January about gay men needing diapers:

Transcript:

Wooden: The God of the Bible made the human sperm, the God of the Bible designed it and it was not designed to be emptied into an area that is filled with feces, there is nothing for it to germinate with, it will most certainly mean the extinction of the human race. My belief is that if the medical community would just step forward and just would share with the American people what happens to the male anus, the problems that homosexuals have with their rectums, the damage that is done, the operations that are needed to sew up their bodies if you will, and how many of the men don’t even give these stitches time to heal before they are back out there practicing that wicked behavior. Some are bleeders, men who are not turned off by ingesting the feces of other men.

Not only did he not back off that statement, but he made the following claim about gay men, cell phones, baseball bats, and gerbils:

Transcript:

Wooden: I do not back off or back down from my statements at all. I was giving anecdotal examples that I am personally aware of that have happened as a result of men who have given themselves over to this lifestyle. One man past away, a friend of mine shared this information with me, that where what used to be his anus had become a gaping hole and he literally died in diapers, he literally lost control of himself. There are examples of men who have stretched their anuses, their sphincter muscles so that they could fit objects into themselves that once the sphincter muscle is stretched too much it will not contract. Because the truth is, despite the anger of the homosexual community, the anus is not a vagina. A vagina, a woman can give birth, God so designed it, the hips release can give birth to babies and things return back to normal. The anus doesn’t work that way; this is one of the reasons why many male homosexuals place larger and larger objects in their rectums.

. . . I know of a case where in a hospital a homosexual male had a cellphone lodged in his anus and as they were operating on him the phone went off, the phone started ringing! There’ve been instances where men have put bats, baseball bats, in their rectums!

In spite of what he claims in the Vote for MarriageNC video, Wooden is not motivated by a need to "protect marriage."  Wooden is motivated by homophobia disguised as Christian beliefs.

And he is not the only person in the video hiding his true views. Pastor Mark Creech also tries to make faux reasonable arguments with opposing marriage equality. But according to Jeremy Hooper from Goodasyou.org, Creech has said the following about gays:

"In fact, let me go on record with Tim Mertes in saying I also believe homosexuality is "impure," "dirty," and "disgusting." [SOURCE]
…
"Once again the Sodomites press upon the door of restraint to knock it down. America is presently the victim of an attempted sexual assault by the gay agenda — an attempted homosexual gang rape of our culture — the effort to sodomize our society! The great question is whether the majority of Americans who believe homosexuality is wrong and injurious for the nation, will continue to allow for its victimization, or whether they'll use the system of government God has so graciously granted to fight back." [SOURCE]
...
"To contend homosexuality or other sexually alternative practices are as worthy of special protections as religion is like saying feculence is as important to one's person or the culture as food. [SOURCE]
...
"While certain personality traits, familial relationships, early childhood experiences, possible sexual molestation, etc., may provide fertile soil for homosexuality to grow, these factors are not the primal issue. Homosexuality is not the result of biology! It is not caused by a deficit in the relationship with the same-sex parent! It is not caused by a failure to bond with one’s same-sex peers or any other outside influences! It is caused by something radically wrong with the human heart! It is caused by the principle of sin!"
…
"The real cause of homosexual desire or activity is the idolatrous instincts of the human heart." [SOURCE]
...
"Few sins have done more of late to wreak havoc among God's people as homosexuality." [SOURCE]

The fact that these supposed Christian people chose to hide their true views about homosexuality in the ad says volumes about their lack of honesty. Reading and hearing these views says more about why they actually support Amendment One.

Make no mistake about it. Amendment One is not motivated by a need to "protect marriage." Amendment One is motivated by homophobia and ignorance wrapped up in a Biblical shell.

But when you pull off that shell, we are still talking about homophobia and ignorance.

The following posts speak the truth about Amendment One:


North Carolina’s Amendment One: 10 facts you need to know

North Carolina residents - 'Amendment One is a bad idea'

'Mormon students create controversial 'It Gets Better' video' and other Monday midday news briefs

Students from Mormon-run Brigham Young University have created their own "It Gets Better" video and it is causing controversy. According to the Associated Press(by way of Think Progress), by posting the video, the students could face excommunication from the church and expulsion.

And even some in the gay community have voiced a sort of opposition. One viewer of the video wrote me to say:

I find it a disturbing video and am surprised that the Its Get Better people allowed the Mormon church to highjack the project, since I fear that this video is more likely to lead to more suicide than to prevent suicides. One young person, in particular, seem in great pain and needs help--and not the kind of help he is likely to get from a Mormon psychiatrist.

My personal feeling is that anyone can and should be able to benefit from the "It Gets Better" message. But what do you think:




In other news:

Can anyone force National Organization for Marriage to follow the law? - A fellow blogging buddy of mine, Scott Wooledge from Daily Kos pushes the very apt theory that NOM is enters every state fight against marriage equality knowing that it will violate the state's disclosure laws.

‘Bully’ Rating Lowered To PG-13 - Very good news indeed!

Meet Todd Starnes, Fox’s Mouthpiece For Anti-Gay Hate Groups - I read this piece only once because it got me so angry. Just plain demagoguery.

High School Student Finds Strength to Come Out as Transsexual - I love and admire the strength of the next generation.

'Desert Outlook,' New LGBT Magazine, Launched By 'The Desert Sun,' Features Dianne Feinstein And Hank Plante - Good luck to them cause we need more media outlets talking about our issues. The ones we got sometimes get bogged down with frivolous stuff.

PBS spotlights gay persecution in Uganda

Let's not forget the awful situation for our lgbtq brothers and sisters in Uganda:

Watch In Uganda, Gays Face Growing Social, Legal Hostility on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Know Your LGBT History - Oliver Sipple

Oliver Sipple is a gay former Marine who will be remembered for two things - saving President Gerald Ford's life from an assassin's bullet and how the media attention from his act destroyed his life:




The following, according to Wikipedia, is the rest of the story. And it's not a happy one:

The police and the Secret Service immediately commended Sipple for his action at the scene, as did the media. The news media portrayed Sipple as a hero.

Though he was known to be gay among members of the gay community, and had even participated in Gay Pride events, Sipple's sexual orientation was a secret from his family. He asked the press to keep his sexuality off the record, making it clear that neither his mother nor his employer knew he was gay. The national spotlight was on him immediately, and Harvey Milk responded. While discussing whether the truth about Sipple's sexuality should be disclosed, Milk told a friend: "It's too good an opportunity. For once we can show that gays do heroic things, not just all that caca about molesting children and hanging out in bathrooms." Milk reportedly outed Sipple as a "gay hero" to San Francisco Chronicle's columnist Herb Caen in hopes to "break the stereotype of homosexuals" of being "timid, weak and unheroic figures". Several days later Caen wrote of Sipple as a gay man and a friend of Milk speculating Ford offered praise "quietly" because of Sipple's sexual orientation. Sipple was besieged by reporters, as was his family. His mother refused to speak to him. Gay liberation groups petitioned local media to give Sipple his due as a gay hero. Caen published the private side of the former Marine's story, as did a handful of other publications. Sipple then insisted to reporters that his sexuality was to be kept confidential. Later, when Sipple hid in a friend's apartment to avoid them, the reporters turned to Milk, arguably the most visible voice for the gay community. The reporters had already labeled Sipple the "gay ex-Marine" and his conservative mother disparaged and disowned him when she found out about his sexuality. Milk's precise role in the outing remain somewhat cloudy as Sipple's active participation in the gay community suggests that his sexuality would have been revealed and reported even if doing so was seen as unethical. According to Harold Evans, "[T]here was no invitation to the White House for Sipple, not even a commendation. Milk made a fuss about that. Finally, weeks later, Sipple received a brief note of thanks."

Sipple sued the Chronicle for invasion of privacy. Of President Ford's letter of thanks to Sipple, Milk suggested that Sipple's sexual orientation was the reason he received only a note, rather than an invitation to the White House. Sipple filed a $15 million invasion of privacy suit against Caen, seven named newspapers, and a number of unnamed publishers, for publishing the disclosures. The Superior Court in San Francisco dismissed the suit, and Sipple continued his legal battle until May 1984, when a state court of appeals held that Sipple had indeed become news, and that his sexual orientation was part of the story.

According to a 2006 article in The Washington Post, Sipple went through a period of estrangement with his parents, but the family later reconciled with his sexual orientation. Sipple's brother, George, told the newspaper, "[Our parents] accepted it. That was all. They didn't like it, but they still accepted. He was welcomed. Only thing was: Don't bring a lot of your friends."

'Catholic Church sacrificing poor in fight against marriage equality' and other Friday midday news briefs

Catholic Church Cuts Funds To Immigrant Group Because It Doesn’t Discriminate Against Gay People - So much for "religious liberty."

Catholics clash over helping the poor, hewing to doctrine - And it's not just that group. Nine other groups in all are being hurt by this stringent nonsense.

Christian Groups Take Issue With Anti-Bullying Laws - Apparently protecting gay youth is a "plot" to mind control all youth into being gay.


The left's activist facts continue to attack poor Brian Brown - Cause apparently we on the left forced the National Organization for Marriage to write up a plan to exploit the disagreement over marriage equality between the black and gay communities. How did we do that? Why mind control. We are not all concentrated on children.

“Day of Dialogue” from Focus on the Family is Sacred Discrimination - It's almost that time of year again. The annual religious right attack on the "Day of Silence." Oh brother.

Attempt to roll back marriage equality in Washington state causing problems

The attempt to roll back marriage equality in Washington State is raising some eyebrows because of the full-tilt way the Catholic Church has involved itself:

The two bishops of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, in a letter to the faithful, say they will deploy parishes to collect signatures for Referendum 74, a measure for the November ballot designed to roll back same-sex marriage in Washington.

While asking that signatures not be collected on Easter Sunday, the bishops described the issue as “critically important” and said information on the signature drive is being sent to pastors throughout the Western Washington diocese.

The letter is signed by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain and Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo. Sartain testified against marriage equality at a Washington State Senate hearing earlier this year.

In their letter, the bishops specifically deny that refusing marriage to same-sex couples equates to discrimination — an argument made by Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Catholic, in arguing for marriage equality.

. . . State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, a Catholic and long-partnered gay man who sponsored the same-sex marriage bill, described the bishops’ deployment of parishes to gather signatures as “fairly reprehensible.”

“To use church resources, in advancing a measure that promotes discrimination, is incredibly disappointing,” Murray said. “As a gay person, and a Catholic, I can understand their refusal to perform (gay) marriages. Using the church in promoting a referendum . . . is very disappointing.”

The bishops noted that, under the state’s domestic partnership law (which the Catholic Church lobbied against), same sex couples “already enjoy the rights and privileges of married couples.”

Anne Levison, a former judge and co-owner of the Seattle Storm, and leader in the marriage equality campaign, responded that the bishops’ letter is a case of clerical error.

“Of all institutions, the Church should understand why domestic partnerships can’t replace marriage,” said Levinson. “Marriage is so much more than a collection of legal rights. The essence of marriage remains the same whether the two people are straight or gay or lesbians: Two people affirming their love and commitment to each other.”

A statement in the letter caught my eye:

In their letter, the bishops specifically deny that refusing marriage to same-sex couples equates to discrimination — an argument made by Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Catholic, in arguing for marriage equality.

“Treating different things differently is not unjust discrimination,” the bishops claim. “Marriage can only be between a man and a woman because of its unique ends, purpose and place in society. The word ‘marriage’ isn’t simply a label that can be attached to different types of relationships.

That phraseology of "treating different things differently" has been uttered several times by former National Organization for Marriage head Maggie Gallagher.

Just more ammunition for those of us who think that NOM is a sham group created and backed by the Catholic Church.

But there will be more on that later  . . .  

NOM won't stop exploiting African-Americans and lying about it

When an organization has been discovered to be deliberately exploiting hostilities between the gay and black communities on the subject of marriage equality, will that group:

a. deny that the allegation is true

b. say that the allegation is true while apologizing

c. claim that the discovery of the allegation is a plot while continuing to attempt to play the gay and black community like pawns, this time in a fundraising appeal.

The organization in question is the National Organization for Marriage, so you can guess the answer, And if you can't, the following photo posted on NOM's blog today should give you a clue:

It's a big turn from what former NOM head Maggie Gallagher said last night during a debate at Washington and Lee University in Virginia against gay author Andrew Sullivan:

Gallagher insisted that while the language in the memos was inappropriate, NOM’s racial strategies were acceptable.

“What NOM has actually done is go across the country and reach across lines of race, party, and color and religion to work with people who believe marriage is the union of a husband and wife for a reason,” Gallagher said.  “I don’t think that’s a racist or unethical strategy at all.”

Gallagher also said she didn’t like the language in the memos because it suggested that minority leaders only opposed gay marriage because of NOMs efforts.

“I think it’s disrespectful to the African and Hispanic leaders who have stood up because they oppose gay marriage in fights across the country,” Gallagher said. “For us to suggest that they are doing so as a result of being manipulated by white, suburban, Republican girls like me [is wrong].”

Don't let Gallagher's sad talking points fool you. Remember the wording of the documents:

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies,” reads one document. “Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key to raising the costs of pushing gay marriage to its advocates and persuading the movement’s allies that advocates are unacceptably overreaching on this issue. Consider pushing a marriage amendment in Washington D.C.; Find attractive young black Democrats to challenge white gay marriage advocates electorally.”

 
Gallagher continues to play this paragraph off like a minor blip, an unfortunate choice of words. But it's much more. There are too many words in this paragraph for it to be looked upon as a minor blip. Those words outline a deliberate strategy.

And every time Gallagher opens her mouth in a sad attempts to soothe shock over this, she only makes it worse.  She claims that NOM's goal  was to "go across the country and reach across lines of race, party, and color and religion to work with people who believe marriage is the union of a husband and wife for a reason."

If that was truly the goal, then words or phrases which denotes "togetherness" and "unity" would have been in the document.

Instead, the document talked about "wedges" and "fanning hostility."

It is insulting to think that African-American leaders or any leaders of any ethnicity can be manipulated. And Gallagher and NOM should be ashamed of themselves for attempting the manipulation.

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper.

'NOM demands investigation of the Human Rights Campaign' and other Thursday midday news briefs

NOM's latest attempt to save face? Accusing HRC of 'stealing' or 'working with a criminal' - Can you see the beads of sweat on Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown's face as they worked on this desperate press release. No doubt the religious right (and the right in general) will give this mess play, which will work in our favor.

Anti-Gay New York Senator Volunteers As Spokesperson For NOM’s Race-Baiting - Meanwhile, NOM's wedge plan goes on.

EA defends itself against thousands of anti-gay letters - It's just a video game, folks. Man, it must be nice to have thousands of sheep to control.

Oklahoma Church Welcomes Gays, Speaks Out Against ‘The Cobbler Passages’ Condemning Homosexuality - Amen!

Chile Passes Anti-Discrimination Law Following Daniel Zamudio's Death - It's kind sad when change has to come from such an awful incident rather than on its own.

Gay student receives apology after being publicly embarrassed by school official

The following is a true story to remind folks how far our community has come. There was a time that a gay youth wouldn't be brave enough to make such a public statement, to say nothing about being defended by so many people after said incident:

An assistant principal at Fullerton Union High School took to the school's public address system Wednesday and apologized for pulling a student off the stage of the school's so-called Mr. Fullerton competition after the young man made remarks in support of gay marriage.

The student, who was participating in the annual light-natured pageant, was asked by judges what he hoped his future had in store.

He reportedly replied that he hoped to find a partner and marry him if gay marriage were legal, according to a report in the Orange County Register. The student has not been identified.

Fullerton Joint Union High School District officials on Wednesday criticized the assistant principal, whose name hasn't been released, saying that the "matter was not handled appropriately." Supt. George J. Giokaris said in a statement that the "matter should have been handled privately."

The assistant principal met with the student, asking him if a public apology would make the situation worse for the student or embarrass him, the district said. The student told him it would be all right.

So on Wednesday, the district said the assistant principal apologized to the student by name and to the rest of the school community, acknowledging that he had handled the situation inappropriately.

The district, citing the confidentiality of personnel issues, declined to say whether any  disciplinary action against the administrator was taken.

What's inspiring about this story is how the young man's fellow students took the initiative to protest what they felt was an unfair action. Most likely, what they did led to the apology:

Friends of the student protested by passing out nearly 200 letters addressed to the assistant principal asking, "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

The letters included space for protestors to write a personal message. Senior Blake Danford, who helped organize the protest, said the group plans to deliver them to the assistant principal later in the week.

"This is an entire situation about bullying," Danford said.

Stories like this no doubt scares the religious right because it means quite simply in spite of all of their money, their connections, and their lies, they won't win in the end.

Change is coming and at the head of that change is the next generation, opening doors and stamping down ignorance.

I say bring it on.

Homophobic tweets made into a powerful, hard-to-watch PSA

This is a difficult PSA to watch. And it's supposed to be:



 From Equalitopia:

Charlotte Moore from Raleigh, North Carolina has created a PSA against homophobia after the Twitter hashtag #ToMyUnbornChild attracted homophobes to publicly announce that they would murder their child if he or she was gay.

#ToMyUnbornChild became a trending topic on Twitter a few weeks ago, and while most people used it to write loving tweets to their future children, some homophobes decided to do just the opposite.

@Homophobes, a Twitter account that retweets homophobes to expose their ignorance, published an article of 100 extremely homophobic tweets, which gained quite a bit of attention around the web.

Charlotte Moore was inspired, and decided to write and direct a PSA using the tweets. The video was produced by Brian Lee and Nick Heim.

From the video’s description:

I got the idea on a Thursday. By Sunday, we — me, my boyfriend, and whatever friends we could find to help us — had it filmed.

It’s easy to dehumanize hate speech online because we’ve gotten so used to seeing it. We tell ourselves that it’s the product of trolls, of random, anonymous strangers.

Except they’re not. They’re real people. Many of them will be parents. And some of their children will be gay.

'Minnesota students rebel against anti-gay lecture' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Minnesota Catholic High Schoolers Not Happy With Mandatory Marriage Discrimination Lecture - A story both sad and empowering. And it's got NOM's dirty fingerprints all over it.

Holy week in Maryland: Hide the eggs, not the naked politicking - And the Catholic Church is pushing other nonsense in Maryland.

Another few laps: Reports of Prop 5′s demise are premature (& proof Minnery knew he was spreading false information) - The tale of Prop 5's defeat in Anchorage, AL (which I posted about this morning) is getting more and more interesting.

Rep. Steve King Proposes A Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Approach To Gays In The Workplace - Because after all, why would gays want to talk about their families or have pictures of their loved ones at their desk. Heterosexuals don't do that. Oh wait . . .

Liberian Leaflets Call for Vigilante Actions Against Gays - How nice. A gay 'hit list' in Liberia.

Pro-gay ordinance defeated in a strange web of controversy

It's never my pleasure to report bad news:

Anchorage voters rejected a proposed ordinance to add legal protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people in a chaotic municipal election fraught with ballot shortages and high voter turnout in many precincts.

With more than 90 percent of the precincts reporting late Tuesday, 58 percent of voters had voted against Proposition 5, the equal rights ordinance that was far and away the most controversial and emotional component of this spring's election.

As of late Tuesday, neither side was claiming victory nor conceding defeat.

. . . An unexpectedly high turnout, with some polling places running out of ballots, resulted in a large number of votes that might be on "questioned" ballots, which have to be counted by hand. The final results may be days or longer away, said municipal clerk Barbara Gruenstein.

Reports began circulating late in the day Tuesday that some precincts were running out of ballots because of heavy turnout. By 7 p.m. -- an hour before polls were to close -- lines were long at many polling places and extra ballots were being rushed to precincts that had run out

There is more chaos to this story than meets the eye.

Alaska's LGBT blog, Bent Alaska was tweeting that there are several precincts in which every ballot is being challenged.

Jason Lamb of Channel  2 News is also tweeting about some strange incidents, including voters being turned away and also a possibility that folks who did not live in Anchorage voted on Prop 5.

The vote on Prop 5 was a definitely emotional, which the opposition exploited in the following ads:





Even NOM jumped in by sending a tweet to voters in Alaska to vote against Prop 5. It was a bizarre tweet, seeing that Prop 5 was a city-wide vote, not a state vote.

It also signaled the fact that NOM seems to be butting into other aspects of opposing gay equality rather than simply opposing marriage equality.