Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
The above video by the Full Frontal Freedom demonstrates the importance of tomorrow's marriage equality votes.
In four states, Minnesota, Maryland, Maine, and Washington State, voters will decide the whether or not they support the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry.
It looks good right now. At least one victory would create a huge chink in the armor of the religious right's fight to stop marriage equality.
Of course why stop with one victory. Let's go for a clean sweep and I think it can happen.
Also even if you don't live in any of the above states, it is important that you vote tomorrow. You don't have to decide who you want to vote for based on a single issue, but remember what's at stake.
For better or worse, Obama has been an excellent ally to our community and we have accomplished a lot with him. If he is re-elected, we have the potential to accomplish so much more.
A vote for Romney is a vote for people like Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown and for organizations like the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council.
Imagine them close to the White House and shaping policy which in turn would affect the lgbt community.
If the thought scares the hell out of you or gets you angry, then good. Get your asses up and vote tomorrow.
Don't sit on your behind, not vote, and then talk about how angry you are at the outcome because this time, the first words out of my mouth to you will be:
As you can see by the above video, the National Organization for Marriage is exploiting the David Parker controversy.
The following is the story Parker and NOM wants to push - David Parker, a Massachusetts father was concerned that his son was learning about gay marriage and same-sex relationships in school. He asked that his son be opted out when there were discussions of homosexuality (i.e. same-sex families) because of an opt-out policy involving sex education. Instead of working with him, the school, Joseph Estabrook Elementary, gave him the runaround and subsequently had him arrested.
Of course the truth includes a lot of details which Parker omitted. When his son brought home a book which mentioned a same-sex family (editor's note - Parker's son was given what was called a "diversity book bag." This wouldn't have happened had Parker signed the form which would have opted his son out of receiving the book bag). When Parker informed the school of this, they assured him that "learning about homosexuality" was not a part of his son's curriculum. They also told Parker that opting his son out of discussions of same-sex families was not possible because some children in his son's class are from those environments and children talking about their families isn't the same as learning about sex education. Parker was subsequently arrested for trespassing when he would not leave the school after a meeting with school officials.
It's a story which I and others have debunked repeatedly. Not that it matters, of course because you know how religious right organizations work. Once they find a "good story" about supposedly oppressive homosexuals, they repeat it constantly no matter how many times it has been proven to be false.
But with Parker, there is a subliminal distaste which should be noted and brought to the forefront.
The message of the video seems to be thus - homosexuals want to sway your children's minds while they are young so parents have to be on guard.
The video doesn't talk derogatorily about same-sex families. It doesn't even acknowledge that they exist.
And that's the problem. Same-sex families exist in every state in the country. And there is nothing wrong or dangerous with children being told of this fact because that's what it is - a simple fact.
Same sex families exist and they are as normal as heterosexual families.
An outcome of what NOM is pushing would lead to the children in these households being given covert messages that their families are inferior. And that's wrong.
Why should a little girl or little boy with gay parents be made to feel like there something wrong with their households - and subsequently them - just to accommodate those who think they have the patent on the word "family?"
So I am with any school who defends the rights of children to be proud of their families.
The video above seeks to erase these families from minds.
But you can't erase something you had no hand in creating.
(Editor's note - the video's like/dislike button and its comment sections are not disabled. By all means feel free to register your opinions of this trash.)
. . . Kluwe, over Twitter, announced that he will no longer contribute his "Out Of Bounds" blog to the paper. And it's not because the paper's editors disagree with him on the issue of marriage equality. It's because they are opposing marriage equality while pretending to take no position at all. In his statement,Kluwewrites:
Sent my email to the @PioneerPress informing them I will no longer contribute to their blog network. It will be my last post on the site. I will not be associated with any organization that tries to pull some bullshit like that. Have the strength of your convictions. Will post my last piece after walk through, and then it's time for Seattle. I'll look for a new blog site Monday and let you all know."
He later underscored the point (over thecourseoffourtweets): "My main issue with the Pioneer Press editorial is this: It's a lie. I have no problem with them taking a position I disagree with. What concerns me is them presenting a completely biased piece (word choice, examples used, conclusions) as a neutral position.
If you are feeling like I am today, you are hit by the double shots of political burnout and Friday euphoria.
That being the case, enjoy not a long post from me about equality or religious right deception, but a video courtesy of "your friend and mine" (I'm being extremely sarcastic there) the former comedian and now right-wing commentator Victoria Jackson as she interviews and gets schooled by a young gay activist in September.
The young man is a nice spokesman who handles himself well even when bombarded with Jackson's ignorance and that of someone who felt the need to make himself known on camera.
Of course had it been yours truly, I wouldn't have been so nice.
Yes I could rage like I usually do against the religious right. And there is a time for such things.
And sometimes, there is a time to celebrate just being who we are and the following picture of actor Neil Patrick Harris, his spouse David Burtka, and their two children on Halloween is being posted as a sign of celebration and pride for the same-sex families who are raising children and doing it quite well:
While it is true that not all same-sex families have the means and the funds that this one does, the love and support I see coming from these families (and I know quite a few) are more than all of the riches in the world.
So I have a question for those supposedly moral people out there who are always whining about the alleged homosexual agenda:
Why do you dislike theses families so much that you pretend they don't exist?
