It's not all about you know who - - Let's not forget our children

So that I don't get Peter LaBarbera'ed out and you all don't get tired me talking about him, I want to direct attention to another subject: our children.

It's no secret that lgbts are coming out at a younger age. Personally, I applaud their boldness. I also applaud the fact that they are not settling for being pushed in the background of their age groups and being seen as loner oddballs.

These children are starting GSAs all over the country and they should be supported. There are a lot of intentional misconceptions regarding GSAs. I know I am preaching to the choir when I say that these are not sex clubs, but places where our lgbt children can get support so that they make intelligent decisions regarding sex and all.

I said all of this to spotlight the following:

DeLand High club 'singularly important' for gay students

By EILEEN ZAFFIRO
Staff Writer

DELAND -- One boy whose hair reaches halfway down his back wore a camouflage tank top, light blue nail polish, blue eye shadow and a thick silver chain around his neck.

Another boy with a hint of a Marilyn Manson look donned bracelets, a ring and jet black nail polish that matched his ebony hair.

A girl sported blue and purple hair, striped leggings, a red plaid skirt and a T-shirt with pastel-colored hearts.

It was the weekly gathering of DeLand High School's Gay Straight Alliance, and a girl that probably would have blended in better playing flute in the band or running laps at track practice was so overcome with emotion she burst into tears.

"This is like the first time I ever felt welcome at anything," she sobbed as she blotted her eyes with a tissue. "I know I look like the redneck or preppie girl. That's just classification. My whole life I've been dealing with this. I always feel like the black sheep, even in my family. You guys just accepted me. You make me feel so welcome."

Another girl in the room sighed, "Oh, group hug," and within seconds teenage arms hugged away the tears and the kids offered a compassionate ear and advice only they knew how to give.

The article goes on and is really good. BUT to me, a crucial part of the story are the comments made about the article.

There are many ignorant people in the world as some of the comments demonstrate. But at the same time, there are many who support our children.

Feel free to read and add your support to the GSA.

Peggy Lee said it best: Is that all there is?

Our friend Peter LaBarbera just won't let it go.

In my last post, I talked (on this site also) about how he (with help from Rush Limbaugh) took an award to be given at the Creating Change conference and exaggerated it to the point of lunacy.

At first, the two tried to link the conference (and the Democratic National Convention) to sadomaschism due to the ties of one of the honorees.

Today it seems, his aspirations have gone down.

Peter is no longer linking sadomaschism to the DNC. He just has a clip of Guy Baldwin accepting his award.

Of course I also noticed that while Peter bragged earlier on the fact that Limbaugh talked about his "discovery," he did not link to Limbaugh's article.

Could it be because Limbaugh straight out lied and said the Creating Change conference was an S&M event sponsored by the DNC?

Who knows. Either, I am unimpressed.

Damn Peter, you must be slipping.

Well that didn't last long - Distorting the Creating Change conference

Truer words were never spoken.

Leave it to the anti-gay industry to wake me up.

Our friend Peter LaBarbera, in attempting to make everyone forget his huge faux pas about the MRSA infection, is on another kick.

This time, he is railing against the Creating Change event put on the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

And knowing Peter, he is taking the "sadomachistic angle:"

Well, folks, the Party of Perversion is at it again. This time the DNC (Democratic National Committee) — as a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s(NGLFT) “Leadership Council” (Advocate’s Circle) — gave at least $2,500 to the Task Force, whose “Creating Change” conference in Detroit is presenting its “Leather Leadership Award” to Guy Baldwin, an advocate of “erotic” and “consensual slavery.” How sick is that?

Please note the fact that while Peter whines about being called "Porno Pete," he has no problems throwing out ugly names.

And apparently, he is proud that Rush Limbaugh is talking about "his discovery." Here is what Rush Limbaugh is saying:

DNC Sponsors S&M Event

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is holding its annual 'Creating Change' conference in Detroit this week. Its sponsors claim to have trained more than 30,000 activists since 1988. Peter LaBarbera with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality has reported on the event in the past. The event's handbook even addresses 'transgender restroom etiquette.'" The Democrat Party is endorsing this event where they will be presenting an award, this is in Detroit, the Creating Change Conference, they will be presenting an award for sadomasochism. "A sponsorship acknowledgement notes that the Democratic National Committee gave at least $2,500 to help pay for the event. The recipient of the 'Leather Leadership Award' is Guy Baldwin."

Of course this is going to elicit an interesting dialogue about certain facets of the lgbt community and such. Already some is happening here.

But here is the thing I am concerned about:

Rush Limbaugh and Peter is distorting the story. The Democratic National Convention is not hosting an S&M event. The Creating Change conference is NOT a sadomaschistic event.

Creating Change is the one and only time each year that more than 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from every corner of the country converge to strategize, socialize and mobilize for LGBT equality.It features top-level trainings, workshops, networking sessions and action-planning with our movement’s best thinkers and brightest innovators — oh yeah, there’s also tons of opportunities for socializing, meeting up with old friends and making lots of new ones.

In the grand scheme of things, the Creating Change conference is no different than that ridiculous gathering where they booed John McCain yesterday. Nor is it different from "Justice Sunday" or any other event where people gather and strategize.

Peter, Rush Limbaugh, and maybe others are taking one possibly objectionable action (i.e. giving an award to Guy Baldwin) and trying create an ugly controversy

Now whether or not it is advisable to give an award to Guy Baldwin would be an interesting discussion and frankly I would like to hear both sides rather than insane caterwauling by Peter and Rush and hasty reactions to this caterwauling.

After all, other folks are being honored:

Barbara Satin will receive the Allan Morrow Community Service Award, for outstanding leadership and advocacy in aging and elder concerns.

Mandy Carter will receive the Susan J. Hyde Activism Award for longevity in the movement. (And I have a personal happiness over this. I know Mandy Carter and she is one of my mentors. She deserves every honor she receives.)

Mia Mingus, a reproductive rights activist, will also be honored with the Creating Change

Jon Stryker, founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, will receive the Creating Change Award...Arcus is a private foundation that supports groups advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights and groups working globally to promote great ape conservation.

I repeat, whether or not Baldwin deserves an award is a good discussion. But please let's not get so caught up in the discussion that we don't recognize Peter's tactics. They are same ones he used to brand all lgbts via the MRSA infection. Remember in that case, he took a portion of a study and used it try and link the infection to lgbts and HIV:

Is this not an eerie reminder of the initial stories 25 years ago about AIDS -- then called GRID (Gay-Related Immunodeficiency Disease)? It is unfathomable that after that plague, disease specialists and the media are now surprised at the correlation of new infections with homosexual behavior;

In this case, he is taking a debatable award and trying to use it to negatively brand a very good conference and all lgbts in general:

And if he has to backtrack, he will probably create a straw man argument in this case just as he did in the case of the MRSA infection.

I can see it now:

I did not try to say that people would be having sadomachistic sex during the awards banquet, I was merely pointing out that they were giving an award to Guy Baldwin.

Peter's exploits just reinforces my belief that he is a generous person.

The more he opens his mouth, the more he gives away his ignorance.

Bad timing for writer's block

Unbelievable. Or maybe I am just tired.

I was supposed to be posting my black history month column yesterday but I haven't even put it to paper yet.

I am basically tired and it's the worst time for it. This election is promising to be very interesting (i.e. Dobson endorsing Huckabee, "suicide voters?," McCain catching hell) and I am too pooped to do anything.

Bear with my y'all and don't stop reading. I will be over it by this weekend.

Knowing our friends in the anti-gay industry, they will do something extraordinarily stupid that will shake the weariness off of me.

The day after Super Tuesday

I apologize for the short post today. Leona, (I mean mother) wants me to cook tonight.

She is doing well and her ankle is healing nicely. I hope it heals very soon.

Anyway, today I got stopped on the street by a co-worker. This child has been pumped up about the 2008 election. Every time she sees me on the streets, she goes into an Obama chant.

I really don't mind. As corny as it seems, I would like to see more African-Americans pumped up about voting.

I'm really hoping that McCain gets the Republican nomination. I want to see Ann Coulter actually campaign for Hilary Clinton, or whoever gets the Democratic nomination.

Anyway, I will post tomorrow. I am working on a huge Black History Month column that I hope to finish by then.

One more thing:

Our worst nightmare: Hucka-VP

Oh God, no.

Rumblings on the horizon

It's Super Tuesday, and I know everyone's mind is on the upcoming election.

However since this site is one that believes in pre-planning and strategy, I want to make everyone aware of something to place in the back of their mind . . .

Or as C.S. Lewis once said, "something worth knowing."

ENDA will be coming soon and I have a suspicion that the anti-gay industry is already formulating a battle plan.

And it involves the transgender community, bathrooms, and locker rooms.

Remember a while back when I talked about a group's ridiculous stunt in testing a non-discrimination law. They allegedly sent a man dressed as a woman into a women's locker room at the local gym.

Well I am getting rumblings that this stunt may not have been unsucessful. At press time, it seems that the group may have gotten half the signatures they need to push a referendum of the law. Of course they need to get the other half by next week, but the fact of the matter is that their fear tactics may have been successful.

And (this has not been confirmed) it seems that they were getting help from pastors telling their congregants that the law would lead to men being able to invade ladies' restrooms.

I will be keeping abreast of this situation.

Then there is this from Florida:

A heated and vocal response to a new Gainesville ordinance that extends rights to transgender individuals has garnered national attention.

. . . Business owners say they are concerned about the public accommodation portion of the ordinance, which requires people not be denied access to public facilities based on the fact that they identify with a gender other than what they were born as.

Joe Cirulli, founder of Gainesville Health & Fitness Centers, the city's largest fitness provider, was among those who waited in line to address the City Commission Monday night. His comments were quick and to the point: How would this affect GH&FC, which provides showers and locker rooms for both men and women at all its centers except for its one women's center that has facilities only for women.

Then comes this lovely gem from our friend Peter LaBarbera:

‘T’-Party at Creating Change in Detroit - ‘Each of Us Can Decide for Ourselves in which Bathroom We Belong’

This is not going to be the end of it. I suspect when ENDA comes up again, we are going to be inudated with horror stories of men in ladies bathrooms and locker rooms.

I sincerely hope that I am not the only one who notices this.

Why the David Parkers of the world must continue to lose

First of all, a BIG acknowledgement to my online buddy, Pam Spaulding for her inclusion in the National Black Justice Coalition's LGBT Black History Profiles.

A very deserving honor indeed.

This weekend, a federal appeals court ruled against parent David Parker in his crusade against his son's elementary school.

First, a recap via Box Turtle Bulletin:

In January 2005, Jacob Parker brought home a diversity book bag from his kindergarten. Included in the bag was books about other cultures and traditions, food recipes, and a book called Who’s in a Family. The illustrations included various family constructions: single parents, mom-dad-kids, grandparents, mixed-race families, and same-sex parents.

David Parker, his father, decided that young Jacob was entitled to ignorance of the existence of same-sex headed families. He set out to change school policy so that his child not be exposed to that fact. He extended his demands to include any discussion of same-sex parenting, regardless of the context or setting - including any conversations of children of gay or lesbian parents.

Because the school district has a large number of same-sex families, many with children attending the school, the administration deemed Parker’s request to be nearly impossible.

This resulted in a string of emails and eventually Parker showed up in the administrative offices and refused to leave until his demands were met. At the end of the day, police were called and, when Parker refused the police requests to leave, he was arrested for trespassing.

Dr. Paul Ash, superintendent of Lexington Public Schools, said the school tried to be accommodating.

“The school department said, ‘Look, we’ll work with you, but we cannot assure you what a child is going to say and that we can immediately stop a discussion that you find objectionable,’” said Ash. “One of the central units in kindergarten is the discussion of families and we show families of all different types.” Ash says the discussions “ended up in an irreconcilable difference.”

In June 2006, the Parkers sued the school in federal court for civil right violations.

They were joined by the Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, parents of a second grader in the same district. On a day in which the school discussed marriage, a teacher read King and King, a book in which a prince doesn’t fall for a princess but for another prince instead. Although marriage laws in Massachusetts include same-sex couples, the Wirthlins believe that such marriages should be excluded from discussion about marriages in the classroom.

A few days after filing their suit, David Parker’s credibility came under question. He spread a story that his child, Jacob, was beaten by students for David Parker’s anti-gay stance and suggested that school teachers or the administration were behind the beating.

After much press in the anti-gay conservative Christian media, the facts were released. It turned out to be nothing greater than a schoolyard scuffle over who sat next to whom in the cafeteria.

In February 2007, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf dismissed the lawsuit.

In his 38-page decision, Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of US District Court said that under the US Constitution, public schools are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”

“Diversity is a hallmark of our nation,” he said.

The Parkers and Wirthlins appealed the decision. Yesterday the three judge appeals panel unanimously upheld Judge Wolf’s decision.

The Parker case was one of serious interest to me. It took place when I was writing Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters. In fact, I included the case as an example of how the anti-gay industry distorts current events to fit their agenda.

But something else needs to be said about it. I think that Parker's lawsuit was yet another way that the anti-gay industry will not acknowledge the presence of lgbt families.

Parker was told that children living in same-sex led households attended the same school as his son, but he would not acknowledge this. Nor did Peter LaBarbera, the Traditional Values Coalition, Mass Resistance, or any other group supporting Parker.

Being honest about the situation, their omissions of these families was intentional. Acknowledging the fact the lgbts are raising families would interfere with the anti-gay industry image of lgbts being hedonistic outsiders with no care of family obligations or responsibility.

But the fact of the matter is that there are same-sex led families throughout the United States, these families are raising children rather well, and these families should have the same type of acknowledgement as opposite sex families.

More importantly, we don't need to creating caste systems regarding families. Parker's right as a parent does not supersede the right of a child to not have his family given some sort of Scarlet Letter.

A child shouldn't have to wonder why a teacher is stopping class and taking some classmates out of the room just because he wants to talk about his two mothers or she wants to talk about her two daddies.

Schools should never be in the business of placing mental asteriks on families that tell children, "your family is a good one but since it doesn't fit the definition of a normal family, it will always be second best."

For the sake of all children and all families, the David Parkers, the Peter LaBarberas, and the James Dobsons must lose when they try to impose their defintion of family on us all.