Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Monday, September 13, 2010

Zimbabwean father attacks, disowns gay son

To some of us, Zimbabwe may seem a world away, but this situation is a sign of the fact that the lgbt struggle for equality and dignity is a worldwide thing:

A BULAWAYO man has disowned his son and thrown him out of the family home in Tshabalala Extension after the 20 year-old confessed to being gay.

Irvine Mahachi told the Bulawayo-based Sunday News he was still struggling to come to terms with his son, Irvine Junior’s sexuality, which he described as “shameful and taboo”.

“I did not raise my son to be gay. I raised him to be a man. I expected him to chase after skirts like other boys but he never did that.

. . . the announcement stunned the family and his angry father said his wife had fainted when their son told them the shocking news.

“The manner in which he asked for an audience with me and my wife made me realise that something was wrong. He was nervous and not his usual self.

“I was so angry and shocked that I hit him with my fists, something that I have never done in my life. My wife suffers from high blood pressure and the shocking news almost killed her. Even today she is not herself,” Mahachi said.

He said Irvine was no longer welcome in the family home.

“As far as I am concerned I do not have a son anymore. The only child I have left is my lovely daughter. What Irvine has done is taboo and shameful. It’s unheard of in our African culture,” Mahachi is reported as saying.

More here

This is an ugly story but it's something to remember. No matter how many laws we pass in this country, no matter how we rage against "Gay Inc," or President Obama, or the religious right, or whoever else, the struggle for lgbt equality is worldwide. And while we fight for what we want in the United States, let's never forget those lgbts in other counties who are in a worse state than us.

Let our minds, hearts, and prayers be with them.

NH Senate candidate opposes gay adoption and other Monday midday news briefs

This is a video which should get us all angry. Yet another potential legislator (Republican NH candidate for Senate Kelly Ayotte) using silly talking points rather than addressing a problem. All families which provide love and support to children should be uplifted. We have no business creating caste systems for families in this country.

Hat tip to Pam's House Blend

In other news:

Iowa For Freedom: Liars. - Whatever to the good old days when folks told lies that weren't so damned blatant that they were pitiful?

Tenn. Lesbian Couple’s Home Torched - THIS is what terrorism looks like.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist prepared to endorse broad swath of gay rights - Say what you will about this electoral season, it's yielding some wild incidents.

NOM: Desperate in DC - Any Monday in which the National Organization for Marriage looks like idiots isn't a total bad day.

50 Cent under fire over `gay wedding bloodbath` tweets - Great. Just what the world is waiting for. A "beef" between 50 Cent and Perez Hilton.

Homophobic pastor's son speaks in Charleston

Nate Phelps, the son of the homophobic Westboro pastor Fred Phelps came to Charleston, SC last week as a part of a program held by Alliance For Full Acceptance, an education and advocacy group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

From what I hear, it was a pretty awesome speech. But for those who missed it (myself included), this interview with the Charleston media will have to suffice.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - The Proud Family

The Proud Family is a popular Disney animated series about the adventures of an African-American family and most specifically the daughter in the family, Penny Proud.

It is also a show that actually dealt with the bullying of an lgbt youngster without actually mentioning the word "gay."

In the episode Who You Callin' A Sissy, one of Penny's friends, Michael gets called a "sissy" after he defeats another young man on the basketball court. While everyone is shocked, Michael laughs it off.

However, soon the other children either start to tease or avoid Michael. And yet he still laughs it off.

Then the episode gets weird. Apparently a mysterious unseen monster begins attacking and humiliating Michael's supposed friends, the ones who began turning their back on him.

The entire thing culiminates at the school dance where Penny has to confront the "monster," who turns out to be (spoiler alert) Michael's personified anger (pertinent part of the clip starts at 6:04):

Transgender officeseeker smeared by Sally Kern group and other Friday midday news briefs

GOP Senate Candidate Pat Toomey: No On Hate Crimes Legislation - Too late. We already got it.

Group backing Sally Kern calls her transgender opponent Brittany Novotny ‘a confused it’ - Ah yes. Sally Kern. Woman's answer to Peter LaBarbera.

GLAAD Urges Media to Expose Anti-Gay Candidates - I've got a better idea. How about we raise such a stink about these candidates (with GLAAD leading the way) that the media can't HELP BUT TO put attention on their nasty positions.

Why Not Just Invite Terry Jones To the Values Voter Summit? - EXCELLENT point by People for the American Way about the "let's burn the Koran pastor."

Lesbian couple fighting Florida's anti-gay adoption law

In this hoopla regarding Don't Ask, Don't Tell, let's not forget the other situations involving lgbt equality, most specifically gay adoption in Florida:

Vanessa Alenier's fight to raise an infant relative seized by state child welfare administrators ended up Wednesday exactly where she had hoped it wouldn't: in a Florida courtroom filled with lawyers and advocates on both sides of the state's politically charged gay-adoption law.

Alenier, who accepted custody of her relative after the state Department of Children & Families seized him from a mother they declared unfit, had hoped her adoption of the boy would occur quietly and without the political spectacle that had surrounded previous adoptions by gay Floridians. But on Wednesday morning, Alenier and her partner, Melanie Leon, sat quietly as a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeal heard arguments by attorneys on both sides.

``This isn't what we wanted,'' Alenier said following the hearing. ``We just wanted a quiet adoption.''

Alenier took custody of the baby boy just days after he was born on Jan. 9 2009. She fostered the child before requesting an adoption -- which Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia approved last January.

Since 1977, Florida has allowed gay men and lesbians to foster abused and neglected children -- but specifically forbids them from adopting. The law now is facing its most serious challenge in decades, as three South Florida judges have declared it unconstitutional and approved adoptions by gay families.

More here

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Judge rules DADT unconstitutional!

Like I said on Facebook, based upon the year we are having, the lgbt community should start feeling like Bonnie Raitt after she started winning all of the Grammys after 20 years in the music industry:

A federal judge in Riverside declared the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional Thursday, saying the “don't ask, don't tell” policy violates the 1st Amendment rights of lesbians and gay men.

U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips said the policy banning gays did not preserve military readiness, contrary to what many supporters have argued, saying evidence shows that the policy in fact had a “direct and deleterious effect’’ on the military.

Phillips said she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the policy. However, the U.S. Department of Justice, which defended “don’t ask, don’t tell” during a two-week trial in Riverside, will have an opportunity to appeal that decision.

The ruling comes just over a month after a federal judge in San Francisco tossed out California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, providing back-to-back victories for gay rights advocates seeking policy changes in the courts that have eluded them in Congress and at the ballot box. The case was filed by the Log Cabin Republicans, the largest political organization for gays in the GOP, in 2004.

There will be more details (Lord, there will be more details) as folks will have time to analyze this ruling.

One thing though - PRESIDENT OBAMA, DO NOT APPEAL IT!!