Know Your LGBT History - Nell Carter

I was especially sadden when actress and singer Nell Carter passed away in 2003. She was one of the few celebrities I had wanted to meet. She was truly an awesome lady.





From Wikipedia:

Born Nell Ruth Hardy in 1948 to Horace and Edna Mae Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, Carter was one of nine children. She overcame adversity and personal hardships before finding success as an actress. Her father died in an accident with a power line. A man raped her when she was 16, and she became pregnant from the attack, giving birth to a daughter, Tracy.

She was in the 1971 rock opera Soon, which closed after three performances. She was the Music Director for the 1974 Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective's production of "What Time of Night It Is". Carter appeared alongside Bette Davis in the 1974 stage musical Miss Moffat, based on Davis' earlier film The Corn Is Green. The show closed before making it to Broadway. She broke into stardom in the musical Ain't Misbehavin, for which she won a Tony Award in 1978. She also won an Emmy for the same role in a televised performance in 1982. Additional Broadway credits included Dude and Annie.

In 1979, she had a part in the Miloš Forman-directed musical film adaptation of Hair. Her vocal talents are showcased throughout the motion picture soundtrack. One of the more memorable moments in the film involves her rendition of the song "White Boys" where she can be seen dancing playfully as she performs the song (alongside Ain't Misbehavin co-star, Charlayne Woodard).

In 1978, Carter was cast as Effie White in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, but departed the production during development to take a television role on the ABC-TV soap opera, Ryan's Hope in New York. When Dreamgirls premiered in late 1981, Jennifer Holliday had taken over the lead. Carter also took a role on television's The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, before landing a steady role as housekeeper Nell Harper on the sitcom Gimme a Break!, for which she earned Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominations. The popular show lasted from 1981 to 1987.

'NOM ally - Use chemicals to 'cure' gays' and other Friday midday news briefs

New York Rabbi: Use Chemicals To ‘Cure’ Homosexuality - And this guy just happens to be an ally of the National Organization for Marriage. But just use chemicals. Why not shock treatment? They used to do that once. I bet NOM will register no comment on this one.

NJ Family Policy Council: Homosexuality Is Unhealthy, Can Be Cured, Linked To Pedophilia- Old lies die hard, don't they?

Top 10 questions on next steps in the Prop 8 trial - What you need to know about the next step in the Prop 8 trial.

Glitter-Bombing: Is It Fabulous Or Foolish? (POLL) - Glitter-bombing is lazy and stupid. Visibility for the sake of visibility is counterproductive. And the best work for equality is not done in front of the cameras. We need to organize and marshal all allies in this battle.

Supporting Ellen DeGeneres = supporting fisting for children?

Ellen DeGeneres

By now, you all know of the ridiculous attack on JC Penny by the religious right group One Million Moms simply because the company has partnered up with popular lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres,

It hasn't gone well for One Million Moms (a sham offshot of the anti-gay hate group the American Family Association). Many folks have been turned off of the boycott because it's nothing more than wanton homophobia. This group don't like DeGeneres because she is a lesbian. In fact, not only has JC Penny dug in, but people, such as radio personality Howard Stern, have voiced strong support of the store and DeGeneres,

But like a moron who continues bash his head against a brick wall while ignoring the pain, One Million Moms and its supporters slog on.

Sandy Rios

Take for example this awful piece written by former Concerned Women for America employee Sandy Rios:

Imagine you had to make a case against Ellen DeGeneres being the new spokesman for JCPenney. Ellen is charming and delightful ... witty, warm and engaging. What's not to like about Ellen DeGeneres? And yet for thousands ... yeah millions of Penney's customers, it is an unsettling proposition.

American Family Association's OneMillionMoms have said as much. In fact they've asked JCPenney to reconsider their choice of a spokesperson. They've launched a campaign to get Penney customers to tell the retailer how they feel. But thousands are fighting back, including the new CEO of JCPenney, former Apple executive Ron Johnson, who said, "I think Ellen is someone we all trust. She's loveable, likeable, honest and funny, but at her soul, we trust her." On-line petitions have sprung up sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination, GLAAD, in fierce defense of DeGeneres. It's the intolerant Religious Right pitted against the affable and charming Ellen DeGeneres and really, on that basis it is a losing battle.

School superintendent stands up to 'ex-gay' group

The recent controversy regarding an ex-gay group, PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays) distributing flyers to students at a Maryland school district just took an interesting turn.

Montgomery School Superintendent Joshua Starr expressed his opinion about the controversy and he didn't mince any words. According to Pink News:

Superintendent Starr said the school was legally bound to allow the group to spread their message, as it is with all non-profit organisations, even though the group’s message that sexuality can be changed is rejected by medical professional bodies.

He reportedly told students: “This group has figured out how to use that law to spread what I find to be a really, really disgusting message, frankly.”

Needless to say, PFOX officials were angry at Starr's words. They are demanding that Starr be censured:

Regina Griggs, executive director of PFOX said: “We call on the Montgomery County Board of Education to enforce its Nondiscrimination Policy and censure Starr immediately.

“The Policy mandates that schools provide ‘an atmosphere where differences are understood and appreciated, and where all persons are treated fairly and with respect in an environment free of discrimination and … abuse.’ Clearly Superintendent Starr has violated the Board’s Policy.

“Starr’s verbal abuse, disrespectful behavior, and slurs against the ex-gay community amount to hate and illegal sexual orientation discrimination, which are all forbidden by the Policy.”

I frankly think that Griggs is full of it. Starr has not stopped the schools from distributing the flyers so I fail to see where there is any discrimination.

Truth Wins Out, an organization dedicated to fighting  the lies of "ex-gay groups" also points out the irony of PFOX officials whining about Starr's statement:

The president of PFOX, Greg Quinlan, refers to LGBT people as “flaming faggots” and a board member, Peter Sprigg, supports imprisoning LGBT people and once claimed we should be “exporting” homosexuals. The despicable organization even has a “prayer” on its site that says: “Father, I want to thank you for the awesome change you have wrought in MY life. How you allowed me to survive while I was trapped under the deception of homosexuality, that it even resembled ‘life’.”

PFOX’s former President, Richard Cohen, was permanently expelled from the American Counseling Association for multiple ethics violations. Prior to his stint at PFOX, Cohen was a Moonie and once even belonged to the Wesleyan Community Church, a Vashon Island cult that practiced naked “therapy” in churches. Cohen’s therapy outfit, The International Healing Foundation, sent a representative to Uganda to speak alongside a holocaust revisionist at a conference with the goal of “wiping out” homosexuality.

In my opinion, Starr's comments about PFOX's message being disgusting was on the mark, if rather a bit too nice for my tastes. He should have made comments about the organization's cast of characters.

Hat tip to Truth Wins Out.

'Gays will lose because they are perverts' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Editor's note - It is rare that I receive negative comments on my posts and it is even rarer that I feature these posts. However a comment today on my Chai Feldblum post deserves a spotlight. A certain anonymous (funny how they are always anonymous) commentator wrote me the following:

Sorry, guys, but you will loose in the end. Last time I checked, the Sun was still coming up in the East. You are perverts not because of your sexual proclivities but because of your mentality. Zero sum game, as Chai said. Normal people win, you loose.

Of course I had to answer him/her back. To read what I said, go to the post in question. And if you feel the need to respond to him/her yourself, by all means please do. Don't be too mean (no threats or vulgar language) or try to totally annihilate the child.. Save some for other commentators.

In other news:

Marriage Equality Bill Introduced in Illinois - In 2004, anti-marriage equality bills hit the country like a tidal wave. I think it's time for us to have a tidal wave of our own.

Eye doctor warns of dangers 
of political protest 
on gay 
marriage - Stop this glitter-bombing shit now!

Uganda gov’t says it does not support anti-gay bill reintroduced to parliament this week - Let us pray that this awful bill does not succeed.

Truth Wins Out to Slam Newt Gingrich for Hypocrisy on Marriage Equality in Thursday Roll Call Ad - Pluck that turkey, Truth Wins Out!

Another religious liberty fraud bites the dust

Marcia Walden

In the middle of all of the controversy about Roland Martin, Proposition 8, and Washington state, I almost missed this positive strike against the fraudulent talking point of "religious liberty:"

The federal appeals court in Atlanta has rejected claims by a former counselor for the CDC who said she was was fired for refusing to advise employees in same-sex relationships because of her religious beliefs.

The court said it accepted Marcia Walden's sincerity that her devout Christian beliefs prohibited her from counseling clients in same-sex relationships. But it found Walden was laid off because her superiors disapproved of the way she referred a lesbian client to another counselor and were concerned how she would handle future referrals.

Walden's lawyer, Byron Babione, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, expressed disappointment with the ruling. "It is unlawful to punish a Christian for abiding by her faith, particularly when she made every effort to accommodate the interests of a potential client," he said. "... We are determining next steps to ultimately vindicate Marcia and the freedoms for which she’s fighting."

Walden's lawyer and those whining about the supposed violation her "religious liberty" conveniently omit the entirety of the case. 

BREAKING - Washington state House of Representatives passes marriage equality bill

Simply awesome:

The state House Senate voted 55-43 Wednesday afternoon to legalize same-sex marriage.

On Feb. 1, the state Senate voted 28-21 in favor of marriage equality.

Next up, the bill goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who has vowed that she will sign it into law.

During Wednesday’s session, the House swiftly voted down every single amendment offered by Republicans that would have altered the bill.

Then, the floor debate began with Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle. Pedersen shared with his fellow lawmakers about how domestic partnership is not equal to marriage equality, and how it has impacted him and his partner, Eric, and their four children. His heartfelt speech was also punctuated with humor, invoking gentle laughter.

Rep. Jay Rodne, R-North Bend, spoke out against marriage equality. Rodne argued that “marriage is about life,” as in procreation, and that gays and lesbians will not gain “validation and acceptance” via marriage. He gave the usual spiel offered by conservatives and the Religious Right, spitting out half-truths and falsehoods.

Rodne, visibly angry, said he took solace that the bill could be undone by a future legislature or at the ballot box. He then plopped down in his seat, a grimace crossing his face.

Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, smiled at lawmakers as she spoke in favor of “traditional marriage.” She falsely claimed that religious institutions are under attack over this issue.

Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said the bill was “about couples, about family, about kids, about love and about commitment.” She talked about her partner of 23 years and how they fit too much into the category of soccer moms.

“I’m voting for this bill because it strengthens families,” Jinkins said.

More details here. Congratulations to the folks of Washington State!

Fake black leaders always ignore gay communities of color

So CNN put Roland Martin on suspension for his homophobic Superbowl tweets.

Good, but pardon me for not dancing in the streets. I used to like Martin but gradually I began to peg him as another one of those phony leaders in the African-American community.

I'm talking about the type who are always talking about being the voice of the black community or coming out with something they call "The State of Black America."

What they actually mean is that they are the voice of the heterosexual black community and that "State of Black America" seems to always omit the lgbtq community of color.

Don't get me wrong though. They always come around to us when its National HIV Testing Day. God forbid that they would have to acknowledge that we have lives having nothing to do with catching diseases. Or that many of us are highly successful and are raising children. Or - gasp and swoon - many of us attending affirming churches.

And they definitely won't talk about issues such as the recent one involving the brutal gay bashing of that young man, 20-year-old Brandon White:



The sad thing is not Martin's tweet, it's the fact that he and lot of other black leaders will probably ignore this incident, even though it is the symptom of a degree of ugliness in the black community.

If it were a black man attacked by a group of whites, there would have been a huge ado. If it were a straight black man attacked by other black men, then we would hear about how awful it is that young black men are killing each other.

But because it was a gay black man, there seems to be a sad silence. And please don't think that it's not deliberate.

It is deliberate.

And it's something that me and my lgbtq brothers and sisters are used to. You see, if we were heterosexual, Martin and so many other black leaders in the public eye would use their platforms to lift us up. However because we are lgbtqs of color, they use their platforms to hold us down and out of sight.

'Victim of brutal gay bashing speaks out' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Beating victim to speak out - Good for him! We are on your side, my friend. Stay strong.

Myth: ‘Gays make more money than non-gays’ - If one wanted to write a piece on the myths perpetrated against the gay community, it would fill a 26 volume encyclopedia.

The making of gay marriage’s top foe - A definitive piece on NOM's Maggie Gallagher. Not necessarily salacious but it gives a bleak picture of her fight against marriage equality.

Ellen Responds To ‘One Million Moms’ Boycott Of JC Penney: ‘My Haters Are My Motivators’- Handle your business Ellen!

Religious right spokesman tells deliberate lie on Obama appointee

Robert Knight deliberately smears Chai Feldblum

Robert Knight is a longtime stalwart in the religious right, fighting against lgbtq equality in organizations such as the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and the Coral Ridge Ministries.

He also has a reputation of either relying on junk science or making stuff up and doubling down when questioned on it. I witnessed this last year during a short brouhaha between he and I over a speech President Obama made after that awful shooting in Arizona.

Yesterday, Knight wrote a piece attacking marriage equality in Maryland. His argument was that marriage equality would lead to attacks on so-called "religious liberties."

Knight lists a few examples, but one caught my eye:

Georgetown University Law Prof. Chai Feldblum, whom President Obama appointed to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, is one of the more honest gay activists.

Feldblum writes that when it comes to civil rights, "we are in a zero-sum game: a gain for one side necessarily entails a corresponding loss for the other side."

I once asked Ms. Feldblum at a seminar if it bothered her that a Christian club would be thrown off a college campus for not having gay leaders or others who reject basic Christian doctrine. She shrugged, smiled and said, "Gays win, Christians lose." I did admire her candor.

Prop 8 supporters too scared to testify, too bold to whine after the fact

Why didn't Maggie Gallagher testify at original Prop 8 trial?

In celebration of today Appeals Court ruling against Proposition 8, I was going to write something uplifting about the perseverance of the lgbtq community.

But I decided not to.

For one, I am sure that there are so many others who are going to be dwelling on that subject. For another, based upon the reactions coming from the religious right, I feel that another direction is in order, i.e. a missive directed to Maggie Gallagher, the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council, and all of those other folks whining about today's ruling.

This missive would have included Mitt Romney because of his negative words today. However, seeing that it is Mitt Romney, I figure a week from now will find him supporting the ruling.

Maggie Gallagher sent out the following twitter message:

Meanwhile, others such as the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, etc. have sent out the usual junk about "unelected judges," "activist judges," "redefinition of marriage," and all of the other hyperbolic mess we have come to expect from them.

But here is my question and it's relatively simple.

Just where were these folks when the original trial was taking place last year? Why didn't any of these folks testify as to why Prop 8 was needed? Remember, the pro-Prop 8 side could only find two witnesses and both did a poor job defending the law. One witness, David Blankenhorn, inadvertently made the case for the anti-Prop 8 side?

Where was Gallagher, Brian Brown, Peter Sprigg, Tony Perkins, or any of these other folks who put so much work in getting the law passed? Gallagher's tweet alleges that seven million people voted for the law. However amongst those seven million, only two witnesses could be found?

Who are they kidding?

All of this outrage after the fact is bogus. It's a diversion and a pitiful one at that. It's an attempt to obscure a basic fact.

And that basic fact is that Proposition 8 was built with deliberate lies that Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins, Peter Sprigg, and the rest of those pushing it were too fearful to defend in court.

None of these people - not one - had the guts to stand up in court, take an oath, and attest to the veracity of the claims they made regarding what allegedly would happen should marriage equality become legal in California because they knew that the lawyers attacking the law - David Boies and Ted Olson - would call them out and reveal their deception.

So Maggie dearest and the rest of you folks, please stop whining. You are not fooling anyone. You dug this hole yourself so you have no reason to cry out when the dirt comes in to bury you.

'Brutal attack caught on video underscores that anti-gay violence is NOT funny' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

The next time CNN correspondent Roland Martin feels the need to make fun of anti-gay violence, he should take a look at this video (I apologize for its graphic nature):




According to the GA Voice:

WorldStarHipHop.com posted a video to its website today of an apparent Atlanta street gang beating a man the gang called a “faggot.” The video was posted on the site with the headline, "Dead Wrong: Man Wearing Skinny Jeans Gets Sucker Attacked & G'z Throw a Tire On Him for Being Gay."

“Jack City, no faggots,” a man says at the start of the video. “Jack City” is an apparent reference to a street gang.

The operator of the camera was also heard shouting “No faggots in Jack City, man” at least four times during the beating. The apparent hate crime occurred outside a neighborhood grocery store on McDaniel Street, according to The Smoking Gun website.

There is no indication of when the video was filmed.

In other news:

TODAY: 12th Annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - You can't tell me that there is no link between the violence seen above, Roland Martin's flippant remark about anti-gay violence and how gay black men feel about their own community. These feelings have a way of making them susceptible to negative behaviors which lead to HIV/AIDS.

Baltimore County Residents Decry, Belittle Transgender Nondiscrimination Protections - Same appeal to ridiculous fears. What a load of horsecrap.

White House Condemns Virginia’s Anti-Gay Adoption Bill - Good for the White House!

History hashtagged: The #Prop8 waiting game - The Ninth Circuit Court will make a decision about Proposition 8 today. And when it comes down, I will be at work. But go here to see it as it happens.

NOM's Brian Brown tried to steal Bayard Rustin's legacy during recent debate

Bayard Rustin

One thing said during the debate between NOM's Brian Brown and Freedom to Marry Evan Wolfson last week got my blood boiling.

And this morning, I am still pissed.

More to the point, I'm pissed off to the highest levels of "pissivity."

The reason for this is a claim Brown made during the debate. It happened at 6:20 when he was attempting to refute a point Wolfson made regarding on the unfairness of voting on people's rights. During his point, Wolfson brought up Congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis. This is what Brown said:

And while Evan brings up Congressman Lewis, Dr. Walter Fauntroy who organized Dr. King's March on Washington . . . actually supports the notion that people should vote on this."

Brown then goes on a tangent about how African-Americans supposedly oppose marriage equality at a high number. Of course Wolfson refutes this notion, but let's just analyze Brown's above statement.

 How dare he.

Walter Fauntroy is a former Congressman and a civil rights legend. He was one of the coordinators of the March on Washington. He was the D.C. Coordinator. But he did not organize the march.

That designation belongs to Bayard Rustin, an openly gay African-American who, until recently, never got his due.

It was Rustin who was the chief organizer. He was the planner. According to The Washington Post, Rustin was "the man widely viewed as the only civil rights activist capable of pulling off a protest of such unprecedented scale."

I know it is in the game plan of NOM to play the gay and black communities against one another, but to yank proper credit from Bayard Rustin for his role in the March on Washington and assign it to another black leader supporting NOM's position goes beyond the pale. It's insulting to me as a gay man and an African-American.

Regardless of whether this gaffe by Brian was intentional or not,  it says a lot about what he and NOM actually thinks about the black community.

And that's not much.

If the gaffe was intentional, it demonstrates how Brown and NOM are willing to exploit the African-American community, even at the point of altering our history to suit their agenda.

And if Brown's comments was not intentional, then the implications are worse. It demonstrates that NOM and Brown doesn't care enough about black people to get our history correct. All that matters to them is the success of manipulating the black community against the gay community.

I sincerely hope those black leaders who are kissing up to NOM are paying attention.

But who am I kidding? Even if they were, I doubt it would make a difference.

Who needs integrity when publicity (and most likely money) calls?

South Carolina license plates will celebrate gay equality

There are so many directions I can go today whether it be the Roland Martin controversy, the Prop 8 decision coming down tomorrow, or that awful anti-gay bill in Uganda.

But I decided that I don't focus on my own state of South Carolina enough. Something good is percolating down here and I think folks should know about it:



The point is that it's not always about New York, California, or any metropolitan city. South Carolina has an awesome, thriving lgbtq community that doesn't get its due. A lot of it has to do with regional cliqueness. The South is not an ignorant place to be nor are we all backwood yokels.

We are actually very progressive.

By the way, if you want to vote in the poll mentioned in the video, go here. We are winning but more favorable votes never hurts.

One more thing - I hope you enjoy the scenes from SC Pride. As seen, we KNOW how to party!

Go to scequality.org and click on the license plate to get instructions on how to purchase your very own.

'NOM's Brian Brown does badly in debate against Evan Wolfson' and other Monday midday news briefs

Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson debated the National Organization for Marriage's Brian Brown yesterday on NYC's WABC 7 and annihilated his arguments. It's like I have been saying before. Our side speaks truth from the heart while Brown's side speaks like robots programmed with talking points. This is better than sex and chocolate.


And in other news:


CNN's Roland S. Martin apologizes via Twitter for Super Bowl Tweets that angered LGBT community - Mr. Martin should look at this as a cultural lesson. I know many African-Americans who got incensed on a personal level at the photo of Arizona governor Jan Brewer putting her finger in President Obama's face. In the case of the lgbtq community, words advocating violence against the lgbtq community gets us incensed, no matter how lighthearted they were meant to be. But now that we are on the subject, how about more lgbtqs of color on your show, Roland . . . .

New York City Council Balks At Resolution Endorsing Churches In Public Schools - I can just hear the whines about "religious liberty" now.


No surprise: NC anti-gay Pastor Patrick Wooden pimps his ‘life-earned,’ non-academic doctorate - Well, well, well, the "diaper pastor" Patrick Wooden has false credentials. He should fit right in with the religious right on that score.

REPORT: 16 Million Employees Could Receive Nondiscrimination Protections From Executive Order - Go for it, Mr. President!

Washington state group pushing anti-gay junk science

Joseph Backholm - a "new" leader pushing same old junk science.

When the news came that the Washington state Senate had passed the bill allowing marriage equality, opponents began rallying to put the possibly soon-to-be law on a referendum before voters.

One group that will most likely be in the forefront of this effort is the Policy Family Institute of Washington. According to Equality Matters:

One of the most prominent anti-gay groups currently working to defeat proposed marriage equality legislation in the state of Washington is the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW). Led byJoseph Backholm, FPIW has played a central role in organizing anti-gay efforts in the state over the past several years, including opposing efforts in 2009 to expand domestic partnerships to include same-sex couples.

Last week, Backholm testified before a Washington Senate sub-committee, urging senators to put the issue of marriage equality to a referendum and have voters to decide if “moms and dads do matter.”

Although FPIW presents itself as a typical “pro-family” organization, the group openly promotes anti-gay propaganda has ties to some of the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate groups.

According to a local Washington newspaper, The Herald Net, the 33-year-old Backholm has been called a new type of leader for the religious right:

What's made Backholm's voice stand out in the chorus of gay marriage opponents is its tone. There's less fire and brimstone and more stoic argumentation, a product of his training as a lawyer and toils as a policy wonk.

"He's not a flag waver, Bible waver or stomp around kind of guy," said Pastor Joe Fuiten of Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell, who served on the Family Policy Institute board of directors when Backholm came on board. "He's not a hired gun. He believes in what we're all about. It's always good for our side to be represented by someone like that."

This could present a problem because it would seem that the so-called new stoic voice will be repeating the same discredited information. Equality Matters also pointed out an article on the group' resource page:

Also included in the “Resources” page is an article by George Dent – Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University – titled “No Difference?: An Analysis Of Same-Sex Parenting.” The article contains a number of anti-gay smears, including the myth that homosexuals molest children at higher rates than heterosexuals:

The claim that living with a same-sex couple does not affect a child’s sexuality is implausible. “It would be surprising indeed if . . . children’s own sexual identities were unaffected by the sexual identities of their parents.” Even young children may sense, or be told by others, that their guardians are unusual--queer--thereby initiating their sexualization at an unusually early age.There is evidence that children raised by homosexuals are more likely to engage in homosexuality and to feel confused about their sexual identity. [...]

Further, “gay men tend to be even more preoccupied than most straight women with their bodies, physical attractiveness, attire, adornment and self-presentation.” They may choose to marry only when they no longer feel attractive enough for the promiscuity of the homosexual “meat market.” [...]

Does Dent's article sound familiar? It should. Dent's article is being used by the lawyer hired by the House of Representatives - Paul Clement - to defend DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act).

In writing about this last year, I pointed out a number of huge errors in “No Difference?: An Analysis Of Same-Sex Parenting.”

On page four, Dent cites both Paul Cameron and George Rekers, both discredited researchers. Cameron has been censured or rebuked by several organizations for his bad methodology in his studies and Rekers lost a lot of credibility two years ago when he was caught coming from a European vacation with a "rentboy."

Black gays and lesbians you should know about

I ran these videos a while back but in celebration of Black History Month, they deserve another look:









Theses lists are awesome but there are so many others out there who we need to know about. And let's especially not forget our transgender brothers and sisters. I searched for a suitable video  to represent them but could not find one. If someone knows of one out there, please send it to me and I will post it. No one should be left out of our community or the celebration of our community.

Know Your LGBT History - James Baldwin

Words can't do James Baldwin proper justice, so I hope that these two videos can. I especially like the second one. It's why he is one of my role models:







Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Will Virginia discriminate against gay taxpayers?' and other Friday midday news briefs

Opponents of Marriage Equality in Washington Gear Up for Ballot Referendum Before It's Even Law: VIDEO - Well we knew this would happen. And check out the list of organizations behind this mess. The usual cast of "characters."

Virginia House To Approve Anti-Gay Adoption Bill - This will probably end up in the courts. If you don't want to abide by the rules regarding non-discrimination, then don't take the money. It doesn't matter if you are a religious organization. "Faith-based" adoption agencies want to take gay taxpayers' dollars while telling them "you are too evil for us to allow you to adopt children."

‘Ex-Gay’ Conference To Be Debunked in Atlanta on Feb. 16 - Awesome!

Sit-Ins for Stacey - The smallest violin in the galaxy plays for "poor" Stacey Campfield

NOM's clumsy heavy hand finds its next 'they' - and NOM lies AGAIN.

Parents angry at 'ex-gay' group for pushing false information to children

As if our lgbtq children don't have enough to deal with:

Flyer On Gay Choice Stirs Controversy: MyFoxDC.com

I did note a silver lining to this story. As the video noted, it was a parent who complained and other parents were not happy either:

Karen Yount-Merrell, a licensed, clinical social worker, got one of the flyers when her son came home with his report card from Einstein High School.

"I don't like it," Yount-Merrell declared. "Everything in this flyer make its sound like the goal is to be [an] EX-gay, [or an EX]-lesbian. It is not embracing of a different orientation. It reiterates a societal view that there's something 'wrong' with you, if you're not in the norm. If you aren't heterosexual. And teenagers have a hard enough time dealing with who they are and feeling good about themselves."

The video also notes how those pushing the flyer are also pushing that "we just want tolerance for our point of view" hogwash argument:

Supporters of the flyer say their literature simply calls for "tolerance" of a different viewpoint on homosexuality.

"If people were to actually read the content of the flyer that we're distributing, they will see there is nothing in here that is insulting or even critical of homosexuals,” said PFOX board member Peter Sprigg. “All it is telling kids [is] that you don't have to be gay if you don't want to be."

And therein lies the heart of the deception. Sprigg says that the flyer is not insulting or critical of gays, but then he implies that there is something wrong with being gay with his statement "you don't have to be gay if you don't want to be."

Also please note the fact that the parent in the video has expertise as a licensed, clinical social worker. Sprigg has no expertise other being anointed as an "expert" by his organization, the Family Research Council. As demonstrated by his flawed testimony in Maryland this week, he doesn't deserve that title.

Furthermore, please don't be fooled by Sprigg's false show of innocence. As Right Wing Watch points out:

The PFOX board [pdf] is also composed of some of the most stringently anti-gay voices in politics today, including Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel, who claims gay youth are more likely to commit suicide because they intuitively know homosexuality “is wrong and immoral;” Robert Knight of the American Civil Rights Union, who thinks there is a conspiracy among gay Hill staffers to control Congress; Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, who has called for gays to be deported from the U.S., and of course, Greg Quinlan, who was once married to a fellow “ex-gay” woman until she divorced him. As Amanda Hess of the Washington City Paper notes, very few people serving on the PFOX board are actually “ex-gays,” but that hasn’t stopped them from promoting dangerous “ex-gay” reparative therapy to children.

Right Wing Watch also notes that this is not simply an issue of  PFOX as a group with a "differing point of view."  PFOX is a group which peddles dangerous lies:

. . . the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychiatric Association all deny the effectiveness, safety and ethics of reparative therapy. While Religious Right groups have sued for the right to distribute literature in Montgomery County schools, like the PFOX flyer which propagates discredited and harmful misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity, they have also sought to deny this right to groups they disagree with.