Category Archives: Homophobia

Ancestors, Bo Young, Civil Rights, Community, Culture, Current Affairs, Family, History, Homophobia, Marriage Equality, Men

Queer The Census

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Census  Okay. We know it's a little clichéd – but here's what we want to tell the Census: We're here. We're queer. And we want you to ask us about it. 

It's crazy – the Census wants an accurate count of everyone in the country, and yet, there's NO question in the Census survey that asks if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender! 

You read that right: LGBT people are basically invisible in THE survey that is designed to accurately reflect the diverse reality of America's population – and beyond being downright ridiculous, it's also a big problem. 

The census isn't just a numbers game. The data collected every ten years has a direct impact on issues that are critical to every American – issues like health care, economic stability and safety. Census data tells us where we live and how we create family. And when LGBT people are not counted, then we also don't count when it comes to services, resources … you name it. 

The good news is that you and I can do something about it. It's time to Queer the Census! Join me and sign the petition from The Task Force urging the Census Bureau to make sure everyone is counted. 

Visit Queer the Census to take action now. 

Thanks for your help,

Ancestors, Bo Young, Community, Culture, Current Affairs, Elders, Family, Friends, Gay Health, Gay History, Health, Homophobia, Right Wingers, Science

World AIDS Day

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AIDS ribbon It's World AIDS Day. 

That's nice.

…and I'm reminded of some Black comic's comment about February being "African American History Month"…"typical…we get the shortest month."

Which is to say, one day to remember is woefully shy of the task. 

I remain angry at the homophobic, puritanical, punishing, sex-fearing, "christian" response to HIV-AIDS. And how long it took Ronald Reagan to even say the word "AIDS" (and that it took the death of a closeted movie star and a heroic Elizabeth Taylor to finally get him to utter it.) I remain angry at the idea of "innocent victims" of this disease. 

I remain angry at how little memory there is for how Gay people responded to this, growing up, growing together, growing institutions. How little memory there is for how Gay people fed and sheltered and cared for one another…and angry that my friends are still sero-converting in 2009.

I remain angry at how brutally expensive AIDS meds are in the U.S. (and how cheap they are elsewhere) while the nimrods and the bloviators and the moralizing hypocrites in the Congress (yeah…I'm talking to you Joe Lieberman!…you ugly asswipe!) squash a public option…the only real way to provide competition to the profit-seeking, blood-sucking insurance companies…that would provide healthcare coverage for every American citizen, just like every other industrialized nation in the world! 

Shame on the Senate. Shame on our elected officials. 

Shame on the churches who came so late to the aid of the neediest and who still foment discrimination against gay people.

And every time I hear another fear-mongering "news" report on H1N1 and the vast over-reaction to it (several thousand people die from the flu annually, H1N1 or not) and how people with HIV were shunned by their communities, deserted by their families and died in fear, it makes me want to break something. And it makes me wonder …it makes me sad… to think of how things might have been different if the reaction when "Gay cancer" first appeared had been anything approaching the H1N1 hysteria.

Dan Vera, Homophobia, Science

No Surprise Bishops

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USCathBish The Associated Press is reporting that the Catholic Church's years-long investigation into child-abuse shows no link between homosexuality and the abuse of children. 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (infamous of late for injecting themselves in the Gay Marriage debates in Maine and now the District of Columbia, commissioned the study from the John Jay School of Criminal Justice and the results have come in:

"What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be
separated from the problem of sexual abuse," said Margaret Smith of
John Jay College, in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops.

I guess they're just to have to stow one of their canards away.

"At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual
identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data
that we have right now."

Let's hope they pay attention to Margaret.

Bo Young, Civil Rights, Community, Current Affairs, Dan Vera, Friends, Gay Wisdom, History, Homophobia, Marriage Equality, Politics, Religion, Right Wingers

The Maine Idea

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Boies "Basic constitutional rights cannot depend on the willingness of the electorate in any given state to end discrimination. If we were prepared to consign minority rights to a majority vote, there would be  no need for a constitution."  – David Boies

Ventura "You can't put a civil rights issue on the ballot and let the people decide. You have to have elected officials who have courage to make the right decision. If you left it up to the people, we'd have slavery, depending on how you worded it." – Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, responding to Maine's vote on CNN.

Civil Rights, Dan Vera, Homophobia, Marriage Equality, Politics

Marriage Equality & Catholic Charities

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A very interesting exchange took place last night between D.C. City council members and representatives from the Washington D.C. Archdiocese and Catholic Charities. What came through was a fascinating conversation about the use of public tax dollars to discriminate. This is in three sections. They’re posted below.

A very interesting exchange took place last night between D.C. City council members and representatives from the Washington D.C. Archdiocese and Catholic Charities.  What came through was a fascinating conversation about the use of public tax dollars to discriminate.  This is in three sections.  They're posted below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9_41M_KNlwk

https://youtube.com/watch?v=moUhkfbnw2w

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LiLiv6mxZkE