Breaking News!

From The New York Times

N.J. Court Backs Rights for Gay Unions

By Laura Mansnerus
Published: October 25, 2006
"The State Supreme Court in New Jersey said today that under equal protection guarantees of the state constitution, same-sex couples 'must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the civil marriage statutes.' But it said that whether that status is called marriage or something else 'is a matter left to the democratic process.'"

Lockdown Drills

I'm not sure what I think about this... I just learned that it is now Minnesota law that schools have five "lockdown drills" each year. Today my five year old will learn the "safe zones" in his classroom and that he must be absolutely quiet if asked to go there. They will, apparently, be told in an "age appropriate" way, that this is what they will do if there is an intruder in the school.

On the one hand, given recent events, this seems like a good thing. On the other hand, I'm not sure what I think of a five year old having to think about the possibility of an intruder coming into his school and how to protect himself. I tried to analogize to the nuke drills I remember as a kid, but I can't help but think he has a much better idea - and, thus, greater potential for fear - of an intruder than I had of a nuclear bomb.

This world...

Sanity Prevails - An Update!

Metro Transit changes mind on driver, gay-themed ads

"Metro Transit said Friday that it inadvertently sent the wrong message about tolerance in trying to accommodate a bus driver's religious objections to driving buses that carried gay-themed ads.

Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said the company made a temporary accommodation to the driver on Oct. 12, allowing her not drive buses that carried an ad for Lavender, a local magazine aimed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.

The ad showed the face of a young man with the slogan, "Unleash Your Inner Gay." Fifty buses carried it periodically.

The ad contract ran only through Oct. 18, Gibbons said, and buses no longer are carrying the ads.However, in reviewing the issue, Gibbons said the company likely would not make the same decision again."We are not persuaded that advertising, per se, infringes on religious practices and would be reluctant to make similar accommodations in the future," Gibbons said."

For the entire article, go here.

Senator Brownback is a Wing Nut

It just keeps getting better and better - see the previous two posts as well as this one!

Courtesy of The Washington Post
Sen. Brownback's Litmus Test
May a federal judge have lesbian friends?
Tuesday, October 17, 2006

IF YOU THOUGHT that fights over judicial nominations couldn't get any worse, consider the case of Janet T. Neff, whom President Bush has nominated to a federal district judgeship in Michigan. Judge Neff, who serves on the Michigan Court of Appeals, is part of a multi-judge deal between the White House and Michigan's two Democratic senators resolving a long-standing fight over federal court nominees from that state. Yet in reaching an accommodation with the home-state senators, Mr. Bush finds himself with another problem. For Judge Neff, it turns out, once attended a commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple -- and that has Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (R) reaching for the smelling salts and blocking the nomination.

Mr. Brownback has said he wants to satisfy himself that the judge was not presiding over an "illegal marriage ceremony" in Pittsfield, Mass., in 2002 -- before the state legalized same-sex marriage. He has written to Judge Neff asking for an explanation, his spokesman says, and will hold up her nomination until he learns the nature of the ceremony and its legality. "It seems to speak about her view of judicial activism," the senator told the Associated Press.

In fact it does nothing of the kind. A commitment ceremony is not a marriage; it has no legal force whatsoever but is a private expression of the love and devotion of two people. The idea that such a ceremony could be "illegal" is deeply offensive; Americans are entitled to gather, speak, celebrate and worship as they see fit. An administration official says Judge Neff has told Mr. Brownback that she didn't preside. But even if she did, that would say nothing about her jurisprudential views -- merely that she wished to help a couple recognize their relationship informally in the absence of state sanction for it. Keeping Judge Neff off the federal bench over such a matter is perilously close to declaring her unfit to serve because she has lesbian friends.

It also does a disservice to Mr. Bush. We have criticized Democrats for obstructing qualified judicial nominees; it is no more acceptable when Republicans do it. In this case, Mr. Bush has finally reached a compromise with Michigan senators to ease one of the more intractable irritants in the wars over lower court nominations. Judge Neff is a piece of that deal, all of which could get derailed if Mr. Brownback does not back off.

I Hate the USA

There. I said it. I hate this fucking country. I am so tired of the oppression I experience every fucking day just by picking up the paper. First the moron of a bus driver, now this reminder of my status as a second class citizen...

Spouse of gay congressman ineligible for pension
BOSTON. Massachusetts (AP) -- When same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts, among those who tied the knot were former Rep. Gerry Studds and Dean Hara.

But getting married didn't protect them under federal law: Hara has learned he is not eligible for any portion of Studds' estimated annual $114,337 pension following his partner's death last week.

The 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act blocks the federal government from recognizing the 2004 marriage between Studds and Hara or other same-sex couples.

Studds voted against the act, which was passed July 12, 1996, by a vote of 342-67, according to the House Clerk's office.

Go here for the rest of the bloody insult.

BTW, it's not that we don't know this is the case - it's just so frickin' tiring to keep being reminded how little respect our families warrant.

Gays, Religion, and the Bus Driver

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune -

Bus driver gets OK to avoid gay-themed ads
"The Metro Transit dispute raises questions about the point at which accommodating one group's beliefs infringes on the rights of others. A city bus driver who complained about a gay-themed ad got official permission not to drive any bus that carries that ad, according to an internal memo confirmed Tuesday by Metro Transit. Transit authorities call it a reasonable accommodation to the driver's religious beliefs."

Go here to read the entire article. What do you think?

Same-Sex Marriage

From The New York Times -

October 14, 2006
Gay Marriage Losing Punch as Ballot Issue
By Kirk Johnson

DENVER, Oct. 13 — The debate over same-sex marriage was a black-or-white proposition two years ago when voters in 11 states barred gay couples from marrying.

But this year shades of gray are everywhere, as eight more states consider similar ballot measures. Some of the proposed bans are struggling in the polls, and the issue of same-sex marriage itself has largely failed to rouse conservative voters.

In some cases, other issues, like the war in Iraq and ethics in Washington, have seized voters’ attention. But the biggest change, people on both sides of the issue say, is that supporters of same-sex marriage this year are likely to be as mobilized as the opponents.

It's worth reading - Go here for the entire article, though you do have to have a free subscription to the Times.

Gerry Studds, 1937-2006

The New York Times' article begins, "Gerry E. Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress and a demanding advocate for New England fishermen and for gay rights, died early Saturday at Boston University Medical Center, his husband said."

Read that again. The bright light in the otherwise dark news of Studds' death is that The New York Times referred to Dean Hara as Studds' husband. Yes, they married in May, 2004, shortly after same-sex marriage became legal in the Commonwealth. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the Times tried to avoid gay issues altogether and writers were forbidden to use the term "gay." That changed in the very early 1990s and under new leadership they paper took a very different stance on the coverage of GLBT issues, even including same-sex marriage announcements. Nonetheless, it's very cool, imho, to see the first sentence of the article refer to his husband.

It's unfortunate that in what turned out to be the last couple of weeks of his life, Studds name resurfaced only in the context of the Foley scandal. He did good work.

Students in the Gulf

I just wanted to post this and encourage you to pay a visit - Two of the students who went to the Gulf with me in January '06 graduated in May and have accepted Americorps assignments with the American Red Cross. They are now in New Orleans and plan to post about their adventures at Blog on the Bayou. Check it out!

Matthew Shepard, 1976-1998

Just wanted to take a moment to remember Matthew Shepard. It was eight years ago today that he died, five days after being beaten and left to die in the cold Wyoming night.

The morning of 12 October 1998, I was sitting at my desk, preparing for class, when I heard the news. Having been in my position here only three years, I had never pro-actively come out in class. That is, people figured it out, I didn't "hide," my office decor certainly "outed" me, etc. But I had never - even though I taught gender and sexuality - explicitly put it on the table in the classroom.

That morning I went to my class of 18 first year students - I'd known them just over a month - and came out. I explained that studies show that the single most important thing in changing people's attitudes is for them to realize that they know someone who is GLB. Then I went to my next class and then my next. Over the next couple of days I received notes and e-mails thanking me for my comments. I was so glad that I had summoned the courage to take that step. I like to think I made a difference.

Each year we have National Coming Out Day and then we have the day that Matthew died. Although he died in a way that nobody should experience and he died too young, I think it's fair to say that, at 21, he made - and continues to make - a difference, too.

US2CA Blogs

Are you reading this as a U.S. expat in Canada? Or, are you in the process of waiting for your permanent residency visa so that you can go to Canada? If so and you have a blog we should know about, please say so via comment. Maybe you're neither, but you've got a great blog going? If so and you would like me to link to yours, just holler.

In other news - today is 11 October 2006 and it snowed in Saint Paul, Minnesota. As I look out my office window, there is actually white stuff on the leaves of the trees. I am not kidding.

Happy National Coming Out Day!

Nope, that's not me. That's P!nk, participating in HRC's Snapshot Project. Wanna know more about NCOD? Go here!

Today, 11 October, is the 20th National Coming Out Day. That means that, 19 years ago, in 1987, I was marching on Washington, DC. It was the best of the marches, IMO. Going home was such a downer that I immediately went to Provincetown for the weekend.

Noo-klee-er

I confess, one of the worst things about North Korea's escapade is that we are now subject to more of Shrub's mispronounciation (metathesis, I've learned it's called) of the word nuclear. Take note, big guy, noo-klee-er. Grrrrr...

Published

I went ahead and sent an abbreviated version of my Foley post to the local paper and, lo' and behold, it appeared in print and on-line - scroll down to "Adolescents in the U.S." Hopefully I won't get any yucky phone calls from someone who disagrees.

Mark Foley - Moron, yes. But, pedophile?

I just had to address this somewhere...

Sixteen year old boys may be "boys." They are minors. But, they also tend to be sexual beings who act with agency. Was Foley incredibly stupid? Absolutely. Did he take advantage of a position of power? No question. But, is he a pedophile? Who knows? I do think that to refer to him as a pedophile based on the "evidence" the public currently possesses misses the mark. For one thing I believe it makes it more difficult to address dangerous pedophiles who prey on children. For another, it's one more example of how we just can't decide where adolescents fit in our world.

One minute the sixteen year old who commits a violent crime is thought to be "old enough to know better" and thrown in the slammer for decades. The next minute he's an innocent, taken in by an older man who wanted to get his jollies IMing about masturbation. It doesn't get any better at eighteen. One minute we throw you an M-16 and send you off to Iraq. But don't get any ideas about having a cold beer the night before you leave.

I'm not saying there's an easy fix here. Some sixteen year olds are more mature than some eighteen year olds. And, some sixteen year olds probably shouldn't be trusted with mom's car and $5. It's not that we can truly fix an "age of majority" and that's that. Hell, I happen to think - based on what I see every day at work - that a sixteen year old today is not what a sixteen year old was in 1974. But, I also don't think a sixteen year old in 1974 was identical to the sixteen year old in 1944. And, we could also speculate on variety based on urban/rural, birth order, etc.

My point is that while Mark Foley may have been a complete fool who was thinking with something besides his brain, to call him a pedophile and accuse him of molesting boys does a disservice both to the young men involved in this situation and to those who work to prevent the sexual abuse of children by adults.

Call him stupid. Call him arrogant. The evidence, in my opinion, supports those conclusions. But, a pedophile? Save that for the other guys.

Really, he has no clothes!

And from today's New York Times:

"Speaking to reporters on Thursday after returning from a trip that included a one-day stop in Baghdad, Mr. [John] Warner [R-VA] said the United States should consider 'a change of course' if the violence there did not diminish soon. He did not specify what shift might be necessary, but said that the American military had done what it could to stabilize Iraq and that no policy options should be taken 'off the table.'"

I have a feeling that things are going to be getting very interesting around here...

In other news - Keith Ellison (D) is running for Congress to replace Martin Olav Sabo (well, this is Minnesota) in my former district. If he wins, which everyone is expecting, he'll be the first Muslim in Congress and the first black representative from Minnesota. He's been a wonderful advocate for GLBT rights. Read about it here! You'll have to have a free New York Times account, but it's worth it.

What an interesting election it's shaping up to be in Minnesota. We may see the election of a Muslim who's great on GLBT issues in the 5th Congressional district and an evil Republican witch from hell in the 6th.

The Emperor Has No Clothes

Apparently a guy in Seattle wrote and paid out of his own pocket for this ad in the Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer. It may take a minute to load, but it will. Pretty cool, I'd say.

Nothing in particular...

Not surprisingly, there's not much to report from here in the Upper Midwest. I've enjoyed following the guys at Life Without Borders and Wondrous Canadian Renewal. Today I heard from a local "e-pal" who received his PPR on Saturday and sent them off this morning. They've planned a trip to Toronto for mid-October and, though they'll be moving to BC later, are hoping to have it serve as their landing. Another guy I've "met" on-line was transferred from Buffalo to Detroit back in February, received a request for proof of funds in early September, and hasn't heard another thing since. Not much other immigration news. On the various boards there's the same level of frustration over the Detroit stall. No surprise there.

In other news, I'm hoping to watch the GOP completely implode over the Foley debacle. IMO it's unfortunate that people don't understand that if people were free to be themselves situations like this would be far fewer. I have a cousin who left his wife the week their second child was due. Great time to decide to come out. He said that he had thought he was gay since he was 5 years old, but that he figured that getting married would "cure him," that having a child would "cure him," and - not having had any success with that approach - that having a second child would definitely do it. He finally decided that, yes, he was gay and walked out with a small child in the home and another due any moment. Then there's McGreevey... Seriously, if these guys hadn't felt they had to run and hide, would they make such foolish choices? Did I mention that my former rep in the U.S. Congress was Jim Kolbe?

BTW, do any of you from outside Minnesota know the name Michele Bachmann? She's an evil witch from hell and she may well end up in the U.S. Congress. She's running against DFLer Patty Wetterling for the seat about to be vacated by Mark Kennedy and she's maintained a steady lead in the polls. BTW, you may remember Kennedy from his brief doltish appearance in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.

Back to Bachmann. From her website, "My record of supporting traditional marriage, family life and children, including those yet born, is unambiguous. This will not change if elected to Congress. I was the chief author of a constitutional amendment in the Minnesota Senate defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I will continue to support traditional marriage as a union between a man and woman." Be afraid, be very afraid.

Tomorrow James Dobson comes to town with "Stand for The Family," an "event designed to educate and motivate pro-family conservative Christians." That's motivate as in motivate to vote. "In addition to Dr. Dobson, the list of speakers includes Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; Gary Bauer, president of American Values; Dr. Ken Hutcherson, senior pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Wash., and Dr. Richard Land of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention."

Yeah, we're havin' some fun tonight!