The Plight of LGBT Teens in Rural Areas

Some years back I traveled to Martinsville, Virginia (in Southwest Virginia) for the work I was doing in Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History and quickly came to think that being gay and living in that area would make the idea of razor blades to one's wrists looks rather attractive.  Martinsville is not only backwards in just about every way imaginable but it is also more than an hour's drive from anyplace that would be considered remotely gay friendly.  Sadly, Martinsville is too representative of much of rural America where ignorance and bigotry are proudly embraced, especially from the overly abundant Baptist church pulpits.  A new study by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) looks at the plight of LGBT youth living in such areas.  The report can be accessed here.  Here are some of the findings:

Nearly all LGBT students in rural areas have heard homophobic, racist, sexist, and negative gender expression-based remarks. Furthermore, students in rural areas more frequently experienced derogatory comments than students in suburban and urban schools. For example:

 • 97% of rural LGBT students heard “gay” used in a negative way (e.g., “that’s so gay”) sometimes, often, or frequently in school. 94% heard other homophobic language (“dyke” or “faggot”) sometimes, often, or frequently.

 • 86% heard comments from students about someone not acting “masculine” enough sometimes, often, or frequently, and 69% heard such comments about students not acting “feminine” enough sometimes, often, or frequently.

 • A quarter or more of students also had heard school staff make homophobic remarks (25%), sexist remarks (30%), or negative remarks about someone’s gender expression (35%) sometimes, often, or frequently.

 • Rural students were more likely than suburban or urban students to hear most types of biased language, including homophobic remarks and negative comments about gender expression. Rural LGBT students reported that school staff members and students rarely intervened when biased comments were heard.

 • Only 13% of rural LGBT students said staff members intervened most or all of the time when homophobic comments were made, and only 11% said that staff members intervened most or all of the time when negative comments were made about gender expression.

 • Only 6% of students said that other students intervened most of the time or always when they heard homophobic remarks, and 5% said that about comments regarding gender expression.

 • Students in rural schools reported lower student and school staff intervention in homophobic remarks than suburban students.

A majority of rural LGBT students had been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender expression, and substantial numbers had experienced more severe physical harassment and physical assault because of these characteristics. Furthermore, although LGBT students across the country experienced harassment and abuse, students in rural areas were more frequently victimized than students in suburban and urban areas.

There is much, much more in the report and little of it is positive.  It underscores the reality that many in large progressive cities have no idea how horrible life can be for those of us in so-called red states, especially in rural backwaters like Martinsville and similar towns and cities across America.  Fueling all of the abuse and hate, of course are the "godly Christians" who believe they have the special right to torment and stigmatize anyone who doesn't conform to their backward, flat earth thinking.   The irony is that then these areas wonder why no new businesses and industries want to relocate to their regions.  Not surprisingly, Martinsville has one of the highest unemployment rates in Virginia.

Southwest Virginia.Wants to Change Its Image

I have mixed emotions about a story in the Richmond Times Dispatch that looks at efforts in Southwest Virginia to change the region's image and attract "entrepreneurs and high-tech businesses." The goal is meritorious and I feel for many in the region who suffer from the harsh economic realities that many municipalities face. The one aspect that those trying to recast the region's image doesn't seem to address is the social and cultural backwardness of the region and its intolerance towards those who are deemed "other." Yes, the region is physically beautiful and there are many good people in the region. But, when a region is anti-black, anti-gay, anti-immigrant and far right Christianist in its mindset, attracting progressive business is going to be difficult. Here are some story highlights:
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Heartwood officials say Southwest Virginia will change the nation's negative perception of Appalachia. "Give us three years," said Chuck Riedhammer, the marketing director with a $1 million budget to promote the new facility, a regional artisan center set up as a gateway to Southwest Virginia's arts and culture.
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Our No. 1 objective isn't even tourism," said Todd Christensen, executive director of the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Commission, which is overseeing the project. "Our number one objective is to develop a quality of life that's going to attract entrepreneurs and high-tech businesses to the region."
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Heartwood is designed to bring all of the region's cultural assets under one roof. The theme of what's included, from artisans and musicians to local foods and outdoor recreation sites, has become almost a mantra: "authentic, distinctive, alive."
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Tamra Talmadge, spokeswoman for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, said Heartwood packages the generations-old culture in a new form at a time when tourists, particularly of the millennial generation, are craving authenticity.
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I continue to believe that Southwest Virginia's biggest problem is the strangle hold that the Christianists have on the region. Having visited Martinsville back when I was representing Michael Moore in his lawsuit against the Virginia Museum of Natural History, as an LGBT individual, suicide would seem a positive option rather than living long term in the area. I suspect innovative and progressive business would view the region in a similar negative perspective.

Economically Booming Northern Virginia Far More Liberal than Rest of Virginia

I noted a Washington Post poll yesterday that showed that a plurality of Virginians now favor gay marriage and a majority favor gay couples adopting. The poll also showed something that I have discussed a lot on this blog: that liberal social views equate to economic growth while closed mindedness and bigotry towards others equate to stagnation or decline. The Washington Post has discussions of this phenomenon which ought to be a wake up call to political leaders in other parts of Virginia who need to grow a spine and flat out say that catering to Christianist policies is economic poison. Will it happen? Probably not. At least not in most areas of the state, especially those at the bottom of the economic heap like southwest Virginia (the city of Martinsville is a prime examle) where bigotry and prejudice are more akin to what existed back at the time of Loving v. Virginia than what ought to predominate in 2011. Not surprisingly, many college educated residents of Hampton Roads leave the area to settle in Northern Virginia and/or D.C. Here are some findings from the Washington Post poll on that parallel directly with progressiveness and economic growth:
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In case there was any doubt that Northern Virginia is a liberal enclave in an otherwise conservative state, check out these tidbits from the new Washington Post poll of Virginians:
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• In the entire Commonwealth, 42 percent of those polled support the Obama health care reforms — but that number jumps to 60 percent in Fairfax-Arlington-Alexandria.

• Asked to classify themselves on social issues, fully 50 percent of Fairfax-Arlington-Alexandria respondents called themselves “liberal,” compared with 31 percent for the rest of the state.
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Though 60 percent of Fairfax-Arlington-Alexandria respondents support Obama’s health care plan, that number drops to 44 percent in the Rest of Northern Virginia. In the rest of Virginia, the support is 38 percent.
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When it comes to support of gay marriage, 64 percent of Fairfax-Arlington-Alexandria backs it, while only 47 percent of the Rest of Northern Virginia does. Combining the two groups, 63 percent of Northern Virginia supports gay marriage, compared to 42 percent of the rest of the state.
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The exurbs were slightly more liberal on gay adoption and abortion. While 68 percent of Fairfax-Arlington-Alexandria respondents supported legalizing adoption by gay parents, 56 percent of those in the Rest of Northern Virginia did too. The rest of the state came in at 51 percent.
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But when respondents were asked about their economic status, 32 percent of Fairfax-Arlington-Alexandria residents said they were “getting ahead financially.” Only 17 percent of the Rest of Northern Virginia respondents said that. For the rest of the state, the total was 15 percent.
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A graphic of these findings can be found here.

PFLAG Annouces Chapter In Southwest Virginia

As bad as things often seem in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, things are wonderful compared to the situation in Southwestern Virginia where, frankly, if I had to live there, suicide might indeed look like a most attractive option. During the course of the Michael Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History case (Moore was fired by the Museum for being gay and Tom Kaine, now DNC chair did absolutely nothing to enforce his own executive order) I visited Martinsville, Virginia twice. Yes, the area has great physical beauty, but socially, the place is like something out of Deliverance in terms of the attitudes towards LGBT citizens. Indeed, when I returned to Norfolk, it seem the cosmopolitan center of the gay universe in comparison. Living in southwest Virginia must be most grim if one is LGBT. Thankfully, PFLAG has launched a chapter in this region of backwardness and homophobia. It's a much needed addition to what I view as a very bleak landscape - a landscape that does nothing to encourage progressive and imaginative businesses to want relocate to that part of Virginia. As I have stated before, anti-gay bigotry and the embracing of ignorance in general does carry an economic cost. This is a reality that is lost on Southwest Virginia and the occupants of Virginia's governor's mansion and the office of the Attorney General. Out in Roanoke has the details. Here are some highlights:
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PFLAG-Parents. Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays have started a chapter in Southwest Virginia, to be located in Abingdon. The name is PFLAG- Abingdon/Washington County Chapter and will hold its first meeting Thursday, November 11, from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm, and the second Thursday of each month thereafter, founder Dexter Tenney announced today. The Chapter will serve all of Washington and surrounding counties of Southwest Virginia.
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"Our LGBTQ citizens and their parents have been underserved in this area for too long, and now is the time for change".
The recent incidents of gay teenage suicides have been the catalyst for us taking action now. A support group has been in the planning stages for two years. This should serve as a wakeup call to all Americans; especially in rural areas were LGBTQ support is lacking. We have done our homework and the need is here, right in our own back door.
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Our local chapter website is http://www.wix.com/oscar1029/pflag--virginia-highlands.
. . . . For more information contact Dexter Tenney at 276-614-7319

Virginia Supreme Court to Gays - You Have No Employment Protections

The results are in from the Virginia Supreme Court in the Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History case. Ducking any discussion of the issues, the Court issued a few sentence letter indicating that Michael Moore's appeal was rejected and that the Court found "no reversible error" in the lower court ruling. For those unfamiliar with the case, the lower court had ruled that Gov. Tim Kaine's Executive Order 1 (2006) was basically worthless and provided Moore - who was fired by the Museum because he is gay - with no cause of action for his wrongful firing. Moreover, the lower court totally ignored arguments concerning the violation of Moore's rights as a citizen under the United States Constitution.

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Since Executive Orders carry more weight than Executive Directives, the Virginia Supreme Court's de facto affirming of the lower court ruling means that Gov. Bob McDonnell's Executive Directive 1 (2010) - issued to quell a political firestorm back in March - is less than worthless. As a result, state employees and students at Virginia's colleges and universities should assume that they have zero protections under McDonnell's Executive Directive and/or college and university non-discrimination policies.

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The message to the larger gay community is that our lives, careers and livelihoods have less value than those of heterosexual Virginians and that religious based discrimination and bigotry is perfectly acceptable notwithstanding the language of the Virginia Constitution or the Virginia Statute for Religion authored by Thomas Jefferson himeself. As for the violation of the federal constitutional rights, the Virginia Supreme Court apparently could care less about the federal constitutional rights of LGBT Virginians.

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Absent a written opinion explaining its action we will never know for certain what truly motivated the Virgina Supreme Court justices. However, with 29 states still permitting gays to be fired based on their sexual orientation and failure to conform with conservative Christian religious beliefs, the Court might have easily been following the thinking found in Loving v. Commonwealth, 206 Va. 924, 147 S.E.2d 78 (1966), wherein the Court stated as follows:
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A decision by this court reversing the Naim case upon consideration of the opinions of such text writers would be judicial legislation in the rawest sense of that term. Such arguments are properly addressable to the legislature, which enacted the law in the first place, and not to this court, whose prescribed role in the separated powers of government is to adjudicate, and not to legislate.
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Today, more than ten years since that decision was handed down by this court, a number of states still have miscegenation statutes and yet there has been no new decision reflecting adversely upon the validity of such statutes. We find no sound judicial reason, therefore, to depart from our holding in the Naim case. According that decision all of the weight to which it is entitled under the doctrine of Stare decisis, we hold it to be binding upon us here and rule that Code, §§ [206 Va. 930] 20--58 and 20--59, under which the defendants were convicted and sentenced, are not violative of the Constitution of Virginia or the Constitution of the United States.
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Fortunately, the United States Supreme Court thought differently and in its decision in Loving v. Virginia one year later it flatly reversed the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling and in the process ending the legality of all laws outlawing interracial marriage in the United States.
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Some things indeed don't change in Virginia - at least not without federal legislation or federal court action. And the message to be taken away by LGBT Virginians? Until ENDA or federal legislation is enacted by Congress the choice is to either (1) remain in Virginia as a second class citizen or (2) leave Virginia. And for those contemplating a move to Virginia? I recommend: don't do it.
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In closing, I stumbled upon an irony just today: the Danville News is bemoaning the fact that in the latest Policom economic strength rankings, Danville ranked 363 out of 366 metropolitan areas. Danville, which is in desperate need of new industry and new businesses, is a mere 30 miles from Martinsville, Virginia. That's right, the home of the homophobic Virginia Museum of Natural History. Does anyone - including the Virginia Supreme Court - honestly think modern, progressive businesses will want to relocate to a backward area like Danville in a state where religious based bigotry is completely tolerated? Somehow I think not.

GOP Infighting May Save House Seat for Democrats

Despite recent successes, the GOP remains deeply divided and burdened with the lunatic teabagger set which seems opposed to backing any Republican who isn't a Christianists and in need of mental health care. All of this is good for the Democrat incumbent of Virginia's 5th District congressional, Tom Perriello. The district contains an extreme range of voters that range from liberals in Charlottesville - perhaps Virginia's most liberal city - to stagnant backwaters like Danville and Martinsville which reflect Virginia's less than glorious past (and believe in the slogan at right) as opposed to the future. One can only hope that the GOP civil war will leave far right voters so divided that Perriello wins a second term. Here are highlights from the Washington Post:
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By all rights, Tom Perriello should have almost no chance to win reelection to Congress. He's a stimulus-backing, health-care-reform-loving, cap-and-trade-supporting liberal Democrat who represents a conservative central Virginia district where antipathy to the president and all things Washington runs high.

Perhaps too high. Perriello's opponents are so divided about who is the best conservative to replace him that they are transforming what should be a gimme for Republicans into a national emblem of GOP strife, potentially setting up a replay of the special election in Upstate New York in November that handed the Democrats a seat in a region they hadn't represented in more than 100 years.

Republican leaders in Virginia are backing a moderate state lawmaker, Sen. Robert Hurt, whose record enrages many conservatives, including a disparate band of Tea Party activists. To them, Hurt is not a real conservative because of his past support for tax increases, and they're promising a third-party challenge if he wins the nomination. And lurking on the sidelines is Virgil H. Goode Jr., the former GOP congressman who lost to Perriello by 727 votes and has hinted at running as an independent.

"We want a conservative, not a situational Republican," said Laurence Verga, a business owner from the Charlottesville area and one of five Tea Party candidates in the Republican primary. "I really believe the 5th District congressional election is about the soul of American politics."

But in such places as Virginia's 5th District, conservatives are uncompromising. Their goal isn't simply to reclaim the seat from Democrats: They want to fill it with only the purest of conservatives.

Unless leaders can bring the disparate groups together in districts like these, Republicans are likely to offset every unexpected victory they gain in a place such as Massachusetts with an unlikely loss elsewhere.

At least five distinct Tea Party organizations have formed across the 5th District, and activists say more are on the way. So far, seven candidates, including Hurt, are vying for the Republican nomination. Hurt is doing what he can to win over his conservative opponents.
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Nonetheless, the feelings against Hurt are growing. Last week, on the day of a large Tea Party rally in Richmond organized in part by groups from the 5th District, dozens of activists swarmed Hurt's Senate office, although he wasn't there. And last weekend, Hay and a handful of Tea Party leaders met to figure out how to block Hurt's nomination.

Homophobia in Rural America

Change.org has an interesting story on a documentary being made about homophobia in rural America. What one encounters in terms of homophobia in larger cities in much of the South is bad enough, but in rural areas - e.g., Southwest Virginia and small cities such as Martinsville - it is stifling. The are no clubs and it seems no LGBT organizations and one must drive to the nearest larger city to find any kind of an organized LGBT social scene. Two visits to Martinsville and I think overdosing would be very attractive if I had to live in such a locale. Once the documentary entitled "Out in Silence" is completed, I definitely hoe to see it. Here are some highlights on the documentary effort (a trailer is set out below):

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Remember Barack Obama's famous line from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, when he first burst onto the public stage? It went a little something like this: We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.

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And some of those gay friends in the red states (or at least the red parts of some blue states) have been busy putting together a documentary meant to shed light on the issue of LGBT rights and homophobia in rural America. That's the goal of a new film by two rural Western Pennsylvania residents, Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer, called "Out in the Silence."

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What's the story of Wilson and Hamer? Well, the couple traveled to Canada a few years ago to tie the knot. Upon returning to the U.S., the couple placed their wedding announcement in two Western Pennsylvania newspaper, the Oil City Derrick and the News-Herald. (Turns out Western Pennsylvania was where one of the grooms grew up.)

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Seeing two men list a wedding announcement in rural Pennsylvania papers was enough to send some rabid anti-LGBT folks over the edge. Hate mail ensued, including one local resident who used the wedding announcement as a call to arms for a federal marraige amendment.

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After seeing the direction that even our community might be going, I know how imperative it is for the Federal Marriage Amendment to be passed. All Christians need to stand up for what they know is right in God’s eyes, and stop this atrocity. The Bible was written as a set of rules for us to follow, not a set of general ideas for us to interpret however we want to fit our own lifestyles.

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Homophobic diatribes like this one continued to pour in. But so did supportive letters, as well as letters asking Wilson and Hamer for help. One of those letters came from the parent of a gay teenager, who had been forced to drop out of school because of anti-LGBT bullying. It's this story which makes up the premise of "Out in the Silence."

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[S]ometimes living in the bluest of blue states causes me to forget the struggles that queer people face in areas of the country where George W. Bush is a revered figure and where schools still close on the first day of hunting season. . . . . That's why it's really special to see Hamer and Wilson take the homophobic sentiments that their wedding announcement stirred, and turn them into a film that has the power to change minds and hearts on the issue of LGBT rights. Bravo.

Martinsville Journey

As I indicated a couple days ago, I was in Martinsville, Virginia, in rural south central Virginia to argue a case involving a state employee discharged by the Virginia Museum of Natural History for being gay. I was aided on the legal research by the Washington, D.C., office of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender Project of the ACLU and having made the arguments we are awaiting a decision within the next week and a half or so. Needless to say I will be keeping my fingers crossed.

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Martinsville is a physically beautiful place located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Progressive, however, it is not and it truly makes Norfolk look like a bright shining cosmopolitan center of liberalism (which it is not) in comparison. As the case of the "Martinsville Seven" from circa 1950 reveals, Martinsville has dark elements in its past. Yet, by the same token, it's amazing what even the main stream media was like at that point in time. A Time magazine article from the time period described those who were supporting the efforts to clear the names of seven blacks accused and condemned for raping a white woman as "communists:"

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The well-greased Communist apparatus was making propaganda hay out of the Martinsville Seven—with suitable adjustments in the facts.

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It was a pretty scary world back then and it's encouraging that the nation and Martinsville have progressed from that period of time. It is ironic, however, that it is to that time period that the Christianists seem Hell bent on trying to return the country to.

Court Appearance and Limited Posting Opportunities

I will be traveling to Martinsville, Virginia - hardly the most enlightened part of the Commonwealth - tomorrow for a court hearing on Thursday in the matter of Moore v. Virginia Museum of Natural History. As the Washington Blade has reported several times, my client maintains he was fired by the Museum - a state agency - because of his sexual orientation. A decision by the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management found that my client's sexual orientation was improperly considered. The case involves both Executive Order 1 (2006) signed by Virginia Governor and DNC Chair Tim Kaine as well as constitutional issues of equal protection, due process and freedom from religious based discrimination.

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Martinsville (population: 15,416) is about a 4 to 5 hour drive more or less along the southern edge of the state from Norfolk. The trip takes you through some of the least progressive parts of the state and radio, cell phone and Internet reception is spotty. As a result, posting will be irregular at best. Fortunately, the boyfriend is letting me take his car with satelitte radio in lieu of my Jeep so that I do not die of boredom on the trip.