Final Tuesday Male Beauty

A Non Gay-Hating Republican?

UPDATE: James Richardson dropped me a note - for clarification, he's the FORMER RNC Online Communications Manager.

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While I do not hold out a lot of hope that the GOP will regroup and exile the nutcase Christianists back to the wilderness any time soon, perhaps a few folks are waking up to the fact that the Christianists' anti-gay jihad is not selling well with the non-Kool-Aid drinking portion of the population. A case in point is the Republican National Committee’s Online Communication Manager, James Richardson (pictured at left) who has authored a blog article that must have Daddy Dobson and like-minded homophobes writhing on the floor in fits. Richardson's heresy? Stating that just maybe the GOP needs to put aside gay bashing and move forward with the rest of modern society. As for the initial question he asks, in my opinion, the answer is that "protecting the family" has never been the real agenda of the Christianists. Here are some highlights from Richardson's article:

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Is the fight to preserve the traditional American family – think the Cleavers meet the Bradys – one to, as its proponents argue, protect children, or is it means by which to silence the “radical gay agenda” in the United States through institutionalized shame? Cindy Lederman, a Miami-Dade circuit judge, is convinced it’s the latter.

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Lederman’s landmark ruling, a move likely to elicit Prop 8-like responses, noted the inherent hypocrisy in Florida state law allowing gay men and women to be foster parents, but not legally adopt, further rejecting the notion that there is “a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children”: It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person’s ability to parent. A child in need of love, safety and stability does not first consider the sexual orientation of his parent. The exclusion causes some children to be deprived of a permanent placement with a family that is best suited to their needs.

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Florida’s indefensible ban dates back 31 years to Anita Bryant’s “Save our Children” crusade. On the day of its passage, freshman Sen. Don Chamberlin of Clearwater asked of his colleagues: “Will we sleep better knowing we have institutionalized shame for those who have already felt shame?

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My support for gay adoption will surely be met with hostility and, no doubt, charges of RINO’ism by many of my colleagues, but the Grand Old Party is at a crossroads and now is not the time for an echo chamber. Homosexual demagoguery is not the answer to the Party’s woes. . . And as Daniel Blatt notes, gay-hostile rhetoric no longer resonates in suburban areas with soccer moms, many of whom have gay friends or family members, and plays even worse with young voters, 61% of which voted against stripping gay couples of the right to marry.

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To my dissenters, let me be clear, I am not advocating some sort of radical “judicial activism.” I maintain that judicial resolution to these matters (adoption, marriage, etc) typically leads to protracted and bitter legal battles, but, what is perhaps equally as distressing is our collective failure as a Party to hold a candid discussion on the emerging role of gays in the Party and society at large – not as outcastes, but as equals.

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I recognize the Republican Party is “pro-family” party, and as such supports traditional policies, but are these traditional policies benefiting us moving forward with non-traditional demographics? As this Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll reveals, young evangelicals display generational differences on key social issues, namely gay marriage — 66% supported such measures. Those are evangelicals, my friends, not libertarians.

National LGBT Blogger Initiative Summit - Update

I have received the preliminary schedule of events for the National LGBT Blogger Initiative Summit that I will be attending in Washington, D.C., this coming weekend. I am really excited to be going and hope to meet some folks like Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend, one of my daily reads, and catch up with Mike Rogers. The summit is made possible through the generous support of Jonathan Lewis and various LGBT community and corporate sponsors, including but not limited to the Victory Fund, HRC, NGLTF, Microsoft, Bolthouse Farms, and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

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I still do not know who all of the attendees will be, but I have received e-mails from a few folks who will be attending from various parts of the country. One thing I hope to gain from the experience is how/what I can do to take this blog to a higher level and hopefully make a bigger impact in the cause of gay rights. God knows, so much needs to still be done particularly in states like Virginia where LGBT citizens have no legal protections.

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The boyfriend will be going to D.C. with me and despite the busy schedule I hope the two of us will get to enjoy a little bit of time as a couple at a few of the local venues. He's such a sweetheart that I would not think of going without him.

Gays Are Second-Class Citizens?

The Christianists - and Mormoms - dishonestly allege that LGBT citizens are seeking "special rights." Even as they make these claims, they know it is a lie, but as the Proposition 8 campaign made clear, our enemies have no qualms about lying if it furthers their goals. To Hell with the Commandment against lies and bearing false witness. The reality is that gays ARE second-class citizens in a number of ways. Amy Balliet, the founder of JointheImpact.com, has a partial list of the ways in which we are not afforded equality under the civil laws. Here is her list of ways (all of which apply in Virginia) we are deprived of equal protection under the law via 365gay.com:

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1. We can not fight for our country without hiding who we are;
2. In many states (like the recent law in Arkansas) We can not adopt a displaced child in need of a home and safety;
3. In many states, we can still be fired because we are gay;
4. My rights in Washington do not stand when I cross the border to Idaho and, therefore, if my partner were to fall ill on a cross country trip, she would be alone in the hospital and I would be powerless;
5. Partners cannot share insurance in many states;
6. In many states, people can be murdered because of their sexuality, but their murderer will not be tried for committing a hate crime;
7. A loving couple can share a home, but if one passes, that home can be taken from the other in states where shared property rights are not available;
8. Finally, a couple can share their lives, share expenses, share good times and bad over many years, but they still cannot gain the equal protections and recognition that two strangers can in one drunken night in Vegas: 2 Strangers + 1 20 minute ceremony + $50 + 10 shots of tequila = Holy Matrimony and 1st Class Protections Under the Law,
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Putting aside the lies and untruths our enemies use, the other thing that is amazing is their expectation that we should just allow ourselves to be abused and mistreated. As Shane at Land of Savages notes, they act as if we should be almost thankful for the way we are denigrated and made less than equal:

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What's most alarming is the misunderstanding of the legal jeopardy gay people find themselves in. What I gather from most anti-gay posts is a reversal of who they feel is being discriminated against. Apparently, if a gay person wants to protest the LDS church for largley funding the recent amendments in Arizona and California, they are somehow bigots and filled with hate. Apparently, these amendments that singled out and continue to exclude gay couples from being able to be married should have been met by the gay community with quick acceptance of the majority's infinite wisdom, and that we sh0uld also feel lucky their tolerance of us includes actually speaking with us at our places of work and a deeper gratitude for not being fired or arrested.

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I honestly don't understand what these religious groups expect gay people to do. Do they honestly feel we should give our money to their businesses despite what they later do with it? Are we to sit quietly by while they take away our ability to protect our families or adopt children? Are we supposed to accept that they know God or Nature better than us and to accept their ideas as unshakeable? The answer is no, of course. This is our country and our government, too.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Vatican Opposes Gay Decriminalization

UPDATED: Additional coverage on the Vatican's temper tantrum can be found at Timesonline here.

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France, on behalf of of the European Union, will be introducing a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality. Not surprisingly, Pope Benedict XVI and the other old bitter queens at the Vatican - who close their eyes to the sexual abuse of minors by clergy unless and until caught by the media or lawsuits - are having a cow and have indicated that the Vatican will oppose the resolution. Never mind that gays are imprisoned or even executed in some countries around the world. However, now that a number of groups are condemning the Vatican for its opposition to the resolution, Benedict, et al are crying like spoiled babies and trying to cast themselves as victims. Here are some highlights from Reuters on the controversy:

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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Gay rights groups and newspaper editorials on Tuesday condemned the Vatican for its decision to oppose a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalize homosexuality. The row erupted after the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations told a French Catholic news agency the Holy See would oppose the resolution, which France is due to propose later this month on behalf of the 27-member European Union.

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Archbishop Celestino Migliore said the Vatican opposed the resolution because it would "add new categories of those protected from discrimination" and could lead to reverse discrimination against traditional heterosexual marriage.

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A strongly worded editorial in Italy's mainstream La Stampa newspaper said the Vatican's reasoning was "grotesque." Pointing out that homosexuality was still punishable by death in some Islamic countries, the editorial said what the Vatican really feared was a "chain reaction in favor of legally recognized homosexual unions in countries, like Italy, where there is currently no legislation."

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On Tuesday the Paris government defended the resolution. "France's initiative ... is an initiative that is based on existing texts. The idea is not to create new rights. The idea is ... to make decriminalization possible," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said. Human rights groups say homosexuality is still punishable by law in more than 85 countries and by death in a number of them, including Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen.

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Grillini, the gay rights activist, said he feared what he called another "Holy Alliance" between the Vatican and Islamic states at the United Nations to oppose the proposed resolution.

Christian University Leader Arrested For Sex Crime

It never seems to fail that those who are most hysterically against same sex relationships in their statements and/or who align themselves closely with Christianists organizations in fact harbor a secret desire for the very thing they purportedly condemn: gay sex. A case in point is Robert Williams, Chief Financial Officer of Cincinnati Christian University, who was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. I never cease to be amazed at the rank hypocrisy, not to mention incredible stupidity, of these "Godly Christians" who solicit sex in public places. Are they subconsciously hoping to get caught? Here are some highlights from WCPO-TV 9:

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A leader of a local Christian University is facing sex charges following an arrest at Mount Airy Forest Saturday morning. Police arrested Robert Williams and charged him with sexual imposition for allegedly grabbing an undercover officer in a sexual manner. According to court records, the incident happened on Trail Ridge Road, which is about a mile and a half from the park entrance. Williams is the Chief Financial Officer of Cincinnati Christian University.

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University President David Faust issued a written statement about the arrest. Part of it reads, "We are shocked and dismayed by the news of Robert Williams' arrest. This is a personal tragedy for him and for his family and we lift them up in our prayers. Mr. Williams is being placed on administrative leave from his job at CCU while we learn and assess the facts of the case."

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Cincinnati police recognize an ongoing problem of men soliciting sex from men at the park. They regularly conduct sting operations.

Tuesday Male Beauty

Virginia Marriage Amendment: Two Years Later

Today's Virginian Pilot has an article looking at the impact of the anti-gay "Marriage Amendment" passed in Virginia in 2006 and the practice of same sex couples still continuing to get married or hold commitment ceremonies even though the state will not recognize their unions. The piece also has disingenuous quotes from gay-hater extraordinaire, Victoria "Ice Maiden" Cobb (in my opinion, having sex with her would out one at risk of frost bite and amputation) of The Family Foundation, the Virginia affiliate of Daddy Dobson's homophobic Focus on the Family. The moral of the article is that gays WILL persevere with dignity even if those who hate us try to denigrate our relationships. Here are some highlights:

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Buddy Rau says two things nudged him into tying the knot earlier this year: his 40th nniversary with gay partner Kila Chong and the 2006 state constitutional amendment banning gay arriage.
Two years after Virginians passed the amendment, the measure hasn't stopped some same-sex couples from celebrating extra legal holy union or commitment ceremonies at liberal churches.

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Meanwhile, faith-based advocates of the amendment contend the measure helped preserve Virginia law prohibiting gay marriage and fended off legalization of same-sex unions popping up elsewhere.

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It was a harsh, severe slap in the face," said Glen Coats, who grew up in Chesapeake. "It's filled with vitriolic hate for a certain segment of the population in the way it was worded." Coats, a research analyst, said he and his 16-year partner had a holy union ceremony years ago and had no marriage plans. What they fear, instead, is wording in the amendment they think could allow outsiders to meddle in their wills and affect their ability to inherit property from one another.

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Coats, 54, is so concerned about the potential consequence of that text, he said, that he and his partner might leave Virginia when they retire. "It doesn't feel like home anymore," he said. Same-sex couples who stay can at least have a symbolic, religious union ceremony at churches such as New Life Metropolitan Community Church, The Great Awakening United Church of Christ, Norfolk's Unitarian Church and the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists congregation. All offered union ceremonies before the amendment.

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"Whenever two adults come forward and say, 'We want to do this with the witness of our community and our notion of God,' then of course I want to say, 'Yes, yes, yes, let's do that. Who cares what the state is doing?' " said the Rev. Jennifer Ryu of the Williamsburg church.

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"We decided that a church that welcomes you, no matter who you are, is a good one to get married in," Chong said. . . . It absolutely meant something to me," Chong said. "I thought that we look to a God who's all-loving." It meant something else as well. "It helped us tell the God-fearing people who voted for the amendment: the heck with you," Chong said. "You don't want us, but we want each other, and our friends want us."

Final Monday Male Beauty