GLAA Forum

Soulful Voices for Marriage Equality: DC Clergy United

From a celebration at Asbury United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C., October 29, 2009.

"Make it a bloody mary"

The great Shakespearean actor William Marshall (known to Trekkies as Dr. Daystrom) in the 1972 blaxploitation flick Blacula.

NY 23: the Nutroots take over

Republican nominee Dierdre Scozzafava released her supporters today in the special election for New York's 23rd congressional district. This will almost certainly give the edge to Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, who was running neck-and-neck with Democratic nominee Bill Owens. Andrew Sullivan comments:

What we're seeing, I suspect, is an almost classic example of a political party becoming more ideological after its defeat at the polls. in order for that ideology to win, they will also have to portray the Obama administration as so far to the left that voters have no choice but to back the Poujadists waiting in the wings. And that, of course, is what they're doing. There is a method to the Ailes-Drudge-Cheney-Rove denialism. They create reality, remember?

From the mindset of an ideologically purist base - where a moderate Republican in New York state is a "radical leftist" - this makes sense. But for all those outside the 20 percent self-identified Republican base, it looks like a mix of a purge and a clusterf*ck. If Hoffman wins, and is then embraced by the GOP establishment, you have a recipe for a real nutroots take-over. This blood in the water will bring on more and more and deadlier and deadlier sharks.

Psycho

Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake of Psycho had the same music, screenplay, and title design as Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 original. Why did it fall flat? Perhaps it was the use of color instead of B&W, or the casting. But Bernard Herrmann's music is still the gold standard of scary. There's nothing like it to put you in a Halloween mood.

Georgetown students rally against hate violence

WaPo reports:

About 50 Georgetown University students rallied on campus at noon Friday to show solidarity with a student who was allegedly attacked this week because of her perceived sexual orientation.

"We should not have to fear for our lives when we walk down the street," said freshman JM Alatis, secretary and historian of GU Pride, the student group that organized the rally in less than 24 hours via Facebook, Twitter, text message and e-mail.

The assault occurred about 9:10 p.m. Tuesday, the university's Department of Public Safety said. A female student walking on Canal Road near the entrance to Georgetown's campus was confronted by two men who shouted anti-gay insults at her. The assailants, described as white males in their late 20s, grabbed her book bag, pushed her to the ground and struck her with the bag before leaving the scene, according to a university statement.

Sullivan: Free at last

Andrew Sullivan celebrates the end of the HIV immigration ban:

The ban has been in existence for 22 years, pioneered by Jesse Helms, resisted by the first Bush, signed into law by Bill Clinton, legislatively repealed by George W. Bush and now administratively ended by Barack Obama. In an age when bipartisanship is out of fashion, the repeal was led by Gordon Smith and John Kerry, with backing from many Republicans and Democrats. The work of staffers - Rob Epplin and Alex Nunez, in particular - was invaluable. The support of Immigration Equality was vital. The lobbying of HRC was an important late development. The readers of the Dish also helped raise awareness of this and emailed Congress to move it forward. It means a huge amount to many people unknown to you and me but struggling in ways you and I cannot truly imagine. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

For me, it is the end of 16 years of profound insecurity. Like many others, my application for permanent residence and citizenship can go forward. And I will be able to see my family again in England and know that my HIV will not force me to choose between my husband and the country I have come to call my home. There is no price to be put on that.

Congrats to Andrew and all the other people whose lives will now have one less unnecessary burden.

FP: Uganda's Outrageous New Sex Law

Foreign Policy reports disturbing news from Uganda:

Robert, the gay entrepreneur I spoke with, has had the same partner for nearly nine years, and introduced him alternately as his husband, partner, and boyfriend at a Ugandan bar known as a safe gathering place. "This is the only gay bar in Kampala," the partner said, declining to be named at all to protect his job. "Why are you so surprised? This is the country that wants to kill and imprison us."

Robert wears a large golden crucifix and said that he like most Ugandans he is still extremely religious, a position shared by Val Kalende, a self-described "LGBT activist" who was one of three arrested in 2008. "I'm a born-again Christian and I'm not ashamed to say that," Kalende said in an interview in a secluded hotel on the outskirts of town. "Actually I'm a minister in my local church. My pastor I think doesn't know, but for me nothing can ever separate me from [religion]."

Gay Ugandans and activists hope that the international community will condemn the bill strongly enough that either Parliament or Uganda's executive branch will back down. Approximately 40 percent of the country's government budget comes from international donors, with most funding from the United States and Europe.

US: Massachusetts can't force gay marriage benefits

More fierce advocacy. (AP story)

Dobson leaving radio show

How can we go on?

Queery me

This week's Blade asks me "20 gay questions." Here are a few of my answers:

Who’s your gay hero? Britain’s Peter Tatchell, who, among other things, twice attempted a citizen’s arrest of Robert Mugabe.

What has been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime? When Barbara Cook put down the mic and sang “Anyone Can Whistle.”

On what reality TV show would you fare best? “Survivor: City Hall”

What gay stereotype annoys you most? The one where because I am gay, I automatically must know that Michelle Obama wore a sleeveless aubergine Narcisco Rodriguez dress to her husband’s first speech to Congress.

What is the most overrated social custom? Going to bed with someone just to avoid being rude. No, wait ...

What’s your advice for gay teens? Learn the history of the brave and remarkable people who came before you, think for yourself and get in touch with your inner fabulousness.

More anti-gay ranting from Imhoff disguised as populism

Gary Imhoff of DCWatch, who has shown himself to be impervious to reason or contrary evidence in his outrage that our city's elected legislators legislate in a way he doesn't like, continues his misrepresentations:

Our text for today comes from the words of the prophets of the city council in their hearing of October 26 on the ironically misnamed “Religious Liberty and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009.” Please turn your browers to http://octt.dc.gov/services/on_demand_video/channel13/october2009/10_26_09_JUDICI.asx.

The councilmembers lectured attendees on how gay marriage was an obvious matter of plain equality; and how much wiser, finer, and better this generation was than all prior human generations because it came to the realization that same-sex marriage was a simple matter of equality. They told opponents of same-sex marriage that their opposition was the result only of their fears, prejudices, biases, and hatreds, and then they said that they were simply asking for respect for their point of view, respect that they would not reciprocate. Their special message to religious opponents was that morality was not a matter of eternal truth, but was ever changing, subject to revelations given to political leaders, and they had plenty of support from religious leaders proud that they could keep up to date by abandoning the old fashioned and outdated basic beliefs of their churches.

In the early hours of the hearing, councilmembers attempted to disguise and soften their scorn for supporters of traditional, heterosexual marriage simply by not asking them any questions, while they showered supporters of same-sex marriage with praise. But at an hour and forty-two minutes into the hearing, Councilmember Catania revealed a snide and condescending attitude toward District voters. He argued that citizens cannot be trusted to vote on fundamentally important issues, accusing them prospectively of being bigots because they may disagree with his position. At the 3:04 point, he returned to the issue and talked about the “less generous nature of humankind,” and told a supporter of the definition of marriage initiative that people will vote against human rights 80 percent of the time because of their hate and fear. In several press reports that shared the councilmembers’ snarky, derisive attitude toward the electorate, this exchange has been praised highly as a decisive put-down. When councilmembers speak of the right to vote, they mean only their right to vote as the rightful overlords of the peasantry. The unenlightened peasantry, who do not share their wisdom, who are motivated by nothing but the basest of motives, should have no right to vote on the most important issues, and they also should have no right to appeal the councilmembers’ decision to higher authorities.

Mr. Imhoff, I have just had a revelation that you are a bigoted jackass. Since my previous detailed refutations have fallen on deaf ears, I shan't bother to repeat myself now, except to say this: we do not live in a theocracy, and your right to vote does not trump my right to equal protection of the law. Oh, and by the way, the D.C. Council members whose alleged tyranny you decry were all elected by District voters after having pledged their support for civil marriage equality.

Georgetown student attacked for pro-gay t-shirt

News Channel 8 reports:

A Georgetown student says she was attacked because of the gay rights t-shirt she was wearing. Police say she was targeted because of her perceived sexual orientation.

Police say it happened Tuesday night near the school’s entrance on Canal Road. The female student says two men started insulting her with derogatory comments based on her perceived sexual orientation. Then, officers say, the men took her book bag, pushed her to the ground, and then struck her with the bag.

Police say the student was not seriously injured in the attack and the two suspects got away.

A campus wide safety alert was sent out after the attack. One student organization held a meeting Thursday night to talk about the incident while more than 150 students are planning to wear a t-shirts with logos in support of gay rights on Friday.

(Hat tip: Joel Lawson)

The latest posting from Harry Jackson's alternate universe

Bishop Harry Jackson, D.C.'s leading marriage equality opponent (except that he's from Maryland and admitted on Monday to Councilmember David Catania that he hasn't voted in the District once in the past decade), offers more unreality in his latest column on TownHall.com. His jumpingi-off point this time is a warning by D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) against going to Congress to overturn a decision by D.C.'s own elected officials:

The council’s job is to safeguard the rights of the people --- especially their right to vote. It should empower residents, not threaten them. Somehow their desire to be on the “right side of history” has become so strong for council members that they are determined to advance the cause of gay rights (even if it abridges the rights of the majority of the citizens in the District).

Our situation in DC is a classic example of how a special-interest group can receive extra special treatment, even favoritism, as a result of systematic and strategic work. The gay lobby has been so extensive that a majority of the city’s council members say that they arrived at their conviction to support same-sex marriage a couple of years ago. Therefore, when the groundwork was finally finished this spring, the council’s unity on such a difficult issue had been secured several years ago. As a result of this grassroots preparation, the people’s concerns on many additional issues will not be considered.

It is ironic that the city’s most fundamental civil rights---the right to vote---is being hijacked in the name of giving one group its civil rights....

There is a growing sense of outrage among average citizens of the city....

Last Sunday, several thousand people gathered on Freedom Plaza to shout with one voice, “Let the people vote”! Many of them feel that a people’s revolution is needed to call for the ouster or recall of many of DC’s elected officials.

Two different sources who attended the anti-gay rally last Sunday — one a local news reporter and the other a GLAA colleague — told me that there were no more than 300 to 400 people in attendance. Bishop Jackson's crowd estimating skills appear to be about as accurate as his reading of District voters, who have shown no groundswell of outrage against the marriage equality bill. As to the hearing on the bill last Monday, it is true that Jackson brought a sizeable crowd of acolytes with him, who exited en masse the moment he rose from the witness table; but the vast majority of witnesses at the hearing were in favor of the bill.

As usual, Jackson makes no effort to spell out how granting equal protection to gay people "abridges the rights of the majority" — unless he means the majority's right to discriminate against us, or his right to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else. In his column he also states that "a large number of people are willing to fight to protect marriage as the first battle in a war against DC’s political machine." Our city's elected officials are only a "political machine" because his view is not prevailing.

Mind you, Jackson is a longtime Maryland resident and voter who rented an apartment in D.C. solely for the purpose of interfering in our affairs, yet he has the gall to talk about others imposing themselves on the people of the city. So it is no surprise that he describes equal marriage rights as "extra special treatment," and describes gay people's participation in the political process as "systematic and strategic work," whereas his own political participation is merely a citizen's exercise of his rights.

You are losing the old fashioned way, Bishop Jackson — by earning it — and your desperate lies are fooling no one but your own cheering section, most of whom we expect are voters from Ward 9. (Note to non-Washingtonians: our city has only eight wards.)

Update: Bob Summersgill commented on Facebook:

"The gay lobby has been so extensive that a majority of the city’s council members say that they arrived at their conviction to support same-sex marriage a couple of years ago. Therefore, when the groundwork was finally finished this spring, the council’s unity on such a difficult issue had been secured several years ago."

Yep. We are good. This is definately the way to win. Frank Kameny started the effort 50 years ago. GAA began the intensive lobying on a range of GLBT issues 38 years ago. And the specific marriage lobbying was started by "a small group of grumpy old men that the movement has left behind," just 8 years ago.

Yeah us!

Obama announces regs ending HIV immigration ban

President Obama today announced the publication of the final regulations ending America's HIV immigration ban, which dates back to the 1980s:

President Obama called the 22-year ban on travel and immigration by HIV-positive individuals a decision "rooted in fear rather than fact" and announced the end of the rule-making process lifting the ban.

The president signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 at the White House Friday and also spoke of the new rules, which have been under development more more than a year. "We are finishing the job," the president said.

The regulations are the final procedural step in ending the ban, and will be published Monday in the Federal Register, to be followed by the standard 60-day waiting period prior to implementation....

"This really proves that immigration laws that exclude families and stigmatize individuals are destined to fail," said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, a group that has mobilized more than 20,000 comments in support of ending the ban.

I got the news at lunchtime from Mara Kiesling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, whom I met in the subway. Congrats to the many people who are affected by the ban, who will be able to rest a little easier once the 60-day period is over. The policy was always irrational, and increasingly an embarrassment. Thank goodness it is ending.

Update: Bob Summersgill commented on Facebook:

Despite the criticism that I--and many others--have heaped on the President, he has clearly been the best President ever on GLBT and HIV issues. I think we need to collectively take a victory lap or two this week, and then get back to moving the Congress and the President on ENDA, DADT, and the rest.

Religious freedom and marriage equality

In light of questions that have arisen concerning the religious freedom provisions in the D.C. marriage equality bill — specifically, demands from some quarters for a broader religious exemption — our colleague Bob Summersgill has submitted the following supplemental testimony. My supplemental submission on behalf of GLAA follows his.

Chairman Mendelson and members of the Council-

Please include this email as supplemental testimony on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, Bill 18-482.

I did not comment on Section 2(b) of the bill that protects religious freedom because I had thought it was well written. In light of the testimony and proposed amendments to the section I offer these additional considerations. I will leave the legislative drafting to the experts, you and your staff.

The religious exemption in this bill should not be narrowly focused on marriage. Most, if not all, of the religious objectors to the bill are just as offended by my marriage as my being gay. The Catholic Church finds the idea of my marriage as abhorrent as my taking communion. That is and should be their right. A narrowly focused religious exemption to marriage would merely be used as a way to get around the lack of exemption to sexual orientation, religion, race, etc. It would also fail to live up to the broad guarantees of the First Amendment.

It would be preferable to make a broad exemption for religion and religious practice to the entire Human Rights Act. A religion should be free to discriminate on the basis of marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin and every other category of the Human Rights Act. Singling out marriage gives the appearance that the government finds that my marriage is something in particular that is offensive. Rather the message should be that religions may discriminate on any basis as their faith dictates. The narrow marriage exemption also gives special status to anti-gay religions at the expense of racist, sexist, and xenophobic religions. The law needs to be neutral to religious belief--including religious discrimination-- without regard to which views we find offensive. The Human Rights Act does not rank different kinds of discrimination, and nor should this bill.

The question should then be around the limits of what practices or facilities qualify for the religious exemption. Clearly that should be any house of worship, service, ritual, or facility used primarily for religious observance or education. This would cover, for instance, wedding receptions and AA meetings held in church facilities.

It should not extend to facilities, programs, or businesses that are not used or operated primarily for religious purposes. If a church operates a business, the business should be subject to the Human Rights Act, much as "unrelated business income" is taxable.

Mandela and the game that made a nation

Jesse Kornbluth at headbutler.com has an interesting article about the upcoming film Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman, who also is producer. The film is based on the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, by John Carlin. Kornbluth writes:

If you read nothing else this month, please get your hands on "Playing the Enemy" and read pages 201 to 253.

It won't take long.

By the time Nelson Mandela walks into that stadium, your heart will be pounding. By the time he walks into the Springboks locker, you'll be in tears. And you'll cry pretty much straight through to the end.

All because, on June 24, 1995, the South African Rugby team beat New Zealand to win the Rugby World Cup.

If you're like most Americans, you know that Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison --- 18 of them in a tiny cell on Robben Island --- and emerged without hatred to spearhead a peaceful transfer of power in South Africa. But you probably know nothing about the 1995 Rugby World Cup match. John Carlin's brilliant book corrects that, and, along the way, presents a concise biography of a remarkable man.

Obama to sign Ryan White reauthorization Friday

The Washington Blade reports:

President Obama plans to sign into law on Friday a reauthorization of funds under the Ryan White Care Act, according to Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 would provide funding for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS for an additional four years.

First enacted in 1990, the Ryan White Care Act is the nation’s largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS and is designed to assist low-income patients who are underinsured or who have no insurance.

WaPo: Pastors unite to support same-sex marriage in D.C.

Tim Craig at The Washington Post reports on DC Clergy United for Marriage Equality, which made a strong showing at Monday's hearing on the marriage equality bill:

"There is this myth out there that you can't be pro-God and pro-gay," said the Rev. Robert M. Hardies, senior minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian, in the Columbia Heights area. "We are doing the best we can to share the message that there is strong support from within D.C.'s religious community for equality."

...But after being overshadowed by same-sex marriage opponents, religious leaders who back the concept are speaking out....

The Rev. Louis Shockley of Asbury [United Methodist Church in Northwest Washington] noted at the church service that the sanctuary was founded 173 years ago as a congregation for slaves.

"This congregation has always stood for social justice," he said. "We welcome all on this night to continue the march of justice by standing on the side of love."

At Monday's council hearing on Catania's bill, the religious officials backing same-sex marriage outnumbered those opposing it.

Sparse blogging

Despite how tired I am after a busy week in service of the cause, I'd have posted some items today but encountered technical difficulties. Things seem to be back to normal, so I'll try to get back on track tomorrow. Right now I'm heading for bed to sleep the sleep of the righteous — and I hope that the beef Wellington I had at the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club anniversary reception doesn't raise any complaints. See you Friday.

RJR column: An opening against the right

My column this week looks at an August news conference that opens a window on the right-wing alliances of anti-gay Bishop Harry Jackson:

YouTube videos of an Aug. 18 news conference illuminate the radical right's strategy of recruiting African-American ministers to attack progressive policies, and point to practical linkages between gay rights and women's rights....

At the news conference, anti-gay activist Alveda King (who calls herself "Dr." despite only having an honorary Doctor of Laws), director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life, introduced speakers who claimed that the Democrats' health care legislation promotes abortion and euthanasia. King has written, "Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother."

Dr. Donna J. Harrison, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, claimed that "under the proposed health care bill, I could lose my job for refusing to kill your unborn child."

Day Gardner, president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, stated, "In a time when America is spiraling down into an abyss of debt, joblessness and economic turmoil, President Barack Obama has been putting a great deal of his time into a big push to kill as many children as possible." She claimed that abortion leads to mental health problems in women, something not recognized by either the American Psychological Association or the American Psychiatric Association.

Bishop Jackson accused the health care legislation of "reverse classism" for discriminating against wealthy people like him. Referring to D.C., he added, "In this city, 75 percent of the people who abort their babies are black. Therefore, it is absolutely racist as well.... It is genocidal in its impact."

Other African American ministers, including my pro-choice friend the Rev. Mark Thompson, are offended by these right-wing alliances and are resisting them, which gives gay rights and women's right advocates an opening to build more alliances of our own. The whole column is here.

CSM on hate crimes law

Christian Science Monitor reporter Linda Feldmann interviewed me Wednesday for her story on President Obama's signing of the hate crimes bill. She uses someone else's quote for the "this is great, but now comes the heavy lifting on DOMA repeal, DADT repeal, etc." part of the community response. She quotes my response to the bogus "thought crime" complaint against hate-crime laws:

Tim Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the libertarian Cato Institute, notes that in 2000, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Violence Against Women Act as an overstep of congressional authority under the Commerce Clause.

“The new hate-crime law will be invalidated for similar reasons,” Mr. Lynch writes in a statement. “In the meantime, the law will not prevent any violent crime from happening.”

He adds that hate-crime laws “take the government too close to the notion of ‘thought crimes,’ because investigators will now have to dig into peoples’ lives in order to gather ‘evidence’ to prove the bias element in a court of law.”

Gay-rights activists reject the thought-crime argument.

“Motive has been a part of prosecution of crimes for a very long time,” says Rick Rosendall, vice president for political affairs of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance in Washington. “There’s not hate crime absent a crime.”

Besides, he adds, “opponents would have more credibility if they had objected to hate-crimes laws in the first place.”

Schwarzenegger sends acrostic message to Ammiano

AP reports that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger included a hidden "F*** You" message to openly gay San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in a veto message on one of Ammiano's bills that reached the governor's desk:

A Democratic assemblyman who heckled the governor during a recent event in San Francisco actually received two messages: the veto letter itself and a not-so-subtle rebuke creatively hidden within it.

Like a find-the-word puzzle, the second message was visible by stringing together the first letter of each line down the left-hand margin. It consisted of a common four-letter vulgarity followed by the letters "y-o-u."

"My goodness. What a coincidence," said Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear. "I suppose when you do so many vetoes, something like this is bound to happen."

... The target was San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who had sponsored AB1176. The bill, which passed unanimously in the Assembly and Senate, would have granted the Port of San Francisco expanded financing power to redevelop a former shipyard into a new neighborhood known as Pier 70.

"Kudos to the governor for his creative use of coincidence," said Ammiano’s spokesman, Quintin Mecke. "You certainly have to have a sense of humor in politics. Unfortunately, this humor came at the cost of the Port of San Francisco."

NPR interviews Lou Chibbaro

National Public Radio today interviewed veteran Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro. NPR offers this description and an audio link:

From his coverage of equality marches to political campaigns, to hate crimes, Lou Chibarro, Jr., has covered it all working as a reporter for The Washington Blade. That gay publication was founded 40 years ago with the goal of offering its readers news and perspectives relevant to the gay and lesbian experience. Chibarro shares insight from his 30-year journalism career and explains how reporting on the gay community has, at times, brought both happiness and pain.

IGF: More Fierce Advocacy on Marriage

David Link on the Independent Gay Forum notes this story reporting Attorney General Eric Holder's silence on the Maine ballot initiative even on a visit to Maine, and is not happy:

I've tried to be as generous as I can to the Administration in its political struggle with a morally clear question: equality for gay couples. While the criticism was most prominently used about Afghanistan, if you want to know what dithering looks like, try to draw a straight line graph through the White House positions on same-sex couples.

And now, a week before a critical election we might just be able to win, Attorney General Eric Holder goes right into Maine and says -- directly to Maine voters -- that he and the President really don't much care, one way or the other, how the election comes out.

I'll say it again: If the right wins either or both of these elections, it will energize the worst elements of the very faction that is most harmful to the President, himself. Even if he doesn't want to help us explicitly (and it's now clear he does not), is that really the outcome he wants?

I just gave an interview to a reporter at the Christian Science Monitor criticizing the President for the same thing. We know that the Maine ballot measure is up to Maine voters, but we want the President to issue a statement opposing it, just as he did last year regarding Proposition 8 (in a letter to San Francisco's Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club). Why the silence, Mr. President? Would it really cost you so much? This is quite exasperating to me as a supporter of this President.

Obama signs hate crimes law; NCTE reacts

In a Rose Garden ceremony at 2:30 p.m.. today, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. The National Center for Transgender Equality celebrates "the very first protections for transgender people in US history":

It's Official: First Federal Law to Protect Transgender People President Obama has just signed into law the very first protections for transgender people in US history: The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

“This is a powerful day as the United States government, for the first time, stands up and declares that violence against transgender people is wrong and will not be tolerated in our country,” stated Mara Keisling, the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Every day transgender people live with the reality and the threat of personal violence, simply because of who they are. This must end and it must end now. The new law provides for some vital first steps in preventing these terrible crimes as well as addressing them when they occur. At NCTE, we are dedicating this day to all those who have been victims of hate-motivated violence as well as recommitting ourselves to ending the epidemic of hate that continues to damage our communities and our country.”

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will have a number of positive impacts:

1. It will help educate law enforcement about the frequent hate violence against transgender people and the need to prevent and appropriately address it;
2. It will help provide federal expertise and resources when they are needed to overcome a lack of resources or the willful inaction on the part of local and/or state law enforcement;
3. It will help educate the public that violence against anyone, including transgender people, is unacceptable and illegal.

Most importantly, this law marks a turning point for the federal government, by including positive protections for transgender people and taking seriously the need to address the discrimination that we face.

D.C. Wire: another vote for same-sex marriage

Tim Craig on WaPo's D.C. Wire notes comments by D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) at Monday's hearing on the marriage equality bill:

"I speak to the fact that while we may have very strong personal beliefs on an issue, as a legislator, we must look at how the law is enacted on civil and human rights issues," Thomas said. "I have held fast to my commitment that marriage equality is one that can be performed and we can move forward as a city."

Thomas, who is up for reelection next year, could face some political pressure in his district if he votes for Catania's bill. Some of the most fervent critics of same-sex marriage in the District reside in Ward 5, including several advisory neighborhood commissioners. But Northeast Washington also has a growing gay and lesbian population.

Thomas's support could be a huge boost to same-sex marriage proponents. With his support, every council member representing areas west of the Anacostia River will be behind the legislation.

Thomas's intention to vote for the bill was already known to activists, but his public statement is certainly welcome, particularly his distinction between personal beliefs on one hand and civil and human rights on the other.

Petrelis hits WaPo for silence on Jamaican violence

I chatted yesterday with San Francisco blogger Michael Petrelis, who has been active in calling attention to anti-gay violence in Jamaica, and mentioned that the Travel section in Sunday's Washington Post featured a big piece on Jamaica, but made no mention of any problems. He blogs on it today:

On Sunday, the Post ran quite a glowing promotional travel piece on Jamaica that failed to in any way deal with the overwhelming and brutal violence on the island.

In her sunny-side up article, subtitled "Enough with the gates resorts," Post writer Andrea Sachs breezily mentions guarded fortresses for tourists, and omits any context for why they are needed. You know, little things like poverty-driven violence, oh, and targeted shootings and other deadly mayhem perpetrated against gays....

Just as with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I don't get the sense that the Post reporter and her editors are the least bit concerned with numerous State Department human rights reports detailing tremendous Jamaican violence against many citizens, especially gays and transgender individuals.

Hey, Washington Post editors and Andrea Sachs: Shed your bubble-wrap and notice the homo-hatred.

Keen: Gay marriage, partnership battles heat up in the Washingtons

Lisa Keen, who (full disclosure) was my first editor as a freelance writer, reports on the marriage battles in both Washington, D.C. and Washington State. She writes about yesterday's hearing on the marriage equality bill in D.C.:

Rick Rosendall, a spokesperson for the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, was among the first to speak at the hearing in Washington, D.C. He told the D.C. Council that opponents of same-sex marriage “describe marriage equality activists as both a small minority and a Goliath that needs a David to slay us.”

“Bishop [Harry] Jackson,” a leading opponent of same-sex marriage in D.C., “talks as if gay people just arrived here from another planet,” said Rosendall. “In fact, our roots in this city run deep. We have helped build our communities, and we will defend them from the ministers of fear and intolerance.” That was around the start of the hearing, at 3:30.

Nearly 100 witnesses and more than seven hours later, Ernestine Copeland, an opponent of same-sex marriage, ended the first day of the hearing at 10:58, asking, “Who among you would allow your male dog to lie with a male dog?” She harangued the Council for deciding “to lead my people to hell” by supporting same-sex marriages which “will destroy our society.”

I did think that was a good sound bite, so I'm glad Lisa liked it.

GLBT Census roundtable set for Nov. 4 at Sumner School

We have received this flyer from Lisa Shaw, LGBT Partnership Specialist for the 2010 Census, concerning a roundtable with members of the District's GLBT community. The discussion will include the counting of same-sex marriages and the tabulating and reporting of the 2010 Census data on gay and lesbian households.

When: Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Charles Sumner School, 17th & M Streets, NW

Panelists:
Jaime Grant, NGLTF (moderator)
Courtney R. Snowden, The Raben Group
Kwesi Thomas, International Federation of Gay Prides
Earlene Budd, Transgender Health Empowerment
Gary Gates, UCLA demographer and author of The Gay and Lesbian Atlas
Tim Olson, Assistant Division Chief, 2010 Census Partnership and Data Services

Forum Theatre holds discussion series tied to Angels

See the announcement below from the Forum Theatre about a program in which GLAA is participating.

OpenForum Returns with Something New for Angels:
Special Guests and PRE-show Discussions

For Immediate Release
Contact: Patrick Bussink
202.288.2756
patrick@forumtheatredc.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 26, 2009)—To coincide with performances of Angels in America at Round House Theatre Silver Spring, Forum Theatre launches the 2009–10 OpenForum discussion series in November with two free stand-alone discussion events and two free pre-show talkbacks. All OpenForum events are led by company member Patrick Bussink, and the stand-alone discussions feature DC organizations whose missions embody the struggles and triumphs evident in Tony Kushner’s landmark of the American stage.

Forum Theatre tells relevant and challenging stories that inspire discussion and build community around productions that are accessible, affordable, and entertaining. At the heart of this mission is the OpenForum program, which hosts open discussions around the ideas, themes, and issues of Forum’s current production. And what better conversation-starter could a company hope for than the play that redefined modern American theatre? When Angels opened on Broadway in 1993, the New York Times praised Kushner’s two-part epic for asking Americans to look at “who we are and just what…we intend this country to become.” Forum’s exciting line-up of discussions explore that very question, addressing issues as relevant today as when this masterpiece first hit the stage.

The AIDS Struggle: A Crisis of Compassion
Monday, November 2, at 7pm
It’s been 25 years since the dawn of HIV/AIDS and more than 16 since Angels in America changed the conversation about a disease that is still woefully out of control, particularly in our own city. Join Forum for a discussion on the ongoing fight against AIDS, how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go. With special guests from The National Association of People with AIDS and Food & Friends.

Queer Citizenship in the New Millennium
Monday, November 16, at 7pm
The movement towards equality for gay Americans has gained significant momentum, but how far does this progress reach? Join Forum as we take a look at the nation's evolving consciousness of GLBT identity, sexuality, and rights. With special guests from Standing on the Side of Love, and the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance.

Bishop Jackson's marriage testimony, David Catania's questions

The best part of this video clip from Monday's hearing on the D.C. marriage equality bill is the questioning by the bill's author, Councilmember David Catania, following Bishop Harry Jackson's testimony.

News 7 report on marriage bill hearing

This report by Sam Ford at News 7 (the local ABC affiliate) gives the impression that religious opponents of marriage equality dominated yesterday's hearing, when in fact the pro-gay forces overwhelmed the antis. Ford also misspells the name of our wonderful ally, gay-affirming Rev. Dennis Wiley.

"The demons has showed up!" (a whackjob at the marriage equality hearing)

Metro Weekly reports on yesterday's marathon D.C. Council hearing on the marriage equality bill:

A majority of the testimonies were touching, pro-marriage equality stories from citizens, activists, and other local religious and political figures -- both gay and straight. However, some of the testimony came with arguments from the Catholic Archdiocese and other socially conservative religious perspectives. Others used the argument that the citizens deserve the right to vote on whether gays deserve equal civil marriage rights.

MW also provides a video of possibly the wackiest moment from the hearing, provided by the last witness, Ernestine Copeland:

Gay marriage opponents pack Board of Elections hearing

The Washington Blade reports on Monday's hearing by the Board of Elections and Ethics on the proposed anti-gay D.C. ballot initiative:

The D.C. Board of Election & Ethics heard a flood of support Monday for a proposed voter initiative to ban same-sex marriage in the city, with far more people supporting speaking for than against the idea.

People who signed up to ask officials to approve the voter initiative outnumbered — more than 80 to 10 — the people slated to speak against placing such an initiative on the ballot....

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys Cleta Mitchell and Austin Nimocks ... argued that a 1995 D.C. Court of Appeals ruling in the case Dean v. District of Columbia held that the city’s denial at that time of a marriage license to a same-sex couple did not violate the D.C. Human Rights Act, and that the Dean ruling still applies today.

The two attorneys said Dean takes precedent over the election law’s requirement that initiatives and referendum comply with the Human Rights Act.

But gay rights attorney Mark Levine, working on behalf the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, wrote in a legal brief he submitted to the board that the Dean decision has been effectively overturned by legislative action taken by the City Council.

“[F]ourteen years later, the legal landscape has changed dramatically,” Levine wrote. “The D.C. Council has expressly endorsed same-sex marriage. The Council has not only made all marriage statutes gender neutral; it has also expressly required the District to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside its jurisdiction — something not possible in 1995 when no state permitted gay couples to marry.”

Levine's argument regarding Dean was virtually the same as my own on behalf of GLAA. While those of us on the pro-marriage-equality side were vastly outnumbered by the opponents, most of the witnesses supporting the initiative offered only religious arguments. As Bob Summersgill (who also testified) said, our opponents essentially agreed the initiative would discriminate against same-sex couples, they simply thought that such discrimination was appropriate. But as several of us pointed out, and as the Board members appear to agree, the facts and the law are against them.

In addition to those already mentioned, testifying on the pro-gay side at the BOEE hearing were Philip Pannell for the D.C. Coalition, Allen Rose for Dignity Washington, and Nick McCoy for the Human Rights Campaign. Also opposing the initiative at the hearing were D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson (who immediately afterward had to run across town to prepare for his own hearing on the marriage equality bill) and Brian Flowers, General Counsel to the D.C. Council.

A lot of us will be quite surprised if the Board rules that the proposed measure is a proper subject matter for initiative.

Rev. Rob Hardies asks D.C. City Council to Stand on the Side of Love

Here's the first YouTube video posted from today's hearing on D.C.'s marriage-equality bill. Rev. Hardies is pastor of All Souls Unitarian Church.

Marriage hearing sets off outpouring of LGBT families' stories

I just got home after having a quick bite at the Duplex Diner with GLAA veteran Craig Howell. I stayed at the hearing on the marriage-equality bill as long as I could, but I hadn't eaten all day and was getting dehydrated. I can tell you it's tiring to testify at two hearings on the same day.

I am going to load my testimony at glaa.org and watch the rest of the hearing in bed. So far the hearing has gone amazingly well. The diversity of witnesses, the personal stories, the expressions of emotion, the many gay-affirming ministers. There were fewer from our side at the Board of Election hearing earlier today, but we had solid arguments while the others mostly cited their religious beliefs against us. As I told more than one reporter, some of our opponents insist that if they are not allowed to impose their religious doctrines on everyone else, they are being disenfranchised. They are so going to lose.

Many thanks and hugs to the many people who risked public exposure of their emotions by telling their stories at the hearing on the bill today. This is powerful stuff, especially as compared with the obnoxious statements of the relatively few opponents who testified, such as Kathryn Pearson-West and ANC Commissioner Bob King, both of Ward 5. I hasten to point out that GLAA President Mitch Wood also hails from Ward 5, as do other allies of ours. But the vileness of Ms. Pearson-West's outburst surely did her cause more damage than it did ours.

I am watching the hearing live on D.C. Cable Channel 13. George Slaughter, an African American man who says he grew up on the South Side of Chicago a block away from where Michelle Obama was raised, just came out in his testimony. He said his sister begged him not to appear, expressing worry about his job. he said he is speaking for many friends who cannot appear. Mr. Slaughter, I owe you a big hug.

Thanks to Judiciary Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson and the other councilmembers who participated in the hearing, especially David Catania, the bill's author, who though not a committee member has shown an author's commitment by slogging through this long hearing (the first 100 are being heard today), which will likely go until 11 p.m. The hearing will then be continued to November 2, when nearly 200 additional witnesses will be heard. We are assembling a very solid record in support of the historic step the District is about to take. Praise and thanks to all our coalition partners. (BTW, if you haven't emailed me your testimony, please do so I can load it on GLAA's website.)

Update: Here is my testimony for GLAA from Monday's two marriage-related hearings:
GLAA testimony for marriage equality
GLAA testimony against ballot initiative

Big day for marriage in D.C.

Today is a big day for marriage-equality advocates in D.C. I will be testifying on behalf of GLAA at two hearings: one at 10 a.m. before the Board of Elections and Ethics on whether the proposed "Marriage Initiative of 2009" is a proper subject for initiative (our answer is an emphatic no); and a hearing at 3:30 p.m. before the D.C. Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary on the "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" (which we support).

Because I'll be off slaying dragons, it will be a light blogging day. If I have time to stop at home between hearings, I'll post an update. Otherwise, I'll get back to you this evening, when I will post GLAA's testimony for both hearings (plus any testimony by our allies that they email us) on our main website at glaa.org.

Alveda King: "pro-life warrior"

More from the August 18, 2009 news conference featuring Dr. Alveda King and Bishop Harry Jackson, attacking Democratic health care reform legislation as promoting abortion and euthanasia.

More from National Black Pro-Life Union and friends

More from the health care press conference held on August 18, 2009 by the National Black Pro-Life Union and others. Incidentally, C-SPAN misidentified Bishop Harry Jackson's Hope Christian Church as being located in D.C. It is located in Maryland.

Bishop Harry Jackson: health care reform is "racist," "genocidal"

I missed this story two months ago, but it was brought to my attention this morning by my friend Rev. Mark Thompson, with whom I have worked since 1997 on the NAACP-DC Police Task Force. The C-SPAN video below was posted on August 19 by blogger Joe.My.God. It is from a joint press conference at the National Press Club by the National Black Pro-Life Union and Priests for Life. Bishop Jackson, accompanied by notorious anti-gay crusader Alveda King, claims that the proposed national health care reform promotes abortion, which he says is racist and genocidal because a majority of women seeking abortions in Washington, D.C. are African American. Here we see the extreme company that Bishop Jackson keeps.

(Hat tip: Rev. Mark Thompson)