GLAA Forum

Montgomery County Public Schools stand up for free speech

In response to a complaint from a parent about a flyer from Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) Montgomery County Public Schools has reaffirmed their right to distribute materials.  According to MyFoxDC:

The group is taking advantage of school board policy in Montgomery County. Based on court decisions, the policy is: if a group can prove it is a non-profit, community entity, it can send flyers home with students on four occasions a year. Most of the time, it is the PTA or the Girl Scouts that send home flyers. There is little or no controversy over those messages.

PFOX maintains that individuals that want to change their sexual orientation can do so, a supposition that is widely disputed.   The whole idea of gay conversion therapy has come under disrepute, most notabley with the exposure of George Rekers hiring a "rentboy" to carry his "luggage".  Even Exodus International President Alan Chambers has said:

“The majority of people that I have met, and I would say the majority meaning 99.9 percent of them, have not experienced a change in their orientation or have gotten to a place where they could say that they could never be tempted or are not tempted in some way or experience some level of same-sex attraction. I think that there is a gender issue there. There are some women who have challenged me and said, ‘Well that – my orientation or my attractions have changed completely.’ Those have been few and far between. The vast majority of people that I know do still experience some level of same-sex attraction.”

GetEQUAL DC has asked if any response to this is required from the gay community.

National Gay-Straight Alliance Day message from Secretary Arne Duncan

Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality comments, "Wow. The Obama Administration speaking up for us again."

From deployed military in Bagram: It Gets Better

Bravo to these American servicemembers deployed in Bagram, Afghanistan for making this video. They are: SSGT Steven Procter, SSGT Shelise Harmon, AT2 Erin Jones, SPC James Velazquez, SPC Curtis Robinson.

GLSEN Releases Groundbreaking Study of Bias, Bullying and Homophobia in Grades K-6

Here's a portion:

Key Findings on Gender Non-Conforming Students

• Nearly 1 in 10 of elementary students in 3rd to 6th grade (8%) indicate that they do not always conform to traditional gender norms/roles - either they are boys who others sometimes think, act or look like a girl, or they are girls who others sometimes think, act or look like a boy.
• Gender nonconforming students are less likely than other students to feel very safe at school (42% vs 61%), and are more likely than others to indicate they sometimes do not want to go to school because they feel unsafe or afraid there (35% vs 15%). Gender nonconforming students are also more likely than others to be called names, made fun of or bullied at least sometimes at school (56% vs 33%).
• Less than half of teachers believe that a gender nonconforming student would feel comfortable at their school (male student who acts or looks traditionally feminine: 44%, female student who acts or looks traditionally masculine: 49%)
• Only a third (34%) of teachers report having personally engaged in efforts to create a safe and supportive classroom environment for gender nonconforming students.

Check it out.

First LGBT awareness license plate to go on sale in Indiana

Christopher Fitzgerald shares this news from Indiana.

Check It hits the runway

WaPo reports:

The masked fashion models marched onto the stage with fists pumping and feet stomping in unison, music blaring, before all 15 crouched in silence. One by one, to the sounds of explosions, they leaped up to share their experiences with rough city life as gang members.

One started stealing cars when she was 13, then lived on the streets and sold drugs before getting locked up for armed robbery at 17. Another had been sexually abused and raped. One was neglected by parents who were addicted to crack cocaine....

The young men and women are members of Check It, a gay crew that started in the Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast, and its sister gang, Unexpected....

But on Saturday night, Check It and Unexpected members tried to show a different side to their personalities by hosting “Fashion Transformation,” a fashion show at the D.C police department’s Boys and Girls Club on Shepherd Street NW, where they unveiled their own T-shirt designs and showed off their modeling talents and dance moves.

Good for them, and good luck to them. We wrote about them here.

Grading Mayor Gray, one year in

John Riley in Metro Weekly takes a look at Mayor Vince Gray's performance after his first year as D.C. mayor. He talks not only to Jeff Richardson of the Mayor's Office of GLBT Affairs, who has issued an annual report for 2011, but to several activists from the LGBT community. Alex Padro, Shannon Cuttle, Ruby Corado, and I all have good things to say about Mayor Gray.

As reporter Riley notes, this positive view contrasts with the Mayor's low rating in public opinion polls. Indeed, someone posted the comment "Corrupt Scum bag" below the article under the pseudonym "Guest." It should be kept in mind that our mayoral elections occur every four years; if Gray hasn't improved his numbers two years from now, he'll be in trouble. But we're only one year in, and many of us who have worked with him are looking beyond the distractions and seeing good efforts.

Reading the article, I recognize that it sounds awfully arrogant for me to say I am better informed than people who are reacting to negative headlines. The reporter asked me how I could explain the contrast between the positive things that I and other activists were saying about the Mayor, on one hand, and the more negative view of the wider community as reflected in the polls. My point was simply that those of us who have worked with Vince Gray know about the good work that he and his administration have been doing with LGBT activists.

Those of us who are trying to change things for the better don't have the luxury of hurling dismissive insults. We are meeting with city officials to advance the interests of our community, and we are having a much better experience than we had with Adrian Fenty. BTW, I am talking about dedicated community activists, not a bunch of hacks lining their pockets. I am aware that a lot of gay people voted for Fenty; but can we please look at the full record here, and not just the scandals? The issues LGBT activists are working on include job training and placement for transgender people; impoverishment protections for same-sex couples who are excluded from federal Medicaid protections by DOMA; confronting discrimination by police; and strengthening the city's response to bullying of our youth.

I am not saying that all we should have is cheerleading, or that there are not other legitimate perspectives and concerns. But then let's air them with specificity and a constructive attitude. It won't kill us to give credit where due. If all you're willing to do is hurl anonymous insults, you're a jerk. Personally, I would like to abolish anonymous comments on web pages. I believe most people would think twice about their nastiness if they had to put their name to it.

IFBP needs your vote to battle homophobia in HBCU campuses

From our friends at the International Federation of Black Prides, Inc. (IFBP):

As a reminder, please sign up at http://bit.ly/s97drw to vote daily for the International Federation of Black Prides, Inc. (IFBP) and four other progressive groups. Yesterday, the IFBP was in 2nd place; however, today we've slipped to 10th place, dangerously close to receiving no funding at all for our project. Please continue to vote daily (even on the weekends!). If you have not signed up to vote, please do so, by all means. This is an easy way to support the IFBP!!!  Keep in mind, I'm not asking you to donate money in this appeal -- just to vote daily, so the IFBP wins $50,000 from Pepsi to educate LGBT college students how to fight homophobia on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) campuses and in their communities. Once you're signed up to receive the Progressive Slate emails, voting takes literally one minute a day. Again, here's the link: http://bit.ly/s97drw. Thank you.

Since the initial sign-up process can be a little confusing, I've included the step-by-step procedure below: 

1. Go to the following link: http://bit.ly/s97drw, which will take you to the Progressive Slate's page.

2. Sign up and create a profile - you have do this in order to receive daily reminders and to vote easily for the IFBP and the other four organizations.

3. Then, you will be directed to the Pepsi Refresh Everything page, where you will create a profile as well.

4. You will receive an email from the Pepsi Refresh Project, asking you to confirm your account. Once you have done that, wait for the Progressive Slate email, which will come fromPepsi@progressiveleaders.org -- please do not vote prior to receiving that email.

5. When you receive the Progressive Slate email from Pepsi@progressiveleaders.org directing you to vote for the five best idea listed to be funded, you should click on the first idea.

6. You will then be asked to sign on to the Pepsi Refresh Everything page and vote. 

7. Come back to the Pepsi@progressiveleaders.org email and click on the remaining ideas one at a time to vote (Ours says, "Teaching LGBT college students how to fight homophobia on their campus and beyond").

8. Remember to come back to the email each time and vote for all five ideas, as the five groups are supporting each other. 

9. Every day this month, you will receive an email from the Progressive Slate, prompting you to vote for these five ideas.

10. Remember, you can vote for the five ideas once a day starting today using your email address, Facebook account, and texting. 

11. Please feel free to send this info to your friends and classmates via email, Facebook, Twitter and your websites.

If you are still experiencing difficulties or have any questions, please contact Sterling Washington, Resource and Grant Development Manager at IFBP, via Facebook or email at sawashington at yahoo dot com. 

It's easy enough to sign up... and please make sure you wait for that one email the next day before casting your votes. Thanks.

Appeals Court Says University Can Require Religious Student To Follow Ethics Rules

Americans United for Separation of Church and State celebrates:

The Religious Right’s rigid mindset dictates that its adherents can do things on their own terms no matter what the law or anyone else says. As a student at a Georgia university and the Alliance Defense Fund recently discovered, federal courts don’t support that mentality.

Jennifer Keeton was pursuing an advanced degree in counseling at Augusta State University until it became clear that she intended to impose her religious beliefs on clients in violation of the professional standards of her academic program.

(Hat tip: Craig Howell)

On second thought, don't call 1-800-REALITY

Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant football coach at Penn State who has been charged with sexually assaulting children, should seriously consider getting a new lawyer. AP reports:

A lawyer for a former Penn State assistant football coach accused of molesting boys said Tuesday he didn’t mean to refer to a gay sex phone line when he said anyone who believes university officials thought his client raped a 10-year-old boy and did little about it should call 1-800-REALITY.

The phrase is one attorney Joseph Amendola says he has used for years to mean "get a life," but the phone number is that of a sex line for gay and bi-curious men.

Of course, an adult sex line is entirely different from raping 10-year-old boys; but that doesn't make the reference helpful to Amendola's client. Moral of story: check those generic references you're glibly making, just in case they actually point to something you didn't intend.

If Sandusky's lawyer were any more inept, I'm wondering if I'd start feeling sorry for the creep. Nah.

LeAnn Rimes & GMCLA - The Rose

The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles says of this video from their holiday concert:

LeAnn Rimes pays tribute to LGBT youth everywhere as she joins our holiday concert. Honoring the memory of those who have taken their lives in desperation, and to those who struggle with anti-gay bullying and discrimination - we remind everyone that It Gets Better!

(Hat tip: Craig Howell)

Tyler Perry's open letter to 11-year-old abuse victim

Filmmaker Tyler Perry has written a beautiful open letter to one of the boys who have accused Jerry Sandusky of sexual abuse. Here is how he begins:

I don’t know your name, but I know your face. I don’t know your journey, but I know where you are. I am your brother!

I must tell you, what you have done is so courageous. The strength that it must have taken for your 11-year-old voice to speak out about such a horrible act is something that I didn’t have the strength or courage to do at that age.

I was a very poor young black boy in New Orleans, just a face without a name, swimming in a sea of poverty trying to survive. Forget about living, I was just trying to exist. I was enduring a lot of the same things that you’ve come forward and said happened to you, and it was awful. I felt so powerless. I knew what was happening to me, but unlike you, I couldn’t speak about it because no one saw me. I was invisible and my voice was inaudible.

So to think that you, when you were only 11 years old, spoke up—you are my hero! I’m so proud of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I want you to know you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not your fault. Please know that you were chosen by a monster. You didn’t choose him. You didn’t ask for it and, most of all, you didn’t deserve it....

Do you know that at the young age of 11 you had more courage than all the adults who let you down? All of the ones who didn’t go to the proper authorities, all of the ones who were worried about their careers, reputations, or livelihoods. All of the ones who didn’t want to get involved. Or even the ones who tried to convince your mother not to fight. You are stronger than them all!

Good for Tyler Perry.

(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Bryan Fischer: public displays of homosexuality are to blame for gay kids' deaths

Right Wing Watch reports:

In discussing the murder of openly gay student Lawrence King, Bryan Fischer says the solution is to "curb public expressions of homosexual behavior."

This Thanksgiving I am thankful to RWW for keeping an eye on hateful nutjobs like Fischer.

Golden Hour

(Photo by Robert Dodge)

My column for Thanksgiving uses thoughts on the passing of Frank Kameny as a jumping-off point for a celebration of leadership and carrying on the fight. Here's a portion:

It was the "golden hour" of late afternoon on Nov. 3 during the viewing for gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny when I walked outside the Carnegie Library for some fresh air. I had been greeting people arriving to pay their respects. The sun hung low above the White House to the southwest, bathing the cars on New York Avenue in a golden light. Charles Francis, co-founder of the Kameny Papers Project, sat beside me as I searched for a WiFi signal for my new iPad. The first book I had downloaded was Frank’s 1961 petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, which Charles had published on Kindle. New tools, old struggle.

Two hours later, night had fallen when I walked behind Frank’s flag-draped casket. There at curbside under a half moon stood Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mayor Vincent Gray, several D.C. Council members, and an honor guard of gay servicemembers. They were a testament to how far we’ve come since Frank first fought back. Inside earlier, the Rock Creek Singers of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington had sung three selections including a gorgeous a cappella "Star-Spangled Banner."

Speaking at a memorial gathering for Kameny on Capitol Hill on Nov. 15, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) praised Kameny’s assertiveness, noting he was no "shrinking violet." He drew laughter when he said he appreciated Kameny for proving that effective activism did not require being a neat dresser.

We are all Kameny’s legacy. That is one of the blessings I count this Thanksgiving.

Read the whole thing here.

Religious exemption stripped from Michigan anti-bullying bill

Joe Jervis reports:

Thanks to Democratic state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer and a shitload of bad national publicity, the religious exemption has been stripped from the anti-bullying bill working its way through the Michigan legislature. But gay groups are still unsatisfied, as the edited version of the bill does not specifically outlaw bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

If you can't or won't specify the most prevalent targets of bullying, but instead hide behind generic language, the end result will be little more than a feel-good gesture. You can't fight bias-related crime with a bill whose very language represents a capitulation to bias.

The ACLU tells you how to start a GSA

Schools that have Gay-Straight Alliances have less harassment and students report feeling safer there.  The American Civil Liberties Union has developed a short video and created a web site to with guidelines for students on how to start one at their school.

(via Towleroad)

Stephen Colbert: The Bully Pulpit

The Colbert Report
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When sports fandom trumps decency

The Penn State board of trustees did the right thing yesterday in dismissing legendary football coach Joe Paterno, who failed to report to law enforcement authorities the rape of a boy in the Nittany Lions' shower that a graduate assistant had reported to him in 2002. (He did report it to his superior after waiting a day, then dropped the matter.)

The trustees were also right to dismiss University President Graham B. Spanier for his own appalling response to the indictment of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky on charges of raping multiple underprivileged boys he was supposed to be helping. Here's what the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday:

On Sunday morning, Spanier in a statement announced his unconditional support of Senior Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley, who have both been charged lying to a grand jury in the case.

"I have complete confidence in how they handled the allegations about a former university employee," Spanier said. Late that night, however, following a private meeting of the trustees, both men stepped down.

That howlingly inappropriate circle-the-wagons instinct has now rightfully cost Spanier his job. Meanwhile, WaPo's Dave Sheinin reports that "Paterno also took the extraordinary step of acknowledging his regret for not doing more to stop the abuse." Excuse me, but how is that extraordinary? If any of the guys who knew about the incident in 2002 — including the former graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, now the school's wide receivers coach, who witnessed the rape — had reported it to authorities at the time, the later rapes of other boys could have been prevented.

As Maureen Dowd wrote on Tuesday in NYT:

Like the Roman Catholic Church, Penn State is an arrogant institution hiding behind its mystique. And sports, as my former fellow sports columnist at The Washington Star, David Israel, says, is “an insular world that protects its own, and operates outside of societal norms as long as victories and cash continue to flow bountifully.” Penn State rakes in $70 million a year from its football program.

Some Penn State fans were reportedly pulling down lamp posts last night in the State College village of Happy Valley — not to express their outrage at university officials having spent years facilitating child rape by looking the other way, but to express their outrage that coach Paterno wasn't even being allowed to finish out his 46th season. That illustrates the distorted perspective that helped the crimes to continue for so long. It wasn't just a handful of athletic officials, but the community they served, whose priorities were skewed. Thank goodness Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly did her job.

Sandusky set up a charity to help underprivileged youth, and then used it as a stable for sex with them. The sooner the denizens of Happy Valley confront the depravity of such behavior and the unacceptable failure by Penn State personnel to stop it and report it to authorities, the sooner they can begin to repair the damage this disturbing case has done to their school. At least some in that community last night had the presence of mind to urge their friends and neighbors not to riot. Hey, you have to start somewhere.

Lest you think this grim story contrasts with a more uplifting western tradition of valuing and protecting children, I point you to the late John Boswell's book, The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance.

Dateline: Locker Room

Judging by this disgusting story, officials at Penn State must think the admonition "Do the right thing" is an anatomical instruction.

These guys need to go. Helping vulnerable youth is not the same as helping yourself to vulnerable youth. The victims in this case were as young as 10. Wanted at Penn State: responsible adults.

Linda Harvey tweets of suing Wayne Besen

Wayne Besen's column this week concerns right-wing radio host Linda Harvey, whom he dubs "The Most Homophobic Woman in America".

Harvey in 2010 endorsed Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill, and said this:

The fact they are re-criminalizing homosexuality is (a) their business, (b) it is patronizing for white Westerners to be telling these folks — they are seeing George Soros funded gay groups going into Uganda. They are all through the schools, lots of promotion to kids. Poor kids, poor kids are being offered money and favors and gifts to have sex. That’s exploitation. That’s sex trafficking. And it’s being done mostly homosexually. By Western homosexuals coming in and trying to get involved in Uganda.

Besen responds:

It is absolutely abominable and shameless that Harvey peddled such unsubstantiated propaganda about LGBT westerners coming to Uganda to exploit children. In reality, the Westerners who are actually going to this nation are fundamentalist Christians who are exporting homophobia in an effort to take over Uganda though business contracts and the funneling of US taxpayer money into this repressive, rogue state.

More disturbing, it seems that Harvey thinks it’s okay to terrorize, imprison, and even murder LGBT people in any country that would allow it. One wonders if she would deem it a local matter if the legislation in Uganda were called the “Kill the Christians Bill.” And one also questions if her support for such brutal punishment would apply to American states had they the ability to pass such punitive anti-gay laws.

Harvey, in turn, has threatened a lawsuit.

I am inclined to think that Harvey unwittingly helps our cause by demonstrating the fanaticism and viciousness that we are fighting against. But I could do without this particular brand of help. In the meantime, Wayne could use your support. Follow the link to the Truth Wins Out website near the top of this entry and click on the "donate" button.

Update: Wayne replies to Harvey: "Bring it on!"

Right-wing poll of the day

This just in from AFA's One News Now:

OneNewsNow.com Poll

What's the main reason that public schools seem to be more open about endorsing homosexuality these days? (related article)
o Pressure from powerful pro-homosexual groups and ultra-liberal teachers unions
o Successful propaganda campaigns that undermine traditional morality
o Parents abdicating their roles as teachers of right and wrong

Here are some other possible answers that AFA left out:
o Homosexuality is so irresistible that the teachers can't help themselves
o It's God's plan to push the Culture of Death and increase rich homos' medical costs
o The schools are all run by lesbo Jewish commies
o Enclosed is a prayer offering; please send me pictures of lesbo Jewish commies

The next generation in the fight for equality

On Monday at lunchtime, I guest-lectured a half dozen students at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School on Capitol Hill. I was invited by their teacher, Ayo Magwood, who had brought me to the school once before to talk to her class (some of whose members testified before the Board of Elections and Ethics in February 2010 against a proposed anti-gay ballot measure). The students I spoke to on Monday had chosen same-sex marriage as their thesis topic, so I talked to them about our successful fight for marriage equality here in D.C.

I described our legislative and political strategy, our broad-based coalition which included strong leadership from allies among local clergy as well as voter canvassing and preparation of couples to deal with the media, and how our careful planning and preparation ensured victory when we were challenged in court. The students were enthusiastic and asked good questions. All of them, incidentally, were African American.

The Chavez students represent the next generation of citizens engaged in questions of justice as it is reflected in public policy. It is increasingly commonplace for American high school students to explore not just gay rights in general but gay marriage in particular. Their embrace of this issue is an indication that we are winning at a basic level. Our long-term prospects are excellent. As Frank Kameny often said, "The tide of history is with us."

Apologies, btw, to my friend Michael Crawford of Freedom to Marry, who objects to the use of phrases like "gay marriage" and "same-sex marriage," because what we are talking about is marriage, period. But we have to start from where we are as a society to get where we want to go, and I am more focused on increasing understanding than on language policing. If you just say "marriage," people won't necessarily understand what you're talking about. It's not where you start that counts, it's where you finish.

Don't Ask - College Edition

The Associated Press has an article on the implications of Elmhurst College asking students their sexual orientation.  Elmhurst is a private, Illinois college affiliated with the United Church of Christ.  There interest is in promoting campus diversity and in addressing the needs of gay students enrolled in the school.

“I thought from the recruitment standpoint we might be more proactive” in attracting gay and lesbian students, said Rold, admissions dean at the small, private liberal arts school tucked in a middle-class Chicago suburb. He also wanted to make sure the students got any help they needed. “I realized that many of them come to college feeling really isolated and alienated.”

Rold’s decision touched off a flurry of publicity after advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students lauded Elmhurst as the first in the nation to ask applicants about sexual orientation — an idea that has gotten little traction elsewhere. Now the question is, will other colleges follow suit?

There isn't any mention of the legal implications of the question.  This comes to mind because of a question posed to GLAA a year or so back from an employer that wanted to assess the effectiveness of their diversity programs.  They wanted to survey their employess about sexual orientation and GLAA was asked our thoughts on the issue.  GLAA does not provide legal advice but the consensus of the membership was that such a survey would probably violate DC law no matter how laudable the reasoning behind it.  There is much history of questions about sexual orientation leading to discrimination.  Any DC college or institution might want to consult their legal department before considering such a question.

Pass This Bill

Courtland Milloy has a column today on Check It.  He write.

Whenever there’s trouble around the Chinatown and Gallery Place Metro stations in the District, the finger of blame often points to a most unusual group of suspects: a black gay gang called Check It.

Depending on whom you talk to, they’re just a bunch of mischievous gender benders and drama queens, vulnerable gay youths seeking safety in numbers. Or, they’re one of the largest, more aggressive gangs in the city.

They banded together in response to anti-gay harassment they faced in school including from teachers.

In other news D.C. Public Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson testified that

• 10 percent of DCPS eight graders have attempted suicide.

• 18.4 percent of DCPS middle schoolers have missed classes because they didn't feel safe traveling to school.

• 13.9 percent of middle school students were afraid of being beaten up at some point in the last year.

• 15 percent of DCPS middle schoolers were members of a gang or crew in the last year.

• Around 40 percent of DCPS ninth graders repeat the grade, while one in three DCPS ninth graders fail algebra.

There is something the DC government could do to address the problems.  Get busy and  pass this bill.

Moran: "All the bullies I've known were insensitive jerks"

Rep. Jim Moran's (D-VA) "It Gets Better" contribution. Thanks, Congressman.

(Hat tip: Joe Jervis)

Buffalo teen commits suicide after years of bullying

14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer of Buffalo, New York, who made the above "It Gets Better" video in May, died in an apparent suicide after years of anti-gay bullying, including cyber-bullying. Buffalo News reports. Words fail me as I look at this sweet kid who couldn't overcome the hate. There happens to be a conference call today among activists working on the pending D.C. anti-bullying bill; this senseless death is a reminder we didn't need that our work, across the country and the world, is so far from done.

(Hat tip: Joe Jervis)

Mistrial declared in CA gay student killing trial

AP reports:

A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision on the degree of Brandon McInerney's guilt for killing 15-year-old Larry King....

Ventura County prosecutor Maeve Fox did not comment after the trial. She contended McInerney embraced a white supremacist philosophy that sees homosexuality as an abomination. Police found Nazi-inspired drawings and artifacts at his house, and a white supremacist expert testified the hate-filled ideology was the reason for the killing.

Fox also argued the attack was premeditated, noting at least six people heard McInerney make threats against King in the days leading to the shooting.

She said McInerney told a psychologist hired by defense lawyers that he wanted to kill King after he passed McInerney in a school hallway and said, "What's up, baby?"

"He's basically confessed to first-degree murder in this case," Fox said during her closing argument.

But if he claims that the victim made a gay pass at him, then he can go free.

Prosecutors now have to decide whether to re-file the charges.

(Photo of murder victim Lawrence King)

Update: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss comments at Bilerico. News video of the story is below. HRC's Joe Solmonese issued a statement.

D.C. schools chancellor invites residents to get involved for safer schools

Kaya Henderson writes in Metro Weekly.

Gov. Perry caves to base on HPV vaccine

The Texas Tribune reports:

For years, Gov. Rick Perry has taken flak for his 2007 attempt to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, the most commonly sexually transmitted disease and the principal cause of cervical cancer. At the risk of angering fellow conservatives, Perry has always insisted he did the right thing.

That unapologetic approach changed this weekend.

A few hours after unveiling his campaign for president, Perry began walking back from one of the most controversial decisions of his more-than-10-year reign as Texas governor. Speaking to voters at a backyard party in New Hampshire, Perry said he was ill-informed when he issued his executive order, in February 2007, mandating the HPV vaccine for all girls entering sixth grade, unless their parents completed a conscientious-objection affidavit form. The vaccine, Merck & Co.’s Gardasil, would have protected against the forms of HPV that cause about 70 percent of all cervical cancer, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Well, that's a staggering surprise, that the one position I was aware of agreeing with him on he's abandoned in a naked pander to the crazoids whose support he needs (or thinks he does) to win the nomination. The thing is, he was quite clear and strong in his support for the vaccine prior to this. In 2007, he firmly rebuked the Texas legislature for overturning his executive order:

"In the next year, more than a thousand women will likely be diagnosed with this insidious yet mostly preventable disease," Perry said at a May 9, 2007, news conference, surrounded by women who had been affected by HPV, including one who he said had been infected by a rapist. "I challenge legislators to look these women in the eyes and tell them, 'We could have prevented this disease for your daughters and granddaughters, but we just didn't have the gumption to address all the misguided and misleading political rhetoric.'"

So Gov. Perry is more eager to placate people he knows are ill-informed on the issue than he is to protect girls from the human papillomavirus. That's a lovely display of gumption, Governor.

Tony Perkins decries "indoctrination" of children using Bert and Ernie

FRC's Tony Perkins is just horrified at the suggestion that odd couple Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street should get married:

Not only do gays want to force their lifestyle on you and me, but they want to enlist felt-faced non-humans in the fight! And this is on top of the demands for a transgender character to join Sesame Street. For years, the same-sex community has insisted that all they want is the "right" to marry their partners. If that's true, then why do they need to indoctrinate kids? Why recruit children and corporate America and public education? Obviously, the goal here isn't to be left alone to do what they want. The goal is to force the whole world--including small children--to celebrate their sexual behavior. Families are already working overtime to protect their children's innocence. The last thing they need to worry about is the ABCs of indoctrination.

Actually, Tony, the "Leave Us Alone" coalition is Grover Norquist's thing. What most gay folk want is equality.

For Perkins, teaching children hatred and intolerance is to be taken for granted as right and proper, while teaching them that same-sex couples are about love and mutual support just like mommy and daddy — well we mustn't poison their minds with that.

The sad thing is that so many liberals go along with the idea that "gay marriage" is all about sex.

(Hat tip: Joe Jervis)

Massachusetts congressional delegation: It Gets Better

Every member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation except Republican Senator Scott Brown participated in this contribution to the "It Gets Better" project.

July 23 - Vigil for Lashai Mclean, 7 pm

DC Trans Coalition announces:

Today, we have sad news. Another trans sister has been taken from us. See here for the news article about the events, and read our press release below (also available as a PDF). Please share this statement, and come to the vigil this Saturday, July 23rd at 7pm on the 6100 block of Dix Street NE.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2011
Contact: Vanessa Crowley
202.681.3282 / dctc@dctranscoalition.org

DC Trans Coalition Grieves After Violence Claims Yet Another Transgender Woman’s Life
Group Calls for Solidarity in Response to Violence in Our Communities
Washington, DC – In the early hours of Wednesday, July 20th, 2011, Lashai Mclean, a 23 year old transgender woman, was murdered in Northeast DC. The murder took place near the Wanda Alston House, a housing program for homeless LGBTQ youth operated by Transgender Health Empowerment (T.H.E.). Another trans woman was present during the attack and, thankfully, escaped. The Metropolitan Police Department has no leads or possible motives, and has not classified Lashai’s murder as a hate crime.

Lashai was a friend to many people in the community – including several DC Trans Coalition (DCTC) organizers who offer our sincerest condolences to those grieving this loss. We must stress once again the absolute necessity for the police and media to respect Lashai’s gender identity. The least we can do to honor her memory is to respect her chosen, lived identity.

While nothing can bring back those we have lost or undo the suffering we share, we can and should confront the daily terror and anxiety that trans and gender non-conforming people face. We can do this by building networks of mutual support and solidarity that sustain our efforts to feel safe and make change. Together, we must challenge institutional racism, poverty, transphobic attitudes, lack of social services, criminalization of sex work, and other policies that jeopardize our security.

We demand that MPD make finding Lashai’s killer a top priority, lest she become a repeat of the unsolved 2009 lethal stabbing of Tyli’a “NaNa Boo” Mack in broad daylight, or the 2010 assault of Chloe Moore by an off-duty MPD officer who has not been charged in the case. “Lashai’s murder is yet another visceral reminder that transgender women are consistently placed in dangerous situations. These acts of violence are not isolated incidents. The recent findings of the DC Trans Needs Assessment show trans communities in DC have overwhelming concern for our physical safety,” said Sadie Vashti, a DCTC organizer who knew Lashai. “Regardless of the individual motive in this case, our lives are institutionally marginalized and regarded as expendable. This makes trans women – especially women of color and those involved, or presumed to be involved, in the sex industry – far more susceptible to violence.”

We continue to hope for a future where there are no more senseless and violent deaths in our communities. Lashai’s memory will strengthen our resolve to continue surviving, supporting one another, and struggling for a better world. There will be a vigil July 23rd at 7pm on the 6100 block of Dix Street NE, the site where Lashai was killed.

BTW, I have seen two different spellings of Mclean's first name. I don't know which is correct.

Irish Report Finds Abuse Persisting in Catholic Church

The New York Times reports:

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland was covering up the sexual abuse of children by priests as recently as 2009, long after it issued guidelines meant to protect children, and the Vatican tacitly encouraged the cover-up by ignoring the guidelines, according to a scathing report issued Wednesday by the Irish government.

Alan Shatter, the Irish justice minister, called the findings “truly scandalous,” adding that the church’s earlier promises to report all abuse cases since 1995 to civil authorities were “built on sand.” Abuse victims called the report more evidence that the church sought to protect priests rather than children....

The Cloyne Report, as it is known, drafted by an independent investigative committee headed by Judge Yvonne Murphy, found that the clergy in the Diocese of Cloyne, a rural area of County Cork, did not act on complaints against 19 priests from 1996 to 2009. The report also found that two allegations against one priest were reported to the police, but that there was no evidence of any subsequent inquiry.

SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, responds here and here.

Kwame Brown's committee shuffling and the anti-bullying bill

(In a moment of greater solidarity: Kwame Brown, Michael Brown, Vince Gray, Tommy Wells and Yvette Alexander. Photo by Lateef Mangum/NNPA)

As David Alpert reported early Tuesday morning at Greater Greater Washington, D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown has used the opening provided by Harry Thomas Jr. relinquishing his committee chair to take away Tommy Wells’ Transportation Committee and give it to Mary Cheh. In turn, Cheh’s Government Operations chair goes to Muriel Bowser, whose Parks and Recreation chair goes to Wells. Mike DeBonis at WaPo follows up. Loose Lips comments on Chairman Brown's inept media strategy for the reshuffle.

Our coalition working on the anti-bullying bill expected Bowser to mark it up in September, and had worked closely with her committee staff. Brown’s reshuffling means that we will have to work with Wells and his staff to bring them up to speed on this bill. Wells is a good friend, so I expect that we will be fine. But Chairman Brown’s petty and irresponsible act against Wells, not to mention the other councilmembers’ unwillingness to stand up to him, does us no favors.

Councilmember Mary Cheh made a snide comment about her erstwhile ally Wells to DeBonis (follow that link), and said the following to David Alpert:

Kwame decided to reshuffle and make more coherent committee functions. And yesterday he told me of his plan to emphasize the environmental work in one committee, bringing back environment to public works and transportation (stormwater, recycling and waste management, transportation policy, pollution and vehicles, etc. brought together with environmental policy) and he offered the committee to me. I jumped at it and am very enthusiastic.

Alpert responds:

The argument about making committees more coherent makes little sense when he's also splitting up the traditional Economic Development functions into smaller committees to limit Vincent Orange. We all know why this one area is being singled out. I'm disappointed that Cheh is defending such an ethically suspect move.

I second that last comment. Cheh's better angel, currently silent, must be ashamed. But she got what she wanted; great. Can none of these people look past their short-term interests and look at the damage they're doing to our city?

Our friend Joel Lawson tweeted yesterday:

DC doesn't have a City Council, it has a politburo, an ossified party central committee.

The Washington Post slams the Council reshuffling. BTW, it would be nice if the WaPo website didn't bury the story.

Update: Loose Lips notes:

Irony: Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. lost the economic development committee in part because he's under investigation by the feds. Brown added a good chunk of the that committee to his own portfolio even though he's also under investigation by the feds.

Gay teens meet with Tracy Morgan

New York Magazine reports. Tracy Morgan is impressing people with the seriousness of his response to the outcry over his anti-gay rant in a recent stand-up routine in Nashville.

(Hat tip: Cathy Renna)

June 22 - Advocate for LGBT Youth in Foster Care

The DC Center for the LGBT Community is holding a workshop for prospective volunteers to serve as Court Appointed Special Advocates for youth in the DC foster care system.

There are many LGBT youth in the foster care system in the DC area that need your help today. Come and volunteer to be a CASA! The DC Center is holding an informational session on June 22nd at 6:00 PM.

A CASA is a Court Appointed Special Advocate to children in the DC foster care system. There are over 2,000 cases of child abuse and neglect currently in the DC Family Court system. It is the goal of CASA for Children of DC to recruit and train a volunteer advocate to serve every one of these children. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are trained to speak up for children and youth in the DC Foster Care system. They are appointed by a DC Family Court Judge to represent the best interest of a foster care child.

Some of the duties of a CASA are: appearing at court hearings to make recommendations to the Court, continuing contacts with child, family, social workers and others to monitor court orders and overall being a great mentor to the child. We desperately need our community to step up to the plate and be there for our youth in the system. Download the files at the bottom of this post and bring them to the June 22nd meeting at the DC Center.

CASA Program Information Sheet
CASA Application
CPR Check Form
CASA Vol Application & Screening Process

Education and advocacy, not "indoctrination"

Back on May 12, Daniel Villarreal at Queerty posted an item titled "Can We Please Just Start Admitting That We Do Actually Want To Indoctrinate Kids?"

Villareal showed a typically milquetoast TV ad from New Yorkers United for Marriage featuring a mild-mannered lesbian couple discussing commitment, and responded with this:

Forget the thousands of social benefits that regularly screw over queer people without marriage equality. Forget that marriage equality states have lower rates of queer youth and teen suicide. Forget that not educating our kids about queer issues makes them ignorant, hateful little morons. All that doesn’t matter just as long as Mary Jo Kennedy and Jo-Ann Shain can sit on a couch with matching glasses and haircuts and dispassionately discuss semantics.

Do you really think Mary Jo and Jo-Ann are gonna convince a bunch of parents who have just seen NOM’s scary ad that schools aren’t gonna teach their kids about gay fisting and anal sex? So what if NOM’s ad is full of lies and distortions? You know why they keep using those same tired old lies? BECAUSE THEY WORK. And if we plan on responding to scare tactics about indoctinating kids and outlawing religion with polite lesbian discussions about commitment, we’ve already lost.

How about this? How about we accept that we want kids to think better about queers and then create ads—with tons of verifiable supporting evidence—that just plainly state that denying marriage equality ruins people’s lives? That would at least be honest and a heck of a lot more compelling then this fearful mincing we’re doing to the tune and delight of our foes.

Permit me to demonstrate my mixed feelings by saying that Mr. Villarreal could have been a tad more diplomatic in making his point. I mean, what's wrong with polite lesbians? But he has a legitimate point that the pro-gay side in legislative and initiative battles could stand to be more aggressive in fighting back against the lies being spewed by the National Organization for Marriage and others.

Where I differ with Villarreal, and it's a significant difference, is that I favor teaching children, not indoctrinating them. As a child I was sent to a Catholic parochial school where I was indoctrinated by nuns. I resisted the indoctrination, and ever since then have opposed not just the particulars of Roman Catholic doctrine but any kind of doctrinaire or authoritarian approach to education. Children should be equipped and encouraged to think for themselves, not to parrot anyone's religious dogma.

Villarreal says that he favors a fact-filled approach to education, which suggests that he doesn't mean the same thing by "indoctrinate" that the Vatican does. Unfortunately, as Joe Jervis observes, the anti-gay right is having a field day with the Queerty post:

Add Focus On The Family to the list of hate groups gleefully jumping on Queerty's now-infamous post about "indoctrinating" students. Last month Queerty's article was republished by NOM, the Family Research Council, and the Concerned Women for America.

As we are fighting back against NOM and the rest, we should not be so preoccupied with a desire to knock them over the head (figuratively speaking) that we forget about our overarching mission to educate and persuade voters. Our whole point should be that we seek to free children, not merely shackle them to a different doctrine. We are not just talking about a clash between competing interest groups. NOM and its allies are lying, whereas we are telling the truth — which we must back up with reason and evidence. Villarreal's careless rhetoric muddies the waters, which gets in the way of the aforementioned education and persuasion.

Eddie Long settles sexual coercion lawsuits

Rod 2.0 reports:

Surprise, surprise. Atlanta-based anti-gay mega-church pastor Eddie Long has apparently settled the four sexual coercion lawsuits filed against him and his church.

Long is accused of luring at least four young men into sexual relationships and using church funds to give them cash, gifts and cars. The cases have been settled and there will be no comment, attorneys for both sides tell the Atlanta Journal Constitution....

The four young men—Maurice Robinson, Jamal Parris, Anthony Flagg and Spencer LeGrande—filed sexual coercion lawsuits against Long and New Birth MBC last fall. The sexual relationships reportedly began when each of the plaintiffs were around 16 years old.

It's a pity there won't be a trial. That would have provided loads of fascinating revelations. It remains for Bishop Long (which sounds like a porn name) to explain to his remaining congregants why he found it necessary to settle with these four young men if their charges were false.

May 25 - Black Pride Champions of Equality Reception

Here's an announcement from the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club about a related event:

Black Pride Champions of Equality Reception

Honoring the Wanda Alston House and Transgender Health Empowerment

Wednesday, May 25, 2011
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Join the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club for our 2011 Black Pride Reception Honoring the Wanda Alston House and Transgender Health Empowerment. The Stein Club will present the Wanda Alston House with a check from the Black History Month theatre fundraiser at the event.

Location: Axum Ethiopian Restaurant

1934 9th Street NW, Washington, DC

Nearest Metro: U Street/Cardozo

Suggested Donation: $20

Light fare will be provided.

Washington Post feature on Wanda Alston House

In case you missed it on Saturday, The Washington Post published a feature story on the Wanda Alston House in Northeast Washington:

In the three-story brick house in Northeast Washington, there are eight bedrooms, each filled with a young person who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. And like Sarah — a transgender woman who until February was sleeping at Reagan National Airport, washing her hair with shampoo fished from the trash — each ended up homeless or close to it.

As the District takes significant strides to advance the rights of LGBT residents — for example, recently legalizing same-sex marriage — the youths who pass through the Wanda Alston House tell of the vulnerability the community still faces.

Click on the link above for the whole story, plus a photo gallery and video.