General: January 2004 Archives

I've talked about Fred Phelps before. He is head of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The group has tried to erect monuments in Casper, Wyo.; Boise, Idaho; and Topeka, Kan., to Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was murdered in 1998 because he was gay.

Well now, he is doing the same thing, except this time he is targeting Jim Wheeler, a 1997 graduate of Cedar Crest High School and the subject of the film "Jim in Bold." Jim was a talented gay artist from Lebanon, PA, who committed suicide in November, 1997 at the age of 18.

The proposed monument would read, in part: "In Loving Memory of Jim Wheeler, Entered Hell November 17, 1997, at age 19, A Suicide Who Defied God's Warning." All I can can say about this group is that I hope they get what they deserve. (story)

The poem reprinted below reflects some of the pain and confusion Jim suffered as an openly gay teen in the small town of Lebanon, PA. According to his mother, Susan Wheeler, it was written after "some of the kids in gym class had pulled him out of the shower and peed on him." It wasn't easy for me to read. It reminded me a lot of my teenage years when the exact same thing happened to me after school.

Jim in BOLD

in the age of the COMPUTER where the internet
CONNECTS us all and we all struggle in the
World wide web to become Unstuck from the futuristic fact that if your Modem isnt on then
you better not expect a fax from your faceLESS
CONtinent and doesnt even Closely resemble the
description that they gave iresemble my face and i
found an outlined face amid all the stereotypes
sexual slurs catcalls and whispered Secrets iam i am
i am Jim i am boy I am tall i am fairhaired i am a
poet a painter and if i dare to call mySELF aa artist
I will i am sensitive i am ANGRY i am in love i am
In hiding I am OUT of the dark celluloid closet Yes
i am a HOMOsexual i am gay i am a queer a sissie
a faerie a Fag a punk i am a QUEENie i am a girl AT heart
a freak a follower a LEADER a PERFECTionist a slob
an optimist and a Pessimist a quaker and a nazis
i dont try to hard in school butt im good in english
and ifall aSLEEP in math class i want to run real
fast but no ONE will take a chance and pick me for
their team i want to sing real loud in a Rock and roll
band but i knat get the words out i want to be noticed
however i want to isolate MYSELF cause isolation brings
genius make me famous cause i sure want to be but its also
cool to be anonymous and top secret iwant to be popular i
want lots of friends but i know id get really annoyed with the
phone ringing all the time and NON stop would really KILL my
nerves im way too sensitive and i cry when i Watch the simpsons
Im awfully mean a lot Of the Time because people really Piss
me OFF and i love my family like they were my best
friends but my house is so stressful with seven kids and
two dogs way over the national average i want to leave
Home but im scared to be alone i want to tell a certain
person that I dont want to be aLONE and that i love Him
but the long forgotten art of SPEECH just wont work iwant
a job that pays the bills i want lots of money but id
rather paint the world with vibrant colors and hues
i want to travel and see things that i only see when
im tossing and TURNing in my bed trying to fall asleep
knowing my alarm is Going to RING any second and I BETter
wake Up soon if im going to learn to drive to run to sing
to think to paint to grow to be but my car of ambition
is withOUT a Key so I just SIT and wait in my quiet
room in my noisy House in my sleepy town in the keySTONE
state in the superPOWER country in the polluted world
etc etc etc etc THINKing contemplating wishing dreaming
SCREAMing HISSING living loving HUGging kisSING Yelling
CRYING dying listening HEARing Touching smelling tasting
Seeing believing missing MYSELF until i receive a divine
message mayBE from somewhere way up above and if i believe
in the christian god then id say that god spoke to me telling me its better to be Hated for WHAT you
are then loved for what Youre NOT thank
you mohammed for publishing my profile
for printing me printing jim Jim in
BOLD Me in Bold IM IN BOLD

This is something you would expect to come out of Kansas (which is why I don't live in that God-forsaken place).

Judge Henry W. Green Jr. wrote that legislators could justify differing penalties for homosexual versus heterosexual sodomy in many ways, including greater health risks or an attempt to "encourage and preserve the traditional sexual mores of society."

Apparently in Kansas, AIDS (I assume that is what the good judge is alluding to) is apparently still viewed as a disease that homosexuals get.

The ruling by Kansas' second-highest court rejected an appeal by Matthew R. Limon, who was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for having sex when he was 18 with a 14-year-old boy in 2000. He was convicted of sodomy.

Had Limon's partner been an underage girl, he could have been convicted of unlawful sex under the state's ''Romeo and Juliet'' law and sentenced at most to one year and three months in prison. (story)

Measure to expand rights to gay couples dies again in House

Here we are denying economic security in a committed relationship where people are craving responsibility. - Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, CO

This was another defeat for same-sex parents. The bill that died in the Colorado legislature would have offered co-parent, or second-parent, adoption rights to gay and lesbian couples. It would have allowed their children to be protected by both parents' health insurance, Social Security benefits and inheritance.

You know, I can understand why people are bigoted against gay people. I can understand that with education we can fight that bigotry. But, it's hard for me to understand why they would carry that hatred to the children of gay couples. It's detestable. The children of gay parents are just as deserving of those benefits as other children.

If I were a gay parent in that situation, I would consider a lawsuit against the State of Colorado filed because my children were being denied equal protection under the law, based on the United States Constitution:

Amendment XIV, Section 1, United States Constitution:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Clearly denying the children of gay couples the same rights and privileges afforded other children is not granting them equal protection.

For the second year in a row, a House panel killed a bill that would have given same-sex couples the right to adopt one another's children.

The outcome wasn't a surprise - the bill was assigned by the House leadership to the Information and Technology Committee because it is heavy with conservatives.

Anti-gay groups such as Focus on the Family ignored the hearing, as they did last year, knowing there would be no reason to testify.

That didn't stop Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, who has watched her bill die on 7-4 votes for two years running, from trying. But even fellow Democrat Carl Miller, of Leadville, voted against the measure. (story)

It's nice to see Christian values being put to use. I don't feel like a "sexual pervert". I guess it's good that I'm not Catholic or I would take it personally.

I suppose it would be comforting to be able to call 90 percent of a segment of society "sexual perverts", and feel like you are being a good Christian. I'm not that comfortable speaking for God.

From the story: A new Roman Catholic cardinal has raised a storm in Belgium - and division within its Catholic hierarchy - by declaring that at least 90 percent of lesbians and gays were "sexual perverts."

"I simply say what thousands of people think. I am willing to write in my own blood that of all those who call themselves lesbian or gay, a maximum of 5 to 10 percent are effectively lesbian or gay. All the rest are just sexual perverts." - Cardinal Gustaaf Joos

Follow-up Stories
1/28/2004 - Cardinal faces suit over 'pervert' remark

I've been sick as a dog for the last four days and haven't really felt like blogging, let along surf the internet. I'm reminded of a line from Victor/Victoria when Robert Prestion, who is sick in bed with a head cold says, "There's nothing more inconvenient than an old queen with a head cold".

When I go to see what's happening out in the world, and this is one of the stories that I came across.

Despite laws already barring gay marriage, legislators in at least nine states - including Arizona - are pushing for new, more sweeping measures in hopes of preventing any ripple effect from laws and court rulings elsewhere.

...

"This is a political attack, motivated by fierce anti-gay opponents who want to slam us again and again," said Evan Wolfson, executive director of the national advocacy group Freedom to Marry. "They are not just looking to suppress gay marriage, but to deny gay people any measure of legal protection and human dignity."

In all, 37 states and the federal government have Defense of Marriage acts that say marriage can only be between a man and a woman. (story)

It's hard to keep cool about everything when there are so many people out there who simply can't stand that we are here. This isn't so much about protecting the precious state of marriage (such as it is). It's more about certain people in our government at the state and federal level who just can't stand the fact that homosexuals might actually have equal social status with everyone else.

I also get annoyed when these same people lump us all together as "homosexual activists" trying to get "our agenda" passed. We want to be part of society as an equal, no more, no less. If that makes me a "homosexual activist", the I will take that title with great pride.

What keeps me going is this...

Remember when all the states had sodomy laws that were largely used to prosecute gay people? Even states that included sodomy against straight and gay people, instances of straight people doing sodomy was largely ignored. Well, with one sweeping decision, the Supreme Court nullified all of them. In every state, the sodomy laws were ruled unconstitutional.

At first, I was stunned at hearing the decision. It didn't hit me until later that the decision wasn't just about a case that took place in Texas. The decision didn't just judge that case to be unconstitutional. The decision said that the prosecution of sodomy was an invasion of privacy. It was ruled unconstitutional everywhere, with one decision.

The same thing will happen with gay marriage. It really doesn't matter what kind of hateful legislation the bigots (yes, I purposely call them that) in power pass. Nor does it matter how many states do this. In the end, when this reaches the United States Supreme Court, with one decision, DOMA at the state and federal level will be nullified.

Of course, this will take courage. The judges of the Supreme Court will probably be labeled "activist judges" (as President Bush referred to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the State of the Union speach) who are not doing the will of the people. The fact is, their job was never to do the will of the people. Their job is to interpret the Constitution and enforce it. If the will of the people were the law of the land instead of the Constitution, we would still have slavery, inter-racial couples would still not be able to marry, and women would still not be able to vote.

When the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ordered the state legislature to allow gay people to marry, it was the real beginning of the battle. Other states are now passing legislation that will only allow marriage between heterosexual couples. This truly sets gay couples in a second-class status. No one who is being honest would be able to deny that.

The next real test will come once Massachusetts has concluded their process. A civil union-type arrangement is being tossed around to see if that will satisfy the court. But that is not what the court demanded the legislature do. I suspect that the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts will decide that marriage is marriage - there is nothing less or more, and title of marriage is everything, as far as legal issues are concerned.

Of course, once this has happened, the real test will begin. Despite all the DOMA laws in place, the Constitution demands full faith in carrying out contracts and arrangements made in other states. The Constitution is not ambiguous on this point:

U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 1: Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

DOMA at the state and federal level will not survive those statements. This is black and white. The Constitution simply is not friendly to the concept of creating a second-class standard for any of it's citizens.

My friends, this battle is over before it even gets started. We have already won. And that is why the conservatives are so steamed about this. It's just a matter of time at this point, and they know it.

I've been thinking about a pattern that happens time and time again where our community is concerned. I'm talking specifically about the gay community, of course. We've always been second-class in this country. Think about it.

Time frame, 1950's. At the time I was born, we weren't even second class. I watched the movie Far From Heaven a month or so ago. It took place back in the 1950's, and was quite realistic. No one talked about gay people or even "homosexuals" then. It was a sickness. When this mans wife caught him with another man, her world completely fell apart. Her response was, "There have to be doctors around who can do something about this." Ironically, it took place in Hartford, Connecticut, close to where I live.

Fast forward to 1982. Dr. Tom Waddell develops what are called the Gay Olympics. It wasn't long before the International Olympic Committee sued the Gay Olympics because of the use of the word Olympics. We lost the case. The Gay Olympics from that time on had to be called the Gay Games. Yet, there are all kinds of different groups who openly use the word Olympics and get away with it.

Fast forward to 1985. By this time, GRID (gay related immune deficiency syndrome), which will later be called "AIDS", is thought to only effect homosexuals. Because of this, the government (Ronald Reagan) chooses to do nothing to fund educational programs or hospice programs. The networks that are developed to fight AIDS in this country are done through the gay community. Ironically, years later, that same network is used to help another group of people that the government wants nothing to do with: IV drug users.

Fast forward to July 28, 2000. U.S. Supreme Court rules that Boy Scouts of America can discriminate against scouts and scout masters who are found to be gay. Anti-gay groups had hoped that a victory for the Boy Scouts would further fuel their efforts to secure broad exemptions from civil rights laws that bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. The majority of the citizenry of this country does not challenge this. No one cares.

Present day. In 36 states, individuals can legally be fired from their jobs, or denied access to housing, educational institutions, credit, and public accommodations simply because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT). It is an absolute disgrace to the face of human rights in this country that we still do not have legal protections at the federal level that makes it a crime to fire someone solely because they are gay. We are not included in the protected groups stated in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Yet, each time this comes up in Congress, it is a "controversial issue" that we should have the same legal protections. This is shameful.

Gay partners can not be married in any of the 50 states. Gay partners can try to mirror the legal protections afforded legal marriage only after the drafting of very costly documents and legal fees. And, when all is said and done, the documents do not carry the same weight as legal marriage. They just don't. Second-class citizens.

Gay partners in Vermont can be granted a civil union, which grants them the same state rights as those who are married. It is not honored in any other state or country. If you move away from Vermont, it will not be recognized. And, it is not honored what so ever at the federal level.

Furthermore, every single Democratic candidate for President knows that any state-sponsored civil union will not be honored at the federal level, and that is OK with them! None of them, not one of them deserves our vote. Howard Dean knows this fully well. He has no excuse. He knows damn well that if the issue of marriage for same-sex partners are left at the state level, there will be at best a few states who will give us marriage rights. Second-class citizens.

In the media, it is still open season for our community. Let's look for a moments at sports celebrities:

Todd Jones, Baseball: "I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, Hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?"

Garrison Hearst, Football: "Aww, hell no! I don't want any faggots on my team. I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that's a punk. I don't want any faggots in this locker room."

Jeremy Shockey, Football: The Howard Stern radio show, Shockey was asked on-air by producer Gary Del 'Abate if he thought there were any gay players in the NFL. "I don't know, I don't like to think about that. I hope not," Shockey said. When asked if he ever dealt with any gay teammates on his college football team, Shockey gave a somewhat confusing answer: "No, I mean, if I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it." Stern's sidekick Robin Quivers replied: " How could you not stand for it? What do you mean?" Shockey said, "You know, I think, you know, they're going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don't think that's gonna work. That's not gonna work, you know?"

Julian Tavarez, Baseball "Why should I care about the fans? They're a bunch of assholes and faggots here.''

Goran Ivanisevic, Tennis "Then I hit another second serve, huge. And that ball was on the line, was not even close. And that guy, he looks like a faggot little bit, you know. This hair all over him. He call it. I couldn't believe he did it. Hey, sometimes I watch the TV, and then I see the guys when they throw the racquets. They throw it like a faggot, you know. They throw it not to throw it. When you throw the racquet, you throw the racquet. I mean, you break. Sometimes doesn't break, thanks God. But you throw the racquet. You don't throw it and it's going like this. You have to smack the racquet, you know, or you have to get anger.

Jason Williams, Basketball Williams, Sacramento Kings guard, was fined $15,000 in March for making ethnic and gay slurs at a Golden State Warriors' fan. The player said the fan, Michael Ching, called him a "skinhead'' and "racist,'' charges Ching denied. According to the Sacramento Bee, the third-year point guard allegedly responded with the following: "Are you a fag?" "Are you gay?" "Do you remember the Vietnam War? I'll kill y'all just like that." Williams then pretended to be aiming a rifle and emitting a "rat-a-tat-tat" sound, according to witnesses. "Just like Pearl Harbor," he is said to have added. While Williams apologized for his specific anti-Asian remarks, he couldn't bring himself to using the word "gay.'' "I did not intend any disrespect to the Asian community or any other community," Williams said in a written statement. "I was wrong and I apologize."

John Rocker, Baseball "Imagine having to take the 7 train to (Shea Stadium in New York) looking like you’re (in) Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing."

You get the drift. The list goes on and on, and sports stars are never really held accountable for their remarks. Don't get me wrong, it's a free country and everyone is entitled to their opinions. But, substitute "fag" for the "N" word, and that would not be acceptable. Heads would roll. But yet, it's ok to denigrate our community. Second-class citizens.

There's an article on it on Up & Coming Magazine that talks about it:

Two weekends ago Joe Horn, of the New Orleans Saints, pulled out a cell in the end zone and used it as part of his celebratory dance; the same day, Matt Millen, GM of Detroit, verbally assaulted Kansas City wide receiver Johnny Morton with, "You faggot! Yeah, you heard me. You faggot!" during an altercation after the Lions/Chiefs football game.

We all know that if the same GM, who is white, had called the player, who is black, the "N" word, he'd be cruising Monster.com right now, and rightfully so. But as it stands at press time, Millen hasn't been fined, while Horn is $30,000 lighter. Where is the outrage? Where are the special interest groups? Where are the protesters? Why is Detroit - which has been known to riot when its hockey team wins a Stanley Cup - still standing?
...
Take "gay" out of those sentences and replace it with "black," "asian" or "latino" and imagine the public outcry of injustice. We are decades removed from the civil rights struggles of our parents, and yet we aren't removed at all.

The most frustrating issue for me in all of this is that there is really nothing I can do about it without the outrage of the American people over this issue. And, there is no outrage. It is still totally acceptable to laugh at our community, make crude jokes about us and our community, and even in parts of the country, go out and bash a few fags for "sport". In many parts of the country, the police will do nothing. Why should they? They hate gays equally and there are no hate crime laws on the books. It's open season.

Most Americans, although they have nothing per se against gay people, will not make the injustices that our community face an issue they want to be bothered with. It doesn't effect them personally, so why bother.

I will tell you why they should bother and why it is their issue. Because, if there is an injustice against one segment of our society, it is an injustice to the freedom for all citizens. And that should be everyone's issue!

I try my best to be proud of my country, but that's very hard to do when we talk about being a democracy on one hand, and on the other hand there are law abiding, tax paying citizens who are not legally equal to others.

That is simply wrong.

I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...

Vice President Cheney stated that he would support President Bush if he proposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. (story)

"What I said in 2000 was that the question of whether or not some sort of status, legal status or sanction, ought to be granted in the case of a relationship between two individuals of the same sex was historically a matter the states had decided and resolved and that is the way I preferred it," Cheney told the Post.

In the interview with the News, Cheney said that is still his opinion.

I have news for you Vice President. If you pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, you take away that option at the state level. In other words, it would no longer even be an option for the states to consider.

Basically, Cheney, Bush, and the Federal Government doesn't want to deal with this issue of letting gay citizens be equal in the eyes of the law. A constitutional amendment will make all of that go away, at least for this administration. And the state's won't have to worry about it either because they will have no choice but to obey the constitution.

I still give a constitutional amendment little chance of passing. But this rhetoric that is coming out of the Bush Administration on this issue is only showing the kind of self righteous bigots they are. If I were Cheney's lesbian daughter, it would be the end of my relationship with him. It's the ultimate insult to you as a person for someone else to tell you that you aren't worthy of the rights that everyone else has.

And this from Canada, who is now re-thinking it's stance on gay marriage.

Another gay student has dropped out of high school because of the failure of school officials to stop the harassment.

Ryan says that he is going to go for his GED. It saddens me because he is putting his education in jeopardy and his future. Instead of dropping out, he really should be seeing a lawyer. (story - video)

If you feel strongly enough to tell school administrators how you feel about this, contact them at:

This is the letter I sent to the Superintendent and the Assistant Superintendent:

It seems very sad to me that a young man felt that he had no other action to take for his own safety than to drop out of your school. You have failed to uphold your duty to ensure safety for ALL students, gay or straight. Every student is entitled to an education.

Ryan Myers has now dropped out of your school to pursue his GED. This will put his future education at great risk, not to mention his future opportunities.

If I were Ryan Myers, I might drop out to ensure my safety, but the next person I visited would be a lawyer to file a lawsuit against your school district for the damages being done to my future. It is my hope that Ryan does just that.

If you wanted the harassment to stop, IT WOULD STOP!

I have also mentioned this on my website in a hope that others will know the standard, or lack thereof, that you aspire to.

Life is uncertain and can be dangerous. That's a message that a bar owner received one morning when he opened a letter he received along with his other mail.

Carl Fox is the proprietor of the Crazy Fox Saloon in Newport, Ohio, said though he's often been the target of gay bashing, he has never hesitated to speak out on issues affecting homosexuals like himself. The handwritten letter he received Dec. 27 might change that.

It began, "Congratulations! Your name has been added to our hit list. We watch the enemies of the people. There will be no place to hide when a turning point comes."

Alongside the venomous quarter-page anti-gay rampage, there was a hand-drawn religious cross bearing a swastika and the German phrase "wendepunkt." The translation, according to detectives, means "turning point." Beneath the cross were the words, "Race, God & Country."

The anonymous letter made a series of grotesque threats against homosexuals, prostitutes and "drug addicts -- and drunks" and warned that Fox was being watched and needed "to be exterminated and burned."

A faceless photograph of a man pointing a gun, carried the handwritten admonition, "Hey man, This slug's for you!" (story)

I'm seeing this come up more and more. When I went to school, harassment of gay students is just something we had to tolerate. I was told to just shut up and deal with it. One counselor even told me, "that's what you get for going against God's law". I even worked for her as a student helper.

Today, the courts seems to be listening to students when the school districts won't. It's a good thing to see. Perhaps we will see fewer students who are gay dropping out of school or doing other self-destructing things. Money talks. If the message gets out that school districts will pay the price for turning a blind eye to harassment, things will change. (story)

More on this story

Other news on this story:
Groton students speak out at state gay youth forum

It's strange how things evolve over time. Time has a way of turning everything around.

Way back in 1982 the United States Olympic Committee sued a nationally renowned competition featuring gay athletes for using the word "Olympics". This suit against the Gay Olympics, filed less than three weeks before the event's scheduled opening at Kezar Stadium, was successful – which is why the event is now known as the Gay Games.

The founder of the Gay Olympics, Dr. Tom Waddell (1937-1987) nearly lost his home as a result of the suit while he was suffering from the effects of AIDS.

"[The committee] basically kicked us when we were down," said Jeff Sheehy, coauthor of San Francisco's domestic partner legislation and former president of the Harvey Milk Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered Democratic Club. Sheehy points out that the USOC didn't choose to sue the Special Olympics, the Nude Olympics, the Police Olympics, the Dog Olympics, or other groups that use the word "Olympics" in their titles.

BASOC representatives are treading gingerly around the issue. "We realize that those wounds haven't healed," Cribbs said. She pointed out that Olympics authorities are now cracking down on any infringing uses of the term.

"This is not about politics, nor was it about being against the Olympics per se," Sheehy said. "It's about unwanted and unwarranted behavior against a community." (story)

The evolution of this story is that, after all these years, we have cities who are bidding on who will host the Gay Games. The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) originally selected Montreal two years ago, but contract negotiations broke off in November. Now, Los Angeles as well as Chicago are now bidding for the games.

Would the Gay Games even want to be part of the Olympics at this point? We still have the Police Olympics, booty olympics, Yale Physics Olympics, Special Olympics, Dog Olympics, K9 Olympics, Ancient Olumpics, Santa Olympics, and the Frog Olympics, and the list goes on and on.

The Olympic Committee has done nothing to go after others using the name "Olympics". The way I see it, not having the Gay Games as part of the "Olympics" is their loss, not ours.

History of the Gay Games