General: June 2007 Archives

I wrote on this yesterday. I look forward to the day that fairness and equality are looked upon as the right thing to do.

(Washington) A bill providing federal funding to the District of Columbia has passed the House after a clause stating the money could not be used to fund a domestic partner registry was reinstated....

When the bill came to a vote on the House floor late Thursday Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) offered an amendment adding back the anti-gay language.

The amendment passed by a vote of 224 to 200.

"In the wake of a hateful and divisive White House veto threat, we are disappointed that the House of Representatives voted to approve the Goode Amendment and add anti-gay language into the DC Appropriations bill," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese in a statement. (source)

We are having a great time in Seattle. It's such a beautiful and wonderfully tolerant city. The last few days have been kind of surreal for me. Last weekend I was in Boston for Boston Pride, and now I'm in Seattle. And on Saturday, we leave for Olympic National Park. A lot of traveling and a LOT of photos over a short period of time.

What really made my day was a call from Kent that I received while at the top of the Seattle Space Needle. It was so beautiful up their and the views are great (photos to follow later). But what really made it special was the announcement that the legislature in Massachusetts has voted not to allow an amendment to ban marriage for gay couples to proceed to the November ballot, where it would have been voted on by the voters.

By voting down this amendment, the legislators have recognized that you don't put civil liberties up to a popular vote.

BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers threw out a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would have let voters decide whether to ban gay marriage in the only state that allows it.

The vote — which came amid heavy pressure to kill the measure from Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders — was a devastating blow to efforts to reverse a historic 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

"Today's vote is not just a victory for marriage equality. It was a victory for equality itself," said Patrick, who had lobbied lawmakers up until the final hours to kill the measure.

As the tally was announced, the halls of the Statehouse erupted in applause.

The ban needed 50 votes in consecutive sessions of the 200-seat Legislature to secure a place on the 2008 statewide ballot. At the end of the last session in January it passed with 62 votes, but this time it garnered just 45. (source)

Rather scary if you think about it... the thing was only 5 votes short of passing! That is how fragile freedom and equality can be.

View entire photo collection of Boston Gay Pride, 2007

I has a great time at Boston Pride. I left for Boston Friday afternoon, and arrived at Jury’s Hotel in Boston. Here’s a photo just inside their lobby. (view set)

The wall was a cascade of water. I was really happy with Jury’s Hotel. It is a beautiful place and the rooms are awesome. But most important, when I wanted to go to the parade, I simply stepped out of my hotel, and the parade passed right in front of my hotel, which is why I had front row seats to the parade.

After settling in, I decided to take a walk before dinner. I walked a short distance to the Boston Gardens (view set).

The next day was the gay pride parade. I arrived a few minutes early. Like I said, it was literally two minutes from my hotel. It started at 12:00 noon, and lasted for an hour or so. (view set)

I was a bit surprised at all the churches that were marching in the parade this year. There were dozens. And it made me feel good that there are so many in the religious community that support equality for us, and our open to us as gay people.

But I think the underlying theme this year was what is to come in just a few days. The Constitutional Convention will once again, for the second time, vote on the issue of gay marriage. Last year, the legislature voted to put the issue on the ballot for the voters in Massachusetts to vote on. This must happen in two consecutive sessions (it’s not easy to change the Constitution of a state). This year will be the second time. If they vote to allow the issue to go to the ballot, the voters of Massachusetts will vote in November if the state will continue to honor marriage equality for gay couples.

What does this mean if this passes. It means that the marriages already performed for over 8,000 couples will remain intact. It means that no other gay marriages will be allowed. It also means that civil unions, domestic partnerships, or anything similar to marriage will be allowed. So, everything is at stake. This dark cloud of uncertainty was very present in this years parade and rally.

After the parade, I went to the rally (view set).

I suppose my favorite float was this one...

But I must admit, there was a lot of eye candy as well....

I had a great time. The only down side was that I was by myself. It would have been nicer if someone was with me, but Kent was in Switzerland. Then Tuesday morning, we are off to Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula for two weeks. A busy time for us.

View entire photo collection of Boston Gay Pride, 2007

I’m going up to Boston tomorrow to celebrate gay pride this year. I’m very much looking forward to it as a way to get away for a few days. But I also think it is very important to examine why it is important for our community to celebrate gay pride. I get asked this question a lot by straight friends and acquaintances. The question is usually somewhat awkward for them to ask, but it’s usually phrased as, “So... why do you all have to celebrate being gay in the first place, or feel the need to be proud of it?”

Of course, underneath that comment are layers of homophobia. The fact that the question is even asked in such a way in the first place is a reason in itself that gay pride is important. What they are really wondering about is why there isn’t a “straight pride”. It’s a logical question. The answer is that gay pride evolved from a need to feel a sense of validation from all the horrible things that were happening to gay and lesbian people. Many younger gay people today have no sense of what it was like for gays in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. People had to keep their horrible secret, or risk being banished from their families and friends, losing their jobs (which by the way, still happens), getting kicked out of the military under a Section 8 mental disorder (today we have the ever so kind, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, that still kicks out gays, but without the dishonorable discharge), and many other things, such as being unable to even report to the police that you had been beaten for being gay. Many times, the treatment that came from the police was worse than that of the bashers (which still happens in some parts of the country).

As a gay man of today, it is a big challenge for me to simply continue to care about these issues when so many states in this country seem to have no problem steam rolling right over our civil rights. Today, I came across this:

MIXNER’S REMINISCENCES OF the early fight against AIDS and the loss of his partner left the crowd in quiet sobs. Choking with emotion, he recalled the day his hospitalized partner demanded to be taken to a polling place to vote, walking under his own power to the booth. Mixner’s warnings about apathy serve as an important reminder that our fight is not just to win equal rights, but to guard against backsliding. A quick look at the current effort to ban gay marriage in Massachusetts offers unsettling proof that even after a victory is won, it’s not necessarily secure.

I will never forget Mixner’s words. Every gay man and lesbian in their teens and 20s should have been in that room. Those of us who survived the ‘80s carry a tremendous burden to never forget and to teach the next generation so that the heartless cruelty of an uncaring government that watched passively as an entire generation of gay men died is never repeated. (source)

But today there are other challenges. Since AIDS is becoming more well known among non-gay populations, other issues have cropped up, such as the so called “gay marriage” issue. The issue is much bigger than marriage. The message is that we as a community simply do not deserve civil liberties, based on religious reasons. And that, my friends, is a bigger threat than AIDS ever was. And I can say that. I’ve paid a dear price at the hands of AIDS. But this is bigger, because once someone can get away with denying this liberty or that liberty to a specific group based on religion, then you have a theocracy. And if this is successful, the young gay, lesbian, and transgendered people growing up today will be experiencing the same stuff that past generations have had to endure.

So, this is why, for me, it’s important to have gay pride. And, one more reason....

“Tell everyone that this is for anybody who eva said anything bad about me, see I do have feelings too. Blame the people who were horrible and injust 2 me. This is because of them, I am human just like them. I hope they rot in hell 4 what they made me do. They know who they are. None of you blame urself mum, dad, Sam and the rest of my family. This is not because of you.” (source)

Those were the last words that fifteen year old Jonathan Reynolds (pictured right) sent his family by a text message minutes before he lay down on the tracks in front of train traveling at 85 miles an hour.

We have to give gay youth a reason to stick around. We have to give them hope. Rest in peace my small friend. I wish I could have talked with you before you decided to do this.

I decided that I will be going to Boston Pride this year. My reservations have been made, and cat sitter has been called. I’m excited about it. It makes sense actually. Kent has to leave for Switzerland this Tuesday, and won’t return until Sunday. Then, on the following Tuesday morning, we both head off to Seattle and Washington State for a two week vacation. It’s going to be a busy month for us.

I leave on Friday, around noon, for Boston. I will check in and stay at Jury’s Boston Hotel (map), the former Boston Police Headquarters from the 1920’s.

I’ll probably do very little Friday night. There are a few events scheduled, but I’ll probably go to dinner, walk around the city a bit, and go to bed early. The next day, on Saturday, the Boston Pride Parade starts around 12:00 (are these things ever on time?). Their route takes them a half block from where I’m staying, so it should be very easy to partake in all the festivities. They end up at City Hall Plaza, where I will find some shady tree, roll out my blanket, and take in the festivities. It should be fun.

Saturday night, I have no plans. I’m thinking of going back to my room, taking a nice hot shower, and going to dinner at some area restaurant. There are a lot in the area where I’m staying.

On Sunday, I have reservations at Avila (map), for “Pride Brunch” at 11:30, just two short blocks from my hotel. I may end up going to the Stuart Street block party at 1:00 for awhile, since it’s located right outside my hotel, but we’ll see how I feel.

After that, I come home. I should get home an hour or so before Kent gets home.

I’m looking forward to this. It will be nice to just be around people who, well, are like me.