2010 Archive
2010 (183)
- 03.15 “I took a risk and got into a little bit of trouble, but it was for equality. And if we’re going to achieve equality, everyone needs to take a small risk and maybe get into a little bit of trouble. We can all do something.” ~Will Phillips of West Fork, Arkansas
- 03.14 Must Hear Queer Media: Beyond Gay Marriage
- 03.14 “Today’s mainstream gay movement is a far different movement than the radical politics of the 1960’s. While many have assumed that gay marriage is important to most Queers this documentary will challenge that myth and will show how the emphasis on gay marriage is part of the loss of a radical Queer critique that was once part of LGBT politics. This documentary discusses the current LGBT political landscape and what kind of political work radical Queers are doing today.” ~from Lisa Dettmer’s Beyond Gay Marriage; A Radical Queers Critique of the Gay Marriage Movement and the Mainstreaming of Gay Politics
- 03.14 “Progress for gay folks in the media is progress for gay people in America. Our equality really depends on us being visible.” ~Jarrett Barrios, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, at the 2010 GLAAD Media Awards
- 03.14 “VCU is not a place where you can bring bigotry and not expect to be challenged,“ said VCU senior Cameron Hunt of Richmond, who urged students to follow him to the Capitol. Martin Blaney, a graduate student in the nurse anesthesia program, described Cuccinelli as “a man with an agenda” who has decided to do harm rather than good. He said the attorney general “took aim at a sleeping giant — you and me.“
- 03.13 “If a controversial bill passes [in Uganda], your homosexuality may cost you your life.” ~Nightline Host Martin Bashir
- 03.13 “ON December 2nd, the New York State Senate voted against my right to marry [my finace]. Last year, prior to the vote so many of us went up to New Albany to speak with our state senators about why marriage equality is so important to us and to our families. They didn’t get the message. That’s why I’ve decided to fight back.” ~Cynthia Nixon, actress and New Yorker
- 03.13 “It is very hard to tell a client that your constitutional rights have to wait.” ~David Boies explaining why he thinks the time is ripe for this case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger
- 03.13 “I just want to thank everybody so much for all the support. I never thought in a thousand billion years that there would be that many people that were supporting something that I was doing. I think you should stand up for who you are and that’s just the message that I’m trying to send people,” said Constance McMillen, whose prom was canceled in order to prevent her from attending with her girlfriend.
- 03.13 “Okay class, write something about yourself on the paper and then put it up on the board.” ~voice over heard in an entry for Out In School’s anti-homophobia student psa competition in collaboration with the Vancouver School Board
- 03.13 “Eleven months out of the year, Hollywood prefers its men to stay in the closet, but during awards season, gay men come out and rule the airwaves. Why? Because straight men can’t be trusted to talk about fashion.” ~Bryan Safi exploring the clueless media
- 03.12 “This is a historic day,” presiding judge Hegel Cortes said shortly after pronouncing Mexico’s first same-sex couple to marry Judith Vazquez and Lol Kin Castaneda “legitimately united in matrimony.”
- 03.11 “My daddy told me that I needed to show them that I’m still proud of who I am. The fact that this will help people later on, that’s what’s helping me to go on,” said Constance McMillen about her return to school after officials canceled the prom to prevent her from attending with her girlfriend.
- 03.11 “One of the things we found is that the LGBT students really want to make a difference,” says Robyn Cooper, a research and evaluation scientist at Iowa State’s Research Institute for Studies in Education. “They want their stories told. They want people to know what they’re going through, but they don’t want the repercussions of being bullied.”
- 03.11 Enjoy this music video reinterpretation with a same-sex switch made by the members of the University of Rochester’s YellowJackets, an a cappella group. Over the years the YellowJackets’ mission has remained the same: to spread an appreciation and affinity for music of all genres to people of all ages. Looks like they’re broadening that mission a bit. Bravo!
- 03.10 “You’re both husbands? You married each other? That’s funny. This is the very first time I saw husbands and husbands. So funny. So that means you love each other. I’m gonna play ping pong now. You can play if you want to.” ~Young Calen
- 03.10 “LGBT children and those who are perceived to be gay, lesbian or challenge traditional gender roles are among those most likely to be targeted by bullies. In this look at the most tragic outcome for kids tormented by kids, we meet heartbroken families fighting for federal legislation to protect their children.” ~In The Life, Documentary Stories from the Gay Experience
- 03.10 “Our gratitude to the [D.C.] Mayor, the City Council and citizens for being willing to open the door to say it really is marriage equality for all.” ~Candy Holmes, Newlywed
- 03.09 We are just 6 new fans away from hitting the mythical 10,000 Facebook fan mark!
- 03.09 Should we flag this YouTube video from Molotov Mitchell, columnist for the Washington D.C. based right-wing conservative website World Net Daily, for inciting hatred and violence? Does it promote executing gays as the righteous and patriotic thing to do? http://bit.ly/blpVXM If yes, is that enough to warrant removal? Has a line been crossed or do free speech rights deny that a line even exists?
- 03.09 “Ladies and Gentlemen, today we gather together in this place to celibrate the love shared between two very special people.” ~officiant leading the first same-sex wedding in Washington D.C.
- 03.07 “There are continuing problems with people with HIV getting into the United States as travelers or immigrants, even though the ban has been lifted… If you can stick with this show tonight, you’ll hear from Johnny Weir and Daniel Radcliffe for different reasons.” ~Hosts Ann Northrop and Andy Humm previewing two of the many stories profiled on this week’s Gay USA
- 03.07 “In the military skills, we find that the minority officers do not shoot as well as the non-minorities. They don’t swim as well. And when you give them a compass.. they don’t do as well at that sort of thing,” explained Gen. Carl Mundy Jr. – currently opposing the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy – in 1993 on 60 Minutes regarding the lack of minority officer promotions.
- 03.07 “Over the years, I began seeing that a lot of great media focusing on the fight for LGBT equality was going undiscovered. And when Proposition 8 passed in California, I decided to play some part in fixing what I considered a disconnect. I wanted to bridge the gap between the fledgling, post Prop. 8 equality activists and the empowering, quality LGBT media I knew was out there.” ~Patrick Yaeger (that’s me) on the idea behind the Gay Rights Media Collections
- 03.03 “Why are we still here? Instead of leaving, we become part of the solution. I want to be there when the whole state flips. When we see all of our rights, I want to be a part of that. I want to see that happen.” ~LGBT Ohioans speaking about their struggle to win full legal equality in their state
- 03.03 “I went from happy when I proposed to her last October to a few weeks ago nervous because it happened so quickly – she’s getting sweaty palms – to excitement over the last twenty-four hours.” ~Gwen Migita & Cuc Vu, a same-sex couple applying for a marriage license at the Washington D.C. Superior Court
- 02.28 Gregory and Jonathan are a same-sex couple in second place in a national ultimate wedding contest. Read how some anti-gay haters are campaigning against them http://bit.ly/bfj5hz and then vote for them http://ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682. Spread the word.
- 02.27 “I think the fact that I’m straight shows that, actually, straight people are incredibly interested and care a lot about this as well, and that you don’t just have to be gay to take an interest [in helping prevent suicide among LGBT youth]. This is for me the thing I’m probably most passionate about,” said Daniel Radcliffe while filming a new PSA for The Trevor Project.
- 02.27 A same-sex couple who survived a violent hate crime has hit the top position of a national wedding contest run by Crate and Barrel. Please consider voting for “Gregory and Jonathan: A Love That Beat the Odds” here http://ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22682.
- 02.27 “Nobody is saying, ‘Go find in the Constitution the right to get married.’ Everybody, unanimous Supreme Court, says there’s a right to get married, a fundamental right to get married. The question is whether you can discriminate against certain people based on their sexual orientation. And the issue of prohibiting discrimination has never in my view been looked as a test of judicial activism. That’s not liberal, that’s not conservative. That’s not Republican or Democrat. That’s simply an American Constitutional civil right.” ~David Boies
- 02.26 “Is Johnny Weir too gay for figure skating?” ~one of the most ironic questions asked in all of recorded history.
- 02.25 Unfortunately, Social Security inequality is not Science Fiction. It is a reality, and it’s wrong. All Americans who pay into Social Security deserve their benefits. We can stop economic discrimination against same-sex couples. Join RockForEquality.org to demand equal Social Security benefits for America’s same-sex couples.
- 02.22 The Dr. Oz Show recently aired “one of the best 15-minute segments on transgender children to ever appear on national television,” the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced on its blog Tuesday. Dr. Oz hosted two transgender children and their families on his show to discuss their experiences growing up and their parents’ decision to support them in their true identity.
- 02.19 Molotov Mitchell, columnist for the Washington D.C. based right-wing conservative website World Net Daily, promotes executing gays as the righteous and patriotic thing to do. See his video http://bit.ly/blpVXM and flag it on YouTube as inappropriate for inciting hatred and violence.
- 02.18 No updates for a while. I’m on vacation from Facebook.
- 02.14 “We have loving dedicated lives. We have 5 children. We have 12 grand-children. We live in this community with you. We work here. We raise our children here. We volunteer in this community. We own property. We served in the military, some of us. What more do we have to do to prove we should have the same rights as every other New Yorker?” ~LGBT activist Kitty Lambert imploring the Buffalo City Clerk’s office for a marriage license
- 02.14 “Mr. Clark, I’d like you to deal with the politics of this. Whenever the issue of gay marriage has gone before voters, anywhere in the country, it’s lost. Do you think that would be the case right now in Iowa? If the issue of gay marriage were submitted to the voters would it win or lose?” ~Mike Glover, senior legislative and political reporter for the Associated Press, to Brad Clark, campaign manager for One Iowa.
- 02.12 “Despite the abuse and tragedy many of them have seen, at the end of day, all they really want is to laugh and have a good time,” says Steve Gordon of the teens he works with at the Ali Forney Center, one of New York’s LGBT homeless youth shelters and services centers.
- 02.12 “This behaviour is unacceptable here. So why sould it be acceptable here? Let’s kick homophobia out of football.” ~from the UK Football Association’s ad tackling homophobia in sports stadiums.
- 02.12 “If you’ve been watching TV lately then you know that the possible repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has thrown some people into a gay panic, and they’re all afraid of one thing: the threat of a gay penis. Welcome to Acockalypse Now. The terror is real. The terror is serious.” ~Bryan Safi in his satirical video segment for Current Tv’s infoMania
- 02.12 The Homosexuals (1967) was an episode of the documentary series CBS Reports, hosted by 60 Minutes mainstay Mike Wallace. For 45+ minutes, Wallace follows the mentality of the time period, providing his national audience with some of the most disturbing anti-homosexual propaganda you might ever see.
- 02.10 “We’re all waiting for the full repeal to happen. Can you believe that only 60 years ago I wouldn’t have been able to serve in my unit because I am an American who happens to be of Asian descent. Think about the future generations. They’re going to look back at us and say you guys were forcing people to lie in order to serve their country in 2010,” said Lt. Dan Choi on CNN regarding the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy.
- 02.10 “The census is all about how you self-identify. So, if you consider your partner your spouse, then you should absolutely check the husband or wife box. If you feel more comfortable with the term partner then you should check the ‘unmarried partner’ option.” ~Che Ruddell-Tabisola, HRC’s representative in the OurFamiliesCount.org public education campaign regarding the 2010 U.S. Census and LGBT Americans.
- 02.10 Re-enactment of the first day of the Prop 8 trial, just over four hours, is complete. Last night the website for this important project was updated to better showcase the media, people and analysis on display. Who is that mentioned in the footer? :)
- 02.09 “It felt good to just put away a lot of the past year,” said Lt. Dan Choi after being called back to drill duty by his commander in the Army National Guard, comparing his return to that of a Thanksgiving gathering. “Obviously there were soldiers following everything I was doing, or there were others who didn’t have a clue.”
- 02.09 “Father, we want to ask you to forgive him.. and that we love him.. and that we’re praying for him to be delivered from his demon lifestyle father,” sobbed the infamous Anita Bryant in Des Moines, Iowa (1977) after a gay rights activist threw pie in her face during a televised press conference; shown in the opening of the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So.
- 02.08 “Homophobia Is A Social Disease,” reads a bumper sticker as seen in a photo on Flickr – part of the Gay Rights Media select photo collection at http://www.flickr.com/groups/gcrm-media-club/.
- 02.07 “[We are] committed to informing the American public of the shameful inequities in Social Security benefits. Please join us. Help stop Social Security discrimination against gay and lesbian americans. It’s about our seniors. It’s about our futures. It’s about all of us.” ~Lorri L. Jean, CEO L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, announcing the RockForEquality.org national rally to demand equal Social Security benefits for America’s same-sex couples
- 02.06 “In light of the recent decision by the John Carroll University administration to not specifically include the protection of Lesbians, Gays, Bi-Sexuals, Transgendered, and Questioning students in its Anti-Discrimination Statement, we, the students, faculty, and alumni of John Carroll University choose to voice our support for those the university leaves without protection.”
- 02.06 “We are looking at the recognition of rights and liberties, and in this there is a big difference between conservatives and those of us with a liberal or different or advanced ideas of rights,” Mexico City’s mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, told reporters in response to the federal government’s court challenge in January of a soon to be enacted law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt.
- 02.06 “Do you hear that? He was set free from addictions to homosexuality, heroine, crack cocaine. Anything else,” said adult leader at Kansas City’s IHOP, the International House of Prayer, during the testimony of a young troubled man named Jacob.
- 02.05 “The takeaway is that we have to describe marriage in the way voters in the middle see it. It’s problematic when you talk solely about legal protections, because many straight people don’t see it that way. They see marriage as an ideal about commitment and responsibility. We need to show them that we want to take on the responsibility that marriage entails for the same reasons,” said Lanae Erickson, senior policy counsel for Third Way regarding analysis of ‘middle’ voters who oppose same-sex marriage.
- 02.05 Three Powerful LGBT Equality Video Playlists Brought Together for Sharing: 1) Prop 8 Trial Re-Enactment 2) Don’t Ask Dont’ Tell Senate Repeal Hearing 3) The SoulForce Mock Trial Debunking Anti-Gay Smears SHARE THIS LINK: http://bit.ly/cXiEo5 [curated by Gay Rights Media]
- 02.04 “What I think we can expect if the [United States] Supreme Court does recognize a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, as happened in California and has happened in a number of other states, is new life being breathed into the possibility of a federal constitutional marriage amendment; people will attempt to amend the federal constitution to derecognize the federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage that the Supreme Court, in this hypothetical, would have recognized,” said Marc Spindelman, professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.
- 02.04 “We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are, whether it’s here in the United States or as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda,” said President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast.
- 02.03 “It’s time that Christian people got into a little Gospel trouble for standing up for the marginalized the way Jesus always got in trouble for doing so. We have a duty to confront those who are praying for those things that would break God’s heart. You can talk about Jesus all day, but if you are not doing what Jesus would have you do, it matters not. God save us from admirers of Jesus. What Jesus wants is not admirers only but followers. Jesus doesn’t need any more admirers,” said Bishop Gene Robinson at the announcement of the American Prayer Hour, an LGBT friendly alternative to the National Day of Prayer.
- 02.03 “I think what the court is saying is that surgery and hormone therapy for transgender people to alleviate the stress associated with gender identity disorder is legitimate medical care,” said Jennifer Levi, a GLAD attorney.
- 02.03 “What we heard today from the military on Capitol Hill was truly historic. It was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking military officer in the nation, who said today what no one in his position has ever said before.” ~Martha Raddatz, ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent
- 02.02 “If you closed your eyes and squinted, you really could have believed it was 1993 again. The Republicans really came off like they were talking out of another century,” said Rachel Maddow about her first-hand impressions of the Senate hearing on repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
- 02.02 “This Valentine’s Day, I’ll be coming out to show support for the loving families in my community that are not recognized.” ~from the Australian campaign for equal marriage at Families4Freedom.info
- 02.02 “The committee is now going to receive testimony from our senior leadership at the Department of Defense as we begin the task of addressing the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy on gays in the military.” ~Carl Levin, chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee
- 02.02 “He’s the love of my life. I would do anything for him. I would put his needs ahead of my own. I would be with him in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.” ~Jeffrey Zarrillo, plaintiff in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, testifying to his relationship with Paul Katami
- 02.01 “California now has the broadest protections for gay people in the entire country and that’s for one reason and almost one reason only and that is EQCA’s incredible leadership,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, on the work of Equality California, California’s largest statewide LGBT advocacy organization.
- 02.01 “This witness was withdrawn by the other side after this deposition.” ~Andy Humm of Gay USA regarding video available on YouTube which shows the deposition of a defendents’ witness in Perry v. Schwarzenegger who was subsequently rejected by the defenders of Proposition 8
- 02.01 “By signaling that integration is a complicated, fragile process and slow-rolling it over a number of years, you give obstructionists in the military the chance to stir up trouble in their units,” said Aaron Belkin, the director of the Palm Center, a research group that focuses on repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’
- 01.31 “These cases, brought on behalf of 44 same-sex couples from around the state, present the same essential questions: whether the New York state constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection permit the government to harm New York’s thousands of same-sex couples and their children by denying them access to one of society’s most valued and important institutions – the state created institution of civil marriage.” ~Susan Sommer of Lambda Legal in oral arguments before New York’s Court of Appeals 2006
- 01.31 Post the “Stand With Us!” lgbt equality declaration or tab to your profile via Gay Rights Media’s Facebook application. Share your support with family & friends.
- 01.30 The lights are being turned on, as they say, as the moral bankruptcy of the case against same-sex marriage materializes before us through video re-enactments based upon court transcripts and eye witness accounts from inside the courtroom.
- 01.30 “You can’t turn the lights off now, the world is much too small. When anybody’s rights get wronged, it’s everybody’s wake up call. Corruption thrives on secrecy; transparency is good for you and me, and we really want the truth set free for all.” ~from Hitrecord.org’s animated short about the Prop 8 trial, transparency, media, freedom and the future
- 01.30 “It doesn’t matter if you have one parent. It doesn’t matter if you have two moms. It doesn’t mater if you have two dads. Just stick with it. A family is a family.” ~Becky from the new HBO documentary A Family Is A Family Is A Family
- 01.29 “We saw the most compelling thing I’ve ever seen in court, the expert witnesses, hired by the proponents of Proposition 8, admit a litany of facts that go to the core of what this case is about and prove our case,” said Theodore Boutrous, plaintiff’s attorney in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, during a press conference on Jan. 27, 2010.
- 01.29 “They just say because of tradition gays and lesbians and their children have got to endure that damage [depriving marriage rights]. We don’t think that’s right,” said attorney David Boies while being interviewed by Don Imus on the Fox Business channel about same-sex marriage and the federal trial to overturn California’s Proposition 8.
- 01.29 “I was told I never had to adopt her as long as she was born within our legal, civil union, just like a married couple,” said Janet Jenkins about her daughter Isabella who is now missing after presumably being abducted by her other mother Lisa.
- 01.28 Video News Segment: Anti Same-Sex Marriage Bill At Center Of Maryland Legislature Debate http://bit.ly/cUduwu
- 01.28 “The secretary and the chairman have been and continue to work on an implementation plan and will be able to share it with you early next week,” said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
- 01.28 “Probably not this year,” said political columnist Eugene Robinson today about what a White House official told him regarding the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
- 01.28 “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do,” said President Obama in his first State of the Union address.
- 01.28 “You heard that preventing gays and lesbians from marrying hurts people. You heard it from our witnesses and you heard it from their witnesses,” said David Boies, plaintiffs’ attorney in the federal trial Perry v. Schwarzenegger regarding California’s Proposition 8, after the defense rested.
- 01.27 Tonight in his first State of the Union address President Obama is expected to call for Congress to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but will he use his power as Commander in Chief to put an immediate moratorium on the witch hunts and expulsions?
- 01.27 “Our opponents’ homophobia is more important to them than their own moral code.” ~Rob Tish, in his video debunking the most vicious lie about gay men
- 01.27 “There is no rational connection between sexual orientation and what is or is not in the best interest of a child,”‘ Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia wrote in her order finalizing an adoption by a lesbian couple earlier this month, calling Florida’s ban on adoption by gay people “unconstitutional on its face.”
- 01.27 “Being disowned by your family [and church].. you have to start over and put your life together, increment by increment: school, housing, family, friends.” ~Tenaja Jordan, a survivor and student at the Hetrick-Martin Institute’s Harvey Milk High School
- 01.26 The Gay Civil Rights Movement page today surpassed 9,000 Facebook fans. 10,000 here we come! Follow Gay Rights Media on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gayrightsmedia or YouTube at http://youtube.com/gayrightsmedia. If you use a smart phone, access our blog at http://www.queervisions.com.
- 01.25 Sen. Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was told to hold off on announcing the [Don't Ask Don't Tell] hearing until after the president’s [State of the Union] address Wednesday, according to a Senate aide.
- 01.25 “There is a long emotional, physical process that a lot of us have to go through,” said Katherine Cross, 22, a transgender New Yorker, who got her new name in July. “For me,” she said, “the centerpiece was the name change.”
- 01.24 “What Hawai’i started in the 1990s was a very novel concept that was quite revolutionary in its day,” said Alan Spector, a leader in the equal rights advocacy group Equality Hawai’i, referring to marriage rights for same-sex couples.
- 01.23 “A lot of what they seem to be trying to prove in the course of this trial is that the people who brought this have a great animus towards gay people in general.” ~Andy Humm regarding attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal case to overturn California’s Proposition 8
- 01.23 “Most Asian countries don’t welcome gay visitors, so we can have the maximum benefit for the Nepal economy which is fragile after years of war.” ~Sunil Babu Pant, legislator and homosexual rights movement leader of Nepal
- 01.22 “Obama’s speech in front of the HRC dinner was absolutely without any question the most passionate open unapologetic declaration for lgbt enfranchisement made by any major politician, let alone an American president, in history and it was, as far as I’m concerned, a milestone event.” ~Tony Kushner, playwright and activist, on the first year of Obama’s gay rights agenda
- 01.22 “The first issue I would address [if I were President] is definitely the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy because it threatens national security.” ~from Queerly Speaking, a project of HRC’s Youth and Campus Outreach Program
- 01.22 Hawaii Senate Passes Veto Proof Civil Unions Bill 18-7, Now to the House http://bit.ly/5Q341q [honoluluadvertiser.com]
- 01.22 Showcase persuasive LGBT equality media to friends and family by installing Gay Rights Media’s STAND WITH US! Facebook profile tab. http://apps.facebook.com/gayrightsmedia/addourtab.php
- 01.22 “You had told me that you read something that said homosexuals were 12 times more likely to molest children. I’m asking you what you read.” ~attorney David Boies asked hostile witness Hak-Shing William Tam during day 8 of the federal Prop 8 trial
- 01.22 “We wanted to do something about this culture of acceptance that homophobic bullying is inevitable,” says Rikki Beadle-Blair, writer and director of the new UK Stonewall film Fit which dramatizes the issue. “Ultimately, we want to put an end to bigotry.”
- 01.21 “It never entered my mind that I wouldn’t be considered a parent to my daughter. It’s just unfathomable that a child born to two parents can be denied one parent.” ~Janet Jenkins regarding the custody battle with her former civil partner Lisa Miller over their daughter Isabella
- 01.21 “President Obama and his administration have made historic and positive changes .. that will improve the lives of LGBT people in concrete ways for years to come. Yet, one year later, many more policy changes need to be made, LGBT employees nationwide can still be fired for nothing other than bias, service members are still being discharged on his watch, and marriage inequality relegates our families to second-class status.” ~Rea Carey, executive director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
- 01.21 “I was very concerned because I saw what happened to people who came out. My experience on the police force made me realize that gays and lesbians had a very tough time.” ~witness in Perry v. Schwarzenegger discussing his reaction after his daughter came out as a lesbian
- 01.20 “Boies: Are you aware of any peer reviewed studies that have been published as to whether permitting gay people to marry affects the rearing of children? What do those peer reviewed studies conclude? Nathanson: They don’t detect problems and they don’t predict problems.” ~Attorney David Boies deposing McGill Universtiy researcher Paul Nathanson whose writings oppose same-sex marriage and who was dropped as a witness by the defendants of Proposition 8 in Perry v. Schwarzenegger
- 01.20 “Boies: Do you believe that children are advantaged by increasing the durability of the relationship of the couple raising them? And do you believe that the durability of the relationship of a gay couple is enhanced by permitting the gay couple to marry? And do you believe that allowing gay couples to marry will increase the durability of those gay couples’ relationships? And increasing the durability of those relationships is beneficial to the children that they’re raising? Young: Yes.” ~Attorney David Boies deposing McGill University Professor Katherine K. Young whose writings oppose same-sex marriage and who was dropped as a witness by the defendants of Proposition 8 in Perry v. Schwarzenegger
- 01.20 Transcripts of the ongoing federal Prop 8 trial, Perry v Schwarzenegger, are now available via the American Foundation for Equal Rights website EqualRightsFoundation.org; filmed re-enactments of the trial are due to begin appearing at MarriageTrial.com.
- 01.20 “Tell you what straight respondents, why don’t you pretend to be gay for [two decades]? Go through all the motions of having sex with men etc and then tell all your straight male friends at the end of it that you are fine with your experiment and that you really are straight. They will believe you, honestly.” ~comment left on testimony from a man who believes himself going straight after 20 years of ‘uninterrupted homosexuality’
- 01.20 Prop 8 Day 7 beginning now. Follow updates via Firedoglake http://bit.ly/4U1Xcq the Courage Campaign http://bit.ly/4qbmAO or Gay Rights Media http://bit.ly/grmapp.
- 01.19 The Gay Rights Media application http://apps.facebook.com/gayrightsmedia -installation not required- is still awaiting approval for entry into the Facebook app directory. Please try out the GRM app and consider giving it a five ★ review here http://bit.ly/62n8Il. Thanks, Patrick Yaeger
- 01.19 “It was a massive decision. Absolutely, it was fundamental to them being able to carry on with their working lives, carry on with their personal lives and not worry about that threat of being found out and being dismissed from the service that they probably loved being in,” said Lt Cdr Mandy McBain, commenting on the 10th anniversary since the ban on gay men and lesbians serving in the British Armed Forces was lifted.
- 01.19 “What happened for me was I met a woman at one of the conferences that I was speaking at about my deliverance from homosexuality; we got together and spent 12 and a half years together. Exodus and my church both lovingly gave me the left-footed fellowship.” ~Darlene Bogle, former director of Paraklete, an Exodus International ex-gay referal ministry
- 01.19 “If you make a convincing enough case that gays and lesbians are vilified and wrongly stereotyped, valued less than others,” Ralph Richard Banks, a Stanford Law School equal-protection law expert said, “then that could give the foundation for changing doctrine.”
- 01.18 “You can never create – using private contracts – all the same benefits and protections people have by being married,” said Ray Koenig III, a Chicago attorney. “You can try hard, and you can spend a lot of money. But you’ll never get there.”
- 01.18 “Harvey and my friends would call me up saying we’re going to have a march tomorrow we need a banner.” ~Gilbert Baker, creator of the Rainbow Flag, the ubiquitous symbol of pride for the LGBT Civil Rights Movement
- 01.18 “I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” ~MLKjr on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol Building on March 25, 1965
- 01.18 “Big news from the federal government this week is that President Obama is banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity in federal employment. That’s terrific, terrific move.” ~Andy Humm, co-host of the weekly lgbt news hour Gay USA
- 01.18 “I don’t think you have to be gay or lesbian to see that there is a tremendous human story being told but so few people are actually hearing it,” said John Ireland, filmmaker and journalist, currently filming a reenactment of the ongoing federal prop 8 trial.
- 01.17 “I want to marry Sandy. I want to have a stable and secure relationship with her that then we can include our children in,” Perry said. “And I want the discrimination we are feeling with Proposition 8 to end and for a more positive, joyful part of our lives to begin.” ~Kris Perry, Plaintiff in the Federal Prop. 8 Trial Perry v. Schwarzenegger
- 01.17 “You’ve asked for trouble by flaunting your private life in front of the students.” ~The new Head Teacher to Sarah in the animated UK series Out At Work
- 01.17 Take this quick poll asking which LGBT civil rights victory would be most important for you personally. Leave additions in the comments.
- 01.17 Poll on Sexual Minority Terminology: Which Catch All Term Do You Prefer?
- 01.17 “I think there’s something the matter with you if you don’t care enough to feel the suffering that they’ve been through and if you’re not emotionally upset about the fact that we’re doing an immense amount of harm to people,” he said. “We’re not treating them like Americans. We’re not treating them like citizens.” ~Ted Olson to Maureen Dowd in the New York Times
- 01.17 “That two people, both men for instance, should get together, maybe go to eat and otherwise relate in a friendly manner, is wholly inappropriate.” Judge Steven Rosima
- 01.16 “For the first time in a decade, Justice Department lawyers have moved to intervene in a lawsuit on behalf of a gay high school student who was beaten up for being effeminate.” ~Ari Shapiro of NPR
- 01.16 “People who see the world the way that my attacker sees it are totally blind.” ~Lindsay Harmon
- 01.16 “Equality California is asking President Obama and his administration to file a brief asking the Court to rule that it is unconstitutional to allow a majority to take away the rights of a minority.” ~Geoff Kors
- 01.15 “Screw the blue states! Marriage equality is dead in California, New York, Maine —and now New Jersey! We are sooo moving to Iowa.” ~cartoon dialogue
- 01.15 “Department of Defense [is considering] whether it would be necessary to change shower facilities and locker rooms because of privacy concerns, whether to ban public displays of affection on military bases and what to do about troops who are stationed or make port calls in nations that outlaw homosexuality.” ~New York Times
- 01.15 “It was just as our forefathers had envisioned, that one day, people who had been discriminated against for their religion or the color of their skin could come together to discriminate against people for their sexual orientation.. without the slightest sense of irony.” ~Wyatt Cenac
- 01.14 “We cannot continue to submit gay, lesbian and trans couples to a judicial process that invades our privacy. That’s why we’re here to get married today. Because after us, hundreds and thousands will follow.” ~Alejandro and Jose
- 01.14 “City leaders say that, barring intervention from Congress, marriage licenses will be available to same-sex couples around the first week of March.” ~Tim Craig
- 01.13 “The president will be strongly supporting repeal,” he said. “The question is — we have the president, I believe we have a majority in the House — will we get 60 votes in the Senate?” ~Barney Frank
- 01.13 Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked any television broadcast to the general public of the San Francisco federal court challenge to California’s ban on same-sex marriage. The stay will remain in effect until the Court rules on a coming appeal challenging the TV order. http://www.scotusblog.com/prop-8-court-tv-blocked/
- 01.13 “Thousands of gays and lesbians get married in France, Finland, the UK. Why couldn’t we?” ~Zeng and Pan
- 01.13 “Instead of protecting the rights of the minority, finally able to air their concerns, history and struggle in an impartial forum, [the US Supreme Court earliler] used their power to offer a sheltered and safe forum for individuals attempting to uphold a measure that facilitated majority oppression of minority rights.” ~Emma Ruby-Sachs
- 01.13 “People need to see and hear these stories,” said Rick Jacobs, chair of the Courage Campaign, the liberal online organization whose campaign inspired nearly all of the 138,542 people who urged the federal court to air the trial.
- 01.13 “We must work on several fronts and with multiple strategies in order to achieve the dream of equality that is unqualified for every American” ~Stuart Milk
- 01.13 “Marriage is a fundamental right. Gay and Lesbian couples are seriously harmed when they’re deprived of that right. Allowing them to be married doesn’t hurt anybody.” ~David Boies (on the three points their legal strategy seeks to show)
- 01.13 “I just want my normal gay son back.” ~Father of Lucas Faber
- 01.12 Nancy Cott on Marriage as a Basic Civil Right
- 01.12 “Those people who have said that we’re pushing the Constitution too far I don’t think they have read the Constitution. The Constitution guarantees that people will be treated equally in this country.” ~Ted Olson
- 01.12 “I’ve been in love with a woman for 10 years, and I don’t have access to a word for it,” said lead plaintiff 45-year-old Kristin Perry of Berkeley. “In a store, people want to know if we are sisters or cousins or friends, and I have to decide every day if I want to come out wherever we go, if we are going to risk that negative reaction.”
- 01.11 In one particularly passionate exchange, Judge Walker asked why the courts should intervene in Proposition 8. Mr. Olson paused. “That is exactly why we have courts, why we have the Constitution and why we have the 14th Amendment,” he said, adding that while some groups “may not be the most popular people,” the court still should uphold their rights. “That is why we are here today.”
- 01.11 “For so long we’ve had to fight city by city, county by county, state by state; but even when we win it’s incomplete and impermanent.” ~Cleve Jones
- 01.11 “During this trial, Plaintiffs and leading experts in the fields of history, psychology, economics and political science will prove three fundamental points.” ~Ted Olson
- 01.11 The Prop 8 Trial is on a lunch break. Go to our Notes tab to read a very good blogged transcript of the proceedings so far: http://www.facebook.com/gayrightsmedia?v=app_2347471856
- 01.11 The website ‘Prop 8 Trial Tracker’ http://Prop8TrialTracker.com is being updated by bloggers: Robert Cruickshank, Public Policy Director and Julia Rosen, Online Political Director as a project of the Courage Campaign. Their goal will be to document how the right-wing is responding to, distorting and continuing to undermine Judge Walker and the entire proceedings. Must see!
- 01.11 The best live updates on the Prop 8 trial I’ve found so far are from a blogger named Teddy Partridge at Fire Dog Lake’s community blog The Seminal. http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/teddysanfran Look for ‘Live Blogging Prop 8 Trial’. Looks like he’s about to begin a fourth post of updates.
- 01.11 Come to the Gay Rights Media Facebook app page (no installation required) to watch live tweets from the Prop 8 trial (Perry v. Schwarzenegger) together. Live Event wall going up momentarily. http://apps.facebook.com/gayrightsmedia
- 01.11 Didn’t Paul Katami appear in the post Prop 8 response video “Offense Taken” to the National Organization for Marriage’s “No Offense” ad featuring Miss California Carrie Prejean? Link to the video in blog post.
- 01.11 Perry, Stier, Katami & Zarrillo v. Schwarzenegger
- 01.11 Ted Olson & Perry v. Schwarzenegger
- 01.10 “If the majority could vote on [all] minority rights, we wouldn’t have any minority rights in this country.” ~Geoff Kors, Executive Director, Equality California
- 01.10 Homosexuality On Trial
- 01.10 “If you’ve gotten the impression that Alltop is not based on computer algorithms or popular voting, you’d be right. We are highly subjective and judgmental.”
- 01.10 LGBT Survivors of Domestic Violence
- 01.10 “Since our leaders can’t make up their minds about us, we’ve decided to make up our minds about ourselves.” ~Mel White
- 01.09 “Citizens who have been denied equality are invariably told to ‘wait their turn’ and to ‘be patient.’ Yet veterans of past civil-rights battles found that it was the act of insisting on equal rights that ultimately sped acceptance of those rights.” ~Ted Olson
- 01.09
- 01.09 “I have spent a fair amount of time reading Dr. King’s response to people who said, ‘People aren’t ready for this,’” Ted Olson said. “His ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ one of the more moving documents in history, addresses this. If people are suffering and being hurt by discrimination, and their children and their families are . . . then who are we as lawyers to say, ‘Wait ten years’?”
- 01.09 Tiwonge and Steven are quite fearful and dejected. They were jeered in court and have been disowned by their families. Conditions in Chichiri jail are appalling.
- 01.08 Buoyed by liberal attitudes, politicians across Western Europe are stepping out of the closet and into their country’s highest political offices.
- 01.08 Monitor the Movement, Get Inspired by Select Advocacy Media and Install the “Stand With Us!” Outreach Tab with Gay Rights Media’s New Facebook App http://bit.ly/6CgC6W
- 01.08 They Chanted Shame! in NJ
- 01.08 In regard to some recent big defeats for the LGBT Civil Rights Movement I quote, “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the people who feel pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.” Our movement is unstoppable! ~Patrick
- 01.08 Scenes from Yesterday’s Temporary Defeat of Marriage Equality in New Jersey
- 01.08 Sam Isn’t Gay, He Wants to Change Gender.
- 01.08 The Federal Court System and Same-Sex Marriage – A Debate
- 01.07 New Jersey Senate Votes Away Marriage Equality for Years to Come
- 01.07 Catholic Portugal to Legalize Gay Marriage
- 01.06 A Video Playlist of 30 Coming Out Stories
- 01.06 Signatures Needed Asking California Judge Walker to Televise the Prop 8 Trial
- 01.05 Reason Magazine Looks at Reproductive Contracts and the Best Interest of Children
- 01.05 Rhode Island Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto of Funeral Planning Rights
- 01.05 HIV Travel and Immigration Ban Lifted After 22 Years
- 01.05 Teen Ink Publishes Gay Youth’s Essay “Silent No More”
- 01.04 The Tenth Annual Weblog Awards, The 2010 Bloggies http://2010.bloggies.com/, is now open for voting and the GLBT category has returned. If you would like to nominate this page, please use the title ‘Gay Rights Media’ and the URL ‘http://facebook.com/gayrightsmedia’. What are your favorite GLBT blogs?
- 01.04 The Influence of American Evangelical Fundamentalist Christianity in Uganda
- 01.04 and American Religious Extremists
- 01.04 Are you a fan of The Trevor Project on Facebook? Spreading the word helps more LGBTQ youth become aware of their services.
- 01.03 GRM’s Weekly Twitter Digest
- 01.02 Robyn Ochs discusses the 2nd edition of her groundbreaking book “Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World” on the John Selig podcast Outspoken.
- 01.02 Reach out to Facebook friends & family with Gay Rights Media’s “Stand With Us!” profile tab. Get it here: http://apps.facebook.com/gayrightsmedia/addourtab.php
- 01.01 New Hamphire Newlyweds New Year’s Kiss
- 01.01 and 2010
- 01.01 and Religion
- 01.01 and 2009
- 01.01 and 2009
- 01.01 It’s the year 2010 (twenty-ten) most everywhere on the planet. Happy New Year!