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There is a Santa Clause and Christmas Comes Early for Democrats

With the exception of Proposition 8 and other anti-gay amendments passed earlier this month, you have to believe there is a God and a Santa Claus, and that Christmas has come early this year. Several media outlets are reporting that Ann Coulter’s jaw has been wired shut. If only they would leave it that way permananently. Apparently, Coulter fell down some stairs and broke her jaw. Or maybe she was pushed by Karma? Check any of these reports for more details:

The Dish Rag Blog at the LA Times

The Huffington Post

The Political Machine at AOL

The Seattle Times

Ministers Preach to Gays and Straights at Atlanta’s Join the Impact Protest Against Prop 8

Several ministers spoke in both religious and secular terms about the issues of gay rights and gay marriage at the Join the Impact! protest in Atlanta last Saturday.

Take a look at Life on Q’s video of the speech by Dr. Margaret Aymer at Atlanta’s Join the Impact protest for gay marriage on Nov. 15, 2008.  Dr. Aymer talks about her mixed race marriage, the commonalities between the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement, and her point of view as a Presbyterian minister and professor of theology.

Dr. Aymer is an assistant professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.  She holds a degree in U.S. History from Harvard University, Masters Degrees in divinity and philosophy from the Union Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in the New Testament and Early Christianity, also from Union.

The Rev. Paul Turner of Atlanta’s Gentle Spirit Christian Church acknowledged the pain and disappointment of discrimination in his speech.  He offered words of encouragement to the LGBT community and also sent a message to those who oppose us.  Rev. Turner majored in Theology and minored in Psychology at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. He left prior to graduation when the nature of his sexual orientation became clear to him and church officials informed him that he would never be ordained within the United Methodist Church.  He then discovered the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Church in 1982. He received a certificate in “Crisis Intervention” from the Council of Christian Communions of Cincinnati in 1983; served on the Crisis Intervention Team and as a Chaplain for the city jail, was licensed as a clergyperson in the UFMCC in 1986, and ordained in 1989.  After leading churches in Ohio and Atlanta, Rev. Turner founded Gentle Spirit Christian Church in 1998.

Gay Marriage? White Knot?

Groups are springing up everywhere to add to the momentum of community activism in the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 8 in California.  One interesting one is called White Knot.  The idea is to create a new symbol for marriage equality.  In the spirit of red AIDS ribbons and pink breast cancer ribbons, the white knot combines two traditional symbols of marriage—white and tying the knot—to show support for the right of gays and lesbians to marry.

The goal is simply visibility, and the plan is that wearing the knot, whether you are gay or straight, will become a symbol of equality and an opportunity to reach out to others to discuss the issue. The group asks you to wear your white knot to work, to school, to your place of worship–wherever. They indicate on their Website that celebrities will be wearing white knots down red carpets this awards season. Together, we can keep the keep the conversation going.  A White Knot is a simple thing to make, even for the craft-challenged.  Whiteknot.org offers instructions for making your own on their Website here.  They also plan to manufacture white knots that can be given out at events, rallies or wherever.

I think this is a really creative and interesting idea.  I like it a lot. Visibility really is very important, and so are the conversations that will be had when people ask, “What’s with the white ribbon?.”  I just hope we don’t get too carried away in the rush of community activism to think that LGBT rights are all about marriage.  There are many, many more obstacles along the road to full equality and equal rights.  Let us not forget issues like hate crime, employment discrimination, Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell, and adoption and foster parenting rights, to name a few.

Georgia Equality’s Jeff Graham Speaks at the Join the Impact Protest in Atlanta

Take a look at Jeff Graham’s speech at the Join the Impact protest on Saturday, November 15. Jeff is executive director of Georgia Equality, a statewide political advocacy group for Georgia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. In his remarks, Jeff talks about the many challenges, and a few victories, in the fight for LGBT rights in Georgia. He also stresses the importance of the upcoming December 2 Senate runoff in Georgia between incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, as well as a critical runoff race for the Georgia Court of Appeals.

The New York Times Buries Gay Prop 8 Protest Story

I am getting more than a little irritated by the mainstream media’s coverage of the anti-gay marriage amendments in California and elsewhere. Leafing through my Sunday New York Times this morning, I got hotter than my coffee to search for an article on the protests, only to find it buried on page 25. I wrote a Letter to the Editor to let them know that LGBT Americans are paying attention to their lack of coverage and interest in the issues that affect our lives. Here’s the content of my letter:

“To the Editors:

As a New York Times subscriber, blogger and lesbian, I am writing to express my disappointment in your coverage of the National Day of Protest Over Proposition 8 (“Across U.S., Big Rallies For Same-Sex Marriage,” page 25, Sunday, November 16, 2008). I had scoured the paper last Sunday looking for coverage of the passage of Proposition 8 in California (and the other anti-gay measures on ballots in Arkansas, Arizona and Florida) only to find an AP article printed deep into the paper. The editors apparently didn’t even see fit to assign a Times reporter to the story. I was very frustrated and disappointed. Then I heard about Saturday’s protests, and decided to attend the protest here in Atlanta as an outlet for my outrage (attended by an estimated 1,500 people, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Again this Sunday, I checked The New York Times for articles on the protest. After well more than 100,000 LGBT Americans and fair-minded, freedom-loving heterosexual Americans braved wind, cold, rain and fire to protest the passage of Proposition 8, I would have expected more prominent coverage. Checking the front page, I finally spot a teaser for an article on the Rally for Gay Rights in the lower left-hand corner—the location of lowest-priority in newspapers. The teaser referred to page A25. Leafing past Sports, Arts & Leisure, Travel et. al., I finally located the article on page 25-which turns out to be page three of the National section.

Over one million people signed on to the Join the Impact social network in one week, according to the (ad hoc, volunteer, average citizen) social network organizers. Protests were planned in more than 30 American cities and in 10 foreign countries. How does such a large, national movement get relegated to page 25, behind a story on beer-drinking and whether or not President-elect Obama will have to give up his Blackberry?

Regarding the article itself, I found it to be generally fair yet somewhat downplayed in at least one regard: Estimates of protest participants on the Join the Impact website are (as of this writing) between 119,757 and 132,952. (See: http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Attendance+Totals+(How+Many+Attended+in+Your+City).

Estimates are still coming in from around the country. It is, in my opinion, a more accurate characterization that protesters numbered well over 100,000, rather than the “tens of thousands,” as you reported.

Ironically, I subscribed to your paper at Atlanta’s Gay Pride Festival this summer. I have been a reader of the print and online additions off and on for years. If your coverage of the groundswell of protest over anti-gay marriage bigotry continues to be buried, what does it say about your editorial judgment in general? Do nationwide protests by hundreds of thousands of Americans not meet your criteria for news? Or is there some other, more political reason for your disinterest in and disrespect for LGBT Americans?”

You can read the Times article on the protests for yourself here. If you feel any media coverage of Prop 8, Join the Impact or other LGBT issues is biased or buried, I strongly urge you to consider writing a letter to the editor.  It really does make a difference.

LGBT Atlantans Crowd to State Capitol for Join the Impact Protest

A very large crowd descended on Georgia’s Gold Dome this afternoon, braving the cold and wind to protest the passing of California’s Proposition 8, yet another in a long and shameful line of anti-gay marriage amendments.  Here are a few quick photos of the protest.

Keith Olberman Takes Straights to Task Over Gay Marriage Vote

I have never understood why the African-American community joined forces with the religious right to campaign for intolerance and discrimination in our country.  It seems to me the height of hypocrisy. Our country began with the creed that all men were created equal.  Then (at least in theory) all women too (except for the equal pay thing).  Then African-Americans were given legal status as full human beings, rather than property.  Previously they had been counted as a fraction of a person.  Then African-Americans were given the right to vote, and now see the dream of their inspirational leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., realized in the election of Barack Obama.  But that’s the end of the dream for black people, apparently.  All men (and women) (of any color) are created equal, but not the gays.  It is the African-American (and Latino) turnout in California that is cited as the cause of the passage of the anti-gay marriage proposal, Proposition 8.  And so here’s must-see: Keith Olbmerman’s reaction to the vote on Proposition 8 in California, where he takes heterosexual America, and the African-American community in particular, to task for their vote:

An Historic Election Night At An Historic Place

After watching the election returns last Tuesday at a Democratic event, I told my friend David that I wanted to stop by the King Center on the way home.  After Barack Obama’s historic vicotry, I was expecting a handful of people at the grave of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King.  What we found instead was a riot of happiness.  Here’s Life On Q’s video of the happenings on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta on November 4th, and early into the morning of November 5th, 2008.

One Step Forward, Three Steps Back for Full Equality in the 2008 Election

I still have not taken off my Barack Obama t-shirt.  I don’t think I have ever been so excited, relieved and encouraged by a Democratic candidate for president.  I was a Clinton loyalist in the 90s, and had a difficult time choosing between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the primaries.  I ultimately decided to support Obama, because I was afraid Sen. Clinton would rally Republicans who have made an industry out of hating the Clintons, and because I sensed something radically different in Obama.  His campaign reminded me of the Howard Dean campaign that so engaged me in 2004.  Yet, here we are just a day or two after the election, and my hope is now mixed with disappointment.

The 2008 election cycle ultimately had a bitter, bitter, bitter sweet outcome for gays and lesbians.  Even as a gay supportive candidate was elected president, three states passed anti-gay marriage amendments.  Within 24 hours of hearing the President-elect say the word “gay” in his acceptance speech–within the first 90 seconds of his remarks–we learn that California, Arizona and Florida have now written their bigotry and hate into their state constitutions.

Reports are that it was the large turnout of minority voters in support of Obama that helped ensure the loss of gay rights in three more states. How ironic it is that it was the votes of people who have been the victim of discrimination that enacted more discrimination.  How ironic that the movement that Martin Luther King, Jr. started would be realized in this way.  (Dr. King was not anti-gay, nor was his wife Coretta.) How ironic that Californians voted to give chickens more leg room, but don’t think gay people should have the right to visit their partners in hospitals or include their partners in their wills after their death.

How ironic that a candidate supported so strongly tirelessly by the LGBT community would bring out an anti-gay vote.  I am still heartened by Barack Obama’s victory.  But now I’m also disheartened by the continuing crusade to deny gays and lesbians basic rights.  I guess that means my heart is in pieces.

Thank You Howard Dean

A little over five years ago, my intense but private political interest became an active obsession.  I was frustrated and worried by the George W. Bush “victory” in the 2000 election and by a war of little value and of even less justification..  Early in the 2004 Presidential campaign, I heard a speech by Dr. Howard Dean.  What I want to know, he said, is why so many Democrats are supporting George Bush’s war in Iraq.  I wanted to know too.  Looking into Dean’s record as the former Governor of Vermont, my attention intensified when I learned that Gov. Dean had led the state that gave gays and lesbians a first step toward equal rights via civil unions.  We were facing a gay marriage amendment to the Georgia Constitution, and I was offended and infuriated by the bigotry and hate of my fellow Georgians.

I had never before been active in any political campaign.  But I went to a Howard Dean meetup and found the energy, compassion and company of like-minded volunteers infectious and inspiring.  It was so “un-American” at that time to question President Bush or to be of the opinion that <gasp!> war is neither good nor the answer.  It was cathartic to sit at Manuel’s Tavern and talk about such things over a beer with people who, like me, would ultimately organize and work for Gov. Dean’s campaign.

Gov. Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign started what Sen. Barack Obama and his campaign have now finished.  Dean for America pioneered the idea of a broadly distributed, loosely organized campaign where individual groups around the country operated with autonomy.  The national campaign sent out requests for support on specific campaign strategies, details on positions and appeals for action through canvassing, phone banking, and fundraising events (so many of them “house parties” held in private homes of ordinary people).

As importantly, and perhaps ultimately more importantly, the Internet was exploited as a campaign tool as never before.  Blogging was a brand-new concept back then.  I wrote my first posts ever on the Georgia for Dean blog, and even was honored with a post or two on the national blog.  As you can see, blogging became a habit that I cannot break. Today, the Dean for America community lives on as Democracy for America, as does Georgia for Dean, which is now Georgia for Democracy.

As a volunteer for Georgia for Dean, I met some of the most amazing people I’ve ever encountered.  Many were brilliant.  Most worked hard, sometimes to the detriment of paying work or other basic needs like sleep.  All were committed, sincere and passionate about changing the direction of our country. Many people whom I now consider to be my closest friends were met at Dean meetups and Georgia for Dean activities.  My friend Brian led Out for Dean Georgia.  He does not like this title, but I tell him he is my personal hero.  Brian was discharged from the U.S. Army because he is gay–after serving in Afghanistan (and many other tours of duty) as a bomb technician who protected our troops by defusing and destroying IEDs and other bombs.  (You can read my post about Brian here.)  My friend David was responsible for the blog for Out for Dean Georgia and was active generally with Georgia for Dean.  He is a true friend.  I love him and trust him with my life.  My friend Kimberly is one of the most brilliant PR professionals I’ve ever met.  I respect her greatly and value her insight on both political issues and general PR/marketing issues, where we share a similar vocation.  I have great fondness and respect for many others I first met through Dean for Georgia.  We didn’t all get along all the time.  We disagreed, sometimes heatedly, on strategy and tactics.  But we had a common goal, and today we all celebrate together. More »