Elliot Serjeant, who was discovered by Agent Amanda Belts this past January just wrapped up his photo shoot with gay magazine Jack in an attempt to further his career. The shoot which was done in an outside car park using a chair and a big roll of cardboard is titled Jack-OFF 2007. In it Elliot is shown in his briefs riding a bottle of champagne. This is one photo shoot I'd like to see.
Court rules in favor of straight/gay group
The group Straight and Gays for Equality (SAGE) recently won an important court case that allowed them to have the same rights as several other clubs at the same school. The school system had denied them the rights of other clubs at Maple Grove High School such as the right to advertise in the yearbook, post bulletin boards, or use the loudspeaker for public service announcements. According to the Osseo school district these rights were only granted to school clubs that fit in with curricular activities. Among the other clubs that had these rights were cheer leading and synchronized swimming. The eighth circuit court ruled that the Osseo School District had no legal right to do this as the two clubs listed above were in fact non curricular clubs granted certain rights that SAGE was denied. The School District is planning to appeal in Federal Court.
Joe and Helen Roberts were grilled for an hour about their beliefs by police after a member of Wyre Council called the police. The couple had originally asked the council to promote Christianity as well as handing out leaflets promoting gay rights. When the council refused to do this Mr. Roberts lodged a complaint. The next thing they knew the police were at their house.
Although no charges were filed, the couple felt that their rights had been violated and the courts sided with them. It is good to keep in mind that not only gay people but anyone can face discrimination, even those who are the ones most likely to discriminate. If situations like this are tolerated (thankfully in this case it wasn't) than where do you draw the line between who gets harassed and who doesn't? In such a scenario in the end only a minority wins at the expense of everyone else.
ACLU, White County School ready to settle suit
As part of the settlement a program will be set up at school to prevent bullying and harassment on campus grounds. A teacher will also be named to facilitate the program with 90% student participation. The deal is no yet finalized and will be only once all parties involved have signed the agreement. At this time everyone involved is looking to put the conflict behind them and move forward.
The Gay Barbie Dolls placed next to the traditional Christmas Nativity Scene has created quite a controversy. Originally placed there in order to promote their call for legislation of same-sex unions in the country. Here's hoping that the two MP's who placed the gay dolls there don't have to do the same thing next December. Politicians from the right and center denounced the action and the Forza Italia Party went so far as to call it Vulgar. I wonder what the Republican party would say on seeing gay dolls in the Rotunda.
Pope Benedict also said in his speech that:
"...joining a man and a woman and two people of the same sex becomes the same. With that, the ominous theories that deny any relevance to the human person’s masculinity and femininity are tacitly confirmed."
Given the Pope's interpretation of the bible it would seem that his stated "ominous theories" are in fact well on the way to being confirmed. Given this fact the church has two choices. It can adapt to except the new reality or it can stay as it is and one day find that it has eroded much of the influence it once had on people around the world. Granted whatever happens will not be a sudden change but a slow evolution. This one will be really interesting to watch.
MassEquality: Larry Should Go
As MassEquality's campaign directory Marc Solomon said:
"If Catholic Citizenship is indeed serious about its roots - that it believes in tolerance even as it works to defeat marriage equality - then it should stand behind those principles and tell Mr. Cirignano to clean out his desk,"
Mr. Solomon added that:
"This action demonstrated the deep, anti-gay sentiment that, unfortunately, seems to permeate through our opponents. Individuals can make mistakes, but movement leaders must respond to a higher standard. In this, Mr. Cirignano clearly failed and he should go."
Larry Cirignano is presently facing criminal assault charges filed with the Worcester Police Department on behalf of Mrs. Loy the woman he attacked last weekend.
Eye on Ohio
Governor-elect Ted Strickland announced Mary Jo Hudson would be appointed insurance director on Thursday. She is the first openly gay person to hold the job of agency director.
This represents a complete 180 degree turn from 2004 when a anti-gay marriage initiative helped deliver Ohio's electoral votes to George W. Bush.
Bo Shuff of Equality Ohio had this to say:
"This is the first concrete demonstration that the tone in the Statehouse has already begun to change. We now know for certain that the conversation about issues that matter to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Ohioans can take place."
The more people get educated, the less ground bigots, zealots, and other people who operate on hate, fear, and mistrust have to stand on. It would seem that maybe now after Ohioans have seen the real face of Republican values they are finally ready to listen to someone with a much different message.
The Donald and Rosie escalate their feud
I guess money isn't everything even for someone like Donald Trump. If it wasn't so entertaining to see such successful and well known people humiliate/embarrass themselves on the national-international stage it would be pathetic. Here I thought that only only children were capable of saying such childish things, well I guess I'm wrong. So here are a few quotes from the latest flare up.
"Maybe she wanted to put the crown back on Miss USA’s head. I think she’s very attracted to Miss USA so she probably wanted to put the crown on her head herself."
"She is a very, very unattractive woman who really is a bully."
"Ultimately, Rosie is a loser, and ultimately ("The View") will fail because of Rosie. ... Barbara (Walters) made a mistake and let me tell you something, Barbara’s a good friend of mine. She cannot stand Rosie O’Donnell."
However it turns out I can think of only one word to describe the whole flare up and that is disgusting.
Mexican Pop Singer Gloria Trevi, who was wrongly imprisoned in 2000 on charges of sexual abuse etc. has become a gay icon. Her latest music video Todos me miran (everyone is looking at me) depicts a gay man comming out. She has also become a champion of gay rights. Way to go.
Last Word
Enough About the Process
I'll be the first to admit that how things get done in government are almost as important - and sometimes even more important - than what things get done. However, nothing in life is black and white and there's always a little room for gray. As January 2nd inches ever closer and Massachusetts quickly nears its newest Constitutional Convention, gay marriage is again the heated topic - to everyone's detriment. Never mind the fact that there are far more important - and undecided - issues facing this state, somehow gay marriage has driven a steak through the progressive movement's heart. A large health care lobby and most gay rights supporters just so happen to be on the opposite sides of a bleeding heart.
So, what the heck has gone on here? There are four sides to this story:
- Team Homophobia - the Vote on Marriage types. They've continually lost ground since Goodridge, but keep on trucking because desperate mice may actually attack the cat. (And lose miserably, becoming a tasty treat.)
- The Health Care Lobby - for some strange reason, they've bought the idea that the reason their amendment is going to fail has something to do with marriage equality - they even sent an amicus brief in support of Team Homophobia's case. They've forgotten the fact that their bill really died long before marriage equality came up for a vote.
- The Process People - people who may or may not support gay rights, but think that the most important thing about our government is the "process." Bad laws are okay to pass, so long as they're done in a good way. So it's okay to throw Nana under the bus, just so long as a majority of voters think that should be legal.
- Gay Rights Activists - be they gay, straight or something in between, gay activists have worked damn hard to gain equal rights in Massachusetts. Most of them don't want to see their rights on the ballot, even if that means their elected representatives need to play hard ball.
So, who's right? To be clear, if the letter of the law was followed, the State Legislature should have an up or down vote. The constitution implies it.
However, is this issue black and white? Or is there gray? There's no mistaking it; the amendment crafted by Vote on Marriage was authored by a bunch of homophobes and would result in massive discrimination. Furthermore, the Health Care folks clearly just care about one thing: themselves. That's why they've asked to push both the gay-ban and health care amendments forward to their next logical conclusions, despite the fact that there's precedent indicating the Supreme Judicial Court has no power or right to do that. So, their remedy to the legislature potentially breaking the Constitution (it hasn't happened yet) is to ask the Supreme Judicial Court to throw it in a shredder. Worst yet, this deplorable amendment only needs 1 in 4 state reps and senators to vote "yes" for hate to gain ground.
Clearly, both Vote on Marriage and the Health Care peeps are morally wrong. Yet, they're following the process. So which wins out? Is this a case where the ends do justify the means? Or is this a situation where Team Homophia & Friends need to be put down - even when hunting's out of season? Where to draw the line?
How about hypocrisy? It would be one thing if what the State Legislature is about to do on January 2nd had never occurred. If Massachusetts ConCons had always followed the rules - and suddenly tried to break them this year - then there'd be major reason to cry process. However, Constitutional Convention after Constitutional Convention, no one has followed the rules. Some may even doubt if most elected officials even knew all the rules. There has almost certainly been a constitutional amendment that didn't receive an "up or down" vote in just about every year there have been ConCons. Sometimes, maybe Beacon Hill just didn't get to finish them because of time constraints. Other years, there's probably a little more malice.
This past year, there was no malice. Parliamentary procedure was used to protect civil rights. The State Leg dodged an "up or down" vote - as they've done hundreds of times before - because they wanted this issue to die. They've decided, over and over again, to protect civil rights now and aren't interested in putting that hard work up to a vote that only requires 25% support to pass.
But is there hypocrisy? Yes. Despite the fact that myriad amendments died before they ever got a vote, it's gay rights being attacked. While many of the people attacking it aren't openly homophobic, it stands to reason that at the very least, being biased, they just don't see gay marriage as an important issue. After all, it doesn't effect them.
I ask: Where were these people when former Mayor of Boston, Ray Flynn, supported the legislature employing parliamentary procedures to block a vote on a constitutional amendment? Now that people are trying to block discrimination against glbt people, Ray Flynn has seen the light and - wait for this - thinks the "process" needs to be protected. Hypocrisy, much? Can't people see it? If this were Clean Elections, sure there would have been a fuss, but it would have gone away pretty soon. After all, Kerry Healey wasn't screaming for Clean Elections even though the legislature tampered with that ballot initiative. She barely mentioned it. Yet, she was very vocal when it came to the Vote on Marriage folks.
Still, some say,
- "We need to vote on this to hear the end."
- "You'll be doing this year after year, Ryan."
- "This will never go away."
They probably still won't give up. Just look at them work around the country! In Massachusetts, people are complaining the courts decided marriage equality. In California, when their State House passed gay marriage, Arnold vetoes it because 'the court or voters (by initiative)' should decide. Which is it? You can't win with Team Homophobia, they're like little kids who keep on making up rules until they finally "win." According to Arnold, it's okay for the court to decide who can marry, but not in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, despite the fact that the legislature votes on almost all issues, it's wrong for a majority of our elected officials to say "enough is enough" when it comes to gay marriage. Hypocrisy is a term the homophobic sadly haven't grasped yet.
So who is right?
To Team Homophobia & Company - whoever says they win.
To people who care about what's right? Our state's courageous politicians, who are willing to take serious heat and take a bold step in ending discrimination. Here is one case where playing tough is worth it, even at the cost of an already deeply flawed process.
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