Rob Thomas--Fight for the Gays

Rob Thomas wrote a very awesome article about how straight people should be supporting gay people, and he threw in a bunch of personal rants, making for a great article. I posted it here.

The Big Gay Chip on My Shoulder

I am a straight man, with a big gay chip on my shoulder.

A while back on my Twitter page (yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds), I mentioned that, if I believed in the devil, Pat Robertson might be him.

Being a fairly liberal-leaning guy with either liberal friends or Republican and Christian friends who don't believe that being one has anything to do with the other, I was surprised at how many people took offense to what I had to say.

These people weren't friends of Mr. Robertson but friends, apparently, of God. They had "spoken" with him and he had assured them that he was no friend of the gays. He also told them that he loved America more than any other country and was a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars.

The small controversy or "Twitter-versy" (patent on phrase pending) all started when I had made the mistake of asking why two people of the same sex shouldn't be able to make the same life-long commitment and (more importantly) under the same god, as straight people. Why can't my gay friends be as happily married as my wife and I? It seemed simple to me, but let me start off by telling you a series of things that I believe to be true:

I am a person who believes that people are born gay. I don't think you have any control over what moves you or to whom you're attracted. That's why it's called an attraction and not a choice.

I believe that America is a great nation of even greater people. I also believe that anyone who says that this is a "Christian nation" has RHS, or revisionist history syndrome, and doesn't realize that most of our founding fathers were either atheist or at least could see, even in the 1700s, that all through Europe at the time, religion was the cause of so much persecution that they needed to put into their brand new constitution a SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE so that the ideals of a group of people could never be forced onto the whole. (I also find it funny when people point out to me that it says "one nation under god" in our pledge of allegiance, not realizing that this was an addition made in 1954 during the communism scare of the McCarthy era. It's not surprising, however, knowing that these same people would punch me in the mouth if I called Jesus a Jew.)

I believe the fact that an atheist, who doesn't believe in God at all, is allowed to enter into the holy land of marriage while a gay Christian is not, shows that this law is arbitrary. Are we to believe that anyone who doesn't live their life according to the King James Bible isn't protected by the same laws that protect those who do? Using the same argument that I've seen on the 700 Club, that would mean that Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim weddings are also null and void.

I believe that to deny this right to the gay population is to say to them, "this god is not your god and he doesn't love you." There isn't one person who is against gay marriage that can give me a reason why it shouldn't be legal without bringing God or their religion into it. Still, I'm amazed at the audacity of a small, misdirected group of the ultra-conservative Christian right wing, to spend millions of dollars, in a recession, on advertisements to stop two men or women who love each other from being able to be married, but when you present any opposition to them, they accuse you of attacking their religion. Isn't it funny that the people who are the quickest to take someone's basic rights to happiness are always the loudest to scream when someone attacks their right to do so?

But this isn't a paper about religion. How could it be? Since we clearly have a separation of church and state, how could a conversation about laws have anything to do with religion at all? I'm writing about basic civil rights. We've been here before, fighting for the rights of African Americans or women to vote, or the rights of Jewish Americans to worship as they see fit. And, just as whites fought for African Americans or Christians for Jewish Americans, straight people must stand up and be a voice for gay people.

I've heard it said before, many times, that if two men or two women are allowed to join into a civil union together, why can't they be happy with that and why is it so important that they call it marriage? In essence, what's in a name?

A civil union has to do with death. It's essentially a document that gives you lower taxes and the right to let your faux spouse collect your insurance when you pass away. A marriage is about life. It's about a commitment. And this argument is about allowing people to have the right to make that commitment, even if it doesn't make sense to you. Anything else falls under the category of "separate but equal" and we know how that works out.

The support of legalizing gay marriage is in no way meant to change the ideals of the section of Christians who believe that homosexuality is a sin. But we should refuse to let other people's ideals shape the way we live our lives. Each of us has a short ride on this earth and as long as we stay in our lane, and don't affect someone else's ride, we should be allowed to drive as we see fit.

Original Article

This is Just Stupid

A recent study published by sex researcher Rachel Jones claims that "pulling out" is statistically almost as effective as condoms.

Really? Like really? Even if it is, this is not something to be advertising. Do you know how many more pregnancies will be had because of this? Stupid woman.

Her studies showed that with perfect use, as in pull out every time you have sex, it has a 4% failure rate, as compared to condoms 2%. So? Who's going to do it perfectly? But, quick-thinking Jones addresses this too, placing at the very end of her report, almost like a disclaimer that no one will read, "Nobody's perfect." Typically, pulling out has an 18 failure rate. Great.

ABC article

Federal Gay Marriage Lawsuit Premature?

This is what several gay groups are saying. After Theodore Olsen and David Bowies helped two gay couples (one male and one female) file suit in the Supreme Court against Prop 8 (not the recent CA supreme court decision to uphold it), several gay rights group feel that the move is premature. They only see it as the possibility to give states the steam to keep gay marriage legal. If the Supreme Court says Prop 8 is ok, everyone else will. Let's just hope they don't.

MSNBC article

Britney Gets Sillier Everyday...in a Good Way

Britney Spears, a known gay rights advocate, just released her next funny stab at everything anti-gay. It's a silly video about her next perfume, "Mo."

"One spray, and the gays will run your way."

Another Stupid NOM Video--Thought You'd Like a Laugh

Religious Idiots Seek to Destroy D.C.

In the wake of Prop 8's upholding in CA, some religious leaders in Washington, D.C. have taken it upon themselves to personally see to it that the recent bill allowing recognition of same-sex marriages from outside states be destroyed by next year. They're trying to get a referendum started, and let's hope it goes nowhere (i wouldn't hold my breath for their success). Supposedly, they're scared shitless because of rumors that a gay marriage law may be put into effect in D.C. by the end of the year. Yay for that!

Advocate article

Schwarzanegger Says Prop 8 Will Be Beaten

The title says it all. This video shows the rest.

Funny Ricky Gervais Quote

Open Letter to Pres. Obama--A Must Read!

To save time and commentary, i just posted the note exactly. Enough said from it.

Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean has a few words for President Barack Obama, who visits California one day after the California Supreme Court ruled to uphold Prop 8.

Dear President Obama:

Welcome to California, Mr. President. I welcome you with a heavy heart because of the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Prop. 8, relegating same-sex couples to second class status and denying us that most noble promise of America, “liberty and justice for all.”

You are arriving in Los Angeles on the heels of emotional demonstrations throughout California and our nation and your silence at such a time speaks volumes. LGBT people and our allies have the "audacity to hope" for a country that treats us fairly and equally and for a President with the will to stand up for those ideals. From you we expect nothing less.

We know the country faces many serious challenges and we have strived to be patient. We’ve waited for the slightest sign you would live up to your promise to be a “fierce advocate” for our equal rights while watching gay and lesbian members of the armed forces, who have never been more needed, get discharged from the military. And so far you have done nothing. No stop loss order. No call to cease such foolish and discriminatory actions that make our nation less safe.

You pledged to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, Mr. President. You promised to support a “complete repeal” of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and pledged to advocate for legislation that would give same-sex couples the 1,100+ federal rights and benefits we are denied, including the same rights to social security benefits. You said, “federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples.”

What of those promises, Mr. President?

Your commitment to repeal DOMA has been removed from the White House website. Your promise to repeal "don’t ask, don’t tell" was removed and then replaced with a watered-down version. And in the aftermath of yesterday’s California Supreme Court ruling, you have remained silent while your press secretary summarily dismisses questions about the issue.

We not only need to hear from our President, we need his action. And we need it now.

We need your words, Mr. President. But we also need your deeds. We expect you to fulfill the promises you made to us. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us, “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” Do not delay, Mr. President. The time for action is now.

Sincerely,

Lorri L. Jean
Chief Executive Officer
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Advocate Article

CA Will Try to Get Prop 8 Gone on the Next Ballot

According to a Pink news article, after the California Supreme Court decision to uphold Prop 8, many people are looking forward to getting a vote on the ballot to repeal it. 700,000 signatures are needed to get the vote on the ballot.

I think it'll be done no problem. There's going to so much support for it.

Prop8 Decision Aftermath Video

From iReport, a video showcased a California mayor (I think it's him, sorry if i'm wrong) talking about how he's disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision to uphold Prop 8. He references his daughters, one gay and one straight. The video also shows a lesbian couple who are engaged and saddened by the court decision, but eager to see what happens in the future as they prepare to continue fighting for their rights.

A good video to watch.

Interesting TIME Poll, With Interesting Results

This poll on TIME.com asks a question that has been a major cornerstone in the argument FOR gay marriage, and i was shocked with the results...sort of.

Who should decide whether a state should permit gay marriage? The courts or the people?

Logically, the courts should decide. period. Majority rights should never be left to majority vote. If so, slavery would've taken years more to be made illegal, especially in the South. Enough said.

Surprisingly, the poll results currently show a favor or 61% for the people and 39% to the courts. I can only explain this with one reason: people are responding to the Prop 8 upholding decision. If people think that all courts are going to rule in the anti-gay direction (even though the ruling was technically over about letting voters overturn amendments, not actually whether gay marriage is legal--people took it that way), then it's good that the results show people don't want the courts making the decision. They'd rather make it themselves.

Hopefully that's what people are thinking.

"You Were a Believer, Yes, But..."

This Article is Appalling

I decided to look into Focus on the Family today (after hearing that Chick-fil-A regularly makes donations to the organization, and i used to eat there), and i read an article they posted on Sexual Identity. I was stunned at the outright bigotry that they posted. I cannot even believe it! It's so horrible and superficial and bigoted. It's unbelievable to me that someone could be so horrible as to post that in order to make other people feel that way. And everything that was said in a negative connotation was completely one-sided and littered with arguments. Read it just to get mad at the people who wrote, and then give it a 1-star rating.

Cause for Concern Article

CA Supreme Court Sucks

I have no idea what was going through the California Supreme Court's mind today, but it wasn't good. How could they possibly think that banning gay marriage is constiutional? I would love to hear their arguments. I bet you anything it's some bureaucratic bullshit. Just wait for the backlash? You'll see.

P.S. At least they had enough respect to allow those who'd already gotten married to stay married. Then again, why would they if they thought banning it was ok? How does that make sense?

Maybe We Should Consider Ourselves Lucky

Everyday, the gay marriage debate gets more and more heated. People are constantly fighting over the issues of it: whether it's a good thing, should we allow it, is it normal, will it be for the best? The battle won't end for quite a while, and it causes a lot of gays stress worrying about it.

But what are we forgetting? What has the current issue of gay marriage legality pushed out of our minds?

I read an ABC article, and it talks about how in Japan, it is still not socially acceptable to be gay. The majority of the population looks down upon it and won't have anything to do with it. Most gay Japanese people go the their whole lives without revealing it themselves, even developing a homophobic self-loathing because of it. There isn't even a good estimation of how many gay people there are in the country because people won't even admit it to an anonymous survey.

It makes me realize how lucky we are. The only people in my life who don't know that I'm gay are my mom and dad, and I'm very lucky to have it that way. Beyond them, I don't care to who knows and I'm happy to tell anyone. I've yet to be discriminated against, and I'm very fortunate because of that. I'm sure when it happens, I may think twice for a bit about telling people, but my life will go on and not be completely horrible afterwards.

Some people just don't have that yet.

I Support Adam Lambert

I know he's already lost this season of American Idol, but I just wanted to voice my opinion that I love him. I think he's so hot (seriously? seriously) and talented (I watched some vids, so i can actually form an opinion--unlike some people), and I totally think he should've won.

O well.

He's already released his first single ("No Boundaries"--Download it; it's awesome) and I can tell he's gonna be a huge hit if he plays it right. Queen even wants to get him singing for them!

Go Adam!

Jesus Camp Scared the Crap Out of Me

I watched Jesus Camp today at my boyfriend's house, and it honestly scared me to death. I cannot believe that people are actually targeting children like that, indoctrinating them into the Christian faith at such an early age. It's one thing to teach about Christianity, it's another to recruit children into believing in a fairy tale.

One of my favorite parts was when the crazy bitch Evangelical leader (responsible for all of the child recruitment) talked about how much she hated how all of the Islamic extremists were recruiting their children to fight for them, putting grenades in their hands and such. Um...isn't she doing the exact same thing? She may not be shoving a grenade into the kids' hands that she preaches to, but during the one scene when she had all the kids yelling and screaming about the war in America that they're all a part of and that they all need to be ready to fight in it and defend God. How is that any different?

Ugh. Evangelism should be outlawed. Brainwashing children to believe in something that is a fairy tale is completely insane.

Protect Marriage, Protect Children, Protect Divorce

This video makes and awesome point for all of those who fought for Prop 8.

Protect Marriage, Protect Children, Prohibit Divorce - watch more funny videos

Hilarious Prop 8-The Musical

Just watch. It's fabulous...and TRUE!

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black