Posted by Booty The Unicorn on Sep 21, 2011, reposted by keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Even Bill O'Reilly is having a hard time swallowing what Dr. Keith Ablow is serving up.
Speaking of bullying… Fox News medical correspondent, Dr. Keith Ablow, is officially turning his hateful obsession with Chaz Bono into a full time job.
I mean, claiming that the simple act of even watching Dancing With the Stars this season will transform otherwise heterosexual children into transgender salsa dancers – that’s some part time hate. You can make statements like that, but still find time to walk the dog, catch up on correspondence, and enjoy a glass of merlot at the end of the day.
But telling Bill O’Reilly that Chaz Bono is personally calling Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and asking to speak with their five-year-old daughter, Shiloh, to instruct her to cut off the breasts that she won’t even have for another decade – that type of hate is a full time job.
Ablow is obsessed. These types of comments don’t just up and fall out of someone’s mouth over a bowl of Cheerios. Homeboy has clearly been simmering and stewing in his steaming pot full of transgender loathing for weeks. That somebody assumed putting a man with a three foot mad-on on live television was a good idea if just bananas to me.
If you can stomach it, watch the words straight from the homophobic horse’s mouth in the video.
Showing posts with label anti-gay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anti-gay. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
BRAVO Contributes to Report on Hate Violence against LGBTIQ Community
BRAVO CONTRIBUTED TO NATIONAL REPORT ON HATE VIOLENCE AGAINST LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER AND HIV-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES RELEASED TODAY:
Report shows second highest murder rate ever recorded. Transgender people and people of color are most targeted communities for severe hate violence. Ohio among top states reporting.
To download the full Report please visit NCAVP online.
Columbus, Ohio — The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), in a national audio press conference today, released its report Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2010. Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), a member program of NCAVP, saw the impact of severe violence against local LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities.
• Ohio is once again ranked among the top states in the nation in the number of hate violence incidents committed against LGBT people, with 340 such incidents reported in 2010.
• The 2010 data indicates a continuation in the trend of an increase in the severity of violence over the past few years, throughout BRAVO’s service area. That trend continued in 2010, reflecting a steady upward swing in the use of weapons, particularly thrown objects like bottles, rocks and bricks.
Additional key findings and recommendations from the national report include the following:
• In 2010, NCAVP documented 27 anti-LGBTQ murders, the second highest yearly total ever recorded by the coalition. This is a 23% increase from the 22 people murdered in 2009.
• 70% of the 27 reported hate murder victims in 2010 were LGBTQ and HIV-affected people of color, which represented 44% of total survivors and victims. This reflects a disproportionate targeting of people of color for severe and deadly violence. As well, people of color were less likely to receive medical attention when they needed it and less likely to receive appropriate responses from the police.
• Transgender women made up 44% of the 27 reported hate murders in 2010, while representing only 11% of total survivors and victims. As well, transgender people were more likely to have injuries as a result of attacks and less likely to receive medical care.
NCAVP documented a 13% increase in hate violence incidents from 2009 to 2010, as well as a much greater increase in the severity of violence. “The findings of this report are troubling and reveal a need for the serious commitment of organizations, institutions, funders and policymakers towards research and the prevention of violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected individuals,” said Gloria McCauley from the Buckeye region Anti-Violence Organization. “Our recommendations represent crucial steps for ending violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people in this country.”
The report’s specific recommendations include calling for the following changes:
• Fund critically needed research and data collection on hate violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, their access to services, and violence prevention initiatives.
• Gather data about sexual orientation and gender identitiy in all federal, state and local government forms.
• Create new public and private funding streams and target the use of existing funds to increase access to anti-violence services for LGBTQ and HIV-affected individuals, particularly for those disproportionately affected by hate violence-i.e. transgender people and people of color.
• Create programs and campaigns to reduce anti-LGBTQ hate violence. Prioritize the leadership of those most impacted by severe hate violence within these programs.
• Stop the culture of hate through policymakers and public figures denouncing anti-LGBTQ violence.
This year’s report also includes real-life stories from LGBTQ and HIV-affected survivors of hate violence to call immediate and necessary attention to the need to end the culture of violence in which these incidents of hate violence occur.
BRAVO works to eliminate violence perpetrated on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identification, domestic violence and sexual assault through prevention, education, advocacy, violence documentation and survivor services, both within and on behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities.
NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs, affiliate organizations and individuals who create systemic and social change. We strive to increase power, safety and resources through data analysis, policy advocacy, education, and technical assistance.
Reposted at keystothecloset.blogger.com
Report shows second highest murder rate ever recorded. Transgender people and people of color are most targeted communities for severe hate violence. Ohio among top states reporting.
To download the full Report please visit NCAVP online.
Columbus, Ohio — The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), in a national audio press conference today, released its report Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2010. Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), a member program of NCAVP, saw the impact of severe violence against local LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities.
• Ohio is once again ranked among the top states in the nation in the number of hate violence incidents committed against LGBT people, with 340 such incidents reported in 2010.
• The 2010 data indicates a continuation in the trend of an increase in the severity of violence over the past few years, throughout BRAVO’s service area. That trend continued in 2010, reflecting a steady upward swing in the use of weapons, particularly thrown objects like bottles, rocks and bricks.
Additional key findings and recommendations from the national report include the following:
• In 2010, NCAVP documented 27 anti-LGBTQ murders, the second highest yearly total ever recorded by the coalition. This is a 23% increase from the 22 people murdered in 2009.
• 70% of the 27 reported hate murder victims in 2010 were LGBTQ and HIV-affected people of color, which represented 44% of total survivors and victims. This reflects a disproportionate targeting of people of color for severe and deadly violence. As well, people of color were less likely to receive medical attention when they needed it and less likely to receive appropriate responses from the police.
• Transgender women made up 44% of the 27 reported hate murders in 2010, while representing only 11% of total survivors and victims. As well, transgender people were more likely to have injuries as a result of attacks and less likely to receive medical care.
NCAVP documented a 13% increase in hate violence incidents from 2009 to 2010, as well as a much greater increase in the severity of violence. “The findings of this report are troubling and reveal a need for the serious commitment of organizations, institutions, funders and policymakers towards research and the prevention of violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected individuals,” said Gloria McCauley from the Buckeye region Anti-Violence Organization. “Our recommendations represent crucial steps for ending violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people in this country.”
The report’s specific recommendations include calling for the following changes:
• Fund critically needed research and data collection on hate violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, their access to services, and violence prevention initiatives.
• Gather data about sexual orientation and gender identitiy in all federal, state and local government forms.
• Create new public and private funding streams and target the use of existing funds to increase access to anti-violence services for LGBTQ and HIV-affected individuals, particularly for those disproportionately affected by hate violence-i.e. transgender people and people of color.
• Create programs and campaigns to reduce anti-LGBTQ hate violence. Prioritize the leadership of those most impacted by severe hate violence within these programs.
• Stop the culture of hate through policymakers and public figures denouncing anti-LGBTQ violence.
This year’s report also includes real-life stories from LGBTQ and HIV-affected survivors of hate violence to call immediate and necessary attention to the need to end the culture of violence in which these incidents of hate violence occur.
BRAVO works to eliminate violence perpetrated on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identification, domestic violence and sexual assault through prevention, education, advocacy, violence documentation and survivor services, both within and on behalf of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities.
NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs, affiliate organizations and individuals who create systemic and social change. We strive to increase power, safety and resources through data analysis, policy advocacy, education, and technical assistance.
Reposted at keystothecloset.blogger.com
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Apple: The Reluctant Arbiter, Exodus & The National Story
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald |
Whenever there’s a heated debate, a breakthrough in insight can come from an outsider with a fresh perspective. This has happened in the case of Apple and the Exodus International app. A writer from outside our inner circle instructs us.
I have been following the case of Apple, the Exodus International app, views on homosexuality and the current petition to have the app removed from the App Store. The basics of the story were covered by TMO just a few days ago.
Typically, a case like this starts with heated discussion on both sides that may or may not lead to a change in course by Apple. In the course of reading the two sides of the story, what I found missing was a unique, breakthrough viewpoint that shed significant light on the whole issue. Then, bingo, I found it in this article, “The Internet, Freedom of Speech and the Anti-Gay App,” by Victoria Pynchon. I do not know Ms. Pynchon, and she’s certainly not one of the heavyweights in the Apple analysis community. But her observations are important, and you can go read it now, or follow me along and go back to it later.
Ms. Pynchon’s contribution to the dialogue is that Apple has created an iconic device in the iPad. More to the point,
The furor over the Exodus App suggests that the iPad, by virtue of its shape and function, is assumed to be carrying our national “super story” – the tale a community tells about itself to establish a shared identity. As scholars explain, these national narratives hold us together and keep us apart. They help us make sense of our experience as we flip through the various idealized images the culture suggests we adopt as our own. When we fail to find our own story within the larger narrative — or find ourselves demonized by it — we lose confidence, hope and coherence. We want to be celebrated, or at least included, in the tales told around the community camp fire every evening.”
In other words, and this is a nuanced issue, the iPad has become the de facto village newspaper and the views expressed there, via apps, are subject to the judgment of Apple. Everyone wants to become a part of the national super story by having their voice heard on that so very popular platform. That, in turn, has placed responsibilities on Apple whether or not it likes the idea.
The Legacy of Newspapers
In the history of print, newspaper editors have long wielded considerable power and influence. They learned professionalism, values and judgment from many years on the job. If an outsider were to try to seize the tone of a newspaper’s content, it would be resisted. For example, if I were to write an essay for submission to the Denver Post that President Obama’s grandfather was a Nazi and a murderer, it would likely be rejected on the basis of the editor-in-chief’s knowledge, experience, and training. And their estimate my credibility and professionalism.
Similarly, every day, you come to TMO and find content that is the accumulated judgment and experience of our editors. You do this, realizing with wisdom that the people who most annoy us are sometimes the people we grudgingly respect*.
That’s not to say that newspaper editors haven’t made mistakes in judgment — they’re human. But if making a single mistake, any mistake, must lead to instant loss of position, then no editor could long endure his office. We live and learn. As I am fond of saying, “Judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.”
The nuance is that while numerous newspapers seek to have their presence on the iPad, each with its own voice, the irony is that the iPad itself has become the delivery vehicle, via apps, and thus the arbiter of the national super story. Apple takes a stand on what it considers decency and honor amongst apps.
The American Princess
Another popular arbiter of American values in the past has been the winner of the Miss America contest. During competition, her views and goals are assessed and combined with other attributes, not to mention basic good looks. Some people have been jealous or alarmed by this institution because winners have often articulated values that leave them out in the cold, isolated from the national super story. Watch any contestant take a stand on sexual values, and watch the fur fly.
Over time, for various reasons, we decided that this was not the best platform on which to tell our national story. Too many voices were left out. But also, the forces that tried to marginalize the often very good values if the young women became more strident and influential. It just goes to prove Ms. Pynchon’s point: the more influential an American icon of national story telling is, the more other voices will struggle to be heard. Sometimes the force of gentle reason doesn’t seem sufficient and opponents go overboard.
Core Values
Now we’re geting down to the core issue of the Exodus International app which seeks to assist the user to better explore and understand his or her feelings and values. (I have examined the app.) The reason Apple approved the app is because it’s honest and sincere about helping people follow what is believed to be the teaching of the Bible. One problem here is that people of different religious faiths interpret the Bible differently. Forcing other people to believe what you believe never works and is offensive. However, helping people understand themselves is a good thing.
Ms. Pynchon makes a critical observation: “These religious beliefs (that sexual conduct outside of a one man-one woman marriage is sinful and can be “cured” by Jesus) are held by fewer and fewer Americans. They have also been repudiated by many liberal American Christian churches (including my own. -JM] They fly in the face of American secular legal principles [read as separation of church and state - JM] and contradict our contemporary scientific understanding. They are matters of faith, not science or reason.” What this author is summarizing is what is becoming the national story — that our individual DNA is our essence, and we treat our essence with respect. It’s similar to our other national stories, for example, that you don’t stone a woman to death for adultery.
With sober reflection, we realize that while those who oppose them may win by the sword of their petition today, they may die by that same sword tomorrow. There is a place in American life for science and the best that religion has to offer. However, and please read this carefully, there are those who believe that self-realization and fulfillment can come from pain, struggling to become what one is not yet, even if pain includes falling on the sword of one’s own DNA. Those who hold to this view want their voice also heard on the national iconic platform, the App Store. With sober reflection, we realize that while those who oppose them may win by the sword of their petition today, they may die by that same sword tomorrow. There is a place in American life for science and the best that religion has to offer.
Corporate Values
The emerging arbiter of the above is Apple. Apple’s executives are women and men with lots of technical experience, and now they’ve assumed the role, perhaps unwillingly, of being the editors of our iconic platform. Occasionally, they make mistakes, but they usually correct them. But one thing is certain: we want our corporations to have values. And when they betray us, we seek to punish them.
We expect our agri-businesses to sell food that’s safe to eat. We expect our wireless carriers to have fair, transparent pricing and honorable license agreements — even if we don’t always get all that. We expect our banks to protect our money and we expect Facebook to protect our privacy — even when that’s not one of its business goals. We hope and pray that when companies start selling personal robots that they will inculcate Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Without those laws, humans risk becoming an extinct species. Because corporations are so entwined in our modern technical village, the policies they have and the products they build are increasingly tasked to represent our society’s values. When they fail us — or allow others to harm us — we are appalled. When done right, we celebrate.
Everywhere we turn, we expect corporations to adhere to our national sense of American values and the national super story. And yet, when confronted by those values, many who would have no master seek to change the direction of the national story for their own ends. It’s almost like the situation in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life with James Stewart. We get a glimpse of how Bedford Falls could have gone so terribly wrong, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, in an alternate timeline bereft of the values brought to bear by George Bailey.
We look at instant replay in sports events in infinite, slow-motion, excruciating detail over and over to make sure the game is played fair and without brutality. We also expect corporations to treat us fairly, and to do that, they must have values that we sign off on. All those things that Apple won’t tolerate in the apps that it approves are a by-product of those American values and are part of emerging national super story — like the newspaper editors and beauty contest winners they are replacing. I hope they’re up to the task because that is the task that fate has thrust upon them in our technical village. There is no turning back. None.
And the Winner is…
Don’t look for a verdict in this spot, for I am not here to take sides. There is grace to be found on both sides of the Exodus argument. The applicable value could well be tolerance for the softest and most reasoned voices of love, or it could be intolerance for emotional and strident voices of anti-science. I’d hate to think, however, that the default value lies in demagoguery and, simply, a poll of how many people are offended.
In any case, we honor Apple, the reluctant arbiter in our technical life, for having the courage to make a stand, to represent our best national values, our national story. The company’s greatest failing would to be rudderless, to have no values at all.
Author note: Just as this essay was published, it was learned that Apple pulled the app.
___________
* For me, that’s columnist George Will.
John Martellaro is a senior scientist and author. A former U.S. Air Force officer, he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple Computer. During his five years at Apple, he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager for science and technology, Federal Account Executive, and High Performance Computing Manager. His interests include alpine skiing, SciFi, astronomy, and Perl. John lives in Denver, Colorado.
You can follow John on Twitter at twitter.com/jmartellaro.
This has been reposted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Thousands Urge Apple to Remove 'Anti-Gay' App
More Than 120,000 Sign Petition Urging Apple to Remove 'Anti-Gay' App
By KI MAE HEUSSNER
March 22, 2011
A so-called "anti-gay" application in Apple's App Store is stirring debate online, but despite a petition signed by more than 100,000 people, Apple has given no indication that it will be removed.
"Exodus is a Christian ministry that supports those wanting to reconcile their faith with their sexual behavior," the group says on its site, adding that it believes that changing homosexuality is possible because thousands of people in its network can attest to it. On its homepage, Exodus emphasizes that its "4+" rating from Apple means that the app contains "no objectionable content."
But a Change.org petition launched soon after the app's release, takes a very different view.
"No objectionable content? We beg to differ. Exodus' message is hateful and bigoted. They claim to offer 'freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ' and use scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes and distortions of LGBT life to recruit clients," the petition says. "They endorse the use of so-called 'reparative therapy' to 'change' the sexual orientation of their clients, despite the fact that this form of 'therapy' has been rejected by every major professional medical organization including the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Counseling Association. But reparative therapy isn't just bad medicine -- it's also very damaging to the self-esteem and mental health of its victims."
The petition, which has been signed by nearly 130,000 people, maintains that the app is Exodus' latest attempt to target youth, which is says is particularly "dangerous" given the recent LGBT youth suicides across the country. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from ABCNews.com.
Jeff Buchanan, senior director of church equipping and student ministries for Exodus International, said the app is not intended only for young people but for a broad demographic that shares the church's beliefs.
"We are reaching those with unwanted same sex attraction," he said. "We were disappointed to see this petition. What we're asking for is fair and equal representation on the Apple platform. We see this as a religious freedom."
Buchanan said that given that the "pro-gay" Metropolitan Community Church of New York has a place in Apple's online store (with a podcast app), Exodus should be allowed to distribute its application there as well.
Since the online protests started, he said, his group has not had any response from Apple.
But this isn't the first "anti-gay" app to cause a flap in Apple's iTunes store. In November, Apple pulled another controversial application after just 7,000 people signed an online petition at Change.org.
The application, called Manhattan Declaration, was a "call of Christian Conscience" that advocated "the sanctity of life, the dignity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and religious liberty," according to its website.
In a statement at the time, Apple said, "We removed the Manhattan Declaration app from the App Store because it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."
Posted at ABC News Reposted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bachmann Taps Mat Staver To Teach Tea Party Class
Submitted by Kyle on March 4, 2011 - 12:06pm
Posted on rightwingwatch.org reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/
There are few "mainstream" anti-gay activists operating today that can match Matt Barber for shear anti-gay vitriol. In fact, it was his attacks on gays that turned Barber into a Religious Right celebrity in the first place, eventually landing him a job with Concerned Women for America before Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel lured him away and gave him a position as Associate Dean at Liberty University and Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel.
And Staver snapped up Barber because he shares his anti-gay views and because of their endless anti-gay attacks, Liberty Counsel found itself on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of anti-gay groups.
So, of course, Rep. Michele Bachmann has tapped Staver to come and teach her Tea Party class to members of Congress ... after, of course, she joins him for the upcoming Awakening 2011 conference, along with Newt Gingrich:
Staver joins David Barton and Jay Sekulow as anti-gay Religious Right activists that Bachmann has sought out to teach her Tea Party class on the Constitution.
There are few "mainstream" anti-gay activists operating today that can match Matt Barber for shear anti-gay vitriol. In fact, it was his attacks on gays that turned Barber into a Religious Right celebrity in the first place, eventually landing him a job with Concerned Women for America before Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel lured him away and gave him a position as Associate Dean at Liberty University and Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel.
And Staver snapped up Barber because he shares his anti-gay views and because of their endless anti-gay attacks, Liberty Counsel found itself on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of anti-gay groups.
So, of course, Rep. Michele Bachmann has tapped Staver to come and teach her Tea Party class to members of Congress ... after, of course, she joins him for the upcoming Awakening 2011 conference, along with Newt Gingrich:
Staver joins David Barton and Jay Sekulow as anti-gay Religious Right activists that Bachmann has sought out to teach her Tea Party class on the Constitution.
Maryland Gay Marriage Bill Dies Without Final Vote
By TOM LoBIANCO 03/11/11 07:37 PM 
A final vote had been expected in the House, but the overwhelmingly Democratic chamber's leaders instead withdrew it. A confluence of factors helped fracture Democtatic support, including a split among black lawmakers, the opposition of churches and trouble by some freshman lawmakers in determining what their constituents wanted.
"The vote would have been very close, make no mistake about it," said Busch, D-Anne Arundel, minutes after lawmakers returned the bill to a House committee on a voice vote, effectively killing it for the year.
The unexpected move came after two weeks of intense lobbying that included Busch meeting with delegates over the past several days to try and secure votes. He said Democrats would try again next year.
The bill to make Maryland the sixth state to allow gay marriage had already passed the Senate, and the governor said he would have signed it. Before this year, measures to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples had never made it as far.
The Senate narrowly approved the measure two weeks ago, voting 25-21 to send the bill to the House after adding language to keep religious groups from being forced to serve gay weddings.
But the bill hit trouble in the House two weeks ago after a committee had to delay a series of votes on the issue. It ended with Busch and his lieutenants deciding it was better to save a final vote for next year, rather than put delegates on the record with a failed vote this year.
Some predicted that, if passed, the measure would have been pretitioned to referendum in the deeply Catholic state.
"I would have hoped that we could have resolved this issue and then let the people decide," said Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, after the House killed the measure. "I think an issue like this was bound to go before the people in a referendum, and I would have hoped that we would have been able to have accomplished that today."
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller had said he believes citizens would have rejected gay marriage in such a referendum.
Delegate Curt Anderson, D-Baltimore, said House leaders failed to do a good job of keeping track of where each of the party's members stood, hampering efforts to rally support. Democrats hold 98 seats of the 141-seat House.
"That system was not in place for this bill, and I think that there just wasn't enough time to get a good count," Anderson said.
The pickup of six seats by Republicans in the last election also helped erode support, said House Environmental Matters Chairwoman Maggie McIntosh, one of the chamber's openly gay members.
"If in the general election we had retained all of the Democratic seats I think we would be declaring victory today," a tearful McIntosh said.
House Democratic leaders also said they failed to secure the votes they needed from black lawmakers.
"They took the black votes for granted because they're so used to having it," said Delegate Jill Carter, D-Balitmore. "This issue was too big, people's connection to church and religion were too deep."
Several of the chamber's 33 black lawmakers took opposite sides during Friday's debate.
Delegate Jay Walker, D-Prince George's, said he would represent his majority-black district's wishes even if it conflicted with his personal views.
"If I want to truly represent my district I vote red (no)," Walker told his colleagues.
However, Delegate Keiffer Mitchell – the grandson of the legendary NAACP lobbyist Clarence Mitchell Jr. – said the debate was about civil rights.
"It is a civil rights issue when we as a state and a government deny equal protection under the law," said Mitchell, D-Baltimore.
But Delegate Emmett Burns, D-Baltimore County, a black pastor and opponent of gay marriage said the struggles of gays could not match the violence against blacks during the civil rights era.
"Those who desire to ride on our coattails are historically incorrect," Burns said.
Still, because no roll-call vote was taken on the issue, it was hard to determine where exactly the Democratic rift fell. Anderson, also a black lawmaker, said the vote had less to do with race and more to do with differences between conservative and liberal members of the party.
Delegate Anne Kaiser, D-Montgomery, another of the chamber's openly gay members, said supporters were always a few votes short of the 71 and that many factors blocked their way.
"I think in some cases it was the churches back home," Kaiser said. "I really can't explain people's motiviations. Many people who promised us their votes changed their minds."
Opponents said the decision Friday was a victory for defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.
"We took a position to support the existing definition as being between one man and woman and that prevailed," said House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell, R-Calvert. "I think it was the appropriate action."
___
Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis contributed to this report.
"The vote would have been very close, make no mistake about it," said Busch, D-Anne Arundel, minutes after lawmakers returned the bill to a House committee on a voice vote, effectively killing it for the year.
The unexpected move came after two weeks of intense lobbying that included Busch meeting with delegates over the past several days to try and secure votes. He said Democrats would try again next year.
The bill to make Maryland the sixth state to allow gay marriage had already passed the Senate, and the governor said he would have signed it. Before this year, measures to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples had never made it as far.
The Senate narrowly approved the measure two weeks ago, voting 25-21 to send the bill to the House after adding language to keep religious groups from being forced to serve gay weddings.
But the bill hit trouble in the House two weeks ago after a committee had to delay a series of votes on the issue. It ended with Busch and his lieutenants deciding it was better to save a final vote for next year, rather than put delegates on the record with a failed vote this year.
Some predicted that, if passed, the measure would have been pretitioned to referendum in the deeply Catholic state.
"I would have hoped that we could have resolved this issue and then let the people decide," said Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, after the House killed the measure. "I think an issue like this was bound to go before the people in a referendum, and I would have hoped that we would have been able to have accomplished that today."
Advertisement
Delegate Curt Anderson, D-Baltimore, said House leaders failed to do a good job of keeping track of where each of the party's members stood, hampering efforts to rally support. Democrats hold 98 seats of the 141-seat House.
"That system was not in place for this bill, and I think that there just wasn't enough time to get a good count," Anderson said.
The pickup of six seats by Republicans in the last election also helped erode support, said House Environmental Matters Chairwoman Maggie McIntosh, one of the chamber's openly gay members.
"If in the general election we had retained all of the Democratic seats I think we would be declaring victory today," a tearful McIntosh said.
House Democratic leaders also said they failed to secure the votes they needed from black lawmakers.
"They took the black votes for granted because they're so used to having it," said Delegate Jill Carter, D-Balitmore. "This issue was too big, people's connection to church and religion were too deep."
Several of the chamber's 33 black lawmakers took opposite sides during Friday's debate.
Delegate Jay Walker, D-Prince George's, said he would represent his majority-black district's wishes even if it conflicted with his personal views.
"If I want to truly represent my district I vote red (no)," Walker told his colleagues.
However, Delegate Keiffer Mitchell – the grandson of the legendary NAACP lobbyist Clarence Mitchell Jr. – said the debate was about civil rights.
"It is a civil rights issue when we as a state and a government deny equal protection under the law," said Mitchell, D-Baltimore.
But Delegate Emmett Burns, D-Baltimore County, a black pastor and opponent of gay marriage said the struggles of gays could not match the violence against blacks during the civil rights era.
"Those who desire to ride on our coattails are historically incorrect," Burns said.
Still, because no roll-call vote was taken on the issue, it was hard to determine where exactly the Democratic rift fell. Anderson, also a black lawmaker, said the vote had less to do with race and more to do with differences between conservative and liberal members of the party.
Delegate Anne Kaiser, D-Montgomery, another of the chamber's openly gay members, said supporters were always a few votes short of the 71 and that many factors blocked their way.
"I think in some cases it was the churches back home," Kaiser said. "I really can't explain people's motiviations. Many people who promised us their votes changed their minds."
Opponents said the decision Friday was a victory for defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.
"We took a position to support the existing definition as being between one man and woman and that prevailed," said House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell, R-Calvert. "I think it was the appropriate action."
___
Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis contributed to this report.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Feb February Raises Funds for Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is celebrating "Fab February" with gay social networking site Fab.com. For every new member to sign up, Fab will donate $1 the It Gets Better Project, The Trevor Project and GLSEN. Here are five easy ways you can help:
5. Watch and share the fab.com team's It Gets Better video . The more people who watch it, the more money we can raise together!
"Fab is not only a social connector to gay-friendly people, places and activities anywhere in the world, but a safe place for members to share their personal struggles and concerns over gay issues," said Fab founder and CEO Jason Goldberg. "The outpouring of grief on the site when so many gay suicides were reported last year spurred us to want to contribute to strengthening the gay self-image, and that's how 'Fab February' was born."
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Gays Targeted for Hate Crimes
SPLC’s Intelligence Report: Gays Targeted for Hate Crimes Far More Than Any Other Minority in America
Homosexuals are far more likely to be victims of a violent hate crime than any other minority group in the The SPLC’s analysis of 14 years of hate crime data found that homosexuals, or those perceived to be gay, are more than twice as likely to be attacked in a violent hate crime as Jews or blacks; more than four times as likely as Muslims; and 14 times as likely as Latinos. The findings are based on FBI hate crime statistics from 1995 to 2008, the period for which there is complete data. The basic pattern also holds true in individual years.
Winter 2010 issue of the SPLC's Intelligence Report
These findings come as a wave of anti-gay attacks have washed across the country. In
This analysis of hate crime data can be found in the Winter 2010 issue of the Intelligence Report, which also explores how the hard-core anti-gay movement in
“As Americans become more accepting of homosexuals, the most extreme elements of the anti-gay movement are digging in their heels and continuing to defame gays and lesbians with falsehoods that grow more incendiary by the day,” said Mark Potok, editor of the Intelligence Report. “The leaders of this movement may deny it, but it seems clear that their demonization of homosexuals plays a role in fomenting the violence, hatred and bullying we’re seeing.”
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