TNG: The Left Behind Anti-Gay

And from one of our favorite GLBT internet sources:

The resurgence in popularity of libertarian values within the modern conservative movement has unintentionally resulted in the marginalization of social-conservative issues within the conservative movement, particularly on issues related to gay and lesbian Americans. Not surprisingly many anti-gay conservatives are concerned their foot hold on the Republican Party and conservative movement is slipping.

More at: The New Gay!

Religious Bigotry Alive and Well at FCC

According to a post on NBC29 WVIR:

A Fresno City College science instructor violated a campus anti-discrimination policy when he told students that homosexuality is a mental disorder that should be treated with psychotherapy, campus administrators have concluded.

So, what’s the consequence of such actions? Evidently not a lot. It looks as though you can still spew hateful and incorrect rhetoric, even though those on the “religious right” have claimed several times over that LGBT equality is the same as taking away one’s freedom of speech.

Even though it’s alleged that Dr. Bradley Lopez failed to comply with campus regulations prohibiting religious indoctrination “by assigning readings from the Bible, reading the Bible in class, and otherwise relying on the Bible as an authority in the assigned subject matter”, the only outcome expected is a “a letter of reprimand will be placed in Lopez’s personnel file”, which if happens, Lopez is “expected to challenge through an administrative appeal.”

Now, I’ve spent many years in undergrad and graduate courses. Some have been religious studies where others have been science. I understand the difference, and I also know a case of discrimination when I see one, which this clearly is.  I could only hope the students of the school carry a continued boycott against Lopez, refusing to take his course(s) so the school would have no other alternative than to dismiss or place Lopez into an administrative position, relieving him from his instructional post.

You can read the entire post cited above at NCB29 – WVIR!

Sullivan: Rove and His Gay Dad

Just goes to show, you learn something new everyday…but even when you find something to be new, there always seems to be a bit of the old in with it.  This only makes complete sense when applying it to the report that Karl Rove’s dad was gay.  Perhaps that’s one reason why Rove was so eager to build the Republican platform on anti-gay issues.  Perhaps a deep seeded childhood resentment against his father?

According to The Atlantic:

It’s not exactly startling to see that Karl Rove has denied he was aware his own father was gay, even as he guided the GOP into anti-gay wedge politics in the last decade (the Christianists, he coolly calculated, had potentially way more votes for the GOP than gays and their families). But it is important to note that it is untrue that he had no idea his dad was gay or that he was unaware it was the reason for his parents’ divorce.

Read more here!

Will Gainesville Florida Become Gaynesville?

Hat tip to Lyndon Evans of Focus On The Rainbow for bringing this to our attention.  It’s highly possible at this point that Gainesville, Florida may be the next city to elect an openly gay mayor, after Annise Parker was elected in Houston earlier this year.

According to a post on Gainesville.com:

Lowe, with 4,073 votes, had nearly 11 percent more votes than Marsh, who got 2,960, he failed to get the 50 percent majority required to avert a runoff.

The five-candidate field probably had something to do with that.

Lowe said he wasn’t disappointed in the showing.

“I feel great,” Lowe said. “I’m ready to move forward.”

Lowe felt he made a “very strong case” to the voters and would continue pushing his record after serving seven years on the commission.

While his “Victory Party” at The Top restaurant on North Main Street went on as scheduled, it was a subdued affair.

Still, Eric Conrad, the spokesman for Lowe’s campaign and a University of Florida student, remained confident.

“Craig Lowe will be the next mayor of Gainesville,” Conrad said.

How ever, just as in the Houston race, those who are opposed to LGBT equality and are fearful of LGBT politicians have been busy spreading their handywork in an effort to thwart Lowe’s campaign efforts.

According to a post on City Limits, anti-gay fliers have been circulating around the city:

The pink fliers sarcastically suggest Lowe, who is openly gay, will work to get: “Gays in Women’s Restrooms,” “Gay Marriage,” “Gay Public Sex Education,” “Gay Oriented Churches,” “Gay Communities,” “Gay Civil Rights” and “Gay Parades.”

“Please help to make this town more like San Francisco, CA,” the flier reads. “Don’t let Traditional Value Activists use scare tactics against you!”

Hopefully this tactic, as it did in Houston, will fail, and as Lowe stated when asked if he’d file a complaint, “I think that the biggest recourse is with the voters.”

Craig Lowe

Cyberbullying Up in LGBT Youth Community

Iowa State University is set to release the results of a national study on how often LGBT youths report cyberbulling.

The study led by Robyn Cooper and Warren Blumenfeld surveyed 444 youth between the ages 11 to 22, and their sample including 350 who identify as non-heterosexual and 94 people who consider themselves as a LGBT ally. The research concluded that over 50% of the youths had been cyberbullied about their sexual identity or affiliation with LGBT youth within a period of 30-days prior to being surveyed.

The study is set to appear in the International Journal of Critical Pedagogy on March 15.

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