A Letter to Mike Huckabee About Homophobia

Recently, Mike Huckabee was on “The View” offering his homophobic views on how gay rights don’t compare to civil rights because gay people haven’t suffered the oppression and abuse that African-Americans endured.

I would never claim the degree of oppression and abuse was equal to that of the African-American’s were subject to, but I will not agree the GLBT community has not been abused or endured suffering and oppression. I would like to add that I do not feel any amount of oppression and abuse should be tolerated.

I do not feel any group should have to endure any of these elements in order to gain equal rights. No matter the degree, amount or scale, abuse and oppression are wrong. Please watch what Mr. Huckabee had to say, then read my letter I wrote to him in response. You can also respond to Mr. Huckabee by following the contact link on his website.

Mr. Huckabee,

I am writing as I am extremely disappointed in your continued displays of homophobic behavior. It’s bad enough you had the likes of Janet Porter, who verbally abuses gays and lesbians on national radio work for your campaign, but now you have appeared on “The View” and have openly demonstrated hate and bigotry towards the GLBT community. You stated the Gay Rights movement is NOT the same as the Civil Rights movement because Gays and Lesbians have not endured the physical abuse or oppression that our African-American citizens once endured.

Now I will admit, the scale of events perhaps hasn’t been as large as the Civil Rights movement, but I will argue the suffering and abuse was any less.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of the Stonewall riots of 1969 or why they occurred, but it was because of suffering the GLBT community endured prior. Did you know it was once illegal for gay and or lesbian people to congregate? If they did, they could be arrested and fined and often times were. The police raids of gay and lesbian establishments lead to the physical abuse and even death of gay and lesbian persons. This was not an isolated incident, these events happened in many cities and towns nation wide.

What about Harvey Milk? Shot and killed for being openly gay. What about Matthew Sheppard? What about the thousands of others who died simply because they were gay?

Unlike the Civil Rights movement, you may have not “known” any gay people when you were growing up and living through the Civil Rights movement, but that’s because if they had come out, they would have been risking death as well. How is hiding who you are in order to protect your own safety and life NOT oppression?

You have NO idea of the suffering that has been endured by those in the GLBT community. I, for one, was fired from a job in 2003 simply for being gay. That action is still legal in 33 states.

Mr. Huckabee, I understand you have strong religious convictions, and those convictions do not allow you to accept gay people openly, but I challenge you to educate yourself enough to know that being gay is NOT a choice, and gay people suffer everyday simply for being who they are…who they were born as…who they love.

I would also like to mention that even though the “majority” of people in this country recently voted to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry, it still isn’t right. Once a majority of people believed in segregation. Once a majority of people believed women should not have the right to vote. Once a majority of people felt interracial marriage was wrong…but was the majority right? And f you really want to talk about majorities, once a majority of people thought the world was flat, so was it? And lastly on this point, since Christianity is NOT the majority religion in the world, should the majority religion be able to tell Christians who and how to worship?

Whether you know it or not, someone you love is gay, and whether you know them or not, someone gay is fighting for rights from which we will all benefit.

Mr. Huckabee, I am asking you to open your heart and mind, and lead the way to stopping hate!

Thank you!

Bounty Killer: The Real Face of Ignorance

From HomoVision:

Sunday 23 November saw the London Borough of Newham, the Met Police, the government and possibly yourself allow gay hate dancehall reggae drag artist Bounty Killer to perform in London.

Bounty Killer advocates the murder of gays (ie me and you and most of your friends) on a number of his songs. He’s been allowed to play in the UK because he’s assured the Met Police that he won’t be performing any homophobic lyrics. Which is kind of him.

The Met Police: “No murder music singer will be allowed to perform unless they sign the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA) where by singers promise not to incide homophobic hatred and violence.”

But Bounty Killer has refused to sign this act, instead assuring them that he won’t be homophobic. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Check it out at HomoVision.com!

Anti-Gay Violence on the Rise in Amsterdam

Despite have a reputation of tolerance and acceptance, Amsterdam is facing an increasing problem of violence against gay men according to a study conducted by the University of Amsterdam.

The Study, which was released Thursday, stated the Dutch capital must improve protection of gays, increase education, and encourage reporting of discriminatory incidents.

The study also showed that 67 attacks were reported in Amsterdam in 2007. Police commissioner Leo Wilde said the number was about average for recent years and “is not decreasing.”

The statistics remain difficult to compare with other cities however, as Amsterdam, with a population of 750,000, has attempted for years to improve reporting of anti-gay incidents, but police and authorities say most incidents still go unreported.

The study also concludes that most anti-gay crimes are spontaneously committed by lesser educated young men who feel their masculinity has been questioned.

According to Laurens Buijs, one of the report’s authors,

“In 40 percent of cases the trigger is if people think they’re being targeted” for seduction. Attackers “see gays as predatory animals that can strike at any moment.”

The study, titled “As Long As They Keep Away From Me” , concluded that the tolerance often professed by Dutch youth is only a facade. Gay men are typically accepted as long as they don’t display stereotypically gay behavior.The study combined surveys of Amsterdam youth with in-depth interviews pf smaller groups. Authors of the study also interviewed individual attackers and reviewed recent cases.

Dennis Boutkan, chairman of the Union for Homosexual Integration stated;

“It’s very sad confirmation of what we already suspected, the layer of social acceptance of homosexuality is exceptionally fragile and thin.”

The Mormon War On Gay People

From the Atlantic dot com:

I should add that I dated a Mormon man for a few months a while back. What he told me about the LDS church’s psychological warfare on their gay members, the brutality and viciousness and intolerance with which they attack and hound and police the gay children of Mormon families, would make anyone shudder.

They hounded my ex for having HIV and for being gay. They followed him secretly, outed him to his family and persecuted him for his illness. When he was diagnosed with HIV at Brigham Young, he had to run out of the college clinic to escape those who wanted to sequester and punish him. He died a few years ago. Most of his Mormon family didn’t show up for his funeral. You want me to love these people? Let me say it’s my Christian duty to try.

Read the entire story by clicking here.

Michigan Praised By Gay Rights Advocates

Gay rights advocates are praising a measure to broaden protection for victims of hate crimes as a long-overdue expansion of civil rights.

A bill to revise the ethnic intimidation law was approved this week 82-18 by the state House, though four West Michigan representatives voted against it.

Under the bill, a person could be charged with a bias-related offense for a crime based on disability, sexual identity or expression.

It adds to characteristics covered by existing law, such as race, gender and religion.

Daniel Levy, chief legal representative for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, said the law safeguards speech at the same time it broadens protections.

“We make it clear that unless you assault somebody maliciously or damage property, you cannot be charged with the statute at all.”

Next Page »