The Rainbow Glass is Half Full

What a vein-popping summer! Such anger, such hatred. This vitriol is mainly centered on the tug-of-war battle concerning health-care reform. Other interest groups are still angry and frustrated because their priorities haven’t been acted upon in the first 8 months of this administration. LGBT activists, immigration reform folks and environmentalists all have gripes with this administration and Congress.

It’s not a happy time with a slow economy and joblessness serving as the backdrop. And health-care proposals—fact and fiction—are keeping the dialogue hot.

We hear the contradictory epithets of “Nazi!” “Fascist!” “Radical!” “Socialist!” “Communist!” and “Terrorist!” Many nasty signs have been hoisted and yes, some messages were racist—all being ascribed to President Obama. Some have even taken to calling Obama “homophobe.” It makes me long for the days when “Liberal” was considered to be a dirty slur, the former ultimate insult aside from “faggot.”

Everyone is in a sour mood it seems, including me because of the idiots dominating the debate. But I was uplifted when I recently saw the images of Ellen DeGeneres interviewing her guest Neil Patrick Harris on her show.

It was a needed burst of fresh air for sure and a calming influence. Two out gay people on national television, comfortable in their own skin and wildly successful both in their personal lives and professionally. They have reached the heights in their respective careers and have broad appeal across most demographic groups.

And add the fact that Ellen has been named as a judge on American Idol—the highest rated show on TV—and Harris was handed the high-profile hosting job at the Emmys, following his splendid performance emceeing the Tony Award extravaganza this spring. Wow!

I reflected upon the progress that we are making when you see these two gay stars on the set together during a popular TV show. This would not have been possible 40, 30 or even 20 years ago. Is this symbolic of our finally turning the corner and on the path towards equality? We’ll find out, won’t we?

Gay activists, impatient with the workings of government and the political sludge that gums up the gears of progress, will be taking to the streets at the National Equality March on Washington October 10-11. Using Obama’s campaign pledges and the current lack of substantive results as the fuel, the marchers and demonstrators will be calling for several main initiatives that are at the top of the must-have list.

Among them is the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes bill. Introduced once again, the bill has passed both houses in Congress and is awaiting a conference committee to iron out the details. This should pass this year and the President will sign it.

The Employee Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA was also introduced in the 111th Congress by Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in the House with 117 original co-sponsors. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Again, the President will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

A bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA was just introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Jared Polis (D-CO). Again, despite the administration’s all-too-vigorous defense of DOMA during litigation, Obama had campaigned to repeal the entire law.

This measure will have to navigate through tricky terrain, however, as legislators can and will be politically attacked for supporting the weakening of the institution of marriage as well as the other canards to be expected during the debate.

Frankly, I am surprised this bill was introduced this soon. It could very well be as a result of the anger that LGBT activists have levied towards the Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress for scant progress.

As reported in the Washington Blade, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) expects that House hearings on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy will begin early next year. On the Senate side, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), announced plans this summer for a fall hearing, according to the Blade. Rep. Barney Frank predicts that Congress will repeal the law in 2010.

These are all promising signs. Nonetheless, we must be cautious about our optimism because ENDA, for example, has been languishing in Congress for three decades. We need all of us to keep the pressure on Congress and the President to act swiftly on these measures. We must not let up.

But the prospects are certainly brighter today. Public opinion is on our side on all of these initiatives and that helps our elected officials who are not dominated by right-wing dogma to make the right decisions.

We have a President, who despite the misplaced anger by some of our lgbt friends, will do right by us. We have openly gay celebrities not just taking up our cause but maintaining high visibility without threatened boycotts and other anti-gay backlash.

At this point in time, I say our rainbow glass is half full, and filling up more day by day, albeit slowly.

You can read more about and from Steve Charing at: Steve Charing – OutSpoken.com!

Daly dose of B.S. – (Jim Daly from Focus on the Family)

In a new column on Newsweek/Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog, Focus on the Family president Jim Daly admits something that we actually found shocking. He says:

“Focus on the Family realizes that couples can be married in church all day long, but if they don’t stop at the County Courthouse, they ain’t married, no matter how beautiful the church ceremony was.”

Which, as regular G-A-Y readers well know, is an argument that we make all the time. The church component, no matter how oft utilized, is an option. It’s an ancillary. In terms of civil marriage, which is the form for which gay activists are fighting, the religious element is an elective.

So in actuality, Daly’s argument should stop right there. Logically, he would admit that his fellow church members will still have every right to oppose gay couples in the “eyes of God,” even if the government grants full marriage equality. Rationally, he’d admit that his own personal views about what constitutes a legal marriage cannot be used in this church-state-separated society to deny others (be they gay, non-believer, or member of a faith with which Mr. daly does not agree) of their civil freedoms. Reasonably, he’d take this opportunity to concede the civil debate and instead focus all of his faith-based “protect marriages” on the various denominations and sects who wants to keep “sacred.”

Read the rest at: Good As You!

Everyone is Talking About the Gay Agenda

And I’m not talking about this site. I’m not sure, but it seems there has been an increasing number of “challenged” people who are spouting off about the “Gay Agenda”. Just today, I found these two blatantly ignorant items which attempt to address the “Gay Agenda.”

The first is a video, talks about estrogen being put into our products, which makes people gay…wtf? Now here is the guy talking about some “massively gay agenda” going on. If nothing else, it’s worth a laugh.

The second, is from a post that talks about how wrong it is that things other than the “three r’s” are taught in schools. Oh, I’m sorry, I thought school was to provide education, which goes much further than learning to read, write, add or subtract.

Here’s an excerpt:

Every fall, millions of parents drop their children off at taxpayer-funded public schools. Unfortunately, many of these same parents have little or no idea of what is happening to their children once they pass through security into the classroom. Instead of learning the three R’s, or how to be good citizens, schoolchildren are being taught to reject their parents’ values and to affirm – even celebrate – homosexual behavior.

Here is the first thing that bothers me:

Only one side of the Gay Agenda coin is EVER presented in these culture war confrontations. The Gay Agenda activists have been hugely successful in indoctrinating the minds of the American people–at least the minds of American news media types. They categorize any objection whatsoever to the Gay Agenda as hateful, homophobic, and they even compare it to racism.

Wow, now there are some powerful statements. Powerfully ignorant statements. Here is what we’re up against. Perhaps the Stonewall riots were 40 years ago, but this is why our work (the work of the LGBT community) has really only just begun.

And yet another post talks about why gay people shouldn’t be allowed in the military…because it causes murder!

Had he not been in the Navy; he would still be alive. The Armed Forces is not a place for Homosexuals. It is a tragic thing; but it his own fault.  Gay blades do not belong in the Armed Forces; it is just that simple. This is why this person is dead. Most likely he came onto some officer and they did not like it and they killed him. Do I think it was right, that he was killed? No, I do not. But, if he had not been in the Navy and most likely not shot his mouth off, he would still be alive.

Oh, and for those who continue to seek out the real “GayAgenda”, either visit this site, or know that yes, there really is a “Gay Agenda” and it is two fold.

1. To enjoy the same equality of all other tax paying citizens.

2. Please refer to number one.