Excluding Weir is Unacceptable

From Gay Rights – Change.org:

No Appeal For Homophobic UK Registrar

“I am naturally disappointed by the Supreme Court’s rejection of my application for appeal. I am actively discussing with my lawyers the possibility of an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.     When the rights of different groups clash, as they have in my case, surely there must be a proportionate attempt to balance those competing rights. In my case, one set of rights was trampled by another set of rights. That cannot be right in a free and democratic society. I believe my case raises important issues of liberty that deserve further consideration by the courts.”

If The Lesbians Are Coming, Cancel Prom!

Last month Itawamba County Agricultural High School told an  18 year old student, Constance McMillen that  she could not attend the prom with her girlfriend, whose also a student.  They also told her she could not wear a  a tuxedo.  The school then sent out a memo saying  no same sex couples  would be allowed at the prom,  it was against the rules.

McMillen quite rightly took her case to the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi,  and they  called on the school to reverse their decision and allow McMillen and her girlfriend to attend.

In response the  school board issued the following statement:

“Due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events, the Itawamba County School District has decided to not host a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School this year. It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the juniors and seniors.”

Christine Sun, the ACLU’s senior attorney on gay rights said previously the ban on same sex dates at the prom  violates McMillen’s constitutional rights.

“The school just can’t arbitrarily say you have to be an opposite-sex date to go to the prom.”

Kristy Bennett, ACLU legal director said, “the district was trying to avoid the issue by canceling the prom at short notice.   “

But that doesn’t take away their legal obligations to treat all the students fairly,” Bennett added. “On Constance’s behalf, this is unfair to her. All she’s trying to do is assert her rights.”

Itawamba County is a rural area of  roughly  23,000 people in north Mississippi near state line with Alabama,  part of the bible belt.

Miss McMillen reportedly said the following to the local newspaper when they told her the news the school board had canceled the prom:

“Oh, my God. That’s really messed up because the message they are sending is that if they have to let gay people go to prom that they are not going to have one. A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this.  I’m going to have to change schools or something.”

There is no word yet from McMillen or the ACLU on any possible legal proceedings, or what the next move will be.  She may not have got to go to the prom with her girlfriend,  but Miss McMillen  has already shown incredible spirit and courage in standing up for her rights and for the rights of gay students everywhere.

Mr. Rick Mitchell - Assistant Principal

The above photo was taken from the school’s website.  Note the plaque above Mr. Mitchell’s head!

Jason Shaw,  Brighton, England.

gayagenda.com’s UK Correspondent.

Jason’s own blog The Seafront Diaries can be found here,  full of stories and tales of eccentric English life by the seaside!

© 2010 Copyright Jason Shaw

Anti-Gay Lies

“In actuality, homosexual unions have a very short lifespan; many of the same-sex “marriages” in Massachusetts are already being dissolved. Further, the health risks associated with homosexual practice are very real and very much in evidence in the emergency rooms of hospitals. There is no denying: Homosexual sex is dangerous and destructive to the human body. Both HIV and HPV are epidemic among homosexual men. Domestic violence is a common problem — twice as prevalent among homosexual couples as in heterosexual ones.”

More at: Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters!

What and How Much is it Going to Take?

Movies and TV shows with gay characters could be ineligible for a “family-friendly” tax credit in Florida under a little-noticed provision tucked into a $75 million incentive package that Republican House leaders hope will attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.

The bill would prohibit productions with “nontraditional family values” from receiving a so-called family-friendly tax credit. But it doesn’t define what “nontraditional family values” are, something the bill’s sponsor had a hard time doing, too.

“Think of it as like Mayberry,” state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, said, referring to The Andy Griffith Show. “That’s when I grew up — the ’60s. That’s what life was like. I want Florida to be known for making those kinds of movies: Disney movies for kids and all that stuff. Like it used to be, you know?”

[For the full article, see here.]

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: “It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including ’sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ ‘gender expression,’ or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly,” he wrote. Colleges that have included such language in their policies — which include all of Virginia’s leading schools — have done so “without proper authority” and should “take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the law and public policy of Virginia.” (See here.]

In fact: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s campaign to make sure that every LGBT person can be fired for being gay is expanding to his state’s public universities. (See here.)

And, of course, there is the Obama Justice Department aggressively affirming DOMA in federal court, even linking its need with the specter of incest and pedophilia should it be overturned; the Obama administration dragging its heels on rescinding DADT; Obama not signing a stop/loss executive order so that Gay military personnel wouldn’t be discharged for being admittedly Gay; allowing same-sex marriage, or any civil right, to be put to a vote of the electorate; the continuous defaming and lies perpetrated by assorted professing “Christians” and politicians regarding Gay people; the erroneous appeal to selected verses of the Bible to erroneously and irrationally seek to justify hateful rhetoric that bears false witness and discrimination against Gay people.

It seems to me that the humiliation, indignities, and patent inequality visited upon LGBT people is about to reach a critical mass that demands (and will result in) expressed outrage in the form of meaningful, coordinated grassroots and organizational activism!

Frivolity; reveling in second-class sexual outlaw status and subcultures; demeaning and defaming oneself by use of pejorative and hateful words as self-identifiers; making nice with strident homophobes by trying to reason with them; allowing clergy and politicians to gain power, prestige, and wealth on the backs of LGBT people; in any way sticking a finger in the eye of potential Straight allies; giving credibility and money to homophobic churches by attending them; giving money to LGBT rights organizations and many professional “activists” that merely content themselves with being in proximity to influential politicians and drink the Kool Aid of feel-good rhetoric devoid of substantive civil rights gains, all the while frequently making a handsome living by so doing; allowing civil rights to be put to popular vote rather than having them adjudicated by the courts where they rightfully belong; settling for crumbs of incrementalism, such as Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions, and the like; denying the fundamental importance of the institution of marriage for same-sex couples; settling for anything less than the very same civil and sacramental rights that heterosexuals enjoy, are both retarding the cause of full and equal civil rights and also giving tacit permission for ignorant and/or mendacious clergy and politicians to externalize the hate in their hearts by using LGBT people as their targets for that hate.

Regardless of rhetoric or seeming “gains,” separate is not equal!

Unless and until LGBT people and allies demand full equality for LGBT people, and do so in a coordinated and sophisticated fashion as occurred in the African American Civil Rights movement, increasing indignities, and even rescinding of some civil rights, will occur, as the strident homophobes will become increasingly emboldened in direct proportion to the psychological, social, and political lethargy of those whose very humanity and civil rights are on the line!

More from Rev. Dr. Jerry Maneker at: ChristianLGBTRights.org!

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