The National Organization for Marriage clowncar juggernaut was inTrenton today. The notoriously well-funded, (anti-gay) N.O.M crew is on tour spreading rancor from state to state.
The good folks at Garden State Equality (I'm a member) did a great job of showing up our angry rivals, although I grudgingly concede the style points to their tricked-out Winnebago festooned with stock photos of faux families.
The real action was inside, where we had /real/ families!
As part of an amendment to the Defense spending bill, the House of Representatives tonight voted to repeal don't ask, don't tell. For those unfamiliar, the policy has been in effect since 1993 barring openly gay men and lesbians from serving in the military. The bill says that the policy would be repealed after the Department of Defense review is complete on December 1. Republicans have threatened to filibuster the Defense spending bill over the issue, but this is a step in the right direction. The bill passed by a vote of 234 YEA, 194 NEA with 10 NV. We'll have how the members of our delegation voted once it becomes available.
Update by Hopeful: Here is the Roll Call vote. All NJ Democrats voted yes and all NJ Republicans voted no.
If you're in Collingswood anytime soon, go check out the library. Then glance up and marvel at the craftsmanship and dedication that went into the shiny brand new ceiling. And then spare a thought for the people who made that progress happen: the members of Garden State Equality, whose south Jersey headquarters is located a few short block away.
In light of Governor Chris Christie's drastic budget cuts to libraries, it's up to the community to "step up" and fill the gap caused by an administration whose values and priorities do not include things like local libraries or food banks. (Click the link. I dare you.)
In this photo, members of the gay rights group Garden State Equality give their our weekends to community service projects that recognize Gov. Christie's neglectful ways.
I wonder how many books are in the Rancocas Valley library? A former councilwoman and group of a few others have decided that three of them are offensive and must be removed from the library. And the school board actually went along with them on one:
The book, "Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology" was removed under pressure from a group who felt its content was inappropriate. The book, edited by Amy Sonnie, includes a series of poetry, prose and personal accounts by gay, lesbian, and transgender youth.
At its Tuesday night meeting, the board decided not to remove two other books that the group also thought were inappropriate for young readers - "The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Other Identities" and "Love and Sex: Ten Stories of Truth."
Why can't they just accept the idea that gay people could actually love each other and be intimate too? For all the talk of getting government out of people's lives, they are very eager to limit what can be said and done when it deals with the bedroom. It's not like this action is a common occurence in the district and the board didn't bother to explain, giving no reason for its action according to the Superintendent:
"I've been here six years and this is the first one," Moskalski said of the book's removal. "It doesn't happen very often."
Moskalski said an advisory committee of 10 people, including a parent, a clergy member, the school librarian and the school board's curriculum committee reviewed the books. The curriculum committee then made a recommendation to the entire school board.
What was a member of the clergy doing on a review committee for a public high school? I have to be honest, I haven't read any of the books. And none of them are required reading by the school, so the students won't have to read them either if they don't want to. They just happen to be in the library and aren't even being read that much, having been checked out a grand total of 19 times since 2001 for all three books. That's less than one time per year for each book.
What is the school board doing going along with this? How is it that of all the books in the library, these three, checked out 19 times in the last 9 years total are a problem? I also love how at the end of the Courier Post article they make like it should be ok because the districts have Gay/Straight Alliances. Way to carry the water. The group says they're coming my way too because next they want to come and ban these books from the school district where I attended.
Mike Huckabee, Southern Baptist preacher, former Arkansas governor and one-time GOP candidate for president, came to the campus of TCNJ a few days ago to give a $25,000 speech. He also agreed to sit for an interview for the student newsmagazine, The Perspective for a piece cross-posted at Blue Jersey by editor Michael Tracey. And that's where things started to unravel for Huckabee, who maybe thought he was talking to simpler people than he was. Because now Huckabee's made some national news, claiming Tracey "grossly distorted" his views. Huckabee's big problem? Tracey has audio, and transcript.
Huckabee answered questions about scandal-plagued RNC Chair Michael Steele, disparaged his rival Mitt Romney and dropped a number of colorful, outrageous and nonsensical quotes about gay people, marriage equality, Don't Ask Don't Tell and gay adoptive parents. "Children are not puppies," he said. "This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?" Huckabee compared same-sex marriage to drug use, and to incest.
Huckabee released a statement claiming Tracey "grossly distorted (his) views", took exception to Tracey's claim that he "ripped into" Steele, claims his own views of marriage are "hardly unusual" and accuses Tracey of sensationalizing and hyper-focusing on them.
Well. Tracey answered in The Perspective, calling Huckabee's words an ad hominem attack and taking issue with Huckabee's casting doubt on the credibility of his publication. The controversy escalated to Huffington Post, and to the Washington Post's blog 44. But worse for Huckabee than the national coverage is that The Perspective has now widely published both an audio recording, and a transcript of the interview.
In the statement on his website, Huckabee called attention in a diminishing way to Tracey's age, and said "the young college student hopefully will find a career other than journalism". Funny. I'm thinking just the opposite. Here's the audio; decide for yourself:
There has been a renewed push to end the 1985 FDA provision that banned gay men from donating blood. Eighteen Senators including Frank Lautenberg signed a letter to the Commissioner of the FDA calling for a change in policy:
The senators' letter noted that in March 2006, the American Red Cross, America's Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks reported to an FDA-sponsored workshop that the ban "is medically and scientifically unwarranted."
The move to ban donations was a response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, but in their letter the Senators noted that we live in a much different society than we did in 1983:
"Not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
They said we turn away potentially healthy blood donors because of an out of date system and we're not necessarily any safer for it. But the FDA didn't seem interested in hearing what the Senators had to say:
"while FDA appreciates concerns about perceived discrimination, our decision to maintain the deferral policy is based on current science and data and does not give weight to a donor's sexual orientation."
That was in an article and I can't find it on the FDA's website, but that's a disappointing response from them. The statement seems kind of ridiculous because how can they not give weight to sexual orientation if it's only a ban on gay men? You can view the letter the Senators sent here. I contacted Steven Goldstein with Garden State Equality for comment and got this:
The ban on anyone not being able to give blood is a relic of the stone age. The fact is, safe and unsafe sex practices have nothing to do with sexual orientation and everything to do with individuals on a person to person basis.
The Senators pointed out the need for a comprehensive review of the policies that deal with blood donation because currently,a heterosexual woman who has had sex with numerous AIDS-infected partners can give blood after waiting a year, but a gay man who's been celibate since 1978 is banned. The Courier Post had an editorial yesterday endorsing Lautenberg's efforts to end the ban:
lifting the ban will save lives -- and bring an end to a needless bias against a considerable segment of our population.
The editorial called it an archaic policy that limits desperately needed blood supplies. If we're able to screen blood for diseases, it shouldn't matter whether that blood comes from heterosexuals or homosexuals. If fear is driving public policy making, the soundness of the decisions needs to be called into question.
Please join me in calling our Senators to urge them to repeal the military's so called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that discriminates against gays and lesbians who want to serve their country in the US Military.
I'll spare you the reasons why discrimination sucks and simply remind you that this issue demands your urgent attention.
Lautenberg's contant info is (202)-224-3224
Menendez is at (202)-224-4744.
Timing is everything in Washington and now is the time to light a fire under our Senators to vote AND to fight to repeal this retrograde policy.
For those who believe, as I do, that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is a horribly misguided and discriminatory policy that has done a great disservice to our armed forces, this has been a remarkable week.
During his State of the Union address, President Obama reiterated his intent to end the 17-year-old policy, leading to a standing ovation that included Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Yesterday, at a Senate hearing, Secretary Gates said "I fully support the president's decision" and announced a working group to produce an implementation plan for repeal. At the same hearing, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made a strong appeal for repeal, saying that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do." The current policy, he said, "forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
In 2006, John McCain said, "the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility."
At yesterday's hearing, he said he was disappointed in their testimony. Apparently, the advice of military leadership doesn't count for much now.
It should be evident that it is a matter of when, not if, DADT is repealed and gay men and women will be able to serve openly in our armed forces. I hope we see that day sooner, not later.
Overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not simply about providing equal rights. It's about preventing the hemorrhage of critical military talent from an already-overstretched American military engaged in two wars. When I travel to the Middle East to meet American servicemen and women in the war theater, no one discusses their personal lives. Nobody should because it doesn't matter. What matters is what they are doing to complete their missions and strengthen American security.
The real question is why are we depriving our armed forces of some of their most important resources? Why are we discharging skilled Arabic linguists, fighter pilots, and weapons officers? Why have we discharged more than 13,000 service members since 1994?
There is no good reason, as Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen made clear.
This week's developments are encouraging, but, although Executive Branch action would be good, what is needed is Congressional action that would make equality the law. The bill I support - sponsored by my colleague Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, a Veteran of the War in Iraq - has more than 180 cosponsors. We should not wait to pass it.
No one would agree to deprive our military of ammunition or armor, so why deprive it of its greatest necessity, highly talented servicemen and women?
Today is the day that the NJ Senate finally votes on marriage equality. This is hardly a news flash for regular readers of this blog, but it's still feels kinda surreal that it's finally show time.
If anyone reading has pics, video or updates to add, please feel free to share here. If you're on site in Trenton, grab a snack cuz it's gonna be a long day....... I estimate the marriage vote to go down sometime around 5:30pm.
A Pennsylvania man is claiming that he was the victim of a gay-bashing incident about a week ago, in Butler, NJ. And there may be an off-duty police officer who witnessed at least part of the incident and refused to help.
In an account given to WWOR-TV (video link has audio problems), 23-year old Jesse Allard of Stillwater, PA, says he was attacked in a bar in the town of Butler in Morris County on December 26, and hospitalized in Paterson with leg and arm injuries. According to Allard's account, he went to the Trackside Bar to celebrate his birthday. Inside he complimented another patron on his coat, and everything slid downhill fast from there:
He called me a fag and he told me don't ever touch him again. So I was just like, 'Well, I'm sorry I'm just complimenting your coat."
Allard believes it was the bar's owner who he says dragged him out of the bar to a parking lot and held his arms while another man punched him in the face. He says his cell phone was taken from him and smashed. When Allard looked to a nearby motorist for help, he says the man - who he believes is a police officer - refused to assist him:
He said he heard someone say the driver of the car was a police officer. According to the report, Allard said the driver said he was not on duty and drove off.
Allard reports he was then hit by a Jeep whose driver "hit the gas" to hit him at a higher speed. A reporter's calls to the Butler Police Department went nowhere - the Chief unavailable and the Public Information Officer unavailable until Monday.
I'm including the link to WWOR-TV's interview with Allard below, but as I'm posting this the audio is still screwed up. I've emailed them to ask if it could be fixed.
Congressman Chris Smith is one of five members of Congress who appealed to the President of Uganda to oppose a proposed law that would execute people who are gay.
Rachel Maddow has been all over this story and this video segment can bring you up to speed:
In their letter, the members referenced Ronald Reagan in an effort to persuade the Ugandan President:
We were deeply troubled to learn of legislation being considered in the Ugandan parliament that would reportedly penalize a single act of homosexual conduct with a life sentence and a mandatory death penalty if the person is HIV-positive.
While we understand that the legislation is being amended, we still urge you to oppose it.
President Ronald Reagan famously referred to the U.S. Constitution as a "covenant we have made not only with ourselves, but with all of mankind." In this spirit, we, as elected officials, aim to advocate for human liberty and dignity around the world.
As such, we ask that your government continue to make it clear that you are opposed to such legislation and that you do everything within your constitutional authority to stop such legislation from becoming law in Uganda.
What is striking is that the letter invokes the Manhattan Declaration, which is a statement of religious principles by three prominent Christian leaders, Charles Colson, Robert George, and Timothy George. Among other things, the Declaration calls homosexuality immoral and includes a long explanation of why homosexuals should be denied the right to marry.
Certainly an interesting document to reference in this situation. Regardless, Congressman Smith still deserves kudos for stepping up and taking a stand on this offensive legislation being considered in Uganda. I'll put the letter they sent below the fold. The next step for Congressman Smith is advocating for gay rights here at home.
Jay Lassiter planned all along to go down to the statehouse yesterday and blog for us. But then, something happened in his hometown, that made him stay there, to capture for you today what the people of Cherry Hill did when the fools came to town. Great job, Jay - promoted by Rosi
Today the NJ Senate Judiciary voted on gay marriage equality. And what a long strange trip it's been clearing the first hurdle.
The council also approved legislation tonight to create a commission on gay, lesbian and transgender issues. The 11-member panel will advise the administration on sensitivity toward the gay community on issues like public safety and policing, housing, education and the training of municipal employees.
"This is not about anyone's take on the issue. It's about empowering a community, and bringing folks to the public policy table to propose legislation, to foster understanding, to empower folks in the city of Newark who have historically not been empowered," said Councilman Ronald C. Rice, who drafted the legislation that created the commission.
James Credle, executive director of Newark Pride Alliance, agreed with Rice in a prepared statement.
"Our community has endured countless struggles in the fight for equality in the City of Newark," Credle said. The alliance was founded in 2003 in response to the slaying of city resident Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old lesbian who had rejected the advances of a man. As the umbrella organization for gay and lesbian groups in Newark, the alliance focuses on safety
Kudos to Ron Rice on his work to get the commission created.
Borrowing the language of the gay marriage debate, Simpson said the group seeks to "protect our definition of what walking on sidewalks is."
Jackie Bello '09, echoing what Simpson called the "separate but equal" nature of Proposition 8, said the group would gladly work with the Grounds and Building Maintenance Department to construct alternative pathways for freshmen to use.
"We don't hate freshmen. Some of our best friends are freshmen," said Shawn Fennell '09, who helped Simpson plan the movement.
Those crazy kids, they're nothing if not creative. The group's facebook page now has 209 members as well. The protest continues Monday and Tuesday.
Today, a bombshell article in The New Republic (TNR) exposed what many of us thought to be true?that Chris Smith's misguided priorities go far deeper than his twenty-two attempts to ban the common, everyday birth control pill.
Thanks to new investigative reporting by TNR's James Kirchick, we now know that Chris Smith is a founding member of the radical right. A reporter at TNR, Kirchick is the author of a highly-regarded article on Ron Paul's ties to segregationists; that article changed the national narrative on Paul earlier this year.
Kirchick's new article reveals that Chris Smith has longstanding ties to religious-right hate groups; that he sat on the board of advisers of a pro-racial segregation organization in the 1980s; that he authored legislation that would bar gays and lesbians from working openly as nurses, doctors, first responders, federal employees or federal contractors; and that he played a role in a vicious disinformation campaign about HIV/AIDS that demonized gays and lesbians as "serial killers." The article also reveals that Smith concealed campaign contributions from at least two hard-line, pro-segregation groups.
The New Republic only scratched surface of Smith's bigotry. Following up on TNR's reporting, this morning, the Zeitz campaign discovered Chris Smith not only worked with segregationists; he voted with them. In 1981, Chris Smith voted to restore non-profit status to segregated private schools [HR 4121, 7/30/81] that were created as a mechanism for white Southerners to avoid the full implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
The Zeitz for Congress campaign also obtained a copy of Chris Smith's early college writings. In an article dated 1973, Smith accused gays and lesbians of being in league with "the Anti-Christ":
In Smith's words:
"We can live in harmony with His [God's] spiritual laws and be like the man, as Christ said, who built on an undestructable [sic] rock, or we can live in disharmony with the Anti-Christ; the devil, not the laughable, fiery and character with horns, but the evil one often spoken of by Jesus and he like the man who built his life on sand which eroded and eventually fell. God wants us happy; His laws are for our welfare, our protection, not Sin!"
Chris Smith's bigotry goes beyond his early career. In the 1990s, Smith introduced legislation that would force any company or public entity that receives federal funds to fire openly gay employees. The legislation would deny gays and lesbians the right to work as teachers, doctors, nurses, first responders, federal contractors, or state and federal workers. It might even deny basic rights like student loans to gay college students.
What we've learned today:
Chris Smith is a founding member of the Religious Right, having sat on the advisory board of the Christian Voice. The Christian Voice strongly supported racially segregated private schools in the South and worked closely with Jerry Falwell.
Chris Smith voted to support segregation by allowing all-white private schools (which were created after forced-desegregation) to remain segregated.
Chris Smith failed to abide by FEC rules and report contributions from openly racist, misogynistic, and homophobic groups on the radical right.
Chris Smith introduced legislation in the 1990s to mandate that the government (or any recipients of federal funds, like local school district, fire departments, police departments and federal contractors) fire any openly gay employees. Openly gay individuals would have been barred from any receipt of federal funds such as school loans, food stamps or unemployment benefits.
"Chris Smith is an extremist," said Steven D'Amico, Zeitz for Congress campaign manager. "There is nothing moderate about racial segregation. There is nothing moderate about denying jobs and education to millions of gay Americans. There is nothing moderate about taking away the right to use common, everyday birth control. These are unacceptable positions that are out of step with basic human decency."
I'm asking you to do a couple of things here. Please make a contribution. Also, if you're in or near the district, please contact ian_at_joshzeitz_dot_com to volunteer.
We can win this race, and we need to do it in order to show New Jersey and the country that this kind of extremism is immoral and unacceptable, and voters will hold such extremists accountable.
Republicans claim that their party is a Big Tent - well, unless, of course, if you're gay, black, hispanic, poor, blue-collar, etc. Ok ok, enough of the snark there. In Sunday's Record, Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan argues why Republicans should "raise the tent" for gays.
Those attending Friday's funeral mass for David Bentz, the Army soldier from Franklin Township killed last week in Iraq, will be greeted by protesters from a Kansas-based group opposed to homosexuality. The Westboro Baptist Church has taken to protesting at funerals for servicemen -- not because of their sexual orientation -- but on the belief the country has incurred the wrath of God by accepting homosexuality.
