VIDEO: Mr. Gay USA contest

Castro mecca marginalized

Shortly after I discovered there were other gay people in the world I heard about The Castro.

In my mind is was a gay mecca. A place dreams were made from.

I would wander to Uncle Dons' Castro website and wish I would of come out sooner. So I might have been part of the amazing transformation which took
place in The Castro.

I emailed Uncle Don a few years ago asking him what life was like in The Castro now. He told me the old days were mostly gone. Commercialism has taken over The Castro. He had to move away from The Castro himself.

Hearing this news almost brought tears to my eyes. Because I realized a piece of our history was being covered over. Much like a person who no longer wanting a pool in their yard fills it with dirt and covers it. Never to be seen again.

Castro has so much gay history. So many changes took place. It would have been an honor to be part of it. I hope we keep it alive, at least in our memories.

Time has changed The Castro. It was another sad moment when I read an article today about the gay Halloween party being canceled in the Castro. It seems violence has taken over. So for safety concerns the event has been canceled.

Being from San Antonio, Texas I remember when the Battle of Flowers day parade errupted in violence as a man with a rifle started shooting people. The Battle of Flowers day parade was not canceled or inhibited in any way. Halloween in The Castro should not be affected due to previous violence.

I ask that you hold onto memories of the Castro. Remember the ultimate sacrifice people made by making a stand on The Castro. Which, in my mind will always remain an integral part of our gay history.

Ann Coulter dines in gay restaurants?

Ann Coulter: On the Gay Circuit in West Hollywood

We had dinner last night at Murano, a new West Hollywood restaurant, owned by gay circuit party promoter Jeffrey Sanker, and lesbian night club owners Robin Gans and Sandy Sachs.

Toward the end of dinner, one of my companions insisted that the painfully thin, emotive, long blond haired thing in a small black dress with nearly exposed bosoms was none other than Ann Coulter. I did not believe him. Why would Ann Coulter, who hates homosexuals, go to dinner at gay ground zero? Why would she spend her hard earned gay-bashing royalties to enrich Jeffrey Sanker and otherwise support gay-owned businesses?

Clearly, Ann Coulter was caught in a lie. There she was, burbling like a fountain about her interview on Donny Deutsch's show in which she says Jews should be Christians, completely at ease in the heart of the gayest city on the planet. She was a natural with the gay men who surrounded her. She enjoyed the fawning attention by her two not so masculine male escorts, clearly in her milieu.

I was therefore shocked that when we tried to engage her in conversation, she became embarrassed, turned away, nestling her head inside her long, blond hair, much as would an embarrassed school girl caught stealing the answers to an exam.

Ann Coulter had nothing to say last night because anything she could conjure would have been too absurd. So she ducked her head, embarrassed at being caught where she most likes to be, hoping to disappear. Ann Coulter is a coward who uses evil speech in the safety of a studio to make money. She obviously does not even believe the obscenities she hurls at America, a country she says she hates.

How many adolescents in mid-America have heard Ms. Coulter saying they are "faggots," subhumans who should die, just so she could eat dinner at a gay-owned establishment and pay with blood money? How many lives have ended so that Ms. Coulter can giggle and guzzle in West Hollywood?

Obama website says "let them eat cake"

In regards to the Donnie McClurkin debacle, the blog at BarackObama.com says:

Like Obama said, "You will not agree with everything I say, but, I will always tell you what I believe, where I stand on issues, and will open up these issues to everyone in order to find common ground." So, if this minor flare-up is going to cause you to flip-flop on your support like Hillary on issues that are uncomfortable to you, then by all means please go support her or whoever else. This campaign needs steadfast and supportive grassroots who can weather whatever obstacles that we may encounter.

By Mom: sons' coming out story

It started the day my son, Ben, had a hickey on his neck. Having a fairly close relationship with Ben, I asked him about it. First of all, like most 17-year-olds, he denied it was a hickey. I quickly grounded him in reality, stating that I most certainly knew what a hickey looked like. He was flustered but also pleased to be sporting this huge purple blotch on his neck.

http://gaylife.about.com/od/comingoutstories/a/momson.htm

Advocate bias

While reading an article in the Advocate I was a bit surprised and insulted by an article.

It seems Jasmyne Cannick (a black female) was upset that the Michael Sandy (a black male) murder didn’t cause an uproar like the Matthew Shepard murder received.

Both murders were inexcusable. Both were gay men. Both were hate crimes. Why does Jasmyne feel the need to yell out a race based "foul"?

Jasmyne went into some details regarding Sandy’s murder but didn’t bother mentioning any details of Shepard’s murder and torture. Which shows her obvious bias.

Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence, tortured and left to die a slow painful death. He wasn't even discovered until 18 hours later.

If Jasmyne can’t see the vast difference in these crimes I strongly suggest her vision is “colorized”.

Shepard:
Shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998, 21-year-old Shepard met McKinney and Henderson in a bar. According to McKinney, Shepard asked them for a ride home. Subsequently, Shepard was robbed, pistol whipped, tied to a fence in a remote, rural area, and left to die. McKinney and Henderson also found out his address and intended to burglarize his home. Still tied to the fence, Shepard was discovered by a cyclist eighteen hours later, who at first thought that Shepard was a scarecrow. Shepard was still alive but unconscious.
Shepard suffered a fracture from the back of his head to the front of his right ear. He had severe brain stem damage, which affected his body's ability to regulate heart rate, body temperature and other vital signs. There were also about a dozen small lacerations around his head, face and neck. His injuries were deemed too severe for doctors to operate. Shepard never regained consciousness and remained on full life support.

Sandy:
Sandy drove his 2004 Mazda to the location, and met Fox first, near Emmons Avenue. The then drove to Plumb Beach, where Fortunato, Shurov, and Timmons were waiting.[4] At about 9:45 p.m., at least four witnesses saw four white men assaulting a black man. [5]
Shortly after Sandy arrived, witnesses saw two young white men approaching his car.[6] At that time, Sandy was confronted by two of the young men, who began looking through his vehicle.[1] Shurov pulled Sandy from the car and began punching him.[7]
Attempting to escape, Sandy runs towards the highway, back-pedaling away from the attackers, towards the highway. He appeared to be calling for help on his cell phone[2] Two of his attackers caught up with him in the right lane of the highway.[1] Shurov pursued Sandy across the guard rail, caught up with him in the right lane, and punched him.[2] Sandy backpedaled into the middle lane, and was struck. One of the attackers dragged Sandy back to the side of the road. [1] Shurov was seen rifling through Sandy's pockets after he was struck.[7]
Unconscious and suffering possible brain injuries, Sandy was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was placed on a respirator and remained in a vegetative state.[1] Sandy remained on life support for five days, without regaining consciousness.

Homecoming royalty: Gay couple

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the royalty of Davis Senior High School's junior class: Brandon Raphael and his prince, Kiernan Gatewood.

For what appears to be the first time in school history, the Davis Senior High student body has elected a gay couple into homecoming royalty. With each boasting a white sash declaring his title as "Prince," the two 16-year-olds rode through the city of Davis Friday afternoon in the school's annual homecoming parade.

Students said they were encouraged that the election was not an issue for campus administrators. They said they were less surprised that a gay couple would win than they were that officials allowed it to happen.

"I think it's just such a good thing for our school. Just knowing that the other kids recognize them as a couple and would vote for a gay couple to be prince and prince of homecoming. ... I don't know, I just think it's awesome," said senior Chandler Fox, co-president of the campus Gay-Straight Alliance. "I want people to know about it so maybe it can happen at another school."

Bedfellows: NARTH and FOTF

For the first time in a decade, the American Psychological Association is reviewing its procedures on working with clients who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender. NARTH is attempting to bully the APA into allowing the disreputable, pseudo-scientific practice of “ex-gay” therapy.NARTH is known for its bizarre theories, such as “non-homosexual men who experience defeat and failure may also experience homosexual fantasies or dreams.”

Last year, NARTH was embroiled in two major controversies that lead to its President, Joseph Nicolosi, stepping down from his post. In the first, a NARTH doctor wrote an essay supporting gender variant children being "ridiculed" in school so they would conform. In the second, another NARTH doctor wrote an article justifying slavery.

Upon co-founding the group, the late Dr. Charles Socarides said, “Homosexuality is a psychological and psychiatric disorder, there is no question about it.”

NARTH’s leader, Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, has said factors in the causation of homosexuality include “fear of tall bridges” a “phobia of the phone” and once claimed that gay men are more likely to be “pee shy.”? He has encouraged his clients to become more masculine by drinking Gatorade and calling friends “dude.”

The organization’s methods are so peculiar and bizarre that the American Psychological Association specifically condemned NARTH by name at the APA’s annual convention in August 2006. According to the APA:

“For over three decades the consensus of the mental health community has been that homosexuality is not an illness and therefore not in need of a cure. The APA’s concern about the position espoused by the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality and so-called conversion therapy is that they are not supported by the science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Our further concern is that the positions espoused by NARTH and Focus on the Family create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.”

Massachusetts petition fraud

'I was forced to flee Iran'

By Arsham Parsi

I was born in September 1980, in Iran. As a teenager growing up in Shiraz, I was lonely and filled with self-loathing. I had never met another queer, and I thought I was a freak.

Then I found the internet. And I discovered that I was not alone.

After that, I started to understand who I am and come to terms with my sexual identity. I began to do advocacy work for the queer community in Iran, but my work earned me the attention of the Iranian authorities and I was forced to flee Iran on Mar 4, 2005.

Before I fled to Turkey, three of my closest friends committed suicide because of their sexual orientation. More recently, Iranian police arrested two gay men in their 20s for hosting a small house party. The men received 80 lashes each; I doubt that I would be able to endure one. I admire their courage.

After getting his punishment, one of the men asked the person who executed this inhuman sentence whether he felt closer to God by this savagery.

Trials on morals charges in Iran are held in camera, and international outrage over the frequency of executions has led the government to exercise tight controls over press reporting of the death penalty.

American Airlines courts gays

www.aa.com/rainbow

American Airlines opens up a website specifically for the gay community.

They also have a marketing campaign on LOGO tv (a GLBT media outlet) which starts on October 22.

Right Wing Activists Attempt to Repeal LGBT Youth Protections

SACRAMENTO - Conservative, anti-LGBT activists have taken the first step to ask California voters to repeal youth protections recently signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Student Civil Rights Act, which becomes law on January 1 of next year, protects students from harassment and bullying in public schools by making sure teachers and school administrators understand their responsibilities to protect youth. Students are protected based on gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.

"It is ironic that an organization that alleges to promote 'family values' has chosen to fight a law that will protect all California youth based on religion, race, nationality and gender, not just sexual orientation," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "In a desperate attempt to deny full equality to people - and in this case, youth - who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, right wing extremists continue to wage a misguided attack on the Student Civil Rights Act. They are using fear-based tactics and deceptive propaganda to repeal legislation that has already received the approval of the Legislature and Gov. Schwarzenegger."

Psychologists take off the gloves. Bigot looses.

San Diego-based licensed clinical psychologist named Trayce Hansen, who attempted to portray marriage equality as somehow dangerous to children.

word got to Dr. Thomas Marra, also a practicing clinical psychologist and author, who decided he couldn't let Hansen's diatribe sit out there unchallenged.

here's the wisdom of Dr. Trayce Hansen:
Love Isn't Enough: 5 Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriage Will Harm Children.
First, mother-love and father-love–though equally important–are qualitatively different and produce distinct parent-child attachments.
Secondly, children progress through predictable developmental stages.
Third, boys and girls need an opposite-sexed parent to help them moderate their own gender-linked inclinations.
Fourth, same-sex marriage will increase sexual confusion and sexual experimentation by implying all choices are equally acceptable and desirable.
And fifth, if society permits same-sex marriage, it also will have to allow other types of marriage.

Response from from Dr. Thomas Marra:
Dr. Hansen's reasoning is flawed on 4 fundamental points. First, she engages in sexism by presuming that mothers are primarily permissive and fathers are primarily limit setters.
There is nothing preventing a male from performing similar functions.
Third, Dr. Hansen draws upon the developmental aspects of a child's growth to predict that an infant needs a mother more and an older child needs a father more.
These functions are not gender specific. A father can soothe a child, and a mother can provide disapproval for dangerous and inappropriate behavior. It is the skill of the parent in matching guidance and nurturance behaviors to the developmental needs of the child that predict success. This again is not gender specific. It is skill specific.
Lastly, Dr. Hansen begs the question when she posits that same-sex parents will increase the sexual confusion of the child they raise. Her argument presumes that sexual orientation is a lifestyle choice made by individuals based upon learning experiences in society. The research does not support this notion.

HISTORY: Randolfe “Randy” Wicker

by Randolfe “Randy” Wicker

As a teenager during the 1950s, I knew I was homosexual.

In the 1950s, newspapers and magazines only covered homosexual scandals: Child killers, Leopold and Loeb; Burgess and McLean, British spies who’d defected to the Soviet Union; Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s “hunt” for homosexuals working for the government; police round-ups of “perverts,” usually featuring photos of drag queens, make-up askew, sitting in a paddy wagon.

I had no problem accepting my homosexuality. I only feared discovery. As a college freshman, I kept a diary that detailed the crush I’d developed on a fellow student. My father found my diary and read it. Fortunately, the psychiatrist he consulted advised him that I’d always be homosexual.

“It’s your life to live,” he surmised. “I don’t think you are going to get very far with this. I ask just one thing: that you not involve my good name.

“I’ve lived the American dream,” I declared. “In my lifetime, homosexuals have gone from being criminals to being a legitimate minority group. We may not have ‘full equality’ yet, but we’re slowly getting there.

Matthew's mother invites you to Matthew's Place

Judy Shepard (Matthew Shepard's mother) has opened a new website for LGBTQ youth. It's a comprehensive online resource for LGBTQ youth in America.

www.MatthewsPlace.com was launched on Friday, October 12, 2007, the ninth anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s passing, with a series of local events throughout the country and an online video stream featuring Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Mistreatment, violence, and harassment of LGBT young people is a pervasive problem. According to GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey in 2005, nearly two-thirds of LGBT young people felt unsafe in school and over one-third had been physically harassed because of their sexual orientation. And for too many youth the home is not much safer or more welcoming. Some studies estimate that as many as half of LGBT teens experience negative reactions from their parents upon coming out, and nearly one-third have suffered physical violence by a family member.

MLK Family and friends gather to support GLBT rights

(Austin, TX) -- On October 7, 2007, Isaac Farris Jr. -- nephew of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- addressed a vigil organized by straight Atlantans who support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans.

Malikah Berry, former assistant to Coretta Scott King, will also speak at the vigil. Berry is the Director of Community and Civic Engagement for Hands On Atlanta, which is a sponsor of the Atlanta vigil.

Prior to her death, Mrs. King spoke publicly in support of gay civil rights: "Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protections, whether by marriage or civil union," she said in a March 2004 speech.

Latvian anti-gay strategy

Seattle-area's answer to Fred Phelps, Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church.

You might recall that back in March, Pastor Hutch made headlines because of his claim that the Bush White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives named him "Special Envoy for Adoptions, Family Values, Religious Freedom, and Medical Relief," and he represented himself as such in Latvia. The White House denied this, and Hutch threatened to prove his status by producing video of him being given the "power." He has yet to produce his evidence.

Southern Poverty Law Center's Casey Sanchez states that Latvian-based fundamentalist extremists are fomenting anti-gay thuggery on the West Coast, specifically among Russian and Ukrainian immigrants in the Sacramento Valley. The group calls itself the Watchmen on the Walls.

VIDEO: The Bible is Repulsive

Go Ask Alice politely refused to remove "gay content"

Columbia University has a online Q&A site called Go Ask Alice.

I ran across an article there which impressed me. Although it's a bit dated (1999) the message is still very valid.

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1471.html

HISTORY: Hijra, India's "third sex" individuals

Recently I referenced the North American Indian Berdache (GLBTQIA - "third sex").

So I found it very interesting when I read about similarites in other societies. Societies such as India, Pakistan, Polynesia and the Balkans.

Of course the gifted "third sex" individuals had no more respect once religion forcfully took over.

Currently, homosexuality is illegal in India.

Click here for more information about India's Hijra/Tritiya-Prakriti.

A third sex is also discussed in ancient Hindu law, medicine, linguistics and astrology. The foundational work of Hindu law, the Manu Smriti (c. 200 BC - 200 AD) explains the biological origins of the three sexes: "A male child is produced by a greater quantity of male seed, a female child by the prevalence of the female; if both are equal, a third-sex child or boy and girl twins are produced; if either are weak or deficient in quantity, a failure of conception results."

Positive points for National Coming Out Day

More than half of straight Americans back equal treatment for gays, and seven out of 10 said they have spoken out for the homosexual community in the face of verbal attacks, a poll said Thursday.

So much uproar today about Dear Abby at the PFLAG conference. I think it's great! Kudos for the new PFLAG concept of Straight For Equality.








But I'm a bit more excited about the "GAY? FINE BY ME" T-Shirt movement.

Not so long ago a Ithaca High School sophomore was sent home for wearing the "GAY? FINE BY ME" T-Shirt. Since then the T-Shirt has gained phenomenal popularity.

Religious Right Wrong (again)

Back in 2001 there was a court case. The religious right, in attempt to stop abortion, published the names of all Doctors who performed abortions. Their right to do so is part of our First Amendment right to free speech which was upheld by a San Francisco federal appeals court.

Of course the backlash of such did occur when "Jesus" killed two and injured seven in an abortion clinic attack.

One of their most recent "articles" claims freedom of speech is under attackin the USA. Claiming Europe is passing legislation which will criminalize speech against homosexuals and the USA is one step away! Of course the "article" doesn't link to proof of this claim.

So I looked around a bit. Indeed a French politician did get fined for an outburst in court, stating that “homosexual behaviour endangers the survival of humanity” and that “heterosexuality is morally superior to homosexuality”. This was a court case where he was being sued by 3 gay organizations.

France has a very strong hate crimes code. Nothing near what we have, or are proposing, in the USA.

I doubt France cares much about the religious rights' opinion. But it is nice to see the religious right reach out to the International Community in such a loving and giving way.

October 11: National Coming Out day and Cyndi Lauper

PFLAG Launches 'Straight for Equality' on October 11

Cyndi Lauper will be urging straight America to speak out for Gay friends.

From October 11-14, hundreds of families and allies of GLBT people will be in Washington D.C., for the PFLAG National Convention, presented by IBM.

The national event marks the official launch of Straight for Equality, an entirely new project that aims to motivate the vast audience of fair-minded Americans who wish to more actively support equality in their daily lives.

Straight for Equality empowers people who may not have GLBT family members but who nonetheless want to curb homophobia in their daily lives. From speaking up when hearing an anti-gay joke, openly supporting equality in your work place to taking action to change anti-GLBT policies.

The PFLAG National Convention also will feature special guests such as the world's most widely syndicated columnist, Dear Abby, and the first-ever openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson.

Australian gay rights

Another small victory for LGBT equality in Australia has been won with the announcement that same-sex partners in the state of New South Wales will have the right to decline to give evidence against their partner in court.

The change from "de facto spouse" to "de facto partner" is intended to be gender neutral, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

"(Attorney General) Philip Ruddock is refusing to incorporate this definition into the Commonwealth version of the Uniform Evidence Act," said spokesman Justin Kelly.

The change to the law will come into effect in NSW in early 2008.

Mr Ruddock and Prime Minister John Howard are facing re-election later this year. Their government has proved hostile to recognition for same-sex couples and passed federal legislation in 2004 banning same-sex marriage.

London: Gay peacock sexually assaults lexus

LONDON, UK -- British insurance company Lloyd's of London received one of the strangest claims in it's long history this week when aristocrat Baronet Sir Benjamin Slade claimed his car was wrecked by a gay peacock.

The baronet is seeking $8,000 for damages done to one of his luxury cars after it was "sexually attacked" by a horny gay peacock at his estate in Somerset.

Sir Benjamin claims the peacock had to be randy and gay because the car, a Lexus, was painted a "peacock blue," the color of the male peacock. All female peacocks are brown.

The Lexus looked like "another peacock boy," the baronet said.

Sir Benjamin has now put up signs around his estate, which is open to the public, warning about the bird. He has also banned Peacock blue Lexus cars from his car park to prevent further damage in the future.

Seattle: 12th Gay/Lesbian film festival is largest ever

Two more theaters (Central Cinema, SIFF Cinema) and plenty more films have been added to the ever-expanding Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. The 12th-annual edition kicks off Friday night at the Cinerama with the Seattle premiere of Paul Schrader's sassy whodunit, "The Walker."

For complete schedule and info, go to 2007.seattlequeerfilm.org or call 206-323-4274.

HISTORY: Berdache

Alternative gender roles were among the most widely shared features of North American societies.

Male berdaches have been documented in over 155 tribes.

Calls have been made to replace berdache with “two-spirit.” In 1993, a group of anthropologists and natives issued guidelines that formalized these preferences. “Berdache,” they argued, is a term “that has its origins in Western thought and languages.” Scholars were asked to drop its use altogether and to insert “[sic]” following its appearance in quoted texts. In its place they were encouraged to use tribally specific terms for multiple genders or the term “two-spirit.” Two-spirit was also identified as the preferred label of contemporary gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender natives.

HISTORY: Homosexuals and the Holocaust

Soon after taking office on January 30, 1933, Hitler banned all homosexual and lesbian organizations. Brownshirted storm troopers raided the institutions and gathering places of homosexuals.

On September 1, 1935, a harsher, amended version of Paragraph 175 of the Criminal Code, originally framed in 1871, went into effect, punishing a broad range of "lewd and lascivious" behavior between men. In some cases, castration was performed.

An estimated 1.2 million men were homosexuals in Germany in 1928. Between 1933-45, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals, and of these, some 50,000 officially defined homosexuals were sentenced. Most of these men spent time in regular prisons, and an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 of the total sentenced were incarcerated in concentration camps. Excerpts from Vera Laska, an eye witness.

How many of these 5,000 to 15,000 "175ers" perished in the concentration camps will probably never be known. Historical research to date has been very limited. One leading scholar, Ruediger Lautmann, believes that the death rate for "175ers" in the camps may have been as high as sixty percent.

All prisoners of the camps wore marks of various colors and shapes, which allowed guards and camp functionaries to identify them by category. The uniforms of those sentenced as homosexuals bore various identifying marks, including a large black dot and a large "175" drawn on the back of the jacket. Later a pink triangular patch (rosa Winkel) appeared.

After the war, homosexual concentration camp prisoners were not acknowledged as victims of Nazi persecution, and reparations were refused. Under the Allied Military Government of Germany, homosexuals were forced to serve out their terms of imprisonment, regardless of the time spent in concentration camps. The 1935 version of Paragraph 175 remained in effect in the Federal Republic (West Germany) until 1969, so that well after liberation, homosexuals continued to fear arrest and incarceration.