Box Turtle Bulletin

NC Anti-Marriage Amendment Language Leaves Off Key Provision

North Carolina’s equality advocates have noticed that the anti-marriage amendment proposal, known as Amendment 1 on the May 2012 primary ballot, lost a key sentence when the legislature rushed to place it on the ballot:

The bill’s second sentence, which clarifies that the ban doesn’t prohibit businesses from offering benefits to domestic partners, isn’t included on the ballot.

State Rep. Rick Glazier, a leading House Democrat, said he didn’t notice the difference, and neither did his colleagues, until days after the legislature approved the marriage referendum.

“That sentence was crucial in some legislators’ minds about why they were willing to vote for it (and) pretty crucial to the business community,” said Glazier, who represents Fayetteville. “To say you can have half of this constitutional amendment with half of it gone … makes no sense whatsoever.”

Currently, the language reads that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” With the key phrase reading “in this state” rather than, for example, “by this state,” legal experts fear that the ambiguity of the language without the second clarifying sentence could be interpreted by the courts as a ban on domestic partnerships by private companies operating in North Carolina.

Family “Research” Council Stays Classy On DADT Repeal

Of course, I kid. The Family “Research” Council is having a total meltdown, warning that the military is about to drown in a pool of “HIV-tainted blood”:

FRC will continue to monitor the consequences of this reversal of 236 years of American military policy, limit the damage–and demand that the Defense Department do the same. Expect to see celebrations from homosexual groups and fawning stories in the media about how “the sky has not fallen.” That’s only because there will be no press releases from the new victims of sexual harassment or assault, the soldiers exposed to HIV-tainted blood, the thousands of servicemembers who choose not to reenlist rather than forfeit their freedom of speech and religion, and the untold number of citizens who choose never to join the military. It’s clear this President is more interested in appeasing sexual revolutionaries than in fighting America’s enemies.

Ted Haggard To Swap Wives

Now there’s a headline I never thought I’d write:

Controversial minister Ted Haggard will exchange wives with unpredictable actor Gary Busey in the ABC reality series Celebrity Wife Swap, a publicist for the network confirmed.

Nashville Paramedic Suspended for Anti-Gay Postings

A twenty-year veteran paramedic for the Nashville Fire Department was suspended after making anti-gay comments on his own Facebook page, as well as on the Nashville Fire Department Emergency Medical Services’ web page. Paramedic Keven Kennedy wrote that homosexuality was a perversion and that two gay EMS workers should “crawl back into the closet.” According to The Tennessean:

“We have a diverse group of employees in the fire department who respond to the needs of a diverse community,” (Deputy Chief Kim) Lawson said. “This disrupts the order of discipline. We have an important job. These actions in no way are tolerated.”

Kennedy, who lives in Shelbyville, had no prior disciplinary record and earned “acceptable” performance evaluations over his career with the department, said Robin Brown, Metro Human Resources spokeswoman.

He will be required to pay for and show proof of his participation in an anger management program and diversity training before he returns to work, Lawson said. Before the suspension, Kennedy was charged with five counts of misconduct, including participation in a pattern of harassment toward a Metro employee and using threat of violence or intimidation toward others, according to his charge sheet.

The Daily Agenda for Thursday, September 22

THE DAILY AGENDA:
AIDS Walks This Weekend: Albany, NY; Brampton, ON; Flint, MI; Calgary, AB; Corner Brook, NL; Dryden, ON; Grand Prairie, AB; Halifax, NS; Louisville, KY; Moncton, NB; Mt. Pleasant, MI; Oklahoma City, OK; Oshawa, ON; Ottawa, ON; Peterborough, ON; Red Deer, AB; Regina, SK; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; St. John, NB; Thunder Bay, ON; Traverse City, MI; Windsor, ON and Winnipeg, MB.

Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Holyoke, MA; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa; Peterborough, ON; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC; Richmond, VA; St. Cloud, MN; Soweto, South Africa; Sunderland, UK.

Also This Weekend: Folsom Street Fair, San Francisco, CA.

If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here. Don’t forget to include the basics: who, what, when, where, and URL (if available).

And feel free to consider this your open thread for the day. What’s happening in your world?

Obama Calls On UN To Protect Gay Rights

President Barack Obama spoke at the United Nations General Assembly today, where he called on member states to protect the human rights of gays and lesbians:

And to make sure our societies reach their potential, we must allow our citizens to reach theirs. No country can afford the corruption that plagues the world like a cancer. Together, we must harness the power of open societies and open economies. That’s why we’ve partnered with countries from across the globe to launch a new partnership on open government that helps ensure accountability and helps to empower citizens. No country should deny people their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.

According to the White House, this is the first time that a sitting U.S. President affirmed the rights of gays and lesbians before the U.N. General Assembly.

Buffalo Teen Latest Suicide Following Anti-Gay Bullying

Fourteen-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer posted an “It Gets Better” video last May describing his struggles with the constant bullying he experienced at school. He expressed confidence at that time that his family and friends could carry him through the difficulties. But when he started  a new school year as a high school freshman, the bullying got worse. It turns out that that support wasn’t enough:

Soon after coming home from a family camping trip, Jamey was found dead Sunday. His parents say he was always under pressure because of struggles with his sexuality.

Jamey’s mother Tracy Rodemeyer said, “So he hung around with the girls a lot, so then the teasing started happening like ‘Oh you’re such a girl or you’re gay or whatever and that bothered him for many years.”

Now, they want to carry in his message in hopes of preventing another tragedy like this one.

Jamey’s father Tim Rodemeyer said, “To the kids who are bullying they have to realize that words are very powerful and what you think is just fun and games isn’t to some people, and you are destroying a lot of lives.”

Santorum Wants Google To Clean Up His Frothy Mix

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Rick Santorum is upset that he has a Google problem. And he thinks Google should clean up his mess:

”I suspect if something was up there like that about Joe Biden, they’d get rid of it,” Santorum said. “If you’re a responsible business, you don’t let things like that happen in your business that have an impact on the country.”

He continued: “To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website or through their system is something that they say they can’t handle but I suspect that’s not true.”

Santorum’s solution is for Google to go into the business of manipulating search results, something the Google refuses to do:

A Google spokesperson responded to Santorum by advising that users who want “content removed from the Internet should contact the webmaster of the page directly.”

“Google’s search results are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the web. Users who want content removed from the Internet should contact the webmaster of the page directly,” the spokesperson said. “Once the webmaster takes the page down from the web, it will be removed from Google’s search results through our usual crawling process.”

Google’s page ranking systems is a closely guarded secret in an attempt to prevent web sites from gaming the system, but one of the important elements is the number of links that a page about, say, Santorum, receives from other web sites. But the problem with Santorum‘s complaints about Google is that his page-rank problem is bigger than Santorum. His web site comes in seventh, below even his own Wikipedia page. Which make’s Santorum’s complaints about his Google problem so incredibly counterproductive. Because the more people talk about Santorum’s Google problem, the more likely they are to link to Santorum‘s neologism. And when they do that, it only gets worse for poor Rick Santorum.

DC Gay Man’s Death Ruled A Homicide

Earlier reports that a Gaurav Gopalan, a Washington, D.C., man who was found dead September 10 while dressed in drag, died of natural causes appears to be wrong. The district’s Medical Examiner has ruled his death a homicide with the cause of death being blunt force trauma to the head.

Washington has seen a rash of shootings and attacks against transgender people, with four people shot since July and more than a dozen attacks against transgender women in the district this year. One woman died from the shootings. While Gopalan wasn’t transgender, his attack certainly fits the bill for an attack against gender variance.

Follow-up To Gay Airman Who Came Out To His Father On YouTube

Just as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was about to be thrown onto the trash heap of history, we brought you the dramatic video a gay airman stationed in Germany as he came out to his father. In the weeks leading up to Tuesday, he had been posting videos on YouTube discussing his thoughts on coming out to his comrades, but in those videos he never showed his face. But on Tuesday, we saw him, unobscured, as he undertook the nerve-wracking task of coming out to his father over the phone, and the wave of relief that came over him as his father re-affirmed his love and pride in him.

As of this hour, his video has been seen 1,532,380 times, with 17,456 likes and 707 dislikes. ABC News followed up with Air Force Senior Airman Randy Phillips, who is stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Phillips says he feels comfortable now that he no longer has to hide:

It feels great. It’s nice not having to look over your shoulder or worry about who you are talking to, Phillips told ABC News the day after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was officially repealed. “I never thought I’d be so comfortable with it. It’s very supportive. Everybody’s been so great.”

…Now that “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” has been repealed, Phillips, like many other enlisted men and women, can at last reveal his face, and cannot officially tell his fellow airman and commanding officers the truth. He told ABC News that he is happy that he has inspired others. He also said that now the whole family knows that he is gay.

As for Phillips’ father, he told ABC News that he was not exactly thrilled that his son put the clip on YouTube — but reiterated once again that he loves his son, and always will.

The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, September 21

THE DAILY AGENDA:
Gay & Lesbian Medical Association’s 29th Annual Conference: Atlanta, GA. The goal of the conference which begins today is to provide a forum for the exchange and knowledge among health care professionals about the health disparities experienced by LGBT patients and the unique challenges faced by LGBT healthcare providers Among the speakers at this years convention are Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, and Kate Clinton will be the emcee for the awards gala. The conference concludes on Sunday, September 25, when the GLMA’s convention will join the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and Southern Comfort for a symposium on transgender health issues.

AIDS Walks This Weekend: Albany, NY; Brampton, ON; Flint, MI; Calgary, AB; Corner Brook, NL; Dryden, ON; Grand Prairie, AB; Halifax, NS; Louisville, KY; Moncton, NB; Mt. Pleasant, MI; Oklahoma City, OK; Oshawa, ON; Ottawa, ON; Peterborough, ON; Red Deer, AB; Regina, SK; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; St. John, NB; Thunder Bay, ON; Traverse City, MI; Windsor, ON and Winnipeg, MB.

Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Holyoke, MA; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa; Peterborough, ON; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC; Richmond, VA; St. Cloud, MN; Soweto, South Africa; Sunderland, UK.

Also This Weekend: Folsom Street Fair, San Francisco, CA.

TODAY IN HISTORY:
Amanda Bearse Comes Out Of the Closet: 1993. The Married… With Children star made headlines across the country when she became the first prime time actress to come out of the closet. Rumors about her sexuality had been floating around in the tabloids since 1991, but she wasn’t ready to deal with it. “The day I was outed was the anniversary of my brother’s death. I had woken up that morning thinking about my brother, and in the grand scheme of things, being outed didn’t matter.” She came out under her own steam two years later in an interview with The Advocate. “I would love this interview to be the impetus for someone else to come forward,” she told reporter Steve Greenberg. There are numerous celebrities, gay and straight, who contribute to our community. That buys us a lot of political power. I have friends who are more active who have… respected my pace. I guess with this interview I’ve stepped on the gas.”

If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here. Don’t forget to include the basics: who, what, when, where, and URL (if available).

And feel free to consider this your open thread for the day. What’s happening in your world?

Gay WWII Veteran Reflects on DADT Repeal

Jack Strouss, an 88-year-old gay World War II veteran, speaks about DADT’s repeal at a ceremony in Atlanta.

14,346

According to Servicemembers United, that’s the final tally of the number of soldiers, sailors and airmen/women who were discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” since it was enacted in 1993.

Former Ex-Gay “Jewskimo” On Living In “No Man’s Land”

Stories of former ex-gays are almost exclusively told from an Evangelical Christian perspective, which makes Jayson Littman’s essay in Heeb magazine so interesting. He is a former ex-gay client of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Healing (JONAH, formerly Jews offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality). He described his entry into JONAH as being a choice between conversion therapy and dying. The idea of coming out as a religious Jew was unthinkable. In JONAH, Littman found like-minded individuals trying to figure out how to live in “No Man’s Land”:

I became close to other men around my age who were on the same journey. We would often sit around and talk. I called the stage we were in “no-man’s land”—there was an obvious literal meaning to that as we weren’t sexually active with men or each other, to the dismay of most who think that’s what happens at these retreats. And we weren’t attracted to women, so we mainly hung out with each other and talked. We decided we didn’t appreciate the term ex-gay. How can we be ex-gay if we were never gay to begin with? We spent hours one afternoon debating what to call our in-between status. We broke down ex-homo to ex-mo and because we said it so many times fast, we realized it sounded like Eskimo. We then further segregated ourselves to Jewskimos, Chriskimos. We never met any Muskimos (Muslim Eskimos) during our journey.

In his ex-gay phase — one in which he eventually came out of — he and fellow ex-gay Jews often attended Christian ex-gay conferences, where he was struck by one immediate difference between Christian culture and Jewish culture:

I learned a lot from my Jewish and Christian brothers on my journey. I realized that many Christians who were attempting to change had an end-goal of celibacy, while the Jews wanted to get married and have children. The obvious difference had everything to do with religious dictates. Celibacy was highly regarded and practiced in the Christian culture, while Jews focused on biblical procreation, also pleasing our families.

Littman’s cheerful essay is devoid of drama and regrets over his experience with ex-gay therapy. Indeed, he credits his coming out to many of the valuable things he learned there. And he observes that Jewish culture, including Orthodox culture, has come a long way over the past decade. Littman today runs He’Bro, a gay Jewish promotion events group in New York, and this Saturday he’s throwing a huge “Jew Years Eve” bash for Rosh Hashanah.

We Don’t Have Homosexuals On Grindr

A BTB reader sent this in:

Look who I ran into last night on GRINDER.

found him under “Iranian Lover” – Ahmadinijad – Iran’s President.

I couldn’t resist myself and talked to him. He is in town for the UN general assembly.

“he” was very funny.

The real Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really is in New York this week to attend the United Nations General Assembly. In 2007, the Iranian President gave a talk at Columbia University, saying, “In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.”