Box Turtle Bulletin

The other option

For Kirk’s mother Kaytee in the 70’s, there seemed to be only one responsible way to respond to Kirk’s gender atypical behavior. She sought out help from trusted authorities, doctors at UCLA, who promised that they could cure Kirk of his behavior and thus help him avoid a life of difference and difficulty.

But not every parent chooses to try and change their child; some decide to love them exactly as they are. To love them and to support them, care for them, protect them, and make them strong enough to claim their own place in the world.

One such mother writes a blog about her experiences with her four-year-old gender atypical boy. Raising my Rainbow (“adventures in raising a slightly effeminate, possibly gay, totally fabulous son”) is a real life, real time, honest expression of a gifted storyteller. It has also grown into a community of other moms who have, perhaps for the first time ever, a place to share and compare the parenting of kids who not only don’t fit the mold, but redecorate the mold in pink with sparkly glitter.

Rekers Responds In CNN’s “Sissy Boy Experiments” Tonight

CNN has just posted their online report at CNN.com about

“Kraig, I think, certainly was Rekers’ poster boy for what Rekers was espousing for young children,” said Jim Burroway, a writer and researcher who has studied Rekers’ work.

“We have been wondering where is Kraig? A lot of us have talked about it. Where is he today? Is he married or is he gay? Or specifically does he even know that Rekers has been writing about him?” said Burroway. “I found 17 different articles, books, chapters, that he has written in which he talked about Kraig.”

Rekers’ work with Kirk Murphy helped him build a three-decade career as a leading national expert in trying to prevent children from becoming gay, a career as an anti-gay champion that would later be tainted by his involvement in an embarrassing scandal.

As part of my investigation, I had wanted to speak to George Rekers. But after the rent-boy scandal, he had all but disappeared, and I was unable to find any working contact information from him. CNN was able to track him down:

“Well, I think, scientifically that would be inaccurate to assume that it was the therapy, but I do grieve for the parents now that you’ve told me that news. I think that’s very sad,” he said.

Rekers pointed out that the therapy had been decades earlier.

“That’s a long time ago, and to hypothesize, you have a hypothesis that positive treatment back in the 1970s has something to do with something happening decades later. That would, that hypothesis would need a lot of scientific investigation to see if it’s valid. Two independent psychologists with me had evaluated him and said he was better adjusted after treatment, so it wasn’t my opinion.” he said.

Those independent evaluations are an important part of the story. I will have more about that tomorrow. But I think it’s important to note what Maris, Kirk’s sister, told CNN:

But Maris Murphy says Kirk lied to those examining him. “He was conditioned to say what they wanted to hear,” she said.

CNN’s “Sissy Boy Experiment”

While I was interviewing the Murphy family and putting together our investigative report, “What Are Little Boys Made Of?”, the Kirk’s family were also speaking with CNN about the crude therapeutic attempts to make four-year-old Kirk straight. This video provides a small hint of what you will see tonight on the first installment of CNN’s three part series, “The Sissy Boy Experiment,” Anderson Cooper 360, beginning at 10:00 p.m. EDT.

BTB Original Investigation: The True Story of George Rekers And “Kraig”

In the summer of 1970, just before Kirk’s fifth birthday, his parents learned about a new federally funded research program at UCLA for young boys who were showing early signs of being effeminate. Concerned that Kirk was exhibiting some of the behaviors listed by a UCLA researcher on a local television talk show, Kirk’s parents decided to take him in for an evaluation and treatment. Ten months later, Kirk’s therapy was judged a success and his parents were reassured he would now grow up to be a normal, heterosexual man.

When Kirk was undergoing treatment at UCLA, he was under the care of a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. In 1974, Rekers and his mentor, Dr. Ivar Lovaas, published a landmark paper describing “Kraig’s” treatment — “Kraig” being their pseudonym for Kirk. That paper, which appeared in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, was “the first experimental study on the subject of childhood cross-gender problems.” That paper launched Rekers’s career, first as an expert in childhood sexual development, and later as an anti-gay activist.

Kirk survived his ordeal, and he continued to grow up under relative anonymity. Neither he nor his family knew that he was the subject of nearly two decades of discussion among behavioral therapists working to change their clients’ sexual orientation. Through it all, Rekers wrote that Kirk had a “normal male identity, had normal aspirations for growing up to be married and have a family, and was well-adjusted as a teen-age boy in general.” The truth was far different. His suicide attempt at the age of seventeen was unsuccessful. But twenty years later, he took his life on December 21, 2003. He was 38.

Rekers’s career came to an end on May 4, 2010, when two reporters at The Miami New Times revealed that he had been photographed at the Miami International Airport while returning from an overseas trip in the company of a handsome, blond twenty-years-old man who Rekers found on Rentboy.com. Rekers protested that he had hired the escort to help him with his luggage, but his escort himself begged to differ. Rekers’s colleagues began distancing themselves from him, and he eventually resigned from the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), a group composed of dissident therapists who believe that homosexuality is a pathology in need of treatment, despite the findings otherwise of every major medical and mental health organization.

Today we can reveal the full story behind the story. In an original BTB investigation, “What Are Little Boys Made Of?” we take you through extensive interviews with Kirk’s mother, brother and sister, ex-wife, friends, and others to bring you up to date on the truth behind Rekers’s “success.” We also investigate the state of psychology in 1970 when Kirk first came under Rekers’s care, and the profound changes that the profession underwent in the forty years since then — changes which Rekers steadfastly resisted. It is all right here.

On Tuesday evening, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 will also present the first installment of a three-part series, “The Sissy Boy Experiment,” beginning at 10:00 p.m. EDT. Believe me, you won’t want to miss it.

Daily Agenda for Tuesday, June 7

TODAY’S AGENDA (OURS):
The Sissy Boy Experiment: CNN. Tonight’s Anderson Cooper 360 will air the first installment of a three-part series, “The Sissy Boy Experiment: Uncovering the Truth.” This series is the result of several month’s of  investigating the truth behind the UCLA program to turn effeminate boys into straight men. One young patient was a four-year-old boy by the name of Kirk Murphy. In tonight’s episode, you will meet Kirk’s family as they describe the impact that program had on Kirk and their family since 1970. (For full disclosure, I was interviewed by CNN as part of their investigation, although I doubt that my interview will make it on air.) AC360 starts at 10:00 p.m. EDT. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, this is television you won’t want to miss.

EQCA Town Hall: San Jose, CA. Equality California will host a “Back to the Ballot?” Town hall meeting in San Jose to discuss whether we should wait for the courts to restore the freedom to marry — a decision which could have a nationwide impact — or whether Californians should try to overturn Prop. 8 through a ballot measure in 2012. The town hall will take place this evening at the Billy De Frank Community Center, 938 The Alameda, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Premiere of “Courage Unfolds”: New York. “Courage Unfolds” is the culmination of two and a half years of gathering stories from sixteen countries across Asia. LGBT Asians have shared their stories of struggle and survival in the face of police harassment, religious homophobia, job discrimination, and family and community violence. The video showcases courageous individuals fighting for equality, safety, and the decriminalization of their lives. The video’s New York screening will be hosted with a reception by Credit Suisse and will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q & A. The event is free and open to the public.

TODAY IN HISTORY:
Miami Rescinds Gay Rights Ordinance: 1977. With a final tally of 202,319 to just 89,562, Dade County voted overwhelmingly to jump onto Anita Bryant’s bandwagon to repeal a law prohibiting discrimination in housing or employment on the basis of sexual orientation. Bryant responded, “The laws of God and the cultural values of man have been vindicated,” and announced that she would take her campaign to other cities across America. By 1977, about 40 other communities around the nation had similar anti-discrimination laws in effect.

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

Wyoming Supremes grant same-sex divorce rights

The Wyoming Supreme Court has recognized the right of a same-sex couple married in Canada to divorce in that state. They avoided the larger question of whether out-of-state marriage were recognized as such in Wyoming, addressing instead the narrower issue of divorce.

[R]ecognizing a valid foreign same-sex marriage for the limited purpose of entertaining a divorce proceeding does not lessen the law or policy in Wyoming against allowing the creation of same-sex marriages. A divorce proceeding does not involve recognition of a marriage as an ongoing relationship. Indeed, accepting that a valid marriage exists plays no role except as a condition precedent to granting a divorce. After the condition precedent is met, the laws regarding divorce apply. Laws regarding marriage play no role.

Specifically, Paula and Victoria are not seeking to live in Wyoming as a married couple. They are not seeking to enforce any right incident to the status of being married. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They are seeking to dissolve a legal relationship entered into under the laws of Canada. Respecting the law of Canada, as allowed by § 20-1-111, for the limited purpose of accepting the existence of a condition precedent to granting a divorce, is not tantamount to state recognition of an ongoing same-sex marriage. Thus, the policy of this state against the creation of same-sex marriages is not violated.

This does, however, give encouragement to those who would claim other marriage benefits or rights based on an out-of-state marriage.

Much thanks to reader embarcadero

Coming Up: What Are Little Boys Made Of?

Tonight at midnight Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific, BTB will unveil a major investigation that has been nine months in the making. It is about what happened when a psychologist told the parents of a very young boy that their son was too sissy, and that if something wasn’t done the boy would grow up to be gay. The parents were eager to avoid that fate. So after nearly a year of experimental treatment, the young boy was declared “normal.” The psychologist went on to become a well-regarded expert in gender and sexual identity in young children on the strength of this breakthrough, and he wrote about his famous case in twenty different papers, articles, chapter and books during the course of his career.

But what happened to that little boy?

In “What Are Little Boys Made Of?”, an original BTB investigation, we talk to that young boy’s family to unveil the truth behind that experimental treatment program and how it affected that little boy. And not just that little boy, but his entire family as well. It all goes live tonight right here on BTB at midnight Eastern, 9:00 p.m. Pacific.

The Daily Agenda for Monday, June 6

TODAY’S AGENDA (OURS):
Education Dept. LGBT Youth Summit: Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will hold its first ever LGBT Youth Summit today, beginning at 8:30. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will give the opening remarks this morning, Keven Jennings, assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, will introduce Education Secretary Arne Duncan on tomorrow. The summit, hosted by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, will bring together students, educators, administrators, and heads of federal and nonprofit agencies to provide information and seek solutions to the problem of bullying and violence against LGBT youth. The two-day summit, “Creating and Maintaining Safe and Supportive Environments for LGBT Youth,” will take place today and tomorrow.

Premiere of “Taking A Chance on God”: Rome. The world premiere of the movie, “Taking a chance on God,” by Brendan Fay, takes place today in Rome, as part of a much larger bill of events for Europride taking place this week. The film is about the life of John McNeill, a gay priest who inspired the founding of DignityUSA and has worked tirelessly for equality for LGBT people both inside and outside the Catholic Church. The 85-year-old priest is in Rome today and will be on hand for the premiere.

EQCA Town Hall: Fresno, CA. Equality California will host a “Back to the Ballot?” Town hall meeting in Fresno to discuss whether we should wait for the courts to restore the freedom to marry — a decision which could have a nationwide impact — or whether Californians should try to overturn Prop. 8 through a ballot measure in 2012. The town hall will take place this evening in the Staff Dining Room at Fresno City College, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

TODAY’S AGENDA (THEIRS):
Herman Cain Tours With Iowa Anti-Gay Group: Sioux City, Pella, Iowa City. GOP Presidential aspirant Herman Cain will deliver a series of lectures today in events organized by the anti-gay group Iowa Leader. The tour begins this morning with a lecture at Dordt College in Sioux City at 11:00 a.m., then moves on to Pella Christian High School at 1:30, then to the University of Iowa in Iowa City at 5:00 p.m. He will also be conducting an invitation-only “Leadership Roundtable in each city. Family Leader has been in the forefront of efforts to impeach the state’s Supreme Court and overturn its decision declaring a ban on marriage equality unconstitutional. Previous GOP candidates who have already participated in lecture tours include former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Reps. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann, and former Sen. Rick Santorum.  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will trod that same well-worn path on July 11.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Thomas Mann: 1875. The German author, social critic and 1929 Nobel Prize winner mined the rich material of his own life and family for many of his novels, including the Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain, and A Death in Venice, the latter of which is credited with introducing homosexual themes in the general culture. Mann married in 1905 and had six children, but when his diaries were unsealed in 1975, they revealed his struggles with his own homosexuality. Mann’s political views began in the conservative end of the spectrum, having supported the Kaiser Wilhelm II, but after the Great War, his became increasingly liberal and a staunch supporter of democratic principles. This naturally led to his strident denunciations of Nazi policies. When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Manns were vacationing in Switzerland and they never returned. Mann settled in Southern California and recorded several anti-Nazi speeches which were broadcast during World War II by the BBC into Germany. After the war, he returned to Switzerland, where he died in 1955 of atherosclerosis.

Harvey Fierstein: 1952. He‘s most famous as the actor and playwright of the Tony Award-winning Torch Song Trilogy, about a drag-performer’s search for true love and family. He also wrote the book for La Cage aux Folles which garnered him another Tony Award. He also won a Tony for his role as Edna Tumblad in the Broadway version of John Water’s Hairspray.  Film credits include his role in the film version of Torch Song Trilogy and Woody Allen’s Bullets over Broadway. He also appeared is Mrs. Doubtfire‘s makeup artist brother.  His acting debut was in 1971, when he appeared in Andy Warhol’s only play Pork.

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

Thirty Years

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Centers for Disease Control’s publication of a mysterious set of illnesses which took the lives of five gay men in Los Angeles. AIDS had been swirling around unnoticed since the 1930s, and doctors in Europe and Africa began to notice that people were falling victim to a host of diseases which are normally curable in the Congo River basin in the late 1970s. But it took the CDC report of a cluster of cases in southern California to signal that the mysterious deaths were somehow related. The rest, as they say, is history, with a whole lot of stigma thrown in.

Karen Ocamb happened to be in the middle of Southern California’s epidemic in the 1980s. She was living in a “glass closet,” as she described it. She was out to select friends. She found herself becoming an AIDS care provider simply because her friends needed her help. She told me via email, “I didn’t come out to family until I had to tell Chris Scott’s mother — the wife of an Air Force General and my godmother who was living at a military retirement community associated with March Air Force Base — that her son was gay, had AIDS, was dying in Intensive Care and she should dash to his side. Chris was closeted, too. I came out to my Aunt Bobbie and then my mother because I didn’t think it was fair that AIDS outed Chris but I could stay in the closet. My Aunt Bobbie said she already knew and my mother basically disowned me.”

Karen has put together what amounts to being a lovely online shrine to the many people she knew over the years along with her memories as an AIDS care advocate and LGBT journalist. You can see her updates by following this tag. She has it all, beginning with an interview with Dr. Robert Gottlieb, who wrote the first CDC report after having noticed the remarkable similarities between four cases of an “apparently new” disease. She continues with some of her own personal memories, activists and allies, early marches, rallying cries, demonstrations, indifference,  bigotry and hope. Karen is currently participating in the AIDS LifeCycle, a seven day ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The Daily Agenda for Sunday, June 5

TODAY’S AGENDA (OURS):
AIDS March and Vigil: West Hollywood, CA. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation will hold a candlelight vigil and march on the 30th anniversary of the first official AIDS diagnosis. The “Remember AIDS” event will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Matthew Shepard Memorial Park, at Santa Monica and Crescent Heights boulevards. At 8:00 p.m., a candlelight march will proceed west along Santa Monica Boulevard to West Hollywood Park on San Vicente Boulevard. Around 9 p.m., AIDSWatch.com will present a large-screen projection of names of those who have died from HIV/AIDS, along with visual highlights from HIV/AIDS history. roadway singer and recording artist Sam Harris will also perform.

Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Albuquerque (Los Ranchos), NM; Buffalo, NY; Columbia, MO; Cork, Ireland; Detroit, MI; Guerneville, CA; Hampton Roads, VA; Kansas City, MO; Queens, NY; Salt Lake City, UT and Winnipeg, MB.

Other Celebrations This Weekend: Gay Days, Orlando, FL and Razzle Dazzle Dallas, TX.

AIDS Walk This Weekend: Boston, MA; London, UK and Syracuse, NY.

TODAY IN HISTORY:
Pneumocystis Pneumonia — Los Angeles: 1981. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published this notice in the June 5, 1981 edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report:

In the period October 1980-May 1981, 5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California. Two of the patients died. All 5 patients had laboratory-confirmed previous or current cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and candidal mucosal infection. Case reports of these patients follow.

Patient 1: A previously healthy 33-year-old man developed P. carinii pneumonia and oral mucosal candidiasis in March 1981 after a 2-month history of fever associated with elevated liver enzymes, leukopenia, and CMV viruria. The serum complement-fixation CMV titer in October 1980 was 256; in may 1981 it was 32.* The patient’s condition deteriorated despite courses of treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), pentamidine, and acyclovir. He died May 3, and postmortem examination showed residual P. carinii and CMV pneumonia, but no evidence of neoplasia.

Patient 2: A previously healthy 30-year-old man developed p. carinii pneumonia in April 1981 after a 5-month history of fever each day and of elevated liver-function tests, CMV viruria, and documented seroconversion to CMV, i.e., an acute-phase titer of 16 and a convalescent-phase titer of 28* in anticomplement immunofluorescence tests. Other features of his illness included leukopenia and mucosal candidiasis. His pneumonia responded to a course of intravenous TMP/.SMX, but, as of the latest reports, he continues to have a fever each day.

Patient 3: A 30-year-old man was well until January 1981 when he developed esophageal and oral candidiasis that responded to Amphotericin B treatment. He was hospitalized in February 1981 for P. carinii pneumonia that responded to TMP/SMX. His esophageal candidiasis recurred after the pneumonia was diagnosed, and he was again given Amphotericin B. The CMV complement-fixation titer in March 1981 was 8. Material from an esophageal biopsy was positive for CMV.

Patient 4: A 29-year-old man developed P. carinii pneumonia in February 1981. He had had Hodgkins disease 3 years earlier, but had been successfully treated with radiation therapy alone. He did not improve after being given intravenous TMP/SMX and corticosteroids and died in March. Postmortem examination showed no evidence of Hodgkins disease, but P. carinii and CMV were found in lung tissue.

Patient 5: A previously healthy 36-year-old man with clinically diagnosed CMV infection in September 1980 was seen in April 1981 because of a 4-month history of fever, dyspnea, and cough. On admission he was found to have P. carinii pneumonia, oral candidiasis, and CMV retinitis. A complement-fixation CMV titer in April 1981 was 128. The patient has been treated with 2 short courses of TMP/SMX that have been limited because of a sulfa-induced neutropenia. He is being treated for candidiasis with topical nystatin.

The diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia was confirmed for all 5 patients antemortem by closed or open lung biopsy. The patients did not know each other and had no known common contacts or knowledge of sexual partners who had had similar illnesses. Two of the 5 reported having frequent homosexual contacts with various partners. All 5 reported using inhalant drugs, and 1 reported parenteral drug abuse. Three patients had profoundly depressed in vitro proliferative responses to mitogens and antigens. Lymphocyte studies were not performed on the other 2 patients.

Reported by MS Gottlieb, MD, HM Schanker, MD, PT Fan, MD, A Saxon, MD, JD Weisman, DO, Div of Clinical Immunology-Allergy; Dept of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine; I Pozalski, MD, Cedars-Mt. Siani Hospital, Los Angeles; Field services Div, Epidemiology Program Office, CDC.

Editorial Note: Pneumocystis pneumonia in the United States is almost exclusively limited to severely immunosuppressed patients (1). The occurrence of pneumocystosis in these 5 previously healthy individuals without a clinically apparent underlying immunodeficiency is unusual. The fact that these patients were all homosexuals suggests an association between some aspect of a homosexual lifestyle or disease acquired through sexual contact and Pneumocystis pneumonia in this population. All 5 patients described in this report had laboratory-confirmed CMV disease or virus shedding within 5 months of the diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia. CMV infection has been shown to induce transient abnormalities of in vitro cellular-immune function in otherwise healthy human hosts (2,3). Although all 3 patients tested had abnormal cellular-immune function, no definitive conclusion regarding the role of CMV infection in these 5 cases can be reached because of the lack of published data on cellular-immune function in healthy homosexual males with and without CMV antibody. In 1 report, 7 (3.6%) of 194 patients with pneumocystosis also had CMV infection’ 40 (21%) of the same group had at least 1 other major concurrent infection (1). A high prevalence of CMV infections among homosexual males was recently reported: 179 (94%) had CMV viruria; rates for 101 controls of similar age who were reported to be exclusively heterosexual were 54% for seropositivity and zero fro viruria (4). In another study of 64 males, 4 (6.3%) had positive tests for CMV in semen, but none had CMV recovered from urine. Two of the 4 reported recent homosexual contacts. These findings suggest not only that virus shedding may be more readily detected in seminal fluid than urine, but also that seminal fluid may be an important vehicle of CMV transmission (5).

All the above observations suggest the possibility of a cellular-immune dysfunction related to a common exposure that predisposes individuals to opportunistic infections such as pneumocystosis and candidiasis. Although the role of CMV infection in the pathogenesis of pneumocystosis remains unknown, the possibility of P. carinii infection must be carefully considered in a differential diagnosis for previously healthy homosexual males with dyspnea and pneumonia.

References

1. Walzer PD, Perl DP, Krogstad DJ, Rawson G, Schultz MG. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in the United States. Epidemiologic, diagnostic, and clinical features. Ann Intern Med 1974;80:83-93.
2. Rinaldo CR, Jr, Black PH, Hirsh MS. Interaction of cytomegalovirus with leukocytes from patients with mononucleosis due to cytomegalovirus. J Infect Dis 1977;136:667-78.
3. Rinaldo CR, Jr, Carney WP, Richter BS, Black PH, Hirsh MS. Mechanisms of immunosuppression in cytomegaloviral mononucleosis. J Infect Dis 1980;141:488-95.
4. Drew WL, Mintz L, Miner RC, Sands M, Ketterer B. Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in homosexual men. J Infect Dis 1981;143:188-92.
5. Lang DJ, Kummer JF. Cytomegalovirus in semen: observations in selected populations,. J Infect Dis 1975; 132:472-3.

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

Red Sox To Produce “It Gets Better” Video

Sam Maden

The Boston Red Sox have announced that they will become the third Major League Baseball team to produce a video for the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign:

We are proud of dedicated Red Sox fans like 12-year-old Sam Maden who have taken the courageous step of publicly standing up against bullying of LGBT youth,” said Susan Goodenow, Senior Vice President/Public Affairs and Marketing for the Red Sox, in a statement. “The Red Sox have frequently done PSA videos, or public service announcement videos, on important social issues. We are currently producing an “It Gets Better” video to support the It Gets Better campaign to stop bullying of LGBT youth and teen suicides. We hope that when it is released it will both reflect our continued commitment to be active participants in the community and help advance the efforts of Sam and others to stop bullying. Our team stands for respect and inclusion – there is no place for discrimination or acts of hatred in Red Sox Nation.”

The announcement came after 12-year-old Sam Maden started an online petition asking the ball club to produce a video. Maden began the campaign after his seventh-grade teacher asked him to come up with a project that could “make a difference” in the world. More than 9,000 fans signed the petition.

This announcement not only demonstrates the power of one person to make a difference, but it also shows that the BoSox can still beat the Yankees.

The Daily Agenda for Saturday, June 4

TODAY’S AGENDA (OURS):
EQCA Town Hall: Santa Barbara, CA. Equality California will host a “Back to the Ballot?” Town hall meeting in Santa Barbara to discuss whether we should wait for the courts to restore the freedom to marry — a decision which could have a nationwide impact — or whether Californians should try to overturn Prop. 8 through a ballot measure in 2012. The town hall will take place this evening at the Pacific Pride Foundation/LGBT Center, 126 E. Haley Street, Suite A-11, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Athens, Greece; Albuquerque (Los Ranchos), NM; Boiling Springs (Spartanburg) SC; Bucharest, Rumania; Buffalo, NY; Cambridge/Kitchner/Waterloo, ON; Columbia, MO; Cork, Ireland; Davenport (Quad Cities) IA; Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; Ft. Collins, CO; Greensboro, NC; Guerneville, CA; Hampton Roads, VA; Honolulu, HI; Huntington/Charleston, WV; Kalamazoo, MI; Kansas City, MO; Queens, NY; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Spencer, IN; Staten Island, NY and Winnipeg, MB.

Other Celebrations This Weekend: Gay Days, Orlando, FL and Razzle Dazzle Dallas, TX.

AIDS Walk This Weekend: Boston, MA; London, UK; Long Beach, CA, and Syracuse, NY.

TODAY’S AGENDA (THEIRS):
TheCall Alaska: Wasilla, AK. Lou Engle’s TheCall wraps up its second and final day in Wasilla because“We believe that Alaska is key for the future of this nation.” The last time Engle put on TheCall was in Uganda last year, in which he lent support to that nation’s Kill-The-Gays effort. Events yesterday and this morning were set aside as “general sessions.” Something called “TheCall Solemn Assembly” begins at 3:00 p.m. and continues for the next seven hours! That’s plenty of time for hilarity to ensue.

Faith and Freedom Conference and Strategy Briefing: Washington, D.C. Put on by Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, this conference (and strategy briefing!) opens this morning for a two-day confab at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown. The line-up today includes: former Sen. Rick Santorum, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, Sen. Mark Rubio (R-FL), Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, Southern Baptist Convention’s Richard Land, and Family “Research” Council’s Ken Blackwell. The featured speaker for the evening gala is former Godfather Pizza magnate Herman Cain.

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

How do you piss off a United Methodist minister?

How do you piss off a United Methodist minister?

Seriously? Have you ever met a United Methodist minister? Not exactly an excitable bunch.

But it seems to me that some UMC ministers have found a cause around which they are willing to be radical militant activists: marriage.

Now the UMC has not adopted a same-sex marriage rite. It hasn’t even approved Methodist ministers being allowed to conduct marriages. But those in the church who believe in equality have become rather, shall we say, disinclined to quietly wait for change.

I first noticed this in 2008 when California’s two conferences (Northern and Southern) thumbed their nose at their national rules and said “Fine, so our current pastors are banned from conducting marriages… well, then, we’ll vote to encourage and support retired ministers conducting same-sex marriages. That ain’t breaking no rules!”

And then this past weekend, the Baltimore – Washington Conference passed the following resolution, ensuring that this issue will be brought up next April at the national convention.

“[I]n those civil jurisdictions where homosexual persons have been granted the right to same gender marriage or civil union, ceremonies celebrating those marriages or unions may be conducted in our churches and by our ministers, the decision being the right and responsibility of the pastor.”

That wasn’t expected to pass. But the pro-gay ministers are refusing to sit still and respect the hesitations of others.

But that wasn’t really the example of how you piss off a UMC minister. That’s just progress. To really piss one off, you have to propose a marriage ban.

During the Methodists’ annual conference in St. Cloud this week, about 40 clergy members signed a statement saying they would “offer the grace of the Church’s blessing to any prepared couple desiring Christian marriage.”

“Groups have been meeting who want to challenge parts of the United Methodist polity with which we disagree — that which relates to the lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual community and Christian marriage,” said the Rev. Bruce Robbins, who serves at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis.

“With the possibility of a constitutional amendment in the state of Minnesota [defining marriage as limited to heterosexual couples], this seems important.”

I can just see the indignation. “A ban? Well, I’m so angry I’ll just, I’ll just… offer the grace of the Church’s blessing, by golly! That’s what I’ll do!”

Don’t you love it when the Methodists get all defiant and activisty?

………
UPDATE: The Christian Post says that the number of signatories has now increased to 70. They are really pissed.

Update 2: There seems to be some confusion due to the tone of the commentary. I am not mocking these Methodist ministers. They are taking rather large risks, and are true heroes.

Chicago Cubs To Produce “It Gets Better” Video

How about this announcement?

The Chicago Cubs will produce an “It Gets Better” video, which takes a stand against anti-gay bullying and homophobia. The project has been in the works for more than a week and is set to be filmed after the team returns to Wrigley Field from its current 10-game road trip.

…”The Cubs applaud the Giants for their stand against anti-LGBT bullying. Bullying of anyone for any reason is unacceptable,” said Laura Ricketts, Cubs owner and board member. “We are proud to join the Giants in taking a stand against bullying and encourage other professional sports organizations to do the same.”

Wrigly Field is located just a few blocks away from Chicago’s Boys Town neighborhood, and has been a financial supporter of many LGBT organizations and charities in the Chicago area. In 2010, Laura Ricketts, an openly gay member of the Ricketts family who owns the Cubs, and retired shortstop and first baseman Ernie “Mr. Cub” Banks rode on the team’s float in Chicago’s Pride Parade. The Cubs will host “OUT at Wrigly” on July 17 when the Cubs take on the Florida Marlins. Maybe the Marlins can have a video out by then.

Earlier this week, the San Francisco Giants released their video for “It Gets Better,” the anti-bullying campaign begun by Dan Savage and Terry Miller. A Boston Red Sox fan, twelve-year-old Sam Maden, has launched a campaign to get his favorite team to make a video as well.

Sad About Marriage, Not About Murder

Jeff Kropf, the Oregon state director of the conservative Americans for Prosperity, was sad when he learned about the shooting death of Debbie Lee Higbee Benton, 54, of Gladsone County Oregon. But it wasn’t the murder that made him sad:

You see, it was their marriage makes him sad. But now that their marriage was ended with a bullet, maybe Knopf can cheer up now.

[Hat tip: Goldy @Slog]