Box Turtle Bulletin

Happy Ramadan

Ramadan, the holy month in Islamic faith and culture begins tonight at sundown.

The LaBarbera-Coulter Tiff

Peter LaBarbera is upset that Ann Coulter is slated to speak before GOProud in September. LaBarbera asks, “Would Ann Coulter speak at an event for “Republicans For Responsible Porn Use’…?” He also demands that Coulter reconsider “in the name of conservatism.”

You know, I have little respect for GOProud, and virtually none for Coulter. But if Coulter can send LaBarbera into a spin, then GOProud’s little stunt is already worth it. I’ve cheered for GOProud once, with reservations. But only LaBarbera could ever make me cheer for Coulter.

CNN Poll: half of Americans think Constitution requires marriage equality

Anti-gays like the National Organization for Marriage like to claim that Judge Walker thwarted the will of the vast majority of Americans by finding Proposition 8 to be in violation of the Constitution. Not so, according to a new poll from CNN:

37. Do you think gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage
recognized by law as valid?

Yes 49%
No 51%

37A. Do you think gays and lesbians should have a constitutional right to get married and have their
marriage recognized by law as valid?

Yes 52%
No 46%
No opinion 2%

Each question was asked of half their sample. The sampling error on these questions is +/- 4.5%

AFA’s predictable response to the “Ground Zero Mosque”

The American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer has a predictably extremist and lunatic bizarrely irrational response to the proposed Islamic Center and mosque planned for 51 Park Street in Manhattan.

Permits should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the United States of America, let alone the monstrosity planned for Ground Zero. This is for one simple reason: each Islamic mosque is dedicated to the overthrow of the American government.

Each one is a potential jihadist recruitment and training center, and determined to implement the “Grand Jihad” of which Andy McCarthy has written.
…
Because of this subversive ideology, Muslims cannot claim religious freedom protections under the First Amendment. They are currently using First Amendment freedoms to make plans to destroy the First Amendment altogether. There is no such thing as freedom of religion in Islam, and it is sheer and utter folly for Americans to delude themselves into thinking otherwise.

The world of Fischer’s imagination must be a very dark and scary place to live.

NOM in Charleston

The National Organization for Marriage rolled its Tour of Mostly-Empty City Plazas into Charleston, West Virginia’s capital. Are you bored reading this yet? If not, you’re the only one who isn’t finding NOM’s little tour to be – shall we say – anti-climactic and less than stimulating.

The Tour Tracker said “Just eighteen NOM supporters stood to the side of the Capitol steps in the shade until Maggie Gallagher and the NOM staffers decided to bring the rally to them.” But I count about 26 folks in the picture above so either it was a miscount or the rest are NOM staff.

Yes, Maggie Gallagher was back for this stop. And she had this message for Charleston:

“Same-sex marriage is not a civil right – it is a civil wrong. . . . Thank you for joining the new generation of Americans standing up for marriage.”

I’m not sure which generation she’s sees standing for marriage, but the ones sitting on the grass seem to mostly belong to a generation that can’t exactly be called “new” or hold much promise for NOM’s future. Gallagher also seemed to be stretching a bit in her desire to inspire her supporters. Since “we won in California” doesn’t have the ring it had earlier in the tour, she’s selected example B.

“It’s a very bad idea to be a Republican for gay marriage,” continued Gallagher after pointing out that Carly Fiorina beat Tom Campbell, a pro-marriage Republican candidate for Senate in California.

There was no report as to whether the supporters leaped to their feet and started an impromptu Conga-line at that news. But I do think it suggests that NOM is seeing that even their Republican base is slipping away from them.

There were no priests or preachers scheduled for this stop, and the politician that was listed may not have shown up – neither NOM nor Tour Tracker mention him.

Counter-protesters didn’t bother showing up in Charleston (depriving NOM’s speakers of their favorite subject matter), opting instead to throw a pro-marriage rally a few blocks away. Attendance was estimated by one attendee to be “I’d say there were between 40 and 50 at the Fairness WV rally, but I’m not that good at estimating.”

The Senate Judiciary Chairman, Jeff Kessler, who has been blocking an effort to get an anti-gay constitutional amendment on the ballot, showed up at the counter-protest to offer his continued support. A couple of Unitarian ministers were there as well.

Thankfully, this Tour of Mostly-Empty City Plazas only has one stop on Friday in Harrisburg, PA, (with only Brian Brown and the local “family” group speaking) before their big finale in Washington, DC on Sunday. The Washington stop will partly define them. If they can’t draw a sizable crowd there, then they will be significantly embarrassed.

This tour has, in my opinion, diminished NOM’s reputation and standing in the political world. Unable to draw even a single large attendance has left them looking “all hat and no cattle”, as they say in Texas. Politicians notice this kind of thing and any threat that NOM could have leveraged has been dissipated by their inability to prove power.

In some ways, NOM’s tour may prove to be a valuable asset to our community.

Utah Gov. hosts Log Cabin

Utah Governor Gary Herbert will be hosting a private reception for Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group, later this month. Herbert, a Republican and a Mormon, had spoken against a non-discrimination proposal last year but this announcement may be an evidence of both the party’s and the church’s softening attitudes over the past couple of years.

Within the past few years, at least six Utah cities have passed discrimination protections – with the support of the Mormon Church. This may be the silver lining that resulted from the exposure of the church’s involvement in California’s Proposition 8.

Let’s hope that Log Cabin can continue to help build inroads into the administration and elicit support for some of the provisions that are expected to be brought up in the legislature within the next year. But even absent any specific tangible advance, this is a positive step. History shows us that exposure to gay people and hearing our concerns can be the strongest contributor to change.

Pam Spaulding’s Encounter With NOM Volunteer

Pam Spaulding attended the NOM rally in Raleigh, N.C., and she has posted extensive video at her web site. All of it is must see. Unfortunately, the absolute best part wasn’t caught on video. It’s where Pam and a colleague are confused with being NOM sympathizers:

Now what happened next was beyond surreal. This middle-aged woman with a floppy hat on and a clipboard in her hand, looking a bit wild-eyed, came over and asked us if we wanted to sign up for some “scientifically-based information on marriage.” Robyn and I looked at each other and knew exactly where this was going. I said:

Pam: Scientific information? What are you talking about?

Fundie: I’m with The Ruth Institute (a “project of the National Organization for Marriage) and I have literature I can share with you…

Pam: I’m sorry, I’m not interested…I’m married to a woman.

PREGNANT PAUSE…FUNDIE JAW OPEN. Clearly she thought I was straight and on her side.

Robyn: I am married to a woman as well.

PREGNANT PAUSE…FUNDIE JAW OPENING WIDER. Oh NOES, her Gaydar is broken for sure! A fly could have entered and buzzed around in her piehole. Finally she regains her composure and says…

Fundie: You’re marriage is not real. You’re not married in the state of NC.

Pam: No, you’re right. But when I go to visit my relatives in NY, I’m married. If I go to Iowa, I’m married, if I go to Massachusetts I’m married…

Fundie (interrupting, voice shaking): Your marriage is a legal fraud, that doesn’t matter, what matters is natural marriage.

Pam (interrupting): My marriage is not a fraud…and I don’t need your literature.

Fundie (turning and walking away, head exploding in anger): You’re being rude…

Pam: Hey you’re the one who came up to me first…(laughing).

Robyn and I laughed the entire ride back to work because this woman 1) pegged us both as straight and kindred spirits, 2) clearly hasn’t run into this “problem” before, and 3) had a meltdown that was priceless.

Costa Rica anti-marriage initiative declared unconstitutional

The Catholic Church in Costa Rica, though a political organization they sponsor, had collected enough signatures to put a proposition on the ballot to ban recognition of same-sex couples. The supreme court of that country has now declared that proposition unconstitutional. (Nacion)

The Constitutional Court was brought down on the referendum on the draft law on same-sex, which was scheduled for December.

By a majority of five votes, the Constitutional Court upheld the protections that have accrued against the decision of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of collecting signatures to organize such a referendum.

And why?

On the merits, the majority considered that the rights of minorities that arise from anti-majoritarian claims can not be subjected to a referendum process that is all about majority.

This does not mean that the court ruled for marriage equality. Indeed, in 2006 the court ruled that there was no constitutional right to same-sex marriage. However, the legislature is considering civil unions, and this clears their way to do so unencumbered by a reversing referendum.

Marriage equality comes to all of Mexico

According to the AP, all of Mexico is now subject to the New York State approach to marriage equality:

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that all 31 states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in the capital, though its decision does not force those states to begin marrying gay couples in their territory.

In a 9-2 decision, the tribunal cited an article of the constitution requiring states to recognize legal contracts drawn up elsewhere.

The Depositions: Tam

When Judge Walker released his ruling overturning Proposition 8, he also released a number of documents and video depositions of witnesses. Karen Ocamb is reviewing the information and today is looking at William Tam, the defense witness who was so disastrous that the plaintiffs put him as their own.

During the Tam deposition, conducted in San Francisco the morning of Dec. 1, 2009 by Ethan Dettmer, a partner of Ted Olson’s law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Tam admitted that he had spoken several times in public venues as well as conducted media interviews at the behest of Protect Marriage. On this edited tape, the he does not mention being afraid at any of public appearances, nor does he express fear about being a witness at trial.

This tape was played in court on Jan. 13, after which AFER issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision not to allow cameras in the court in which they discuss Tam’s deposition and release the letter Tam wrote which clearly shows animus toward gays (example: “If we lose, this will very likely happen……1. Same-Sex marriage will be a permanent law in California. One by one, other states would fall into Satan’s hand….”).

Additionally – the juxtaposition between what Dettmer reads into the record about Tam’s references to Satan and the way he was clearly coached to reply to expected question is just extraordinary.

Check it out.

American Bar Association endorses marriage equality

Today the American Bar Association, the nation’s leading legal organization, voted at their annual meeting to endorse marriage equality. (SF Sentinel)

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise eligible to marry.

Predictably, the Alliance Defense Fund chimed in with a declaration that the voice of the legal profession doesn’t speak for them. (Christian Post)

“The fact that ADF and other lawyers disagree with ABA on a number of controversial issues demonstrates the gross inaccuracy of ABA’s claim that it speaks for the U.S. legal profession,” remarked ADF Senior Legal Counsel Doug Napier, who resigned from the ABA because of its stance on controversial political issues.

NOM in Raleigh

The National Organization for Marriage rolled their Tour of Mostly-Empty City Plazas in to Raleigh, North Carolina, today and absolutely nothing noteworthy happened. They had about 61 supporters in their mostly-empty plaza and there were significantly more counter-protesters across the street including clergy and members from the local United Church of Christ.

Fox’s Margaret Hoover on Prop 8 Decision

One of the more interesting observations about Judge Walker’s decision overturning Proposition 8 is that outside of the Anti-Gay Industry, there has been very little objection from the Republican camp. (Seattle PI)

The Republican Party in 2004 used votes on gay and lesbian marriage in more than 20 states as a “wedge” issue to rouse the party faithful and turn out votes that reelected President Bush.

By contrast, GOP leaders appear to be following the maxim “Silence is Golden!” in reacting to a federal judge’s ruling against California’s Prop. 8, which banned same-sex marriage in America’s largest state.

Some radio and television commentators gave the decision some attention for a day, but political candidates, party officials, and pretty much everyone else appears to be hesitant to come out too strongly.

This is a reaction based, I believe, in a dawning recognition that anti-gay activism is a long-term losing strategy and may actually be harmful in the short term as well. As we can see from the phenomenally unsuccessful tour of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, there just is no public appetite for anti-gay rhetoric. And as recent public announcements have made clear, not only are the youth polling significantly pro-gay but also many Republican women have abandoned anti-gay positions.

One conservative who has not only left anti-gay rhetoric behind but has become an advocate for marriage equality is Fox commentator Margaret Hoover. She has now penned a commentary advising her fellow conservatives to think carefully about what accusations they fling about.

We conservatives have a well-founded narrative about judges and the courts. It is true that the federal bench is populated with liberals who view their role not as interpreting the law as it is written, but as policy makers empowered to sculpt social outcomes with which they agree.

The irony of this case is that Judge Walker is not a liberal activist judge but one whose career has proven him to be a tempered judge, true to the Reagan-Bush conservative jurisprudence that he was nominated to represent on the bench.

And she warns of the perils of putting anti-gay animus ahead of sound judicial reasoning.

The potential consequence that conservatives land on the wrong side of civil rights history again is the alienation of an entire generation of voters. With polling definitively indicating that Americans under age 30 overwhelmingly favor gay rights, with a majority supporting gay marriage according to the Pew Millennial Attitudes report published in February this year, there are multiple reasons for conservatives to think carefully before digging in their heels against gay marriage.

Name That Bar

When not inventing drag queen names, my partner and I have a road-trip game where we invent small town gay bar names. Past nominees included Winks, Rumors, Just Friends, Club Innuendo — you get the idea. A Fox News host announced that he would open a gay bar near the proposed “ground zero mosque” (so named even though the mosque is blocks away from ground zero). Andrew Sullivan noted that the bar would need a name, and posted some of his reader’s suggestions:

I have to say I’d definitely go into a bar called Jihard. “Who’s Your Baghdaddi?” isn’t bad either. Infidel-ity is too upscale – that should be a piano bar playing only Gershwin. Halal Sailor: a little retro. Dicka Dicka Dicka should be a sex club. The Sixth Pillar is a little T.E. (but could definitely add a little upper-class English S&M for spice). imam4imam should be a website. Men-R-It is a nice play on minaret, but way too subtle. TGI Thursdays is a classic.

Go here to see his winning bar name. Sully suggests that Anderson Cooper’s partner would be the perfect manager.

Turnabout

From Warsaw, Ohio:

Every weekend for the last four years, Dunfee and members of his ministry have stood watch over George’s (strip club), taking up residence in the right of way with signs, video cameras and bullhorns in hand. They videotape customers’ license plates and post them online, and they try to save the souls of anyone who comes and goes.

Now, the dancers have turned the tables, so to speak. Fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his flock, they say they have finally accepted his constant invitation to come to church. It’s just that they’ve come wearing see-through shorts and toting Super Soakers. They bring lawn chairs and – yesterday, anyway – grilled hamburgers, Monster energy drinks and corn on the cob.

Last June, a Minnesota Judge ruled that anti-gay activist must be allowed to distribute anti-gay literature within a park which gay pride organizers had rented from the city of Minneapolis. So it seems to me that turnabout is fair play. What’s good for the goose…