Box Turtle Bulletin

NY National Guard Confirms Choi’s Discharge

Chris Giedner chased this down:

Lt. Col. Rich Goldenberg with the New York National Guard responded to an inquiry from Metro Weekly about the discharge, first reported in the Gay City News, by saying that a certified letter was sent to Choi detailing the honorable discharge and that ”Choi was informed on 29 June” via a phone message left by his unit commander. Other calls were made to him as well, he said.

Goldenberg acknowledged, ”I do not believe he returned any of their calls,” but added that ”[t]he New York National Guard made every attempt to make sure that Lt. Choi was fully informed of the action.”

Choi reportedly responded to the Gay City News report via Twitter: ”No, I have not seen any discharge papers. When/if they come, I’ll show and tell.”

AFA boycotts the Home Depot

It must be boycott season, cuz the American Family Association has named their latest target. This year the featured business will be Home Depot.

Home Depot, the lumber/hardware mega-store, refused to acquiesce to AFA’s demands that they ban all employees from participating in gay pride:

“At the end of the day here, we’re not going to send anything out that forbids our associates to be involved in these pride festivals in any way.” – July 15, 2010

Well if Home Depot isn’t going to get control over their employees on their own time, then by golly AFA will.

So here’s what I predict will happen.

1. AFA will auto-email Home Depot pre-fab letters from their member list declaring that they will not shop at Home Depot.

2. Home Depot’s stock will go up. (I still haven’t figured out why this happens)

3. At some point Home Depot will agree to some tiny concession of no material concern.

4. AFA will declare victory and call off the boycott.

In the meanwhile, I’ve been meaning to change my sticking front door-knob… maybe it’s time.

PFOX Prez Greg Quinlan’s dating criteria

The Parents and Friends of Gays and Ex-gays (PFOX) is tiny, but interesting, anti-gay group. They are mostly disapproving parents of happily gay people who, along with an ex-gay or two, somewhat pathetically fight against the rights and freedoms of their gay children. I’m sure it must make for interesting table conversation at Thanksgiving.

Their current ex-gay is Greg Quinlan, a rather colorful fellow, who serves as their President. Quinlan’s shtick is going about claiming to be abused, mistreated, and discriminated against because he’s ex-gay. His latest amusing – but decidedly wackadoodle – effort was a disastrously unsuccessful attempt to get Pepsi to change it’s non-discrimination policy to specifically include ex-gays.

Well PFOX doesn’t do much and can’t be too time consuming. And Greg has had plenty of time on his hands since his ex-lesbian wife divorced him three years ago after a short marriage. So he thought he’d go do a little companion shopping at the National Organization for Marriage’s grand tour of empty city plazas, where Courage Campaign’s video camera caught up with him.

Quinlan shows up at the 4:39 point.

My name is Gregory Quinlan, and I’m uh.. this is PFOX, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays. We advocate for the rights of former homosexuals.

If you can change from straight to gay, why can’t you change from gay to straight. That’s what I did nearly 19 years ago.

It’s a matter of choice. Now choices can be hard, choices can take a lot of effort. It did for me. But, it’s still a choice.

[videographer: Are you married?]

No.

[videographer: Why did you make that choice?]

Well, uh the choice?

[videographer: of not being married?]

Of not being… oh, it’s not that I’ve made that choice. It’s just that if you know of anybody, send them my way. I live right here in Roxbury Township, up in North Jersey. I’ll give you my name and number afterwords, if you know of anybody who’s available.

[videographer: What does that person look like?]

Female. And breathing.

Yeah… good luck with that, Greg.

Margaret Marshall to retire

From the Boston Globe

Marshall, 66, was appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court as an associate justice in 1996 by former governor William F. Weld, becoming just the second woman on the SJC, which claims to be the oldest appellate court in the Western hemisphere, having dealt with its first case in 1692. Marshall was elevated to her current post in 1999 by then-governor Paul Cellucci.

In 2003, Marshall authored the court’s majority decision that for the first time in Western legal circles, found that same-sex marriages were a lawful extension of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, the state’s Constitution.

“The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals,” Marshall wrote for the 4-3 majority. “It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.”

Marshall wishes to spend more time with her husband who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. We owe this woman a great debt of gratitude and wish her much happiness in her retirement.

Annapolis gets smallest NOM rally of all

What does Annapolis, Maryland, think about the National Organization for Marriage’s big multi-state tour? Well, according to this picture of the rally in progress, not much.

Nineteen.

That’s how many people I counted in this picture standing and listening to Brian Brown speak. Nineteen.

If this keeps up, I predict a family emergency or bus trouble or something may cause this fiasco to come to an early demise.

Lt. Dan Choi Discharged

That tidbit is buried deep in this Gay City News story:

Choi lost his battle with the Pentagon on June 29 when his discharge from the Army under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was finalized. While Choi’s National Guard unit informed him by registered mail and with phone messages, he has not disclosed the action. He did not respond to an email seeking comment.

That lack of an acknowledgement from Choi, let alone an announcement, seems strange.

Smile and wave, NOM’s watching

The National Organization for Marriage’s Summer for Marriage Tour does not exactly yield itself to stimulating discussion. We’ve heard Brian Brown ranting and the, ummm, peculiar theories of Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Foundation (why do I keep wanting to call her Dr. Ruth?) and there’s just not that much new to say about it all.

But can you imagine having to be actually driving the bus and having to hear daily reruns of those speeches. Or blogging about it? Oh my sweet bippy, I’m dozing off at the thought. There are only so many times you can say “I’m so exited about the crowd of 40 senior citizens who dozed in the sun while Dr. Ruth Jennifer expounded on how same-sex marriage is an attack on farm animals and corporate structure” before your eyes glaze and you start banging your head against the wall. Or speaking in tongues.

So, like the rest of us, NOM’s bus driver extraordinairre, Louis Marinelli, has taken to talking about the protesters instead. And taking pictures. Of their dogs.

But in Trenton the protesters stayed away and instead held their much more interesting and vastly better attended press event, so Louis doesn’t even have them to talk about. And it must be far too discouraging to talk about the mini-rally. I mean, really.

But luckily for Louis, he found us.

Oh yes, Marinelli not only found the commentary to be worthy of focus but many of your comments as well. Smile and wave, kiddies, NOM’s watching. (But don’t let it go to your head; he also told us the contents of his lunch).

Marinelli was oh so happy to see anyone critical of storming the stage. He “applauded our integrity”… though he seems not to have read the commentary very fully or completely (or realize that Jim and I are two different people).

But Marinelli then took an approach that was very revealing: he obsessed about our disagreements over tactics. And in his writing I again recognized two things that separate our community from those who are intent on denying us our equality: we are capable of having multiple perspectives, differing views, and even disagreements while remaining one community; and we are not afraid of dissent.

I think that idea fascinates those who oppose us. It’s foreign to those who are accustomed to believing that there is one true holy and universal way to think, revealed by God and upheld by Pontiffs and Prophets. And while I’m sure they fear disagreement (and regularly remove comments and individuals from their sites that don’t toe the line) I think they also envy our freedom. The freedom to challenge and be challenged, the freedom of not having to be ‘right’ lest you spend eternity in torture, and the freedom to question presumptions and grow.

So smile kids and don’t be afraid to question us or each other. NOM is watching and this is something that they need to see.

Jim Burroway’s comment: Incredible, isn’t it? NOM is about to pee their collective pants in glee to discover that the LGBT community is a very diverse group of people, ranging from Christians to atheists, Republicans to Democrats, from right-wing fascist to merely conservative to moderate to merely liberal to left-wing Marxist. You know, like the rest of America.

But Marinelli is so incapable of understanding that concept that he seems to think Timothy and I are the same people. That confusion is instructive, because like many who fight so hard against LGBT equality, Marinelli is incapable of distinguishing among different people. Where we see people, he sees an agenda, and to him, Timothy and I are all the same. And so what Marinelli is squealing like a schoolgirl over here is his cognitive dissonance that he has encountered now that his stereotype of the monolithic “homosexual agenda,” that bogeyman who lurks in the shadows and always behaves in a predictable way (bogeyman only exists in the imagination of the dreamer, hence the predictability) evaporates when confronted with the reality that, gosh, different people have different opinions! Imagine that! And furthermore, they’re going to express them! Well golly willikers! Maybe we disagree with the whole equality thing altogether!

Don’t count on that.

P.S. I love how all of you ordinary readers are now “homosexual activists.” Welcome aboard.

DADT: where are our activists?

Today Lt. Dan Choi blocked a street in Las Vegas, NV, to call on Harry Reid to bring ENDA to a vote.

Wait, I’m confused. I though Choi was our self-delegated point-man on DADT? I mean, wasn’t that the idea behind protesting at the White House in uniform – because he’s fighting for the right to be a good dutiful serviceman? He’s not an activist, he’s an injured party. Right?

Or perhaps he has a free day. Maybe there’s just nothing DADT related going on today?

Meanwhile 233 miles to the west former Navy Lt. Jenny Kopfstein was testifying today in federal court in Riverside, CA, to have the Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy declared unconstitutional. She’s there with discharged linguist Alex Nicholson, DADT expert Nathaniel Frank, and scholar Lawrence Korb facing off against Department of Justice lawyers who are challenging their standing, their relevance, their scholarship and their credibility in order to overturn the discriminatory policy.

So why isn’t Choi in Riverside? In fact, why isn’t anyone in Riverside. That is the question that reporter Karen Ocamb is wondering.

I drove up from West Hollywood for Tuesday’s opening arguments and was startled at how few non-attorneys showed up. After all, this is essentially the military equivalent of the federal Prop 8 trial – evidence in a court of law about how gays are officially treated as second class citizens by the federal government. But for all the high decibel attention over repealing DADT and the Pentagon’s homophobic survey – no one showed up with picket signs to demonstrate outside or packed the courtroom to support the plaintiffs in this serious David versus Goliath legal battle. What does this thundering absence tell the government about how much LGBTs really care about this horrendous law?

Was driving to hot Riverside just too inconvenient? Does the fact that the plaintiffs are gay Republicans play a role in LGBT and civil rights groups ignoring the case? Would there be a similar deafening silence if the plaintiff was photogenic Lt. Dan Choi or some fire-breathing progressive who wanted to stick it to President Obama, the Pentagon or the Department of Justice?

What does it say about the real principles of the LGBT movement for equality that no one but three local LGBT activists, a couple of Log Cabin members from Palm Springs and a handful of reporters showed up for part one of this trial?

Karen has been covering gay news for longer than there was a blogosphere and she is no fool when it comes to evaluating what is important and what has lasting impact. And she’s dead right.

This case could change our lives. It is part of the package – a very important part of the package – of lawsuits that go to the question of whether the words “all men are created equal” includes us. This case has the potential to declare that no part of the government – not even the Military – has the right to exclude gay men and women or to apply rules to us that are not applied to other groups of Americans.

And it deserves our attention.

Log Cabin has transcripts and motions. And Karen has been doing stellar coverage along with the Advocate.

Anti-gays back to court again to shield Ref 71 names

From Seattle PI

Last month, in an 8-1 decision, justices ruled against Protect Marriage Washington. That decision dealt with claims by foes of the new gay rights law that disclosing their names would violate their First Amendment rights. However the justices said the plaintiffs could try to get a specific exemption on other grounds.

The secretary of state’s office said the conservative group is again taking their arguments to Judge Benjamin Settle, who last September blocked release of the names of people who signed Referendum 71 petitions.

UPDATE: Not quite yet:

So, the bottom line is that, contrary to the challengers’ previous announcement, there will be no Friday hearing. We will keep you posted as developments warrant. In the meantime, we remain under a state ban that does not allow us to release R-71 petitions – or any other initiatives and referenda.

Thanks, Lindoro Almaviva :)

Field Poll: Californians support marriage at pre-8 numbers

In May 2008, before the onslaught of lies and false arguments that dominated the airwaves over the summer, the California Field poll found that 51% of Californians supported marriage equality. Those who disapproved were 42% and 7% didn’t know.

The numbers dipped in 2009 (49% – 44%), but the latest poll has them back at 2008 levels. All of which are within the margin of error.

This suggests that movement on the marriage issue (according to Field) has stalled. There also appears to be little to no movement over the past two years on the percentage that prefers marriage to civil unions when provided with multiple options: 44% marriage, 34% civil unions, 19% neither.

Crazy Rabbis in New Jersey

A few Orthodox rabbis participated in the National Organization for Marriage’s rally in New Jersey. And they had some rather peculiar points to make.

One sign reads:

G-D’S COMMANDS ARE JUST, FAIR
AND POSSIBLE TO COMPLY WITH:
Sodomy causes others to sin, diseases and misbehavior.
The resulting high costs are crippling the economy.
Every human being is obligated to control his physical desire.
RATHER HEAL YOURSELVES & ENJOY LIFE A LOT BETTER!

Ah, wackadoodlery. The traditional circus song flitted through my head as I tried to figure out how sodomy causes others to sin or how it’s crippling the economy.

The other sign fails the tiny print rule but seems to be making the same argument that we hear from the “America is a Christian Nation” crowd.

p.s. Hey, kid, knock of that misbehavior.

NOM Fails in Trenton

I was joking when I showed the picture of the empty square in Trenton, New Jersey. But, as it turns out, not by much. Here’s the real turnout:

Brian Brown’s latest letter to his supporters ended with “Our movement is growing. We’re in Trenton today, where we’re looking forward to an even bigger crowd.” Perhaps he was overly optimistic. I count 63 folks in this rally (and that includes the camera crew and a few people who I think were just walking by) but there were also a half dozen Knights of Columbus behind the speakers. What do you bet Brian Brown claims “over 200”?

(Don’t you just love the sign that says “Equality is 1 man + 1 woman”. I see it as a cultural shift when they start acknowledging that equality is a concept worth adopting and then desperately try to come up with a way to claim the concept.)

In contrast, 158 marriage supporters showed up for a Townhall at the New Jersey State House. They presented real couples who are impacted by their inability to be legally married in the state.

Counter protesters did not directly confront NOM’s Big Bus of Animus tour. (Courage Campaign)

Under direction from Garden State Equality, marriage supporters walked past the NOM rally into an annex building, passing by the small NOM rally attended by 48 people (that’s a hand-count and it’s probably 28 if you subtract NOM staff).

About 5 Garden State Equality volunteers stood 50 feet from the rally in an effort to defuse any potential confrontations between equality supporters and NOM supporters. As of 12:35 pm EST we have seen no major confrontations or incidents.

NOM’s excellent turn-out in New Jersey

Just kidding. This was before the rally.

I’ll comment on the event once those who were present post their observations and pictures.

Immigration Reform Picks Up Evangelical Support

Politico reports that President Barack Obama has picked up surprising support among some prominent Evangelical leaders for his proposed Immigration Reform bill. Some of those impressive names include Richard Land of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Politico’sJosh Gerstein and Ben Smith note that the basis for some of that support among Evangelicals is that “immigration reform is practical or even desirable because Latinos subscribe to moral and religious values in line with social conservatives.”

But one key component of immigration reform is the Uniting Families Act, which would allow the foreign partner of same-sex couples the same opportunities for U.S. residency as the foreign partner of a heterosexual married couple. Will Obama’s chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel advise the President to throw out this important provision in order to “reach across the aisle”? Gerstein and Smith don’t really address this scenario except to call it an area of potential tension. When Obama took office, he promised to support “legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples.” But among many of the more politically active evangelicals, dropping the Uniting Families Act will be the price for this newfound support.

Another Uganda Documentary In the Works

French filmmaker Dominique Mesminsent has completed this trailer for an upcoming documentary he’s working on. The people speaking are unidentified, but one of the speakers appears to be pastor Julius Oyet, who has emerged as a close confidant to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill’s sponsor MP David Bahati. Oyet was in the visitor’s gallery and recognized by the Speaker when the bill was introduced into Parliament last October. This video captures Oyet defending the death penalty for gay people.

Oyet was a key speaker at Lou Engle’s TheCall rally last May. Oyet is also the head of the Uganda division of the College of Prayer International. MP David Bahati, who introduced the Anti-Homosexualty Act into Parliament, and MP Benson Obua-Ogwa, identified as one of the bill’s cosponsors, are core members of the College of Prayer International’s Uganda branch. They were appointed as two of eight MP’s to serve on the Christian “servant leadership team” in Parliament for three years.