We learned today that the Washington Blade has ceased publication. For details, see this story. The Blade has been a fixture in the DC area gay community and though it was more focused on the city than the suburbs, it’s presence will be missed.
Though Maine’s rejection of equality is disappointing this article is worth reading as it shows how acceptance of marriage equality is growing throughout the county. That article also links to a paper that is the source for the charts.
Here in Virginia, support for same sex marriage has grown from 25% in 1994 to about 38% in 2008. That still puts us seriously below a majority but it’s interesting to note that the anti-marriage amendment vote had roughly 42% “no” votes. So, even some people who don’t support marriage equality didn’t support a constitutional amendment to discriminate.
Looking at it by age group, the 18-29 year old group, in 2008 here in Virginia were 55-60% in favor of marriage equality. This speaks volumes in terms of how long Virginia’s institutionalized homophobia will last.
Virginia has often been listed as one of the most homophobic states in the country, but, at least by the data represented in this paper, we are in the middle of the pack. We have had some of the most homophobic legislators but this paper shows that this attitude doesn’t exist in the general population to the same degree is has in the General Assembly. Alabama’s citizens would appear to be the least in favor of marriage equality and this article in the Advocate shows how very much alive that homophobia is when a principal will cancel a prom rather than let two lesbians attend as a couple.
Most of the readers of this already know that Maine voters repealed Maine’s marriage equality law. This is a major disappointment but there were positives last night. It appears the attempt to repeal Washington state’s domestic partnership law may have been defeated though by the slimmest of margins. Voters in Kalamazoo, Michigan also soundly defeated an attempt to repeal that city’s non-discrimination law.
Though the result in Maine is disappointing, we mustn’t let it discourage us. In any movement there are always setbacks and while California and Maine are major setbacks we must take that disappointment and channel it into positive action.
One of the lessons from Maine is that urban voters supported our cause while rural voters didn’t. Unfortunately, there simply weren’t enough urban voters in Maine. Most states probably don’t have enough big cities to offset the large but more diffuse population outside the urban regions. As a community, we’ve done a pretty good job of educating voters in urban and suburban areas. Most of us live in these regions. It’s probably safe to say that most people who live in rural areas don’t have much contact with openly gay people. Until we can reach that group, we’re always going to be living on the razor’s edge in votes like this.
Here in Virginia, marriage equality still has a long road ahead of it but there is still a great deal of work to do to make Virginia a safer place for us to live. We need to continue to work to get a state law passed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in state hiring. At the federal level we need to continue to work to pass ENDA and repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Progress on those issues will ultimately help move the marriage equality issue forward.
It’s taken over a decade but the Hate Crime Prevention Act is supposed to be signed into law tomorrow according to 365gay.com. Hopefully this will see the gay and trans panic defenses become a distant memory.
While it is true that this law won’t prevent any violence directly, it does give us the tools to more effectively prosecute the people who perpetrate that violence. It also sends a message about what type of society we want to create.
This was one of the “Big Four” pieces of legislation at the federal level. Hopefully we can get the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or the Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” passed next as well as work toward the repeal of DOMA. Let’s use this event to energize us to further action!
Below is an excerpt from the Reston Connection newspaper from Delegate Ken Plum. It’s nice to see elected politicians standing up for our rights.
Column: Time for Equality
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
There is now a national consensus behind recognizing same-sex relationships,” according to Third Way, the self-described “leading think tank of the moderate wing of the progressive movement.” (www.thirdway.org) According to polling conducted for Third Way, “76 percent of the country favors some form of legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples.” At the same time that Virginia and most recently California have passed measures defining marriage as being between a man and a woman, there is a quickly developing understanding that there needs to be a legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The conversation needs to begin in Virginia on the subject. Squeamish politicians can take comfort in knowing that in the four states where marriage equality has been debated the legislators voting for equality have all been re-elected. While some will not be able to resist attempting to use the issue for political gain, such bigotry is proving less successful.
Part of the shift in public opinion is coming about as a result of an understanding that the recognition of same-sex relationships does not change traditional marriage. In fact, the polling cited above found that 83 percent of the persons in the middle on the issue think that the institution of marriage is facing problems with half labeling the problems as major. The Third Way research found an important subtlety: “When people felt that legal recognition for same-sex couples would change the definition of marriage, they were almost universally opposed. When they felt it allowed gay people to join in the institution, they were almost universally supportive.”
In addition to recognizing same-sex relationships, the laws in Virginia and other states related to insurance benefits and property rights need to change. Bills that would give partners access to medical insurance have been defeated in Virginia several times. My bill that would give the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission authority to investigate complaints of discrimination based on sexual orientation has been defeated in a subcommittee at least five times. The hate crimes bill I got passed years ago needs to be strengthened. And bills that prevent employment discrimination based on sexual orientation need to be passed.
As the most recent poll results indicate, public opinion is ahead of the politicians on equality issues for gay and lesbian Americans. It is time for politicians to catch up!
By Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
State Delegate (D-36)
Congratulations to the citizens of Vermont and Iowa! Last week’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling and today’s vote in Vermont have brought great news to a community still a bit numb from the setback in California. The best part of today’s news is that the Vermont legislature was able to override a veto from the governor and that for the first time in America, a state has passed a marriage equality law without a court ruling.
New England has become the epicenter of marriage equality in America with Vermont joining Massachusetts and Connecticut. Six percent of the states now support marriage equality. That’s a small percentage but it’s double the three percent it was a week ago.
Virginia is still far behind these states legislatively, judicially and socially, but as the rest of the country sees that world really isn’t going to end because two men get married and that the sky won’t fall when two women say, “I do” then we’ll experience some climate change of a positive sort.
Congratulations to Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts and thanks for blazing a trail for the rest of us to follow!
It seems the Miller-Jenkins case has been going on for years. Every time Jenkins has won a seemingly final victory, Miller has filed yet another case seeking to have the decision overturned. In a case that has wandered from Vermont to Virginia to the federal courts, one would think that eventually this case would be resolved. But, apparently, one would be wrong.
Miller’s continued defiance of the court reportedly has put her custody of the child at risk. Yet, I can’t help wondering exactly how much slack the courts will continue to give her. The cynical part of me can’t help wondering if the same amount of slack would be given to an openly gay parent. Perhaps, but it also isn’t hard to believe that that the patience of the court would have been exhausted long before this.
As one who has never met either Miller or Jenkins, I hesitate to make judgements of either woman. I only know what I see and hear in the media and, as a whole, the media seems far more interested in controversy than facts. It would be easy to sympathize with Janet Jenkins and take her side simply in solidarity. But, the truth is, you can reach the conclusion that it is far past time for this case to be settled and out of the media. The courts have ruled on this multiple times and, with one exception (that of a Virginia lower court) has concluded that Jenkins must be granted part time custody. The longer this carries on, the more it simply looks like personal vendetta or an attempt to avoid any recognition of her past relationship.
The one who probably suffers the most here is the child. Most of her life and certainly all of her memory, her status has been in question. I can’t imagine what that’s like. She has a parent she barely knows because one parent won’t permit visitation. My own parents split up when I was very young and not under the best terms, yet both had the dignity not to use me as a weapon in their own personal battles. Too many divorced parents try to get their children to choose sides or try to poison the child against the other parent. I don’t know if that has happened here, but I have seen what it is like for other children to endure that. It can create psychological wounds that last a lifetime.
Let’s hope that this case can stop being a model of how to badly end a relationship and let all sides get on with their lives.
Last night, Sean Penn was very outspoken about the need to support equality for all, and to overturn Proposition 8 in California because it’s the right thing to do. As he accepted the Oscar for his role in the film ‘Milk’, Penn made a reference to the protestors outside their venue, implying that those who supported Proposition 8 to revoke the civil marriage rights of gay and lesbian couples should reflect on their choice. He wanted them to know and understand that their support was shameful, and that if they don’t get that at this point in time, perhaps in the future they or their children will.
This is what I call speaking truth to power. And we need more of our elected leaders, even right here in Virginia, to start doing it. Delegate David Englin is one such Virginia hero to many of us, as he introduced a bill to repeal that stain on the Virginia Bill of Rights known as the “Marshall-Newman Amendment”, knowing full well that there was no hope it would even pass out of a subcommittee. Shame on those who impede the full civil rights of any American citizen. I will be reporting more on what happened in this session up to the crossover in subsequent posts. There is reason to hope.
To those Virginians opposing equality who know they’re ultimately wrong, even if it’s difficult to come to terms—what are you waiting for? Repeal the Marshall-Newmann Amendment. Pass anti-discrimination legislation. Get your heads out of your butts. Please do the right thing and be part of the change you know is right. To the rest, of you, please take Sean Penn’s advice.
Thank you, Sean Penn.
h/t: Eileen Levandoski.
Well, this is definitely not the post I thought I would be writing just now. This story was not supposed to be my first post in a long time on Equality Farifax’s blog. There are some other very pressing and important matters in hand for Virginia’s GLBT community, including the real possibility of passing a statewide non-discrimination law for all public employees in the approaching General Assembly session.
Alas, this story about Obama’s choice of invocation pastor is too important to the debate of who we are as a community, where we hope to go, and who will be going along with us for the ride. I had to do this story. It’s a bit long, so please stick with me. But I think this discussion is crucial to our success in the upcoming Obama political era.
The GLBT community needs to grow up. In strategy, tactics, and in message, we need to realize that a new dawn of politics is emerging in which ideological purity will not work, and demanding it won’t build us the coalitions that produce the votes for the real, meaningful progressive change we seek.
Obama has chosen, as others have already pointed out, the evangelical pastor and author of “The Purpose Driven Life”, Rev. Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. This is an important announcement for a pivotal role in a moment of the American political story that has always been one with a shared sense of hope, purpose, and optimism for allAmericans for their incoming leader. This should be a moment when we all bow our heads in prayer to offer positive thoughts and energy toward the person we have elected to lead our nation. It’s in all of our interests that he (or she) succeeds and leads our country to a better place from where it begins.
And for us today, has there ever been such a time as this for the importance of that collective hope? The economy is in shambles. The country is lacking confidence for the first time in generations that our future will be brighter than our past. Yes, we have faced such difficulties before, but many alive today have not lived them. This sense of renewal and optimism and hope is extremely important for all of us right now.
However, this was not an altogether comforting choice to millions of Americans. Let me tell you, gay and lesbian folks (and many of our stronger allies) are not “feelin’ it”. In fact, I think a fair characterization is that we’re pretty pissed off about this—and not without good reasons.
This has been a difficult few months for our community. We are angry. We feel very much “thrown under the bus” and a bit disenfranchised from much of the overwhelmingly positive vibe that much of the progressive community is feeling. I really don’t think most of my progressive compatriots, let alone our elected officials (or for that matter the “average Joe’s”) understand just how upset the GLBT community is at the moment.
Life is still an uncertain endeavor for many of us. Job interviews have risks. Being honest about yourself has risks. Buying a house with your partner has risks. Watching your partner die and trusting the solvency of his Last Will & Testament has risks. Asking your employer for health insurance for your partner has risks. Even signing up for a membership at Costco has risks. These are all pretty basics things taken for granted by most people, but not us. And much of the time our relationships that mean so, so much to us, mean almost nothing to the world—especially in the legal world. At every turn, life presents GLBT people with challenges that are not only unjust, but stressful and upsetting. And yes, dehumanizing.
And then there’s the violence. Well, I prefer to keep this post uplifting for now.
The (hopefully temporary) defeat of equal civil marriage rights for all people in California at the hands of Proposition 8 was a demoralizing and somewhat unexpected blow to millions of good contributing American citizens who want nothing more than to honor tradition and raise their families in their committed loving relationships with the exact same rights, protections, benefits, and responsibilities as any dutiful American family does.
However, the case I’m going to make on behalf of my GLBT community and our allies goes something like this—don’t panic! Remember the t-shirts from the early 1990s? We must understand the political environment into which we are moving in order to capitalize on our newfound allies in power and in order to effectively advocate and demand what we know to be rightfully ours. The outrage over the selection of Rev. Warren, although justified, is a symptom of the problem our community faces.
Folks, look, there are some very good reasons for us to be angry, alarmed, concerned, and altogether pissed off about the selection of a pastor who contributed to stripping millions of Californians of their natural and civil rights. However, there are equally promising reasons for us not to overreact—reasons I will spend a little time listing later in this article—and not to get to caught up in a very old idea whose time is quickly fading—identity politics.
That’s a buzz word that doesn’t mean the same thing to all people—identity politics. But let me make clear what I mean by the term. I mean reactionary, demanding, litmus-testing, and vengeful power-brokering politics that, at their root, have more to do with division and status-quo than with possibility and real meaningful change in the harmful policies that make life difficult for our families and to individuals.
Make no mistake, there is real harm going on in America to GLBT families and individuals. Often times, pundits and political types, and even some in the civil rights movement’s African-American community will insinuate that GLBT struggles are not worthy of comparison to the struggles of African Americans for full equality and a seat at the table of American life.
However, I would argue that those folks are wrong. While despite the lack of marches with tear gas and water hoses knocking us to the ground, despite the lack of visibility to our suffering, and our loss, we are being knocked to the ground (or worse) because of who we are. We are suffering—sometimes unimaginably—so much so that partners in love can be divided by their own families, or religions, or by international borders. We are losing what is most dear to any human being—love, respect, and decency. Not always, but often.
We are constantly dehumanized. And the press rarely intervenes on our behalf. We are subjected to statements about us in the public sphere rooted in simple hatred if not in plain intellectual dishonesty and/or false witness. Yet somehow, this speech is often treated as acceptable by our society. We are frequently belittled, disrespected, and we are laughed at.
Yet in the face of it all, being true to our own humanity and dignity, we have fought back for over 45 years. Since the days of the Mattachine Society and the picketing in respectable garb in front of Philadelphia’s Indepence Hall, to Stonewall riots in 1969, to the empowerment and liberation in the 70s, to the AIDS crisis and lives lost in the 80s, the March on Washington in 1993 when we also expected so much, and all the way up to last month’s Join the Impact rallies for marriage equality across North America—we have fought. We have fought and died. Harvey Milk. Matthew Shepard. Billy Jack Gaither. Teena Brandon. Lawrence King. And there are countless others—really—too many very sad and unnecessary violent stories could fill this page. We have our martyrs, too. We may not have the numbers of people, but we have struggled, fought, and we are battling for our lives—for our civil rights as Americans.
And just as the African-American community has risen above its struggles and demanded equality and dignity and respect, and risen beautifully and gracefully to the once unimaginable place it sits today—with its own son in President-Elect Barack Obama—so the GLBT community must rise and conquer our struggles. And they are deserving, civil rights struggles. We will have our place at the table, and soon if we play our cards right.
Identity politics are not going to get us our civil rights. Working directly with those with whom we vehemently disagree, but with whom we have an opening and listening for real dialogue and exchange—that is where the opportunity and possibility for real change exists in our current political environment.
It’s hard to have expectations and then have them dashed in disappointment. But (who is it that used to say this?) with every loss comes an opportunity. An opportunity to reevaluate who we are, what we stand for, and the strategies and tactics we will employ to realize our goals.
Crucifying Obama for his choice may seem like a logical course, but it’s not. It’s rooted in the old “identity politics” paradigm that demands rigid ideological purity and seeks to hold political allies hostage. It doesn’t work and it doesn’t help us achieve our goals. I strongly believe the GLBT community should reserve judgment over this pick, and keep faith in Barack Obama’s promises to our community. Why? Here’s why:
I am now old enough to recognize naiveté and unrealistic idealism. But I’m also old enough to understand how to constructively engage in dialogue and finally complete the process of winning long-fought and deserved civil rights for a minority that remains without the true effects of complete citizenship, and an inclusive feeling that instills confidence in the very spirit of American democracy.
It’s not that the GLBT movement hasn’t been engaged in respectful and mature ways—we certainly have. It’s just that we are indeed on the cusp of historic change and progress. And we need to be engaged in the right way at this critical juncture in order to capitalize on the progress we’ve made and the opportunity we now have. With the ascendency of Barack Obama, the GLBT community is uniquely poised to make headway into groundbreaking and exhilarating times for our community’s people and the promise of our lives and our relationships in America. But unless we are careful in strategy and tactics on how to win over our opponents, we risk alienating even our supporters who are now embracing a new political paradigm that has less resemblance to raging and screaming and more to do with dialogue, common ground, and sometimes even conciliation.
So, it’s OK to be upset about Rev. Rick Warren. I am too. But let’s have a little perspective and patience and understand that this man delivering the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration does not mean that all is lost, nor that we are not on the verge of massive and historic advances in our movement for justice and civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans. And just perhaps—perhaps, by embracing the choice of Rev. Warren instead of denigrating him, we will open the door to dialogue—meaningful dialogue—with people who know they are on the wrong side of history and might like to become more a part of the inspiring story of change and victory, than relics of a bygone era that are determined to keep the downtrodden down.
Have faith, don’t give up yet folks. Yes we can—fabulously! It may be corny, but it’s true.
You may have see this article in the Washington Blade about a young gay man from Maryland who died in the District yesterday. Although police aren’t certain, they think there is a strong possibility that his attack was a hate crime because he was attacked close to a gay bar.
While it is likely that passage of a hate crimes law won’t do much to prevent these attacks, at least directly, it does provide us with the legal tools needed to keep those who perpetrate them off the street. Juries have bee far too lenient on “gay panic” or “trans panic” defenses and a hate crimes law would make make it much more difficult to get away with it in court. It also makes a statement that our society won’t tolerate violence against people just because they happen to be different in some way.
Many states, like our own Virginia, do not include sexual orientation or gender identity in their hate crimes statues. Some legislators argue that additional laws aren’t needed. Unfortunately, the nature of these crimes and the frequency with which perpetrators go free or merely have their wrists slapped says otherwise. We have a well documented history of killers receiving little or no punishment for murdering LGBT people that goes back at least as far as Harvey Milk and probably further.
One of the hallmarks of a hate crime is its brutality. Horrendous violence is done to people that is so terrible that it defies words. Even when these attacks aren’t deadly they are often physically and emotionally debilitating. It’s been a decade since the tragedy of Matthew Sheppard’s death. It is time for us to give our society the tools needed to deal with those who prey upon us with violence.
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