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Seeing the Big Picture

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:46:36 +0000

Perhaps it’s because we, members of the LGBT community are too often in the line of discriminatory fire, but it looks like we also are more aware of gender inequalities.

According to a post at Just Out:

Of all the adults polled, 63 percent agreed that the United States “still has a long way to go to reach complete gender equality,” PR Newswire reports. However, the numbers shift when gender and sexual orientation enter the equation. Nearly three-quarters of heterosexual women (74 percent) agreed (compared to 52 percent of het. men). Almost as many LGBT adults (73 percent) believed there is still work to be done in resolving gender inequality, though that number shot up to 95 percent when the questions was asked of lesbians.

More here!

Is the End Near?

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:03:38 +0000

We ran across a very interesting post that predicts the beginning of the end is here, and no, the post isn’t talking about the religious right’s prediction the world will end with the acceptance of gay people. It’s about the beginning of the end of legalized discrimination against tax-paying LGBT American citizens.

According to a post on Vista Lateral:

There comes a moment in every struggle for equality when the arguments for maintaining discriminatory laws and practices suddenly seem absurd to reasonable people.

How do we know when such a moment is upon us?

Find out at: Vista Lateral!

Pressure Washed!

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:00:34 +0000

Who says pressure washing doesn’t work? Perhaps in politics it does. It looks like after a fair amount, at least one more has signed onto Al Franken’s Anti-Bullying efforts.

According to a post on the Minnesota Independent:

Sen. Amy Klobuchar has signed on to support Sen. Al Franken’s Student Non-Discrimination Act. Klobuchar has faced criticism in recent weeks for not supporting key LGBT bills, including a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a resolution condemning Uganda’s “kill-the-gays” bill and an initiative to allow same-sex partners to sponsor each other for immigration purposes.

More here!

Where Oppression Comes From

James — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:16 +0000

Everywhere we turn, we find evidence of a society where people are mistreated based on various physical, sexual (or sexual preference), linguistic, age and national characteristics. An exonerated Black man in Chicago, who had spent 15 years in prison, goes to a car dealership, puts $20,000 down for a car and is given the runaround by employees, who claim to lose his application. After the man sees the application on a desk and raises a complaint, the police are called in, and they Taser and arrest him. An 11-year-old boy hangs himself with an extension cord after being bullied all year by his school peers for acting “feminine.” A restaurant manager explaining that his restaurant is a “family establishment,” asks two lesbian women to leave after they hug each other. An immigrant mother from Oaxaca has her newborn taken away from her by a judge because she cannot speak English, and this makes her “unfit.” Thousands of examples such as these – some milder, some much worse -could be listed. People experience many of these things as individual acts of discrimination or violence. While it is certainly true that individuals can be and are the bearers of racist, sexist, xenophobic or homophobic ideas and behavior, all of these oppressions are systemic–that is, legally, institutionally or in some other systematic form, they are part of the fabric of the societies in which we live.

Take the question of racial oppression in the United States. Indians and African Americans, and to a somewhat lesser extent, Latinos, suffer higher rates of unemployment, lower pay, worse housing, and greater rates of police harassment, arrest and incarceration than their white counterparts. Women are still relegated to lower-paying jobs, face sexual harassment and rape, and are expected to work both inside and outside the home. And increasingly in the Western world they are faced with restrictions on their right to control their own reproductive health. Sexist imagery and commentary that denigrate women are more and more a part of the mainstream. Though, in general, the level of acceptance in society toward LGBT people has increased over the past few decades, they still face systematic legal and social discrimination, as well as violence and police brutality. A 2005 Amnesty International report documented serious patterns of police misconduct and brutality aimed at LGBT people, including abuses that amount to torture and ill treatment.

More at: Heart of a Nation!

God Forbid! Kissing in Public?

James — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:00:23 +0000

We get so wrapped up in living our everyday lives, that we sometimes forget that we are gay. We are reminded quickly when a stranger from across the room points, giggles, or stares. When I see a cute couple in a Restaurant I think to myself “how cute”. When others see my partner and I just talking, they think “Sodom and Gomorrah”. Not only do they think this, but sometimes will say it out loud, just loud enough for you to hear it.
It is becoming more acceptable now, but I still remember a simple kiss between two woman on Rosanne had to be aired after 9pm (due to adult content). The same afternoon, General Hospital was showing two half naked str8 people in bed.

Frank Introduces Discrimination Bill

James — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:05:34 +0000

U.S. Representative Barney Frank has introduced legislation that would prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (H.R.2981) would also prohibit employers from retaliating against an individual for opposing unlawful discrimination.

The bill includes an exemption for religious institutions and the armed forces.

The legislation has been introduced several times before. In 2007, when Democrats held control of both chambers of Congress but not the White House, the legislation never made it before the full House for a vote.

Democrats now have a stronger majority in both chambers, but it’s unclear whether they have enough support to survive a filibuster in the Senate. President Obama has been a supporter of the legislation.

More than a dozen states protect employees from discirmination based on sexual orientation. More than 100 cities and 20 counties do as well.