Reasonably Logical

For those not aware, there is currently a bill before congress that would ban discrimination on sexual orientation and gender expression. Or at least it used to. Barney Frank, one of the sponsors of the bill and a man who I have great respect for, has introduced a reduced version of the bill that does not cover transgender individuals or gender expression. The reason given was that this reduced bill would stand a better chance of actually passing and provide protection for some of our community, if not all. Honestly, when I first heard this I was extremely torn. I don’t particularly want to abandon any of our community, but the chance of getting something actually passed seemed to almost be worth it. (Not my proudest moment, I know.)

What totally changes things though, was reading Lambda Legal’s evaluation of the new bill. Not just does the new bill not cover transgender folks, it doesn’t cover anyone who is fired based on gender expression. You can’t be fired for being gay, but you could be fired for “acting gay”: talking with a lisp, wearing makeup at work, etc.. While this wouldn’t bother many straight acting folks on first glance, we all know how easily this could be bent. And besides, do we really want to walk away from the rest of our community like that? This new bill really gives us next to nothing.

I honestly do think that Representative Frank introduced this new bill with the best of intentions, but passing it would be a major mistake. I’m extremely proud of our community leaders (NGLFT, Lambda Legal, Triangle Foundation, etc., but NOT HRC) for actively opposing this bill. (Even before I personally was ready to do so.)

Old news, I know. (It was announced last week.) I have met Mr. Montgomery personally, and have been deeply impressed. I look forward to seeing what he does next. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing great things out of him for a while yet.

This Detroit News article describes him and his accomplishments well.

Detroit gay activist transforms Michigan
Monday, October 01, 2007
Deb Price

Nice to see that someone hasn’t forgotten gay republicans exist. I always get so frustrated when I’m at gay events (especially political ones) because I always here the same bias. They kick 1/3-1/2 of our community out of the room just by assuming everyone there agrees with them on _all_ their issues.

The gay voter’s guide to the GOP
How should a right-wing homosexual vote in the upcoming primaries and caucuses? Salon rates the Republican candidates for gay friendliness.
By Michael Scherer and Ben Van Heuvelen, Salon.com

Neither of these warranted a post by itself, but I thought they were still worth sharing.

Lessons on Homosexuality Move Into the Classroom
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
Published: August 15, 2007
ROCKVILLE, Md.

One school district is set to take a revolutionary step this fall. They’re planning on teaching kids that its okay to be gay. God, I wish my school had had a program like this. It would have made things so much easier. While I think this (very understated) program is a wonderful thing, as you might imagine its drawing all kinds of fire. Hopefully it survives.

Feds target gay Iowan senator
By Jim Ferguson
An Advocate.com exclusive posted August 15, 2007

By the evidence, a gay state senator in Iowa is being unfairly prosecuted by a federal attorney. While realistically this type of stuff happens all the time, this is by far the most blatant case I’ve seen. I’m waiting to see what happens once this makes it to court. I would not be surprised to see the charges reversed. That would be poetic justice.

LOL.

http://www.sj-r.com/sections/opinion/pictures/large/8811.jpg

I’m reminded once again of why I’m so utterly disgusted by this guy. I figure if God does exist, Fred will have his own little circle of hell when he finally dies.

Group Plans To Picket Va. Tech Funerals
Anti-Gay Religious Group Known For Protesting At Services For U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/18/national/main2699800.shtml

I thought this article was pretty interesting. Its amazing how much word connotations effect political polls. In this case, I think gay rights activists and the media need to take note. While four percent doesn’t sound like that much, in politics it is huge. (Note: I am assuming that the error margins on the two samples don’t overlap. If they do, this entire article and my comment on it are pointless. The results wouldn’t have statistical validity in that case.)

Editorial: Homosexual Tendencies: How the H Word leads to more hatred against LGBT folks
The Washington Blade
Saturday, MARCH 31, 2007
http://www.newyorkblade.com/2007/3-30/viewpoint/editorials/

This is a bill that should be a no-duh bill, but it probably won’t be. Call me a cynic, but I don’t expect it to pass easily.

CRISIS OF ABUSE AGAINST LGBT YOUTH ADDRESSED IN NEW LEGISLATION
Migden Bill, Sponsored by EQCA, Protects Youth in Juvenile Justice System
From Equality California
http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337&ct=3714261

Just passing this along.

Hello all,
My name is Brian Curtin and I work for State Rep. Greg Harris. I wanted to send along my thanks as well as thanks from Rep. Harris for all of your e-mails filled with kind words and your dedication to action for House Bill 1826. In many of the e-mails people asked how to become more involved and how to help further assist in the effort for House Bill 1826. On April 18th, Equality Illinois is organizing a lobby day event for House Bill 1826 which will give you the opportunity to do just that. By attending this lobby day and speaking with legislators, you can put a face on this issue; you can help alert legislators to the lack of basic fairness for Same-Sex committed couples; you can let legislators know what this bill means to you; and you can make a difference. Although this bus leaves from Chicago and its suburbs, people from all around the state are invited to join Equality Illinois in their lobbying efforts for House Bill 1826. So please, if you can, come to Springfield on April 18th. Also, do not forget to RSVP for this event with Equality Illinois, whose information is listed in the e-mail below.

Thank you,
Brian

Brian Curtin
Chief of Staff
State Representative Greg Harris
13th District
1967 W. Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
Brian@gregharris.org
773/348-3434
773/348-3475 Fax

I urge everyone to contact the senator on this. FIOA is one of most powerful tools citizens have to watch our government. Expanding it is a _very_ good thing!

From an EFF newsletter:

* Action Alert - Tell Congress to Update the Freedom of
Information Act!

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) helps protect the
public’s right to know, and new legislation would provide
some much-needed updates to this crucial law. One open
government bill has already passed the House — make sure a
similar one passes in the Senate:

H.R. 1309 and S. 849 give federal agencies, like the FBI
and the FCC, greater incentive to follow the law and make
it easier for all FOIA requesters to access government
documents. Among other reforms, the bills will help
government watchdogs keep track of FOIA requests they’ve
sent and ensure that more journalist requesters get
preferred treatment under the law. The bills will also
penalize agencies that don’t respond to requests within the
time limits set by the FOIA.

Revelations about the secret NSA spying program, the FBI’s
misuse of a key PATRIOT Act power, and other privacy-
invasive initiatives clearly demonstrate the importance of
government transparency. EFF’s FOIA Litigation for
Accountable Government (FLAG) project relies on FOIA to
expose the government’s expanding use of new technologies
that invade Americans’ privacy, and these bills would
greatly help in our and other organizations’ efforts to
protect your rights.