Stonewalled

Sunday is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. In honor of this anniversary, "stonewalling" is Stephen Colbert's word of the day. The implication of the bit is that Obama is stonewalling his GLBT supporters.

While I am frustrated with Obama, I wouldn't describe his approach quite so harshly. "Non-commital," maybe; but not "stonewalling." Or, as Colbert phrases it later in the show, "Obama swings both ways."

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Stonewalling
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Oregon Is Not for Haters

The Oregon Senate passed hate crime legislation today that the Governor is expected to sign. A more widely publicized bill - providing for domestic partnerships - awaits a Senate vote. That bill is also expected to pass.

We at the Opus Gay have known for some time that these bills would pass. This is the reason Oregon is colored a dark Blue in the Rightswatch infographic at the top left of the page.

If you want to get a good sense of how gay rights is progressing in the various states (but don't want to take the time to read a whole lot), just take a gander at the Opus Gay's Rightswatch Graphic. Red means bad, blue means good, and grey means nothing. The darker the blue or red, the better or worse things are. Got it? Good.

Here is the inspiration for our color scheme:

Unprotected "Research"

An Australian politician admitted to visiting a gay sex club in Melbourne for "research" purposes, garnering the praise of senior provincial legislators.

Bruce Atkinson (pictured), an MP from the Liberal party, said he went to the club because he was concerned about the spread of HIV.

Said Atkinson, "You have 30 or 40 men who were engaged in all sorts of sexual acts and it was dark and they couldn't possibly tell who they were involved with."

Even so, I doubt Atkinson would have gotten much action (supposing - as we do - that he were so inclined).

If only Ted Haggard had thought of this angle. Instead of being ousted from his pulpit for sodomy and drug use, he might have been hailed for his "outreach" efforts...

Go Soulforce, Go!

All of the sudden, the Soulforce equality ride doesn't seem quite as depressing.

Many of you have probably heard of the Soulforce Equality Ride. Basically, it's a group of Christian GLBT people who are going around the country, visiting schools that condemn homosexuality.

As you can imagine, these visits are rarely cause for optimism. Usually, news stories about Soulforce go something like this:

JESUSLAND, VA (AP). Homosexual agenda-pushers - travelling on a flamboyant bus - tried to force their way into Fred Phelps University today. All the queers were arrested, and townspeople spray-painted their bus with homophobic slurs. University spokesman, Leviticus Iscoolio, condemned the protest.

Well...things are looking up for the Soulforce crew. Several weeks after eight Soulforce riders were arrested at Brigham Young University, the school modified its policy towards queers (though a university spokesperson insisted the change had nothing to do with Soulforce).

Then, Gordon College - a conservative, evangelical school in Wenham Mass. - decided to welcome to Soulforce riders to their campus.

Gordon College student John Stoeckle, the executive president of the student association, had the following to say: "I don't believe in a fortress-like approach to life...I find myself growing and realizing that the world is also a very complicated place, and we're often not really very good at loving people. We let beliefs become abstractions, and not people. And we have students at Gordon who are homosexual and really struggle with being here."

If that doesn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I don't know what will...

Matthew Shepard's Law

A GLBT Hate Crimes bill was introduced in the Senate yesterday. It's basically identical to the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007" that was introduced in the House three weeks ago.

This time around (many similar bills have been introduced over the last decade), the bill's supporters are doing a better job of marketing. They plan to name it after Matthew Shepard (pictured). Second choice: "The Flags for Orphans Bill." (Simpsons reference...sorry.)

Anyways, I give the bill about a 90% chance of passing.

It's looking to be a good year for gay rights...

"Homosexuality More Dangerous Than Smoking"

I was following the progress of the New Hampshire civil unions bill, when I stumbled upon the following article: Amid shouted protest, civil unions bill progresses in N.H. Senate.

Turns out there was this crazy old coot in the gallery during the committee vote who wanted to read an article entitled "Homosexuality More Dangerous Than Smoking." Well that, of course caught my attention.

The article in question summarizes a "scientific" study done by the highly-regarded "Family Research Institute." Forthcoming studies include "Gay People Eat Children" and "Gay People Throw Feces at Each Other." Ugh....does anyone take these people seriously?!?!

Oh yeah: about a third of America...

Anyways, here's the article: Homosexuality More Dangerous Than Smoking

Civil Unions in New Hampshire

It looks like New Hampshire will legalize same-sex civil unions fairly soon.

This would have an interesting effect on the prominence of LGBT issues during the primaries.

Given that New Hampshire is the second primary state, passage of the bill will make it all but impossible for presidential candidates to avoid talking about civil unions fairly early in their campaigns.

Exhibit #1: Dodd asks: What if your child were gay?

Gay Cousins

Ok, this might be taking equality too far: 'Cousins' provision complicates gay unions bill.

That said, I'm not sure if I'm entirely comfortable with gay cousins sleeping together.

Update: Obama Shirtless

Though it compromises my two-day-old journalistic principles, here's the pictures of the "sleek, hairless pecs" to which President Bush was referring.

And here's a link (love the pun):

'Fit' to be President?

It's not the greatest body in the world, but the president is right about one thing: NO ONE would want to see Dennis Hastert in a similar pose.

....shudder....

"Sleek, hairless pecs glistening in the surf"

I've never thought President Bush himself was as homophobic as many of his supporters.

Here's a quote from his speech to the Radio and Television Correspondents dinner last night that supports my theory:

"By the way, I’m not sure whether or not Senator Obama is here — the last I heard he was not coming to the Radio and TV Correspondents dinner — not enough press. People Magazine recently had a photo of the Senator there on the beach in Hawaii, his sleek, hairless pecs glistening in the surf. It shows how biased the press is. Have you ever seen a shot like that of Denny Hastert?"

I would argue that anyone who is willing to joke like that does not have a huge problem with homosexuality. Either way: LOL.

Here is a link to an article that includes a full transcript of Bush's speech: Bush and Rove Let It Loose, For a Bit.

Post-mortem

Anyone remember the story of Andrew Anthos' death?

A 72-year old activist in Detroit who was beaten in what preliminarily appeared to be a homophobic attack, his subsequent death increased political support for including GLBT protections in federal hate crime legislation.

Well, the big story in gay news outlets today is that the relevant medical examiner has ruled that Anthos' death was unrelated to any alleged attack.

But, as the Detroit Free Press asks, "Does it matter how he died?" Does anyone really doubt that gay people sometimes endure harassment or physical violence because they are gay? There are plenty of potential poster children for LGBT hate crimes. Let's move on.

For those of you who aren't MySpace friends with John McCain

It was a slow day for news, so here's an amusing tidbit from yesterday:

John McCain MySpace Page Hacked: Now 'Supports' Lesbian Marriage