esrosedotblog

The results of gay activism are slow to show.

But now, the harvest is beginning to come in. And it is bountiful.

N.C.A.A. Moves Championship Events From North Carolina, Citing Anti-Gay-Rights Law

Long headline.

We are part of the fabric now. Not to be sidelined.

The fact is that there are, really really, gay players. That helps too. They are out in their teams.

Gays are good at fancy footwork and shooting at hoops just like anyone else. Except me. I never got basketball. Not dribbling, not shooting, not any of it.

It has been an honor and a privilege to live at this time. To show up at gay marches when they mattered most. To be open and out in my work. To take advantage of all the new opportunities like marriage.

Gay pride is not a theory. It is for living. Acting. Being one's true self in the world.

Labels: gay rights

The struggle for gay rights is not over.

Hatred and bigotry still exist.

The Orlando gunman took his warped idea of the law into his own hands because he "saw two men kissing". He was with his son. Outrage ensued.

This is a kind of insanity of course but it is also the product of a homophobic culture.

Why We Should Politicize the Orlando Massacre

...it is only the most privileged among us who have the luxury of divorcing politics from everyday life. Those of us in the L.G.B.T. community know better. Politics is how we won the right to be free from discrimination in government jobs, to have sex without fear of criminal prosecution, to serve in the military, to get married and adopt children. In about 28 states, we are still fighting to outlaw discrimination in employment. And transgender Americans are still fighting for the right to pee in peace.

To think that a mass shooting at a gay nightclub filled with Latinos and committed by a Muslim-American sympathetic to religious extremists is beyond the scope of politics is absurd on its face — you couldn’t dream up a scenario more rife with political implications. But it is especially absurd to those of us in the L.G.B.T. community, whose very existence has been politicized for decades.

Religious extremists are all the same. Christers and Mohammedans alike. The deep conviction that they are right and others are not only wrong but worse, are sinners to be smitten down. Punished.

Beware of the church and its children.

For those who might wonder about the "gay bar", as an institution, read this.

Finding ‘My Most Authentic Self’: What L.G.B.T. Spaces Mean to You

Labels: gay rights

Words fail.

But Frank Bruni, another gay man does pretty well. So I will let him do the work today.

The Scope of the Orlando Carnage

I don't much look over my shoulder anymore. Maybe I should.

There is no such thing as being careful.

When I came out, the gay bars were the safest place to come to.

I won't even get started on what religion does to people and how this is so connected.

Start with the Pope and work your way down to the evangelical underbelly.

Mourning today for people I did not know in life but now know in my heart.

Labels: gay rights, gay violence, muslims

It is amazing that after all this time the GOoPers still want to legislate what happens in my bedroom.

Well, there is not a direct line in that direction but the war against gays is now defined as a war about "religious freedom".

G.O.P. Opposition to Gay Rights Provision Derails Spending Bill

Which is OK. It is your right to be a bigot but don't get your pointy finger in my face please.

We have been a convenient crowbar for the cranky right wingers for a long time. The people who fear that someone somewhere is happy, free and worse, having a good time with other sinners.

What awful politics. The politics of bigotry, fear, prejudice, yadahyadah.

I suppose I should be used to it now. And it hardly effects my daily life at all.

I live in Palm Springs California. Gay central. Well as far as the desert is concerned.

The SFOs and NewYahkahs would dispute our pre-eminence and I wouldn't want to argue. They all come here to take their sunbaths at clothing optional resorts which, of course, is a sin whether you are gay or straight.

The Christers are a pitiful lot. While they make me angry I also pity them. Somehow the idea of "god's love" has eluded them on the ground.

Cynical me also knows that this is about rounding up the yokel vote.

It will be interesting how Donald J. Trump (I just found out that he traveling with the initial now) will handle these asshats.

Labels: bigots, christers, gay rights, right wing whack jobs

I was raised in the Methodist Church.

I even thought that I had a calling to be a preacher there.

Kid dreams.

But the spiritual aspect of religion has always had me be involved in one way or another.

I became an amateur church organist and played in several Methodist Churches even up to my time living in Plymouth Mass. On a wonderful old tracker organ in which the pipes are physically linked to the keyboard by a unique tracker system. Direct. Not electric valves.

I played a Hammond Organ. Several other kinds.

My mind wandered while the services went on. But I never thought that what they were calling sin had anything to do with me.

Then things changed. Somehow gay rights kicked the props out of a lot of church orthodoxy. It never occurred until then that there were actually homo members in the pews and hilariously or not, quite a number in the pulpit.

A hornets nest.

I ended up playing in an American Baptist Convention Church which was almost as liberal as the Unitarians. Our pastor went on vigils and marched against the war.

And then I dropped out.

My performance turned to management training. I didn't need the organ any more for my "look at me" needs.

This is a long story but I will get there.

Time went on and the Methodists turned right. More conservative all the time.

Now the battle has been joined. Ministers and Bishops are rebelling.

This Methodist Church Is Marrying Two Gay Men In An Act Of Civil Disobedience

Right in fucking North Carolina.

Amazing.

One more example of why it is so important to come out and demand equality.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

The term "faith based" is such a pile of shit.

These are code words for hate group, discrimination supporters, homophobics and the like.

Now someone, not gay, is calling a halt to this double talk.

NFL Wants to Sack Anti-Gay Bill in Georgia

Unlikely allies? Not really.

The NFL is inclusive and does not want to be seen as even touching the sickness of the religious bigots. Or any bigots.

God is love. Great cover for the bastards who don't want some others to be happy. Twisted. Sick-os.

And so on.

Feel the rant.

There has been a wave of this coming as a way to wiggle through the clear mandates of the Supreme Court and other legal guardians.

There is no point going on about it.

That this is Georgia is a big deal. No more automatic knee jerk hatred from the South. The New South.

Labels: bigotry, christists, gay rights, hate

At one time, homosexuality was illegal all over.

Country by country the laws were changed and today's film is about that revolution in Switzerland.

I thought the Swiss were all OK liberals.

Well the Swiss may be but some of their regulators were not. A point made here is that legality was limited by "regulation" not by law. A trick in the books.

As in many places, a group of gay rights pioneers managed to have this changed and we see one such group in this film.

Der Kreiss / The Circle (2014)

The story is told by two men who met during this time and through the technique of docudrama they relive the times and the experience.

Soon, such living witnesses will be gone. This film insures that some will still be heard and that history will not be ignored.

It is very well done. The two stars "fall in love" before our eyes. It is amazing. While the history plays out, we experience how it affects them directly.

A 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films, gay history, gay rights

When talking about gay rights, we don't want to assume the work is all done.

But the tide has turned.

Mormons Say Duty to Law on Same-Sex Marriage Trumps Faith

These are the Mormons who have all but said that same sex love is counterfeit and the usual claptrap. Or craptrap. My spell check doesn't like the word I used.

We really do not want to cram it down anyone's throat. So to speak. But the law now says we have equal rights including marriage. The Supremes made it so.

And countless true Christians whose faith is inclusive and not based on damnation and hell have gone along with it. All that.

I have slowed down reporting on gay rights because they are becoming a matter of course. But the bigots still hang out every so often.

The Mormons have always been an immensely practical religion or set of beliefs about how one should conduct one's life. Here, a new lesson for the day. Actually the golden rule. You know, that doing to others thing?

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

Well, this is new.

Hillary Clinton, Loudly and Proudly, Taps Into a Vein of Support Among Gay Voters

The problem I have always had with Clinton is her stance on gay issues.

Mrs. Clinton does not have the most cutting-edge record when it comes to gay rights. She did not speak out on behalf of same-sex marriage until 2013. But what she lacks on the policy front, she is trying to make up for partly with a tongue-in-cheek recognition that in her decades in the public eye she has developed a certain pop culture status, particularly among some gay men who identify with her triumphs over adversity, her redemption, and her evolving personal style.

Well, this is decidedly "tongue in cheek".

She has not been at the front of any gay person's list because she is a tight ass on most social issues involving sexuality.

Which is natural for her. She is a Clinton, of course. And the Clintons do not take unnecessary political risks.

I suppose there is some "danger" that "the gays" would go for Martin Omalley or some other pretender to the throne but that is unlikely.

Gay people like any other people who rise against the odds and we do have to give Hill the point here.

She has certainly come up from behind in many ways.

The only problem that I see for her, really, is to keep Bill out of it. The white head bobbing behind.

A friend had a chance sighting of Bill in London the other day. White hair, extra thin body, a surrounding of gorillas. No handshaking. He is still the Big Dog.

Can he stay out of his "wife's" way. I say "wife" because I do not believe for a minute that they are still partners in anything. But that is surely none of my business. Other than the worry that Bill will step in the shit somehow. The mouth which will not stop running. The ego which knows no bounds.

Labels: gay friends, gay rights, The Clintons

So, they are all caving.

Some holdouts. But recalcitrance in the face of the law is not unusual.

After Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, Southern States Fall in Line

The South will rise to the occasion, I am sure. Some little firefights here and there.

They owe no less to their gay and lesbian citizens to say nothing of their frequent adherence to "the rule of law" as an offense against minorities.

The tables turn.

The south is slow to move with the tide. They are behind on race, still. But they are part of us so patience is called for.

The grip of the evangelicals is strong in these states and if there is anyone who has lost badly with this it is the christers.

Or the ones who skew the "word of god" to their own message. But that is another story for another time.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

It is well worth paying attention to the language in the last paragraph of the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage.

This is highly charged emotional language which is compelling and forceful. It gives lie to the idea that laws are cold and indifferent.

The author is Anthony Kennedy.

Our hero.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

"Now what do they want?"

"They are never satisfied"

"Those gays"

You are goddam right we are not satisfied. Still faced with discrimination in all ways imaginable, we want it all. And we are going to get it too.

Next Fight for Gay Rights: Bias in Jobs and Housing

John and I are very fortunate. We have money. We are well placed. We have lived in two of the most liberal states. Massachusetts and now California.

We have kids! We have grandkids.

The truth is that in some areas we pass. We look good. And are not a threat in anyway.

In fact, as far as I am concerned, I am a threat to the bigot because I will knock any of them on their ass. I remember getting cat calls in Las Vegas of all places. Someone threw a can. OK. Let's see, asshole motherfucker. And we "upped" to them or would have. But they were gone.

John is a long time hand holder in public. He cured me of my fears in that regard. And so on and on.

Bigots know who to pick on. They choose them. Bullies always have.

But if they get set on their asses often enough they will get wary.

A lot of straight people, white and black, may not realize that there is considerable discrimination and bias in housing, employment and the like.

It is subtle. But it is there and it is strong. To be singled out, to be the subject of hateful epithets, to be slighted for promotion, all that is the daily experience of many gay, lesbian, and yes I am getting it, transgenders! I am a work in progress on that just like the most knuckle dragging neanderthal straight man.

Satisfied?

You try hearing the word "faggot" mumbled. See the eye rolls.

And here is how it is different than "the blacks". Once we are discovered, we can be badgered covertly. It is not blatant. It is not clearly black and white to put it more bluntly. I was harassed in school, my defense was my brain. I was number one in my class and I had the support of enough kids to fight it off. Or, more importantly, not fight. I got swung on once and I hit him back so hard he fell on his ass. Reputation set.

Sissies have always been laughed at. Little do those bastards know that sissies are tough and resilient because they have to be. And, ironically, they are often great in bed because they have so much suppressed anger and are ready to be loved and love back hard. There is more about that but it is none of your business. We could take most boring straight men under the table and leave them bleary eyed. The equivalent of drinking them under the table.

But who would want to do that? Most of the bigoted men I have met are actually fat, unattractive boors who can't even get a hard on for themselves or find a woman who wants them in the first place.

Am I getting too mean here? I will stop now.

But you can read on. Here, where the so called "side issues" are discussed in more depth.

The fight has just begun.

Labels: gay rights, homophobia

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

The wing nuts think they have a lock on defending the family.

This delusion is what might just upset their apple cart. Defining "family" as a tightly run heterosexual and, probably, god fearing, church going unit, they fail to see that for years, gay men and women have been making their own family units. And, as a result encouraging many heterosexual groups, not all couples incidentally, to redefine their notions of marriage as well.

What has turned it is the kids.

Gay couples have been getting kids through adoption or surrogate activities foe quite awhile now and the evidence is in and quite clear that families do not suffer in the present of gay principals. I would not go so far as to claim that gay marriages are better for kids. I do not have that prejudice which so many hets have.

But I do know that my own family has flourished from the presence of a gay dad other than myself. And now, grandchildren. Who come visit on their own. Their two granddads.

Today, another article about gay kids.

How kids became the strongest argument for same-sex marriage

How dare these assholes disparage my family. My kids. My marriage.

While I do not often use such derogatory terms, I consider these people to be evil. Flat out. Mean, bigoted and sometimes so crazed with their surety that they do no good and sometimes seriously harm others.

Labels: gay adoption, gay families, gay history, gay marriage, gay rights

And go out and buy a bottle!

Times sure are a-changin'.

Labels: gay friends, gay life, gay marriage, gay rights

I am happy to say that I am married to my former "Certified Domestic Partner" John.

Now we are over that nonsense. He is my husband.

Is this an important distinction? To be married instead of just "partners". Emphatically yes. It felt different from the completion of the "I do" we each spoke.

It took a long time to break through the useless rigamarole that even "liberals" conceived. Just to cover up the reality that we still were second class citizens.

Now, in California, no more. We had the entire State vote and we got legitimatized.

And, now we hope to go national.

Gay Marriage's Moment

I don't know what the Supremes will do. There is suspense.

I want this for everyone.

If the hard right on the Court prevails, then the battle is not over. We will resume.

What do "the gays" want?

Simple.

To be accepted and have full respect from our fellow citizens. Respect. No more jokes. No more "tolerance".

I have a friend who says that he does not want to be "tolerated". Neither do I.

Acceptance. Pure and simple. Is that too much to ask?

For some, yes. It will take time but time will tell.

Labels: gay history, gay marriage, gay rights

Wonderful!

Ireland Votes to Approve Gay Marriage, Putting Country in Vanguard

Landslide. What is happening in the world? Sea changes.

There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. It is or used to be one of the most catholic countries.

And yet, when I lived in Boston, the kindest hearted people on the inside were the South Boston toughs.

So hard to figure out.

Oppressed people reach out to other oppressed people. The Irish have suffered long under the rule of others.

And they fight back.

This all gives me goosebumps. I have always had great hope for so called "gay rights" which are really fundamental human rights. Restoration.

Some of our greatest patriots were gay people who fought back the best way they could. Yes. And that is still true today.

Labels: gay rights, human rights

It is spreading.

In Early Vote Count, Ireland Appears Set to Legalize Gay Marriage: Ireland appeared poised to become the world’s first nation to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote on Saturday, with early vote counts showing strong and broad support for a measure that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago in what had traditionally been a Roman Catholic stronghold. Not long after counting began at Dublin Castle, a government complex that was once the epicenter of British rule, the leader of the opposition, David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute, conceded the outcome in a tweet: “Congratulations to the Yes side. Well done.” Both proponents and opponents said the only remaining question was the size of the victory for approval. Ronan Mullen, an Irish senator and one of only a few politicians to oppose the measure, predicted the win would be “substantial.” The official results will be announced this afternoon. The referendum changes Ireland’s Constitution so that marriages between two people would be legal “without distinction as to their sex.”

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

John Roberts, the supremest Supreme has been a stealth supporter of gay rights or, rather, a stealth nonsupporter of discriminatory laws.

Today was no exception.

Justice Roberts revives an old argument that could save gay marriage

Fundamentally, there lurks an issue about gender discrimination in the laws passed. It is a kind of obvious but, until now, subtle distinction.

As I get it, by banning gay marriage, say between two men, then the action discriminates against men. Limiting their rights because they are male.

A bit of a mind bender.

And very interesting.

I would like a clean cut ban but if they want to dice and slice it law by law then it is fine with me. It is just a lot of work for everyone that could be saved with a clean slate decision.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights