February 18, 2005
Good news from VA
The anti-gay-adoption bill looks to be dead.
Congrats to Robert H. Knight, for the best quote of the day:
Update: Judge wins Libel Suit
You may remember back in December, JustLeft brought you the story of a Judge that sued a newspaper for libel
Well, it turns out the jury found in favor of him to the tune of 2.1 million dollars. Since the judge was a public figure, that means the jury had the believe the herald knew they were publishing lies.
Of course, this is just step 1. An appeal is surely on its way and, I imagine, the possibility of a supreme court run which, honestly, is when this will get very interesting.
Comments:Anti-Gay Player of the Week
Today we recognize Georgia's Faye Caldwell for her outstanding role as crazy homophobe.
Photo by Sher Pruitt
Mrs. Caldewell brought a complaint against the advisor of the gay and lesbian club of the school her daughters attend because the advisor led discussions and offered to help hand out fliers and work on a web page.
Other fun comments by her (and her husband) included:
- ...I feel like we're being blackmailed
- ...they were talking about handing out cards [about the club] to all students
- ...using vulnerable teenagers to further their own agenda
And the ever popular:
- ...can't we find someone to protect the children?
This is just the latest in a multi-tiered attempt to get the club shut down by Mrs. Caldwell. In the past, she tried to get them to change the names of the club from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Alliance because that name was too sexually explicit. She also charged the club was nothing more than a 'sex club'.
And so we recognize you, Mrs. Caldwell, as our anti-gay player of the week!
Comments:Rick DeMent said (at February 24, 2005 12:41 PM):
Well gee whiz Hank, look at them, do they look like people who think that sex of any kind is in any way "fun".
February 17, 2005
What's in a Name?
What's in a Name?
Apparently, the federal government doesn't even want to admit gay people exist. In fact, they asked a group in Oregon to change the name of a program Suicide Prevention Among Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Individuals by removing the Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender phrase and replacing it.
It's not that the new name is bad, per se, but that the government can't seem to see the words Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender associated with anything they fund.
Makes me proud to be an 'Generic Sexual Orientationed'American.
Comments:Gay responsibility
Today, Law Dork touched on the issue of gay responsibility. It comes up from time to time, this time in response to the possibility of this "Super HIV" strain, which has appeared in NY and elsewhere.
The gay community always seems to have its share of problems - recently it was a an uptick in syphilis cases (which may have just been part of a natural cycle, but who knows).
I agree that the gay community needs to confront some of issues it faces - which is too much emphasis on sex and drugs, not enough on relationships and health. Of course, that's a horrible generalization. There are, in fact, many tiers of the gay community and these issues are stronger in some, weaker in others.
We still have to confront it, however.
That said, there is a lot underlying these issues. First of all, it is a little nave to think that there aren't sub-groups in the straight community which suffer from the same issues. The government (and therefore society) have been working hard to discourage gay relationships and monogamy - and the stigma of being gay, especially for the younger crowd, often lends itself to quick sexual encounters rather than healthy dating.
None of this is meant as an excuse. It's not. It is hard, however, to discourage behavior of one type in the gay community, while at the same time discouraging the alternative. That's one of the reasons gay marriage is so important to some of us. It sends a message to younger gay people that 'normal' dating and relationships are possible.
Which we should encourage.
Comments:Brett said (at February 18, 2005 05:40 AM):
I think a lot of the sexual health issues faced by the gay community aren't so much gay issues as they are guy issues. Men -- regardless of orientation -- are biologically conditioned to seek out and have sex with many partners as a way of propagating their genetic material. In heterosexual couplings, women (who are biologically conditioned to find and keep single mates who can provide for them and their offspring) are a moderating influence; in homosexual couplings, there are fewer traffic bottlenecks on the freeway to Nookie Town. Introduce sexually-transmitted diseases into the equasion, and whammo, you've got problems.
Of course, like you say, this is a huge generalization. There are any number of monogamous, sexually-responsible gay men, just as there are any number of loopy, promiscuous straights of either gender.
As far as the gay community goes, I see a lot of positive efforts being made to educate about health risks, but there still seems to be a substantial element that embraces and in some cases celebrates some terribly risky behaviors and institutions. I think it's pretty tragic, for instance, that places like this still have such currency.
Henry said (at February 19, 2005 10:47 AM):
Yes. No. Maybe? Yes, I agree that - at the risk of generalizing - men are probably more sexual then woman. That's only part of the picture, though. There's a lot of socializing which effects things as well.
