Violence against Gays up in 2007

Violence against the GLBT community rose 24 percent in 2007, increasing from a total of 1954 victims reporting incidents to 2430 victims incidents. . By the same token the number of reported incidents rose by 23 percent from 1486 to 1833. The statistics come from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs and more than thirty of its members. In a 78 page report the group concludes that hate-based violence against Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders had increased by 24 percent.

Regrettably incidents of harassment have also increased. Now why, you might be wondering would incidents of harassment and violence be on the rise? oh Jeez, I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the hate speech and reactionary rhetoric of the far right as it attempts to undermine civil unions and gay marriage.. In its determination to promote straight marriage the far right has opted to demonize gays and lesbians. Instead of promoting straight marriage the far right has equated gays and lesbians with everything from incest and bestiality to child molestation. I don’t know about you but the last I knew most people, gay or straight alike, don’t want to marry their brothers, sisters, or parents. The vast majority of people be they gay or straight, don’t want to marry their Dobermans and German Shepherds. And only the sickest of individuals want to have sex with children.

But what the homophobes ignore is the fact that homosexuality is perfectly normal expression of human sexuality. It occurs in all cultures and within all religions. Indeed, as we recently learned, very often those who condemn homosexuality the loudest are in fact trying to deny their own gay tendencies. That said psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, view homosexuality as falling within the normal range of human behavior. Granted, there are always a few exceptions to the rules, but for the most part it is not viewed upon abnormally.

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CA Supreme Court shoots down gay marriage ban.

The haters have also started a petition to change the State Constitution to view marriage as only between opposite sexes.

MSNBC has this:

Domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage, the justices ruled 4-3 in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.

The decision can be viewed here.

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When in Doubt, Blame Gays and Lesbians

Homosexuality is an Unhealthy Lifestyle

What’s wrong with this article? I mean besides the fact that there isn’t a single reliable fact within it. Moreover it is little more than a rant by ChristoFascists who have nothing better to do with their time than unifying the Republican Base by rallying that base against the GLBT community. In an attempt to remedy that situation I am republishing Part III of THE FOURTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF FASCISM, a piece about this very topic.

By
Daniel
With Assistance from
Brian

A defining characteristic of fascism is the manner in which it singles out minority groups for deliberate persecution. Whenever fascists decide to test the water, when they want to see how much they can get away with, they invariably begin with a chosen minority or minorities, inflicting their abuse on a specific group or groups before they, the fascists, brutalize society as a whole.

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A thank you and a quick lobby day follow-up…

This bitch had a fantabulous time in Boston!

Well, actually we were in Cambridge…but there was still chowdah to be had, so it was all good.

Hugs and adoration to the fantabulous WOC bloggers I finally got to meet in person and a HUGE thank you followed by a hug Kierra at Choice USA for asking me to be on her panel!

Pause…stretch out travel kinks…continue.

Shall we?

A follow-up to PROMO’s Lobby Day…
This bitch wanted to direct all y’all to the Pam’s House Blend post regarding an incident that happened whilst we were lobbying last week.

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THE BENEFITS OF GAY MARRIAGE

The Marriage Protection Amendment is one of the most asinine ideas to come down the pike in at least fifty years. In the first place it’s a misnomer. It doesn’t protect heterosexual marriage at all. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but whenever you ask the proponents of the Marriage Protections exactly how it protects heterosexual marriage, they never quite manage to muster a proper response. They go into convoluted Biblical arguments about how the primary purpose of marriage is reproduction, or how God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, or how gay marriage will open the doors on incestuous relationships or bestiality, but they never directly answer the question. How is gay marriage harmful to heterosexual couples? Do the Bible-thumpers in this world really believe that a straight couple will one day encounter a gay couple and that one of the heterosexuals will turn to his partner and quip, “Jeeze dear, that looks kind of neat, I think I’d like to try that?” I wouldn’t be surprised. As for the idea that gay marriage will promote incest and bestiality, I don’t suppose it ever dawned on the Bible-thumpers that they might want to pass Constitutional Amendments against those abnormal practices and leave the GLBT community the hell alone. But when the truth is told the fact of the matter is that gay marriage will have no ill effect other than denying gay couples what heterosexual couples already enjoy.

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SHOULD I BE DISGUSTED OR NOT?

By SweetPea

Well, well, well. It appears as if Obama and Hilary are openly courting the GLBT vote! That right my pets. Obama has decided to take out ads in four, various news outlets in Ohio and Texas, most notably The Dallas Voice, Outlook Weekly, and The Gay Peoples Chronicles. Not to be out done, Frau Clinton has given six interviews with six gay news outlets including TheAdvocate, Logo, and The Washington Blade.

As a 24-year-old gay male I am of course TOUCHED by the sudden attention, but I also have to remind the readers here at Sirens that there’s a huge diference between pre-election LIP SERVICE and the granting of equal rights after the election. In other words I am still not convinced. Right now Clinton and Obama will do or say anything if it means more votes and another delegate or two, so I am not quite convinced as to their sincerity.

As I said in a recent Post, Obama and Clinton have spent most of this campaign trying to play it safe, playing to the center when everyone knows that the proper way to run a primary is to play to your base during the run up to the convention and THEN play to the middle after you capture the nomination. (Frankly I’m kind of hoping for a brokered conention in which NEITHER of these clowns is elected and a third, more suitable candidate steps into the limelight, but that’s probably just a pipedream.)

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GETTING SHAFTED AGAIN

Sweet Pea is a contributor to Coalition for a Democratic America and the Coalition for a Republican-free America. We welcome him to Siren’s today with an important post regarding LGBT issues that always get swept under the damn rug. ~ Dusty

By Sweet Pea

Well, it must be a presidential election year because once again Gays and Lesbians are getting the short end of the proverbial stick. We all know that John McCain will do his very best to make certain that Gays and Lesbians will never achieve full equality under the law, meaning that he will in all probability try to deny us the benefits of civil unions, much less the rights to marry and to enjoy the financial benefits that come from a marital union.

So that means that we stand a much better chance with the Democratic candidates for president, doesn’t it? Well, to be succinct, NO.

The original Clinton Administrations did very little to help Gays and Lesbians. And despite the half baked idea that Clinton was our first Black President, he did very little to help Blacks. In fact the Clintons are little more that moderate Republicans, corporate whores in Democratic clothing who employed corporatist economic policies which harmed the very people they were claiming to uplift, than they are legitimate liberals. I suppose, in a warped sort of way, this meant that Gays and Lesbians were better off than racial minorities and poor people, because the Clintons never had the guts to be seen with GLBT leaders and politicians. Instead, they chose to play it safe. They avoided controversy by pretending that the GLBT community didn’t even exist.

Some things never change. When was the last time you saw Hilary Clinton appear at a rally with a well known GLBT leader, cleryman, or politician? Can you say “virtually never?” Hilary would much rather play it safe, playing and running to the center and then governing–if elected–from just right of center. Just like the 1990s when they ran a joint presidency out of the White House. Let’s face it. The Clinton’s aren’t about do or be seen doing anything that the center or their corporatist masters might find controversial. And that means they will ignore an entire constituency, human rights be damned.

So if the Clinton’s can’t be trusted, certainly we can trust Mister Obama.

Yeah. Right. Tell me another one.

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THEOCRATIC REVISION AT ITS WORST: PART I

HOW FAR RIGHT THEOCRATS DISTORT LANGUAGE, HISTORY, AND THE CONSTITUTION

The Redefinition of Equal Rights: Equality is Not a Matter of Special
Privileges-By SweetPea, BibleBelted, Thomas Paine, and PraetorOne

Whenever I hear people talk about gays and lesbians wanting to promote
the “homosexual life style” I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry.
In the first place the idea that we want to promote a given life style
is just one bread slice short of a sandwich, and to be perfectly
honest, the term “homosexual life style” is usually bantered about by
people who have a lot more to promote than just a so called “life
style.”

The only thing that gays and lesbians seek is the right to be treated
in the same way that heterosexuals are treated. That includes the
right to marry, the right to raise families, equal employment
opportunities, and just about any other right or convenience that the
heterosexual community takes for granted on a daily basis. And yet,
for some reason, whenever we seek what the majority already enjoys, we
are accused of promoting a life style or of asking for special
privileges. Strange, I never thought that asking for the rights and
benefits that others routinely enjoy could be defined as special
treatment, but for some reason a few people choose to redefine the
argument in those terms.

Of course you also have to remember that many, indeed the vast
majority of the people who use that kind of Orwellian argument
themselves have something to promote, and as I have already stated it
is a lot more than a mere lifestyle. It is a form of religion-based
government that is not recognized by our constitution. In short the
people who want to delegate gays and lesbians to second class
citizenship are attempting to impose their religion in what can only
be described as a Christian-oriented theocracy which would have made
our Founding Fathers cringe. Or to put it another way, the would be
theocrats, instead of taking the attitude that they don’t have to
engage in activities which they consider sinful, have taken the
attitude that they have the right to impose those values on others who
do not consider homosexuality to be sinful. They truly believe that
their religious views should reign supreme, and instead of taking
personal responsibility for their own actions they want to impose that
responsibility on those of differing faiths and creeds.

Now if that isn’t an establishment of religion will someone please
tell me what is?

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