AFP: LGBTs ‘Call in Gay’ to protest same-sex marriage ban

VIA AFP/GOOGLE NEWS:

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Gays across the United States were urged to skip work on Wednesday as part of the latest protest against recent votes outlawing same-sex marriage in several regions.

The “Day Without A Gay” protest appeared to have had little economic impact but organizers said they had accomplished their main goal of raising awareness of their campaign without shutting down businesses.

Activists had encouraged people across the United States — both gay and straight — to call in “gay” for work and spend the day doing volunteer tasks. They also asked gays and lesbians to avoid shopping as a way of showing the economic power of the gay community.

But merchants in the Castro, the heart of San Francisco’s large gay community, said it was mostly business as usual on a chilly Wednesday morning.

“It seems to be about the same. The cold weather has brought about a little bit of slowness on the streets, but it’s mostly normal,” said Don Forfang, a barber at Louie’s Barber Shop.

The Day Without a Gay protest was created by Sean Hetherington, a personal trainer and stand-up comedian in Los Angeles, as a reaction to the November 4 passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Florida, Arizona and Arkansas also approved bans on gay marriage last month. It was timed to coincide with Wednesday’s celebration of International Human Rights Day, and took its inspiration from the 2006 immigrants rights protests that shut down schools and businesses from California to Texas.

Hetherington said the main goal of the protest was to increase awareness of the gay community, not to undermine businesses.

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HRC: Comments Comparing Prop 8 Protestors with Mumbai Terrorists Shows True Colors of Anti-Gay Movement

FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN:

Pat Boone’s Bizarre Rant Claims “Awful Similarity” Between “Jihadists” in Mumbai and Prop 8 Protestors; Attacks CA Gov Schwarzenegger for Encouraging Protests

12/9/2008

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, responded today to the exclusive commentary posted on the extremist, right-wing website World Net Daily by anti-gay activist and former singer Pat Boone. Boone published a bizarre and disturbing commentary comparing the horrific tragedy in Mumbai, which took the lives of over 170 people, to the protests against Proposition 8 here in the U.S. In essence, equating the Mumbai tragedy with those protesting the passage of the discriminatory amendment in California that took marriage rights away from gay and lesbian couples to terrorists.

In the commentary titled “Hate is hate, in India or America,” which can be viewed at http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=82830, Boone writes, “let me ask you: Have you not seen the awful similarity between what happened in Mumbai and what’s happening right now in our cities?” Boone went on to state, “What troubles me so deeply, and should trouble all thinking Americans, is that there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists.”

“Pat Boone wouldn’t normally warrant a second thought, even if his only claim to fame these days is his unabashed homophobia, but his disturbing commentary on this right-wing site can’t go unanswered,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “His commentary marks a new low in anti-gay rhetoric. And yet it also demonstrates the depths of hatred from these demagogues toward the LGBT community. Most Americans would be shocked to see this level of vitriol coming from someone who presented himself as America’s sweetheart.”

Boone even lodged an attack on Governor Schwarzenegger for encouraging gay Americans to “never give up” in the quest for equality. Boone wrote, “You haven’t seen, on the evening news, prominent entertainers and even California Gov. Schwarzenegger, urging the demonstrators on, telling them they should “never give up” until they get their way?” Boone added, “Hate is hate, no matter where it erupts. And hate, unbridled, will eventually and inevitably boil into violence.”

“Bigots like Boone will never see how absurd their arguments are, but just like that other anti-gay icon from the 70s, Anita Bryant, Pat Boone’s screed actually helps our efforts for equality,” continued Solmonese. “In most places in America today it isn’t acceptable to be an outright bigot. Obviously, Pat Boone hasn’t got that memo.”

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The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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Dallas Voice: Tragedy of the closet; cop’s secret gay love affair and tragic death

FROM THE DALLAS VOICE:

As murder retrial gets under way, story of a clandestine gay love affair and a young man’s tragic death should serve as a cautionary tale

By Hardy Haberman

For some people, being “in the closet” is a personal hell. But it often affects others, too.

Take the case of Steven Rios, a married police officer from Columbia, Mo.

According to prosecutors, Officer Rios, when faced with the possibility of having his gay relationship revealed to his wife and family, decided to reach into his closet and pull out a knife — a knife he used to slash the throat of Jesse Valencia, a 23-year-old student attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Officer Rios began the relationship with Valencia in 2004 when he arrested the student for interfering with a police call about a loud party. Rios told the court that their sexual relationship began that very night.

Rios was convicted of the murder three years ago, but an appeals court ordered a retrial, saying the trial court allowed inadmissible hearsay testimony the first time around.

The new trial began Monday, Dec. 1, and Rios faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole if he is convicted. Court officials said they expect the trial to end by Friday, Dec. 5.

The story is a graphic example of how the closet can kill. It should be a wake-up call for every LGBT person that is trying to hide their sexual orientation.

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Wisconsin state Supreme Court a player in gay rights issue

FROM THE DAILY CARDINAL (MADISON, WI):

Although Proposition 8 passed and Wisconsin passed a gay marriage ban in 2006, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices could alter the law to change gay marriage rights

By Molly Rivera

In the wake of Democratic victories on Election Day, liberals find it easy to believe in the progressive America that elected Barack Obama, the first black president. We should be proud of the historical civil rights success Obama’s election represents.

Yet, on that same day, our image of hope and unity was clouded by the passing of discriminatory measures in several states. Although thousands of students marched to Wisconsin’s capitol building Nov. 4 cheering for the future of America, the occasion was muted by California and America’s sad affirmation of the second-class status of LGBT citizens.

Along with Proposition 8 in California, the passage of gay marriage bans in Florida and Arizona—as well as Arkansas’ measure to bar gay couples from adopting children—reveal the long battle ahead for members and supporters of the LGBT community. Today, more than 40 states have constitutional bans or laws against same-sex marriages, including Wisconsin, which passed a law in 2006.

However, in the next few years Wisconsin courts will determine the full authority of the statute, and the court could overturn the ban completely someday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is critical to protecting civil rights in our state and will ultimately decide how broadly to interpret the amendment. For example, judges elected to the Supreme Court will have the power to interpret the second sentence of the amendment that bans anything “substantially similar” to marriage.

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