Utah boy brings gun to school, cites Newtown fears

PAUL FOY

— Dec. 18 7:50 PM EST

 

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah sixth-grader caught with a gun at school told administrators he brought the weapon to defend himself in case of an attack similar to last week's mass shooting at a Connecticut school, officials said Tuesday.

The 11-year-old was being held in juvenile detention on suspicion of possessing a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault after other students at the suburban Salt Lake City elementary school told police he threatened them with the handgun.

Teachers and administrators at West Kearns Elementary School confronted the boy in class Monday after students reported the weapon, said Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley. The boy had an unloaded gun and ammunition in his backpack, Horsley said.

The boy waved the gun at others during a morning recess, school officials said. Other students, however, didn't report the threat until classes were nearly finished for the day. There was no immediate explanation for the delay, authorities said.

Authorities have not released the child's name. The .22-caliber handgun had been left at the boy's home by a relative, Horsley said.

The child made statements to administrators and mentioned the shooting rampage last week in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children dead, authorities said.

The boy told others his parents sent him to school with the gun for protection, which his parents adamantly deny, Horsley said.

"The family is rocked by this. They have been very forthcoming," Horsley said.

The boy was expected to be charged in juvenile court Tuesday, Horsley said.

"This kid made a mistake, and he knows it," Horsley said. "He feels bad about it, and his parents are cooperating with the investigation. He will not be coming back to this school."

No one was injured.

Two other Utah schools were dealing with rumors of gun possession by students that turned out to be false, underscoring fears spread by the Connecticut shooting.

Separately, Utah's attorney general-elect, John Swallow, said he planned to make school safety a high priority and that fortifying schools might be one solution.

"When we had the issue with the airliners, for example, we strengthened the cockpit doors so that terrorists on the plane couldn't get through to the pilot," Swallow told The Associated Press.

Granite School District officials said they have a high level of security compared to other Utah schools. The district employs its own police force with 16 armed officers on patrol, plus school resource officers who are off-duty police officers.

___

Associated Press writer Brady McCombs contributed to this report.

Bloggers Note:  What has this country come to when we have 11 year old children feel the need to take a weapon to school, not to settle scores with the local bully, but to protect themselves from threats that don’t even exist. What is wrong with this country?

Teens Arrested for Killing Gay College Student

 

Two teenagers, whose names haven't been released, confessed to killing a young gay man after the three had masturbated together in his car.

BY Diane Anderson-Minshall

December 14 2012 3:14 PM ET

 

Two teens have confessed to killing Lawrence Corrêa Biancão

Two teenagers were arrested Tuesday in connection with the Dec. 9 murder of a gay college student in Brazil, according to Campo Grande News and Gay Star News, which translated the Spanish language report into English. Lawrence Corrêa Biancão, a 20-year-old communications student who lived in the Southwestern Brazil city of Campo Grande, had been found dead, strangled with a seatbelt, with all of his belongings removed from the crime scene. The confession from the two teens arrested illuminates what may have happened during Biancão's final hours.

According to Campo Grande News, the teens said they were motivated by homophobia. One boy apparently told police, "He wanted to kiss me and I wanted to kill him." 

The police officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Wellington Oliveira, told reporters that the boys had planned to kill Biancão after meeting him two weeks prior at a local mall. He alleged that Biancão had flirted with him and then the two exchanged phone numbers. That same teen says he then told his alleged co-conspirator and they agreed they would kill him, rob him, dump his body, and drive the victim's stolen car out of the state.

The rest of the alleged confession tells a rather disturbing tale that psychologists are likely to chalk up to, at least in part, internalized homophobia on part of the teenagers. On Dec. 9, Biancão and the teen met at that same promenade, bringing along his friend. The three all reportedly drove away in the victim's vehicle, went to a different location, and all masturbated together. They returned to the mall and as Biancão and the teens were saying goodbyes one teen reached from the backseat and strangled Biancão with his own seatbelt.

Fortunately, the victim had told his friends the name and phone number of the guy he was going to meet. Once police went to the alleged killer's home, they found  all of Biancão's stolen belongings.

Biancão is one of the approximately 266 murders of LGBT people in Brazil this year alone, the highest anti-LGBT murder rate in the world. Professor Luiz Mott, an anthropologist at the Federal University of Bahia and founder of Brazil's Grupo Gay da Bahia told Campo Grande News, "The underreporting of these crimes is striking, indicating that the number represents just the tip of an iceberg of cruelty and blood. Since the federal government refuses to build a database on hate crimes against homosexuals, we based this report on newspaper and online news, which is certainly far from covering all of these claims."

Gay rights ordinances pushed in small Kentucky towns

(Photo: Aaron Borton, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal)

Reblogged: USA Today (c) 2012 All Rights Reserved

12:05AM EST December 3. 2012 - ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. — In a scene that has been playing out in small cities throughout Kentucky in recent weeks, local citizens working with the statewide Fairness Coalition — which includes groups such as the Louisville, Ky.-based Fairness Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky — are seeking local anti-bias protections for gay and transgender people.

In Elizabethtown, Ky., a dozen activists went to City Hall where they presented the City Council with a proposal for an ordinance banning discrimination in housing, accommodations and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

"We're not asking for anything more than ... the right to be who we are and to live our lives peacefully without having any fear of discrimination," said Rose Marie Rocha of the nearby Hardin County, Ky., community of Cecilia.

Only Louisville, Lexington and Covington have such ordinances right now, but ordinances have also been proposed in Shelbyville, Bowling Green, Richmond and Berea. And Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, said efforts may be launched in more towns early next year.

So far, small county seats and other conservative heartland communities in Kentucky have resisted such measures. A Henderson ordinance was repealed in 2001 less than two years after its passage, and a proposal for one fell short in Berea last year.

Support in elections

But gay rights advocates are taking heart from the national elections in November — even though Kentucky voters overwhelmingly voted for candidates running on conservative platforms — to make their push.

Until November, even blue states had never backed same-sex marriage by popular referendum, as Maine, Maryland and Washington did in this year's elections. In addition, President Barack Obama endorsed same-sex marriage, and polls show younger voters to be increasingly affirming of gays and lesbians.
"I think the nation's reached a tipping point," said Hartman, who also is calling on the General Assembly to pass statewide laws that would eliminate the need for a city-by-city campaign.

But Hartman and other advocates are quick to add that the current proposals in small cities do not address same-sex marriage, which Kentucky voters banned in a 2004 constitutional amendment. Instead, they generally would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations.

"You need to bring people along, make sure people know exactly what the ordinance is," said Jane Thomas, a Shelbyville resident who helped present the ordinance in her city in November. "It doesn't have anything to do with marriage, it has to do with fairness."

'Conservative county'

Shelbyville Mayor Thomas L. Hardesty said he wants to give City Council members time to review the proposal, but he doubted it would get support. "Shelby County is still a very conservative county," he said.
Shelby County, Shelbyville and Simpsonville have a joint Human Rights Commission that monitors cases of bias involving categories protected under state and federal law, such as race, religion, gender and age.
Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said he hasn't seen proof of the need for extending such protections to the categories of sexual orientation or gender identity. And "I don't perceive that those laws have any chance right now to pass the legislature," Cothran added.

While acknowledging national liberalizing trends on the issue, he said "there is going to be some point in which the culture shift which is happening stops and levels out. Obviously in the red states, that bottoming-out point is higher than in the blue states."

Kansas voters, for example, rejected gay rights ordinances in two cities last month. Yet, such ordinances are spreading in the heartland. In the past year in Indiana, smaller cities such as New Albany, Evansville and South Bend have adopted them.

"What the demographic information shows and what our experience shows is it matters less and less to people the reason you are treated unfairly," said the Rev. Kent Gilbert, pastor of Union Church in Berea and an advocate for an ordinance in that city. "It matters more and more that you are not."

In Elizabethtown, Mayor Tim Walker declined to say how he felt about the proposed ordinance until council members and the city attorney could review it. The measure would exempt certain religious organizations and certain small businesses.

Cothran said opponents of the ordinances have "serious religious liberty concerns about these kinds of laws" as they apply not only "to churches but  owners of religious organizations that are not churches and religious owners of regular businesses."

Cothran cited the decision of Catholic adoption agencies to cease operating in some states where they were required to serve same-sex couples. Hartman said the ordinances, such as the one proposed for Elizabethtown, exempt religious organizations and religious-operated nonprofit groups, though not for-profit business owners. "Built into the law is a pretty explicit attempt to preserve religious freedom," he said. "But being able to eat at a local restaurant, that's the type of public accommodation that really has to be open to everyone."

Laws on bias, sexual orientation and gender identity

So-called fairness ordinances and laws vary in details, but they generally prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or both in matters of housing, employment and public accommodations.
Sexual orientation refers to the gender or genders to whom one is attracted; transgender people are those who identify with the gender opposite their birth gender.

Federal, Kentucky and Indiana laws do not prohibit such discrimination. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation; all but five of them also include gender identity.

Federal, Kentucky and Indiana civil rights laws generally prohibit discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin or disability.

Neither Kentucky nor federal civil rights laws prohibit private-sector bias against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity, although executive orders prohibit it in areas such as state hiring and federal public housing.

Nude AIDS activists arrested in Boehner's office

Naked AIDS activists, with painted slogans on their bodies, protest inside the lobby of the Capitol Hill office of House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, prior to World AIDS Day, Dec. 1. Three women AIDS activists saying they wanted to highlight the ??naked truth?? about potential spending cuts in HIV programs were arrested after taking their clothes off in the lobby Boehner's office. / AP Photo/Susan Walsh

WASHINGTON - Three women AIDS activists saying they wanted to highlight the "naked truth" about potential spending cuts in HIV programs were arrested Tuesday after taking their clothes off in the lobby of House Speaker John Boehner's office.


The trio had the words "AIDS cuts kill" painted on their bodies and had linked arms with four men who also disrobed as part of the protest. The nude protesters, along with dozens of other clothed demonstrators chanted slogans, including: "People with AIDS are under attack. What do we do? Fight back."


The three women were arrested by Capitol Police as they mingled with other protesters in the hall outside Boehner's district office after putting their clothes back on. The naked male protesters appeared to have left.

"People with AIDS are sick and tired of being pushed over the cliff," said Jennifer Flynn, 40, of New York City, who was among those arrested. "We need to make sure they stop going after people with AIDS."

Michael Tikili, 26, of New York City, said he is HIV-positive and depends on Medicaid for treatment.

"Just the idea of these programs being cut is horrible," Tikili said.


The protest occurred as congressional leaders and President Obama seek a deal to avert automatic spending cuts and tax increases in January. A coalition of AIDS activist groups gathering in Washington for Saturday's World AIDS Day organized the protest.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Salvation Army's Red Kettle Holiday Campaign Takes Heat From Gay Rights Activists

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign is once again coming under intense scrutiny from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates.
America Blog is asking LGBT shoppers and allies to give downloadable "vouchers" to Salvation Army bell ringers in lieu of cash in an effort to let the organization know that "bigotry is not a Christmas value," according to blogger John Aravosis.

"The Salvation Army discriminates against gay people, and discriminating donors should find another charity this Christmas than evangelical bigots who advocate against our civil rights," Aravosis writes. "And not just that –- they’ve actively lobbied against pro-gay policies in a number of countries as well."

Check out the printable voucher below, then scroll down to keep reading:

Of course, it isn't the first time the Salvation Army's conservative view of homosexuality has been brought to attention. "The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians. While you might think you're helping the hungry and homeless by dropping a few dollars in the bright red buckets, not everyone can share in the donations," Bil Browning noted on The Bilerico Project last year. "The organization also has a record of actively lobbying governments worldwide for anti-gay policies -- including an attempt to make consensual gay sex illegal."

Indeed, as Browning pointed out, the group's position statements reveal a somewhat rigid outlook on LGBT lifestyles. "Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex," one statement reads. "The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life. There is no scriptural support for same-sex unions as equal to, or as an alternative to, heterosexual marriage."

Earlier this year, an Australian Salvation Army official sparked international controversy after he implied in an interview that LGBT people should be put to death, noting that it was "a part of our belief system."

"You know, we have an alignment to the Scriptures, but that’s our belief," Major Anthony Craibe said in the interview. You can listen to audio, courtesy of Truth Wins Out's John Becker

Salvation Army spokesman Major Bruce Harmer then quickly released a statement distancing the organization from Craibe's "extremely regrettable" remarks, noting that members do "not believe, and would never endorse, a view that homosexual activity should result in any form of physical punishment."

Harmer went on to note: "The Salvation Army believes in the sanctity of all human life and believes it would be inconsistent with Christian teaching to call for anyone to be put to death. We consider every person to be of infinite value, and each life a gift from God to be cherished, nurtured and preserved."

Gay actor Kevin Clash, puppeteer of Sesame Street’s Elmo, resigns from show

His exit comes amid new allegations of sexual relationship with a minor

20 November 2012 | By Greg Hernandez of GayStarNews

Kevin Clash has resigned from television's Sesame Street after 28 years.

The openly gay actor, best known for performing as Elmo but also did such characters as Baby Sinclair and Clifford, steps down as a second man is alleging they had a sexual relationship when the accuser was a minor.

Sesame Street Workshop, which employs Clash, described it as 'a sad day.'

'Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin's personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street, they said in a statement.

Cecil Singleton, 24, has filed a $5 million lawsuit in federal court in New York City in which he claims to have  had a sexual relationship with Clash after they met on a gay telephone chat line in 2003.

Singleton did not file suit until now because the 'adverse psychological and emotional effects' he suffered did not become apparent until this year, according to a report on TMZ.com.

This lawsuit comes on the heels of allegations by a man named Sheldon Stephens, 23, who says he had a sexual relationship with Clash when he was just 16.

Stephens later recanted his allegations amid a reported settlement of $125,000 but has since said he wants to take back the recanting and stick to his original story.

Clash had maintained that the relationship with Stephens was between two consenting adults and said he was 'deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not.'

Bloggers Update: An update of the current situation dealing with Kevin Clash. As of this time no charges have been brought against him. But it is just sad to see this case developing into something that could be really bad. We'll keep people updated.

Elmo puppeteer's accuser recants allegations of underage sexual relationship

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY (c) 2012

The man who said he was underage when he had a sexual relationship with "Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash has now recanted that claim, the law firm representing him said on Tuesday.

Lucas Jackson / Reuters file

The Pennsylvania law firm Andreozzi & Associates issued a statement reading, "This office represented the 23-year-old man who was the subject of many media reports regarding Kevin Clash. He wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship. He will have no further comment on the matter."

In a statement of his own, Clash, 52, the puppeteer and voice behind popular red Muppet Elmo, said, "I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further."
There was no word Tuesday afternoon on whether Clash would cancel the leave of absence he has taken from "Sesame Street" since news of the relationship surfaced.

Sesame Workshop said in a statement: "We are pleased that this matter has been brought to a close, and we are happy that Kevin can move on from this unfortunate episode."

On Monday, Sesame Workshop issued a statement saying that the man had contacted them in June saying he and Clash began a relationship seven years ago, when the unidentified man was 16.

"We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action," that statement read. "We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation.

We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage and he was disciplined."

In a statement to NBC News issued Monday, Clash said the man was of age when the relationship began.
"I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter," Clash said.  "I had a relationship with the accuser. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was. I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation."

Clash has performed with "Sesame Street" characters since 1979, when he played Cookie Monster in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He became an official puppeteer on "Sesame Street" in 1984 and created character voices for puppets such as Baby Natasha and Dr. Nobel Price.

Clash was not the first puppeteer to voice Elmo, but once he took over the character in 1985 and gave it a high-pitched toddler voice, the character became enormously popular.

Clash was the subject of the 2011 documentary "Being Elmo," which documented his lifelong love of puppeteering.

"Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world," said Sesame Workshop.

Bloggers Comment: The only reason I put this on my blog is that it seems that even Elmo is not free from the hurt that comes from gay men who become so freaked out about their relationships. I think  Kevin Clash has done so much for young people in this country and around the world. Isn't it amazing that how up until now, his sexual orientation never been an issue. Let's just hope that the do gooders of this country won't read something into this situation that isn't really there.

When will same-sex marriages begin in Washington, Maryland, Maine?

By  David Taffet

(c) 2012 Dallasvoice.com

 On Election Day, three states approved same-sex marriage and one, Minnesota, defeated an anti-equality constitutional amendment. But marriages have not yet begun in the three states — Maine, Maryland and Washington — that voted for marriage equality.

Maryland’s new marriage law takes effect on Jan. 1, but according to state officials, it will be a few more days after the New Year before marriage licenses will be issued. According to the Washington Post, that’s because Jan. 1 is a holiday and Maryland has a 48-hour waiting period from the time licenses are issued.

In Maine, marriage will go into effect sometime between Dec. 6 and and Jan. 5. The initiative goes into effect 30 days after the governor makes a “public proclamation of the result of the vote,” within 10 days after the result has been determined.

Maine voters on Tuesday overturned a 2009 ballot initiative that blocked a marriage equality law passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Equality lost in 2009 by 47 to 53 percent. The overturn vote this year was 53 to 47 percent.

Because Washington’s elections are done by mail, results came slower, but marriage passed by roughly the same margin here that it passed by in Maine and Maryland. Washington’s procedure is for the ballot initiative to be certified on Dec. 5. Marriage is expected to begin in that state the next day.

The biggest prize this year may still be California. If the Supreme Court decides not to hear the Proposition 8 case at its next conference Nov. 20, the lower court’s ruling stands and marriage begins immediately or within weeks in that state. If the high court decides to hear the case, a ruling would probably not be issued until June.

Marriage opponent Brian Brown, president of National Organization for Marriage, said his group was outspent 4 to 1, which he blames for the first successful votes for equality. Polls show 53 percent of Americans support marriage equality.

One in four young gay people assaulted

Initial findings of the widest research into gay people in England has found more than half self-harm

04 November 2012 | By Joe Morgan

 

Photo by Scott Nunn

One in four young gay people have been assaulted in England, and more than half have self-harmed.

The new research, which also found nearly half (47%) have received threats or intimidation as a result of being gay.

As reported by The Independent On Sunday, the figures come from Youth Chances, the biggest social research project into young LGBT people in England.

Dan Baker, Youth Chances project manager, said despite it being 2012, it is still a hard environment to grow up gay.

‘Self-harm jumped out as a really alarming statistic,’ he said. ‘Self-harm is a way of people expressing an internal issue that they might not be able to express. Maybe Britain is not as tolerant as we thought.’

The statistics for self-arm among gay people are significantly higher than the national average of one in 12 young people. Two thirds of women said they had hurt themselves on purpose, compared to 37% of men.

Transgender young adults were the most vulnerable, with four out of five saying they had deliberately harmed themselves.

Youth Chances believes its research shows public attitudes have yet to catch up with the legal system.

Baker said: ‘There’s a lot of great equality now, such as allowing gay couples to adopt and have civil partnerships.

‘But, despite the progress, there seems to be lots of cases of harassment and even assault.

‘If people are being taunted or attacked because of who they are, it shows public opinion behavior hasn’t caught up with legislation.’

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told the British paper: ‘These statistics are really shocking; they ought to be a wake-up call to every parent, teacher and community leader. As a society, we are still failing LGBT kids on a massive scale.

‘Even today, around half of schools have no anti-bullying program specifically addressing homophobia. Kids are not born bigoted, they become bigoted.
‘All the evidence suggests that education can help combat bigotry and promote understanding and acceptance.’

The three-year project will eventually survey 15,000 young adults. The initial findings are based on the responses of the first 3,500.

(c) 2012 GayStarNews

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Thanksgiving Prayer

CNS photo

Thank you
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

(c) 2012 Our Sunday Visitor

The Power of Finding Common Ground

Dear John,

For those invested in equality for LGBT people, last night's election had several primary story lines – races and issues that loomed large on Twitter and our personal networks but that were not always front and center in the mainstream coverage. We bit our nails and sought out the latest returns until the historic results became clear:

• Tammy Baldwin became the first out Senator ever;
• Marriage equality won popular votes in Maine and Maryland, and is currently leading in Washington state, the first time ever that same-sex couples won the right to marry at the polls;
• An effort to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota was defeated at the polls;
• A pro-marriage equality Justice of the Iowa Courts was reelected despite being targeted by anti-LGBT forces;
• The nation reelected a President who endorsed marriage equality, LGBT students' rights, and LGBT-inclusive bullying-prevention legislation; repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell and refused to defend the "Defense of Marriage Act"; led federal agencies that have sought to act in the interest of LGBT people, particularly youth; and appointed LGBT people, including GLSEN's founding Executive Director Kevin Jennings, to a remarkable number of positions in his administration.

These victories for equality – whatever one thinks of the results of the Presidential election – underscore changing attitudes toward LGBT issues in our society that are the result of decades of hard work to change laws, to reach hearts and minds, and to integrate the lives and needs of LGBT people into policy and practice in this country wherever possible.

And all of that change was possible only because of coalition-building and years of effort to build strong partnerships for equality and justice across communities and lines of difference.

If you've made it this far, I ask you to pause for a moment and reread that previous sentence. That idea can become a cliché, stripped of meaning from overuse. But this election and the internal debates now looming for the Republican Party underscore powerfully what those concepts – coalition-building and partnership – really mean.

This was brought home for me powerfully this morning when I heard a conservative commentator respond to the suggestion that the Republican Party might need to rethink its approach to an increasingly diverse electorate in order to build a new majority. Current Republican strategy has its roots in the late 1960s, when a young Pat Buchanan suggested to Richard Nixon that the party could divide the country in half and win by retaining the "larger half." In other words, no need to broaden your base, just create a sharp, dividing line, and motivate those who agree with you by any means necessary.

Asked if the party might need to do more to bring new communities into its base, the commentator replied: "Ideas trump all. When you broaden the base, you weaken the foundation. You begin to lose sight of what you stand for." His comment efficiently killed a discussion of alternative Republican approaches to advancing conservative ideas.

In a way, he succinctly articulated the polar opposite of a coalition and partnership-based approach: a commitment to ideological purity over the kind of strategic clarity that powers great coalitions and effective partnerships. An approach that says "This is what you must each believe and act on" rather than "this is what we intend to accomplish together and let's agree on how we will work together to achieve that goal."

For twenty years, GLSEN has stood firmly for a coalition and partnership based approach to the long, hard work of change. Sometimes we have sought power from others in alliance, sometimes we brought our own power to bear on a common goal. Always, we have tried to do the listening and thinking and negotiating required to bring people and organizations together on common ground for a common purpose. Our mission statement articulates GLSEN's commitment to valuing difference itself for the contribution it makes to a diverse and healthy society. Last night we saw the incredible power of difference assembled for a common purpose to drive victories for equality and justice. The power to bring us closer to the day when each member of every school community learns to respect and accept all people regardless of sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity. 

It is our youth who still struggle, in the hallways and classrooms where they spend their days, for the very basic tenet of equality – respect. That is why GLSEN has made passage of the Safe Schools Improvement Act and Student Non-Discrimination Act a priority. I am hopeful that the historic nature of yesterday’s election will help bring passage of these important bills closer to reality, and help ensure safe environments for every student to thrive.


Sincerely,



Eliza Byard
Executive Director

Bloggers Note: I received this email today from GLSEN. If you made it this far - then you got it. And I thank for reading this post. It was an amazing election. 

In a historic first, gay marriage is approved by popular vote in Maine, Maryland

By Laura E. Davis, Yahoo! News (c) 2012

In an historic election night for the gay rights movement, voters in Maine and Maryland became the first in the country to approve same-sex marriage, breaking a 32-state losing streak.

According to the Associated Press, Maine passed a ballot measure legalizing it on Tuesday night—an issue put on the ballot by gay marriage supporters—while voters in Maryland approved a law legalizing gay marriage that was actually passed earlier this year by the state legislature. The Washington Post reports that gay couples in Maryland will be able to wed starting Jan. 1.

Gay marriage is on the ballot in four states. Voters in Washington state are weighing in on a similar referendum, while Minnesota voters rejected an amendment to the state constitution that would have solidified a ban on gay marriage. It remains illegal in the state after Tuesday's vote.

"It's hard to overstate the national significance of this vote," Mark Solomon, the national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, which supports gay marriage, said in a statement about the Maine initiative. "For years, our opponents have argued that we could not win a majority vote at the ballot. Today, Maine voters proved them wrong, standing up for the Golden Rule and for freedom for all Mainers."

Maine and Maryland join six other states—Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iowa, Vermont, New York and Connecticut—and the District of Columbia to allow gay marriage.

Tuesday's election was the first time gay marriage was on the ballot since President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to declare his support for it in May. It also marked another milestone for gay rights advocates: Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay candidate elected to the U.S. Senate.

Bloggers Note:  Eight down, forty-two to go. And congratulations to Rep. Tammy Baldwin as well. 

Will it really matter if I vote?

How important of a day will Tuesday, November 6, 2012 be to you? It becomes really hard sometimes to express an opinion about the two candidates with all the silly advertisements on television. And don’t get me started on local candidates, ballot proposals and voting on state constitutional amendments.  I was told by our city clerk that I could be in line for upwards of two hours just waiting to get a ballot. It’s two long A4 sized pages, which if you don't know is larger than a standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch page, which need to be filled out on both sides. I had an alternative. Absentee voting. Due to some physical problems I have, I could not stand that long at the polling place. So the clerk checked my photo identification and gave me the complete packet of information including that big confusing ballot. I took it home and sat on my couch pencil in hand. Straight party ticket or a split ticket? I chose a split ticket. It took me all of 24 minutes to complete my ballot, sign the appropriate areas and secure it in the envelope.  I then returned it to city hall the next day. It will be opened and processed on November 6th – and my voice will be heard.  I once had someone tell me, if you don’t vote – you forfeit your right to complain. That by voting you help to move the people of your community along. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose on Tuesday night. But we all lose if we just sit and do nothing. Let’s go everyone – VOTE ON NOVEMBER 6TH.

Mea Culpa.

As you may have noticed, I removed this blog for a period of time. It was brought to my attention by a number of friends and family that it was.... crude. And that was the nice thing that was said about it. So I decided that I would re-start this blog with something less offensive. To those who I did offend, my deepest apologies. And to those of you who liked my previous blog and told me so, thank you. This next attempt at a blog, will have gay related themes. However, I will not be putting any offensive or potentially offensive images on here. Regardless of their legality - I am living by the phrase, "don't put anything on line that you wouldn't want your Mother to see." I should have been doing that from the start.

But I will say this is who I am. And I will not apologize for who I am and what I want. I will just be a bit more respectful of those who do not feel the same way.  Please leave your comments on this post. I would love to hear back from you. Thank you.