The Gay Fray

Straight with an asterisk?

Heterosexual with issues? Straight with an asterisk? Tell you, what, since there's always someone to complain that I post too many words, I'll just leave the links for the willing. You know, so as not to oppress those who have complained in the past of being forced to read my posts.

The interview:

Gold, Maeta. "Q&A With Ted Haggard". Show Tracker. January 27, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/01/q-a-with-ted-ha.html ​

And the commentary:

Savage, Ted. "Ted Haggard Puts His Penis In His Wife Way More Often Than You Put Your Penis In Your Wife". Slog. January 28, 2009. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/01/28/ted_haggard_puts_his_penis_in ​

And the excerpts:

Q: So do you think of yourself as homosexual or bisexual? How do you identify yourself?
A: What my therapist says is that I am a heterosexual with issues, and I think that’s accurate.

Q: Have you been attracted to people of the same sex all your life?
A: Yes, I have. But not to the exclusion of women. I think women are beautiful and I’m attracted to women, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my relationship with my wife. And according to the national statistics, our relationship is more vibrant than average heterosexual monogamous couples. And so it is confusing and complex. I think -- I believe sexuality, at least for me, is confusing and complex. But I am grateful that I am now to a place where I’m able make decisions and walk them through. Where for a long time I would try to make decisions and I’d pray about them and I’d fast and I’d memorize scripture and I really wanted to be a virtuous, wonderful man, but I had to fight hard to be a man of integrity. Where now it’s much easier.

(Gold)

• • •​

Attracted to men, sure, all his life. Not to the exclusion of women though—but he's not, you know, bisexual. Just another of those heterosexual men with "issues" that you'll find all over Craigslist looking for gay men without "standards." You would think that the LA Times reporter would confront Haggard on this: attracted to men and women = bisexual, it does not equal straight-with-an-asterisk. But whatever. I'm sure I speak for all Americans when I say I'm just happy to know that Mrs. Haggard is getting nailed more frequently and more vibrantly than the average married American woman—and she's getting it more monogamously these days too. I've been concerned about Mrs. Haggard's sexual needs not getting met. Now I don't need to worry anymore. Thanks, Ted.

(Savage)​

So there you go.

 

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Its funny but I just seem to totally lack this heterosexual urge from a young age to sleep with male prostitutes, let alone sort crystal out of their ass crack.

 

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I saw bits and pieces of several interviews with Ted Haggard, and he strikes me as someone who uses sex to stroke his ego, and he wouldn't care much where it came from at all. But to say he is heterosexual with "issues" is less of a actual diagnoses but one that comes from a more than religiously slanted individual that has more of an interest in saving his soul, than he/she does in actually helping Ted Haggard become a healthy adult. To become a healthy happy individual, we must address the feelings we have and not neccesarily act on them at every impulse but recognize that they are there and acknowledge that they have importance. Failure to do so only bring shame and guilt inside your heart and will never allow you to be free.

Some days, I get really frustrated at the signs and articles I see professing to "cure" gays and bisexuals. It's not an ailment, it's not a disease or a mental health "issue". It's the way you are wired in your brain and it's no more controllable than itching at a mosquito bite or chewing your food before swallowing. To ignore it and treat it like a cancer does your own soul an injustice. You can't cut it out, you can't medicate it away, and you can't hope for some kind of divine miracle.

I have an extremely open mind and heart, including having blurred the line several times myself only to find that I am definitely heterosexual myself. But to treat people like there is something wrong with them, instead of just admitting they are gay or bisexual is wrong on many levels. To do so in the public light even more so, because it challenges teenagers and young adults who are just finding out about their own sexuality to hide pieces of themselves and find out things the hard way. It forces them to the back alleys and to situations that are far from healthy for them to find themselves. You can't make a homosexual person straight, you can only brainwash them into believing that they are wrong for the feelings they has. It's wrong on so many levels.

I understand that people don't want to teach their children about these kinds of things in school, and I am okay with that. It should be up to the parent to help the child find himself. Far too often they brand their child to bear the same cross that their Jesus died to free them from.

Ted Haggard and his group need to sit down and shut up. If he wants to heal, let him heal... but don't try to teach that he is "saved" from his sexuality. It only serves to oppress and deny all citizens their right to the pursuit of happiness. Ted Haggard and his "mental health professionals" (a.k.a. Pastors) are hurting for more people than they think they are helping.

 

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I was talking about this with a friend of mine today, actually.

I want to hate Ted Haggard, but in a way I feel really bad for him. He obviously grew up in a place and an environment where being gay would have been the end of the world. He was obviously confused and afraid and ashamed of his sexuality when he was young, obviously due to outside pressures from family and friends and society in general. So he did what a lot of people have done--run for the Bible.

He tried to pray his way out of it. And he tried to hide from it, which is why he's obviously such a bigot. He figured that if he hated gays loud enough that he wouldn't be gay anymore...or at least that people wouldn't think he was.

But at the same time, I really hate the fucker. He could have used this to become a leader in the civil rights movement. He could have said "Look at me, I'm the biggest Jesus Freak you've ever met, thousands of people follow me, and I'm gay! If I'm gay, then you know we're no different than straight people." He could have taken that route. Instead, he's using it as a way to work his way back into the church, or just to make a quick buck while getting back to bashing gays.

 

That takes courage, and it's clear that Ted Haggard is a coward. He hid his lies and his life from everyone, not to protect everyone else but to protect himself.

I hope that he comes to terms at some point and becomes a stronger person. I am not going to hold my breath, however.

You can't hide from who you are, or you are always running and always looking over your shoulder. It's no way to live your life, and you will never be happy until you've accepted yourself. That's what anti-gay people don't understand either, that as citizens of nearly every country, we have a right to the pursuit of happiness. And when their bigotry and hatred infringes on those rights because of some dogma or religious belief, it becomes a human rights issue. There are no laws against being gay. There are no laws against being bi-sexual, but there are laws about being discriminated against and about being oppressed. People don't reckonize it for what it is, because they are too busy hating others to live in peace and harmony.

It's a sad state of affairs that people have to feel like they need to be "in the closet" or be ashamed of who and what they are. When every time someone acknowledges that they are gay, it's front page news and a huge deal. When outing someone is wrong and when we write laws specifically denying people the same civil rights as everyone else. They don't want more rights, or special treatment, or some kind of special benefit... all they want is the same benefits, rights and liberties to love and be happy with the person they want to be happy with for the rest of their life.

 

Just get to know him and what he's done to others and you'll get over your momentary sympathy pangs.

 

Domestic partnership, equality, and progress

Source: The Stranger
Link: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/wait-wait-dont-marry-me/Content?oid=1064909
Title: "Wait, Wait, Don't Marry Me", by Eli Sanders
Date: February 5, 2009

The present session of the Washington state legislature might well come through on a domestic partnership law that grants same-sex couples all the rights married heterosexual couples enjoy under state law. Eli Sanders, senior staff writer for the paper, analyzes the situation:

It won't be called marriage. It will instead be called domestic partnership. It won't deliver any of the 1,138 federal protections that straight married couples receive. But it will bring with it every single one of the nearly 450 rights to which straight couples in this state are currently entitled—even the highly coveted right to inherit sea-urchin-gathering licenses.

That's progress. Not full equality, but tremendous progress nonetheless. Going from zero to domestic-partnership parity in three years won't be too shabby for a state in which the supreme court, in October of 2005, upheld the legislature's 1998 ban on gay marriage, calling it "essential to the survival of the human race" and important for "the well-being of children." With a supreme court that's hostile to marriage equality and a legislature that's not yet ready to overturn its 1998 gay-marriage ban, domestic-partnership parity is the only realistic alternative gay-rights supporters currently have—and it appears to be going quite well. We're not Massachusetts, sure. But we're not Utah, either.

And yet, in what is becoming an annual tradition, there are questions in gay-rights circles about whether things are moving fast enough toward the end goal—marriage. There are even some straight people complaining—a variation on the tradition that's actually another sign of huge progress. When KOMO TV's Ken Schram is handing out one of his "Schrammies" to lament how long full marriage equality is taking (as he did on January 29), you know things are changing.​

Commenter Brie notes that the state Supreme Court opinion mentioned above came down in July, 2006.

Still, though, I admit that I fail to see how denying the civil rights of homosexuals is essential to the survival of humanity. And, hey, if heterosexuals were doing better by their kids ...?

At any rate, for non-locals, yes, it is rather strange that Ken Schram is complaining about the lack of progress on the gay marriage front. Indeed, Washington's foremost homophobic hatemonger might soon be headed home to God, which means a major stumbling block to passing a gay marriage bill would be out of the way. However, as Sanders explains in the article, there are reasons to take it slowly, and since gay-rights groups don't appear in any particular rush to make a federal case against DoMA, every little bit helps.
____________________

See Also:

Sanders, Eli. "Notes from the Prayer Warrior". Slog. January 24, 2009. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/01/24/notes_from_the_prayer_warrior/

 

A dubious triumph?

A Dubious Triumph?
Sex columnist's prank campaign strikes former Senator's name from Wall Street Journal

Alright, the background: Several years ago, syndicated sex-advice columnist Dan Savage had a contest. Angry at Senator Rick Santorum for disparaging remarks about homosexuals, a "Savage Love" reader proposed that a sex act be named in the Pennsylvania Republican's honor. Suggestions included double-ending (a form of menage a trois), public sex (because Sen. Santorum seemed to believe that one's consensual sex life was public business, anyway), farting on someone while they give you a rim-job (a.k.a. "Caesar salad"), double-rimming (anal 69), anal orgasm (without other stimulation), and the eventual winner:

While I agree with the spirit of naming something objectionable (to him) after Rick Santorum, I think it should be a substance, not an act. I would never want to "santorum" anyone I liked. What a turnoff. Instead, I think it would be better to name some kind of sexual byproduct after him. After all, ending up with idiots like Santorum in elected office is a byproduct of the otherwise desirable practice of letting any old yokel vote. Specifically, I nominate the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex. As in, "We had a great time, but we got santorum all over the sheets." Or better yet, "Before I sodomize my gay, unmarried dog, I like to give him an enema so there won't be any santorum."​

Thus, the definition of "santorum" became: "The frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex."

Great joke, right? Anything to make people feel better. But it is, indeed, a convenient word. Such as this example, from just over a year ago, discussing sex acts in public places:

Even then, four and a half years after the fact, the word had not penetrated the general vernacular. Indeed, one of my colleagues here at Sciforums was compelled to look it up.

But those days, apparently, are over. Julia Angwin posted an article today for the Wall Street Journal discussing her horror at finding a particular article she had written consistently at the top of Google results for her name. She noted that "it had an underwhelming headline, 'Novak's Role is Still Largely Unknown'; and -- most horrifyingly -- the story contained an error and had a correction appended to it."

Embarrassing, indeed. But what has this to do with a sex columnist's campaign to install a Pennsylvania Republican's name into the sexual lexicon? Well, as a guy named Ralph claimed in the article's comments:

Could be worse, Julia. Imagine how Rick Santorrum feels on this topic! (by the way, that misspelling was necessary- the wsj comment filter rejected the correct spelling of the former Senator's name as it "does not comply with community standards").

(Boldfaced accent added)​

I have to admit, that's just hilarious.

Of course, it's a dubious triumph. Indeed, we might predict that heterosupremacists won't be amused, but the lesson so far seems pretty clear. While Mr. Santorum might have been popular enough among Pennsylvanians to serve two terms each in the U.S. House and Senate, it isn't enough to protect him from the wrath of a popular sex columnist with readers throughout the fifty states and around the world.

Recently, Mr. Savage undertook a campaign to induct the word "saddleback" (after Saddleback Church, home pulpit of professional bigot Pastor Rick Warren). And the winner is ...

... the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex in order to preserve their virginities.

After attending the Purity Ball, Heather and Bill saddlebacked all night because she's saving herself for marriage. Unfortunately her parents found out because they got santorum all over the sheets.​

(If the filters eventually pick this one up, would we call Savage's back-to-back anathematizing a "double-dipping"?)
____________________

Notes:

Savage, Dan. "Savage Love". The Stranger. May 29-June 4, 2003. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/savage-love/Content?oid=14422

—————. "Savage Love". The Stranger. January 15, 2009. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=969486

Angwin, Julia. "It's a New Me (As Seen on Google)". The Decoder. February 5, 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123379331364449967.html

See Also:

Spreading Santorum. http://www.spreadingsantorum.com/

Saddlebacking. http://www.saddlebacking.com/

 

Ted Two?

Morbid Fascination
More on Haggard, including ... (gulp) ... "Ted Two"

Stop reading now.

Those of you who have encountered this warning (or any variation thereof) before ought to know by now to heed it. Thus, just to reiterate:

Stop reading now.

That said, the story that just won't die carries on. Recently, Grant Haas, a former volunteer at New Life Church and former lover of former New Life pastor Ted Haggard, came forward to discuss the situation for which he was paid money to not discuss.

Got all that?

According to Haas, Haggard—an alleged "heterosexual with issues"—offered some striking allegations in a recent interview on Michelangelo Signorile's Sirius XM radio show. Blogger Pam Spaulding checked in with some ... uh ... juicy (?) tidbits that Signorile did not include at his own blog. Some highlights, according to Pam:

• Ted told Haas that "since I preferred to be in a 'top' position that it would be easy to become straight because 'an asshole is similar to a vagina'."

• Haggard offered up his daughter as a dating/marriage prospect for Haas!

• Ted Haggard's drug problem was way worse than disclosed. He was high while up at the pulpit at times, and once contacted Haas from an airport where Ted was high as a kite and had done so much meth that he was sick and staggering around.

• Haas said that Gayle Haggard knew a whole lot more about what kind of kinky gay Ted activity was going on than she publicly admits to. When Haas asked about her knowledge of these things, Ted told him "yes, she's a freak too", they went to sex toy stores and even molded a dildo together (calling it "Ted Two"), and put it into him.​

What? I warned you, didn't I?
____________________

Notes:

Spaulding, Pam. "Haggard beans-spiller Grant Haas on Mike Signorile Show". Pam's House Blend. February 3, 2009. http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9329

See Also:

Signorile, Michelangelo. "Haggard's Pump 'n Go: Serving You 24/7". The Gist. February 4, 2009. http://www.signorile.com/2009/02/haggards-pump-n-go-serving-you-247.html

 

Hatemongers at the gates

Source: Ex-Gay Watch
Link: http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2009/02/breaking-anti-gay-protesters-banned-from-britain/
Title: "Anti-Gay Protesters Banned From Britain", by David Roberts
Date: February 21, 2009

Interesting news comes from across the Pond as infamous hatemonger Fred Phelps and equally repugnant daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper of Westboro Baptist Church have been denied entry to Britain, interrupting their plans to protest a London performance of The Laramie Project, a play about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard.

According to a Border Agency spokesman, the Home Secretary excluded the pair for having "engaged in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against a number of communities". Meanwhile, the gay rights group OutRage! disagreed. "The Phelpses are odious, homophobic bigots," said Peter Tatchell, one of OutRage's founders. While he thinks "They give Christianity a bad name", he also said that he does not agree with them being banned.

Writing for Ex-Gay Watch, David Roberts notes,

Restrictive actions taken by countries where free speech is (and has always been) far less potent than in the United States are often used by anti-gay groups here to paint a frightening picture of the future. In that scenario, equality for GLBTs is connected with repression of the right to present dissenting views.​

To the one, Roberts has a point. It is true that American homophobes perceive the development of civil rights for homosexuals as an infringement on their own rights. To the other, though, you can be convicted in Britain for writing an unpopular poem.

The Reverend Phelps and his daughter ought to consider themselves lucky to simply be denied entry. Given some of the things they say, they should thank God they weren't charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism.
_____________________

See Also:

Martin, Arthur. "British Muslim woman convicted of penning poems about beheadings". Daily Mail. November 9, 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...woman-convicted-penning-poems-beheadings.html

 

Democracy as a weapon

Democracy In Action
Gainesville activists aim to legalize anti-gay discrimination

Citizens for Good Public Policy is a political action group in Gainesville, Florida that formed last year for the specific purpose of legalizing discrimination against non-heterosexual people. They have proposed a city charter amendment to that end:

I, the undersigned, a registered voter of the City of Gainesville, hereby petition pursuant to Section 5.01 of the Charter of the City of Gainesville and Chapter 9 of the City of Gainesville Code of Ordinances, to have the following proposed amendment to the Charter of the City of Gainesville submitted to a vote of the electors at a regular city election, a state-wide general election, or at a special election called by the City Commission for the City of Gainesville for that purpose.

5.08 Civil Rights.

The City shall not enact, adopt, enforce or administer any ordinance, regulation, rule or policy which provides or entitles any person to claim protected status, quota preferences or have a claim of discrimination based upon a classification, characteristic or orientation not
recognized by the Florida Civil Rights Act (Fla. Stat. ss. 760.01-760.11 and 509.092). Any ordinance or regulation enacted before this amendment or after shall be construed in conformance with the Florida Civil Rights Act. Any ordinance that violates this provision shall be void.

(CGPP, "Petition")​

CGPP attempts to justify itself with morbidly hilarious paranoia:

Among other provisions, the Gender Identity Ordinance allows persons to use public restrooms, changing rooms, locker rooms, etc., according to their "gender identity," which the ordinance defines as "an inner sense of being a specific gender, or the expression of a gender identity by verbal statement, appearance, or mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth."

This clause opens a dangerous legal loophole. Because of the ordinance’s vague wording, any man can legally gain access to facilities normally reserved for women and girls simply by indicating, verbally or non-verbally, that he inwardly feels female at the moment. This is the unfortunate, unintended consequence of this poorly drafted ordinance.

We believe that persons with Gender Identity Disorder deserve professional support as well as community compassion, but that this misguided and politically calculated law—which ignores the broader community and invites abuse by non-transgenders—accomplishes neither.

We believe that the safety of women and children in public facilities is a higher public policy priority than the identity politics in which Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan and the City Commissioners of Gainesville are engaged ....

(CGPP, "Why We're Here")​

Note the second and third paragraphs. Their explanation suggests that pedophiles, voyeurs, and rapists will use the law to enter women's restrooms, victimizing women and children. Yet they cite Gender Identity Disorder, which is a DSM IV diagnosis:

There are two components of Gender Identity Disorder, both of which must be present to make the diagnosis. There must be evidence of a strong and persistent gross-gender identification, which is the desire to be, or the insistence that one is of the other sex (Criteria A). This cross-gender identification must not merely be a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex. there must also be evidence of persistent discomfort about one’s assigned sex or a sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex (Criteria B). The diagnosis is not made if the individual has a concurrent physical intersex condition (e.g., androgen insensitivity syndrome or congenital adrenal hyperplasia) (Criteria C). To make the diagnosis, there must be evidence of clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (Criteria D).

(MHsanctuary.com)​

It seems unlikely that a heterosexual pedophile, voyeur, or rapist will be able to demonstrate GID. With no history of transgender behavior or clinically significant distress or impairment of mundane functions, there is no justification for a GID claim. Then again, if a man is willing to put on a dress and make himself up just to get inside a women's restroom, it might signify the emergence of a sublimated disorder.

And of course, CGPP believes that GID requires "professional support" as well as "community compassion". In this case, "professional support" means therapy, and we might wonder if that extends to corrective therapy. A Wikipedia article on GID asserts,

Today, most medical professionals who provide transgender transition services to adults now reject conversion therapies as abusive and dangerous, believing instead what many transgender people have been convinced of: that when able to live out their daily lives with both a physical embodiment and a social expression that most closely matches their internal sense of self, transgender and transsexual individuals live successful, productive lives virtually indistinguishable from anyone else.​

A fact sheet by the American Psychological Association does not mention any therapy to treat gender-identity issues:

Is being transgender a mental disorder?

A psychological condition is considered a mental disorder only if it causes distress or disability. Many transgender people do not experience their transgender feelings and traits to be distressing or disabling, which implies that being transgender does not constitute a mental disorder per se. For these people, the significant problem is finding the resources, such as hormone treatment, surgery, and the social support they need, in order to express their gender identity and minimize discrimination. However, some transgender people do find their transgender feelings to be distressing or disabling. This is particularly true of transsexuals, who experience their gender identity as incongruent with their birth sex or with the gender role associated with that sex. This distressing feeling of incongruity is called gender dysphoria.

According to the diagnostic standards of American psychiatry, as set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, people who experience intense, persistent gender dysphoria can be given the diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder. This diagnosis is highly controversial among some mental health professionals and transgender people. Some contend that the diagnosis inappropriately pathologizes gender variance and should be eliminated. Others argue that, because the health care system in the United States requires a diagnosis to justify medical or psychological treatment, it is essential to retain the diagnosis to ensure access to care.

What kinds of mental health problems do transgender people face?

Transgender people experience the same kinds of mental health problems that nontransgender people do. However, the stigma, discrimination, and internal conflict that many transgender people experience may place them at increased risk for certain mental health problems. Discrimination, lack of social support, and inadequate access to care can exacerbate mental health problems in transgender people, while support from peers, family, and helping professionals may act as protective factors.​

Indeed, the standard of care is an interesting question. Dr. John L. Miller, MD, notes—

Psychological therapy can alter the course of gender identity disorder. Early intervention can lead to less transsexual behavior later in life. The initial focus of the treatment is to help the individual function in his/her biologic sex role as well as possible.​

—but this pertains to children, as Miller discusses hormone and surgical therapies to reassign gender for adults. Paula Anne Ford-Martin writes for the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine:

Treatment

Treatment for children with gender identity disorder focuses on treating secondary problems such as depression and anxiety, and improving self-esteem. Treatment may also work on instilling positive identifications with the child's biological gender. Children typically undergo psychosocial therapy sessions; their parents may also be referred for family or individual therapy.

Transsexual adults often request hormone and surgical treatments to suppress their biological sex characteristics and acquire those of the opposite sex. A team of health professionals, including the treating psychologist or psychiatrist, medical doctors, and several surgical specialists, oversee this transitioning process. Because of the irreversible nature of the surgery, candidates for sex-change surgery are evaluated extensively and are often required to spend a period of time integrating themselves into the cross-gender role before the procedure begins. Counseling and peer support are also invaluable to transsexual individuals.

Prognosis

Long-term follow up studies have shown positive results for many transsexuals who have undergone sex-change surgery. However, significant social, personal, and occupational issues may result from surgical sex changes, and the patient may require psychotherapy or counseling.​

Thus, one might wonder what CGPP intends. The American Psychological Association approved a resolution last year in support of transgender people—

The American Psychological Association urged psychologists today to take a leading role in ending discrimination based on gender identity, calling upon the profession to provide "appropriate, nondiscriminatory treatment to all transgender and gender-variant individuals" and encouraging more research into all aspects of gender identity and expression.

The action came at APA's Annual Convention when the association's governing Council of Representatives adopted a resolution supporting full equality for transgender and gender-variant people. The resolution also calls on APA to:

• support legal and social recognition of transgender individuals consistent with their gender identity and expression;

• support the provision of adequate and medically necessary treatment for transgender and gender-variant people;

• recognize the benefit and necessity of gender transition treatments for appropriately evaluated individuals;

• call on public and private insurers to cover these treatments.

(Medical News Today)​

—and, additionally, accepted a report by its Task Force on Gender Identity and Gender Variance:

The six-member task force spent more than two years reviewing the scientific literature, as well as APA policies regarding transgender issues. It was also charged with developing recommendations for education, professional training and further research into transgenderism, and proposing how APA can best meet the needs of psychologists and students who identify as transgender or gender-variant ....

.... With regard to research, the task force listed a series of recommended areas of focus, including social stigma and public attitudes toward gender identity; identity development, including prospective studies of children and adolescents; the process and outcome of transgender-specific health care; and the variables associated with the efficacy of sex reassignment.

As a direct result of the task force's work, APA added gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy earlier this year. This builds upon prior adoption of gender identity nondiscrimination language in APA's bylaws, Code of Ethics and its Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Professional Programs in Psychology.

(ibid)​

And Kim I. Mills of the American Psychological Association advised Medical News Today that, "It is APA's position that no psychological disorder should be stigmatized or used as the basis for discrimination."

It would seem that the professional standard to which CGPP appeals increasingly favors facilitation of transgenderism. Indeed, the APA has resolved against all public and private discrimination against transgendered people, in favor of laws and policies protecting the rights of the transgendered, and in support of full access to employment, housing, and education. Additionally, it encourages legal and social recognition of transgendered individuals, including civil marriage, medical care, and custodial settings (e.g., jails). The APA also recognizes the benefit and necessity of gender transition, and has called upon itself to ensure its members are have access to educational resources for working with transgender clients, support funding for research into transgender mental health issues, and to support the creation of informational resources for public policy, societal, and family discussions of gender identity issues.

In short, the professional standard speaks against exactly the kind of antagonism and discrimination encouraged by CGPP.

Gainesville, Florida is also the home of the University of Florida, where the student government, a week shy of elections, stopped arguing long enough to vote unanimously in favor of a bill opposing the proposed city charter amendment. According to the Gainesville Sun, the Progress Party's former U.S. presidential candidate, Benjamin Dictor, has spoken out against the amendment, saying that it "has no place in Gainesville", and another PAC, Equality is Gainesville's Business, is working against the proposal and is organized a protest march last week, which drew about eighty people:

The proposed charter will be voted on during city elections on March 24, after a local conservative group collected enough signatures from registered voters in Alachua County to get the issue on the ballot.

If passed, the legislation could affect Gainesville’s gay community because it would make discrimination based on sexual identity or sexual orientation legal.

Employees could be fired, refused service at a restaurant or kicked out of their home, according to pamphlet issued by Equality is Gainesville’s Business, which hosted the protest.

(Keenan)​

While CGPP was able to gather enough signatures to put the amendment on the Gainesville city ballot, Alachua County—whose name derives from an indigenous term for "sinkhole"—has voted increasingly Democratic over the last twenty years, supporting the Democratic presidential candidate in the last five elections. For a municipal election, this one could be interesting.
____________________

Notes:

Citizens for Good Public Policy. "Charter Amendment Petition". CitizensForGoodPublicPolicy.org. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://citizensforgoodpublicpolicy.org/docs/Petition01MAY08.pdf

—————. "Why We're Here". CitizensForGoodPublicPolicy.org. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://citizensforgoodpublicpolicy.org/

Mental Health Sanctuary. "Gender Identity Disorder DSM IV Criteria". MHsanctuary.com. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://www.mhsanctuary.com/gender/dsm.htm

"Gender Identity Disorder". Wikipedia. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_identity_disorder

American Psychological Association. "Answers to Your Questions About Transgender Individuals and Gender Identity". APA Online. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://www.apa.org/topics/transgender.html

—————. "Transgender, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression Non-Discrimination". 2008. APA.org. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/policy/transgender.pdf

Medical News Today. "APA Resolves To Play Leading Role In Improving Treatment For Gender-Variant People". MedicalNewsToday.com. August 18, 2008. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/118542.php

Miller, John L. "Gender Identity Disorder". AtHealth.com. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://www.athealth.com/consumer/Disorders/GenderIden.html

Ford-Martin, Paula Anne. "Gender Identity Disorder". Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. 2002. HealthAtoZ.com. Accessed February 24, 2009. http://www.athealth.com/consumer/Disorders/GenderIden.html

Dinkova, Lidia. "Senators oppose charter change". Gainesville Sun. February 19, 2009. http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090219/articles/902191025

Keenan, Chelsea. "Students, faculty protest Charter Amendment 1". The Independent Florida Alligator. February 23, 2009. http://alligator.org/articles/2009/02/23/news/campus/090223_protest.txt

 

Hook-tastic!

Source: The News Tribune
Link: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/story/591174.html
Title: "Prosecutors investigating prostitution allegations against judge-elect", by Adam Lynn
Date: January 11, 2009

For your amusement:

State prosecutors will review allegations provided by Michael Hecht’s political opponents that the Pierce County Superior Court judge-elect patronized a prostitute several years ago and recently threatened to kill the man.

Supporters of outgoing Judge Sergio Armijo allege that Hecht picks up male prostitutes near Tacoma’s Antique Row, a part of downtown that police say is known for prostitution.

Hecht, contacted by telephone Monday by The News Tribune, declined to comment.

His attorney, Wayne Fricke of Tacoma, told the newspaper Friday that Hecht “vehemently denies that he’s done anything criminal” and intends to “vigorously defend himself against any and all accusations.”

Fricke said Hecht is the target of a vendetta by Armijo’s supporters.

“It’s unfortunate that, at a time when he should be relishing taking the bench, these allegations are coming out,” Fricke said.

A detective in the Tacoma Police Department’s special assault unit, which investigates sex crimes and crimes against children, looked into the allegations over the past six weeks and turned over the results of his investigation to Pierce County prosecutors last week, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

An Armijo supporter generated the investigation by providing information about Hecht to authorities and gave The News Tribune a dossier containing the allegations.

(Lynn)​

Judge Hecht has been charged with one count felony harassment and one count of soliciting a prostitute. Tacoma's News Tribune suggests there are more hookers yet to emerge.

And his attorney, of course, denies all charges.
_____________________

See Also:

Robinson, Sean and Adam Lynn. "New judge charged, promises to fight". The News Tribune. February 28, 2009. http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/641080.html

 

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/alpha-consumer/2009/03/05/annie-leibovitz-and-the-gay-tax.html

Sad that two people so dedicated to each other, who love and support each other get treated differently, even in death.

 

Dear Science, and other notes on a travesty

Source: Dear Science
Link: http://dearscience.org/2009/03/06/which-doll-is-the-nice-doll/
Title: "Which Doll is the Nice Doll?", by Jonathan Golob
Date: March 16, 2009

Dear Science checks in to opine on the current California Supreme Court arguments surrounding the Proposition 8 constitutional amendment passed by voters in November:

Claiming "the best situation for a child is to be raised by a married mother and father" is false. Children raised in a household led by a same-sex couple are indistinguishable from those raised by heterosexual parents. Study after study has demonstrated this.

Preventing "children from being taught in public schools that 'same-sex marriage' is the same as traditional marriage" however does cause demonstrable harm. Kenneth B. Clark's "Doll Test" tells us that letting proposition-8 stand will damage children who are biologically determined to be attracted to the same sex–telling them their capacity for love is wrong and beneath that of the heterosexual majority.

The mob has no right, in our country, to strip a minority of its dignity.

(Golob)​

As the evidence gathers, it is getting harder and harder for the bigot squad to keep pushing their argument. Of course, this is a lusty, murderous crowd making the case, and there's always the macho appeal to violence. You know, not only are gays ... well, gay, but they're also a bunch of peace-loving pussies, and that sort of thing. The shock! The horror! Why won't those mincing fags just realize that it really is cool to kill people for being gay?

Right?
_____________________

See Also:

Sullivan, Andrew. "What We're Up Against". The Dish. March 6, 2009. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/03/what-were-up-ag.html

 

Slow progress

Slow Progress: Creeping Closer
Washington state Senate rejects bigots, passes Domestic Partnership bill

The Washington state Senate has passed a domestic partnership bill that would extend to gay couples the same rights and privileges that the state grants heterosexual married couples.

A state domestic partnership bill, which would extend virtually every right of marriage to registered same-sex partners, passed the senate tonight despite vehement opposition from religious conservatives. Three groups opposing the measure generated a flood of calls and emails to senators in swing districts. One of those groups, the Washington Values Alliance, ran deceptive televisions ads encouraging constituents to pressure their senators to block the bill.

"All the legislators targeted by nasty advertisements stood strong and supported the bill," says Connie Watts, executive director of Equal Rights Washington, an organization that supported the bill. She adds that three Republican senators voted for the measure.

Indeed, right-wing opposition was no match for the bill's broad base of existing support. The senate voted in favor by 30 to 18 (one excused). The house version of the bill—which has 57 co-sponsors—appears ready to pass easily

(Holden)​

Obviously, it's not everything, and in the long run it's not even fair. (450 down, 1,138 and counting to go.) But it is progress, despite what some local critics might.
_____________________

Notes:

Holden, Dominic. "Domestic Partnership Bill Passes Senate". Slog. March 10, 2009. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/03/10/domestic_partnership_bill_pass

 

tiassa you might want to look at the bitching over a lesbian kiss in home and away. What idiocy *shakes head*

got to wonder how the libral party every expects to get into goverment again as long as they continue to opose the will of the people on gay rights

 

Vermont moves toward gay marriage

Vermont Senate says yes to gay marriage
"Green Mountain State" puts itself on the line again

In Vermont, the state senate voted 26-4 in favor of a gay marriage bill on Monday. The bill faces a third reading and vote today.

All bills have three readings. It is designed for people to reconsider or amend an item, but it unlikely that a vote would change on a third reading. A similar measure begins moving through the House on Tuesday with testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. A full vote on that measure wouldn't come before next week.

(Burlington Free Press)​

Three Republicans and a Democrat voted against the measure. Additionally, three fence-sitting senators—two Republicans and a Democrat—ended up voting in favor of the bill. Democratic Senator John Campbell (Windsor) offered a strange endorsement of the bill. "We're not condoning homosexuality," he told his colleagues right before the vote. "What we're doing is recognizing that some people are homosexuals."

Republican Kevin Mullin (Rutland) had tried to move the issue to a public referendum, but voted for the bill because he believed a referendum would pass, anyway. "I fervently believe the people of this state are ready for this action," he explained.

Meanwhile, Republican Randy Brock (Franklin) complained that Vermont residents have been denied an opportunity to vote on a law, apparently repeating the spurious claim that civil unions offer same-sex couples all the rights of heterosexual, married couples. Furthermore, he objected that three readings and three votes in favor of the bill in the Senate would suggest the legislation was passed in haste.
_____________________

Notes:

"Senate OKs marriage bill". Burlington Free Press. March 23, 2009. http://burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090323/NEWS03/90323025

 

i am surprised the poll is so lopsided.

 

Lopsided?

How so? Lopsided in which way?

 

i thought there would be more homosexuals. i support gay marriage btw.