Written: 10/27/2012

The Family Research Council has come out and said that church attendance is declining because they don’t hate gay people enough.

I’ll let that sink in for just a moment.

This coming from the far right, one of their denizens who tweeted this:

It blows my mind that people don’t see the connection between the constant tearing down and bullying of LGBT (or those assumed to be) youth and the high suicide rate.

And yes, it’s even the small things like calling people or things “gay.”  I tend to take it all in and personalize and internalize everything, and holding that pain inside has done bad things to me, but let’s for once, actually think of the children and remember that we’re commanded to love unconditionally.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/21/2012

Washington state has marriage equality on the ballot this November.  This is heartbreaking:

Tears begin rolling down my cheek and I realize I can’t do this. I also happened to be the only gay person (which I find rather shameful) at this phone bank. I wanted to leave early but after I calmed down from my not so short meltdown, I was given the job of calling other supportive people

Having to call and ask strangers for your civil rights can be horrific, but in classy fashion, the straights of Washington state are stepping up and fighting.  They went out to the streets, going to gay bars to register voters and  volunteering at phone banks.

Slog wrote it up here and here imploring for help, and it’s great to see everyone step up.

It’s a sad state when we have to fight for our basic civil rights, but it’s nice to see help from the majority, without which, no minority would have the civil rights we deserve.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/14/2012

I spoke about this earlier, but I think this will be the way to change the BSA’s policies, at least combined with showing that embracing equality would provide a net gain of membership, and thankfully, more companies are being pressured to drop their financial support for the BSA.

UPS is being petitioned right now, by Scouting for Equality, and Intel has stopped funding them, and a push is being made for AT&T to join the movement.

It’s absolutely horrible, but this new push is because of the recent denial of a gay Scout’s Scoutmaster approval to finish his Eagle (which would then have gone to a Board of Review, but you still need the Scoutmaster approval first), but these kinds of incidents, keeps the BSA in the news.

And this is part of the strategy used to defeat DADT, keeping it in the news, and in the forefront of the country’s mind.  it is sad to see, but the BSA does need exposed for the hate they spit at the youth members as well.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/14/2012

One of my all-time favorite bloggers and, quite frankly, inspirations, has put together a great debate primer.

Check out Rob’s guide (and download it to your phone/tablet/computer) here.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/14/2012

The first openly gay captain of a NCAA team (Div II football), and soon to be sworn in as the first LGBT congressmen in the state, Brian Sims, had this to say about being out as his team’s captain:

“My team had 118 guys on the football team. Every single one of them wanted to come find some private time with me to ask how I was doing and let me know that they were okay with it,”

So great to hear, and makes me hopeful for the future.

I”ll be interested to see what kind of progress he can make in Harrisburg, hopefully he doesn’t get too bogged down by the nasty politics of the state.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/14/2012

I’ve never seen Red Hook, they may not have any distribution in Pa, but I love this ad:

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/14/2012

We often hear it screamed from the right, “Think of the children!.”

So I will:

Read more from AFER here.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/14/2012

Supreme Court justice Scalia comments on how easy it is for him to rule on denying me any rights:

“The death penalty? Give me a break. It’s easy. Abortion? Absolutely easy. Nobody ever thought the Constitution prevented restrictions on abortion. Homosexual sodomy? Come on. For 200 years, it was criminal in every state,” Scalia said at the American Enterprise Institute. He contrasted his style of interpretation with that of a colleague who tries to be true to the values of the Constitution as he applies them to a changing world. This imaginary justice goes home for dinner and tells his wife what a wonderful day he had, Scalia said. This imaginary justice, Scalia continued, announces that it turns out “‘the Constitution means exactly what I think it ought to mean.’ No kidding.”

I’m so happy to know that my rights can just be tossed aside like that in his mind.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/07/2012

The Manhattan Doctrine is a hateful thing, an anti-LGBT pledge to the highest degree.  Fun fact, at least one of the supreme court justices has signed it, pledging, among other things, that he will ignore laws that give any rights to the LGBT community.

Anyone that liked it on facebook was immediately deleted or hidden, I’m not dealing with anything they could possibly say, including one of my best friend’s moms.  She thinks I’m great, but if she knew I was gay, that would probably change, so good riddance.

It’s funny that the creator of the Manhattan Doctrine just had a revelation seeing the magnets and stickers of the Human Rights Campaign.  He never makes the leap to see that isn’t just two lines, it’s an equals sign, but he sees the powers in logos nonetheless.

So he came up with his own.  And honestly, from a design standpoint, it’s good:

But the fun infighting continues, as some of those who signed want their names removed, not realizing the whole thing had an evangelical slant.  They want to hate, just not be associated with evangelicals.  Let that one roll around your brain for a while, it hurts.

Anyway, Joe My God has the story here.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 10/07/2012

A big talking point for marriage equality, is that LGBT citizens should just be happy with civil unions.  After all, in many cases, they provide the same legal protections as marriage.

But here’s the truth, while they may provide the same legal protections, they don’t carry the same weight.  By their very nature, it creates a second class, a second form of relationships, that is seen as not equal, and not as good:

The work by AFER in the Perry case is significant, and shows just how damaging settling for civil unions can be.

All my best,

The King of Spades