YMCA in Lansing Discriminates against Lesbian Couple

The Lansing YMCA has sent some confusing messages lately, but arrived at a decision: Gay couples are not real couples! What follows below is the story about a woman who was denied a "family" discount at several YMCA's in the Lansing area. Then one of them accepted her, only to deny her later. Talk about a rollercoaster of rejection. More on this to come.

Here it is.

Motor City Pride is Coming!!!!!

Motor City Pride is coming. Are you ready.

40,000 of your closest friends and allies will be in downtown Ferndale on Sunday, June 1st. Come have fun and enjoy seeing our communtiy in full strength.

For more details on the entire series of events that weekend, visit www.MotorCityPride.org

Media Coverage of Triangle's Hate Crime Report

Triangle Foundation released their 2007 anti-LGBT hate crime report today.

Below is the news media wrap-up.

Detroit Free Press
Progress MI Blog
Lansing State Journal
Mlive.com (AP)
Fox 2 Detroit

Humor: California Marriage as Economic Stimulus

NPR just ran a very cute and funny (although sprinkled with good intentioned stereotypical humor) piece about California and the economic stimulus of gay marriage. It is by Brian Unger.

Marriage Victory is Key to Ballot Victory

By winning marriage equality in California today, advocates for equal marriage rights were handed a major tool in their campaign to defeat a constitutional ban this fall.

Now, proponents of the constitutional ban will actually be taking away marriage. This is a huge deal. In 30 days nearly 40,000,000 people in CA and countless others who will visit CA to get married, will have the right to marry. The fight in CA has shifted on a dime. Now "Let Caflifornia Ring" the campaign to defeat the marriage ban, can use entirely new arguments, new stories, and new couples to kill this mean-spirited amendment.

Anyone who has worked on ballot measures knows that the electorate is finicky. Sometimes when they get confused they vote "no" and they certainly respond to fear. Polling suggests that losing civil rights or losing health care benefits are compelling messages. The task now is the do what was done in Massachusetts, protect the gains that have been made. We must be prepared for right wing to shift their messaging to "pivot and blame" and move substantial funds to CA. We all most donate to the campaign there to protect this massive victory.

The fight for marriage equality and basic human dignity was catapulted ahead light years today by this victory. It will inspire columns, documentaries and certainly hundreds of thousands of conversations in the coming days alone about gay families. Other courts will feel more emboldened. Presidential candidates will meander around the issue which is now front and center. The Republican Party (represented by Governor Schwarzenegger) has decided to respect the decision. McCain quotes from 2004 have re-surfaced expressing his opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment.

All hands on deck.

Touching Video for your family and friends

I was sent this short video, set to a beautiful song by Jewel that really puts personal stories front and center in the LGBT civil rights struggle.

Horrible Coverage of Day of Silence in MI

WNEM has run one of the worst stories I have seen in recent years on LGBT issues by using insensitive and inflammatory terms to cover the Day of Silence today.

You can read the story here.

First, the headline is pure AFA propaganda. Then referring to the AFA as a "family values" organization is a flat out lie. Then they referred to gays and lesbians as living an "alternative lifestyle" and referred us as "homosexuals." They also keep referring to DOS as a protest, as if there will demonstrations occurring in schools. The AFA lies in the piece by saying they have contacted tens of thousands of parents in MI. They have no such list in MI. If they mean they are reaching parents through the meda

They also ran no response to Gary Glenn of the AFA. It is completely biased coverage. They basically ran the press release of AFA.

Contact them at:
WNEM TV
55409 Gateway CentreBuilding C, Suite D
Flint, MI 48507
Phone: 810-232-3900
Newsroom: 810-234-5607
or
Email Ian Rubin ian.rubin@wnem.com

"How to Be Gay" Class Still Controversial

The infamous class at U of M, "How to be Gay" is no longer being taught but it still riles up the conservative wing-nuts. Here is another news item on the issue with quotes from me.

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=culture&sc2=features&sc3=&id=71356

2000 Queers Laughing at ourselves

One of the reasons I love ComedyFest is that it is one of the rare opporunities our community gets together outside of the bar scene (and don't get me wrong I love our local Detroit clubs). There is no smoke, free parking and nearly 2000 LGBT people just being ourselves.

It is a great opportunity to meet people, socialize and just plain relax. The Michigan Lesbian and Gay ComedyFest is now the largest LGBT comedy event in the nation.

I have gone every year since Triangle Foundation started producing it and believe it is a terrific bargain for your money. For just $30 dollars you get four national LGBT comics.

By the end of the evening, everyone has had a good time seeing old and new friends and just laughing. Too often we take our lives and our movment too seriously. ComedyFest allows us to just have fun and detach from the seriousness of it all.

To check it out or order tix for you and your friends/family go to www.ComedyFest.org

Guerilla Queer Bar featured in Metro Times

Metro Times featured the Detroit Guerilla Queer Bar. See the story here

I personally think the idea of storming straight bars with a hundred GLBT folks is hilarious and politically powerful. There is no more direct way to show the power of the GLBT dollar while also forceing people to realize that any bar could be a gay bar in the flick of a wrist.

Congrats to Matt Stanton, who I have known for over 12 years and who volunteers at Triangle Foundation.

Larry Craig Publicly Spanked

Larry Craig has been publicly spanked by the US Senate for bringing shame on the Senate and for using his position to try to get out of trouble.

Read the full post here

I disagree with the committee in their assumption that Craig committed the act he pled to and it is unfortunate that gay offenders get more public humiliation than heterosexuals but at least the Senate is putting down their foot on Craig because he is a hypocrite.

I'm A God Father!?!

Today my new nephew was baptized and his parents, my brother Jason and his wife Sandy, asked me to be the God Father. Of course I was honored, even though the "God Father" thing for me is less about religion and more about my diablolical plan to be little Anthony's favorite uncle.

I rarely step foot in a church unless someone is getting married, someone has died or some political meeting is happening there. But this time it meant a great deal to me to be asked to be Anthony's God Father. One interesting challenge for me was that I was expected to write a letter to my nephew and read it aloud in the church.

The church was packed, it was St. Johns in Fenton, Michigan. What could I do with this opportunity to address the congregation of the church that pushed me so deep in the closet for so long? Should I use this opportunity to get a subtle jab in to the church about diversity and inclusion? After all, the Michigan Catholic Conference spent over a million dollars in 2004 working to ban marriage equality and opposed our hate crimes legislation in 1998. They had it coming to them.

They tried attacking my family, but here I was back in the church, invited by family, celebrating family. They can put barriers in the way of gay families but they can't but barriers in the way of love and my family loves me no matter what. My brother asked his gay brother to be his son's God Father. How cool!

I decided I would keep my letter secular and no one would notice because it would be sweet, poetic, and whimsical. I pulled it off and was excited, and nervous.

After my remarks, a number family members, parishoners (including the priest) complemented me for the great letter and others were actually crying. I was a hit. :)

My letter to my nephew follows. Enjoy.

Letter to my nephew

Anthony,

You won’t believe what your parents did! They did something truly amazing. In a world where decisions are made in haste, you were part of a plan. In a world distracted by celebrity and gossip, your parents were focused on you. In a world poisoned by lead, pollution and noise your parents decided to create something beautiful.

Anthony, you won’t believe what your father did! He loved your mother so much he wanted to start a family…and he did. He loved your sister so much…he wanted to have you. As a man with many responsibilities, your father prioritized you. In a world where boys call themselves men and these “men” see family as a chore, your father lifted you and your family up as his dream and his pride.

Anthony you won’t believe what your mother did! In a world filled with abandonment your mother was there from the start. She made sure you had a strong principled father that would be there for you always. She became a healer, a sage, a chef, an advocate, a referee, an investor and an architect of your well-being. She became all that she could so you could do the same. In a world where some mothers have given up, your mother has given you all of herself.

Most of all, your parents have promised to be your best friends and biggest fans.
I promise you that I will support you and your parents – no matter what. I pledge to be a mentor, a friend, a helping hand, a sounding board and a source of moral leadership in your life. I promise to love you, listen to you, challenge you and when you parents aren’t around I will spoil you rotten.

Anthony, you won’t believe how excited we are for you. Today a journey begins that hopes to prepare you for all that lies ahead. Being welcomed by your church, by your family and by a global community that hopes to leave this planet better than how they found it. I hope to be with you on this journey for as long as I know you.

Fun GM Style Event Photos

I recently attended the GM Style event as a kickoff to the North American International Auto Show coming to Detroit. The Style event was amazing and GM spared no expense to throw an amazing party. Plenty of celebs, dignitaries, models, singers, and of course cars.

Dress was "casual chic" but plenty of folks were looking hot at this event. There was an after party for the local and national gay media in town and GLBT reporters at auto magazines. Plenty of fun. Check out the pics here.

My Scar

Here is my most recent column in Between the Lines.

My Scar

All Politics is Loco: My scarby Sean KosofskyOriginally printed 01/17/2008 (Issue 1602 - Between The Lines News)

I have always prided myself in the fact that I rarely get sick. I have never broken a bone, I don't recall every getting the flu and overall I rarely am under the weather. The body I have is a body I have taken care of and in return I have been rewarded with good health. Granted much of this could be luck or good genes, but either way it is a fact.

Also, during my life I never racked up a lot of scars. The trophies to rough and tumble play, contact supports, construction work and careless handling of household tools are hard to find on me. Until recently.

In 2007 my doctor noticed that a small mole on my chest was turning darker. She decided to take a biopsy which entailed carving out a small chunk of skin from my chest, with something that looked like a cross between a small mellon baller and a metal pen. It was uncomfortable but in just a few days the results came back negative, but my doctor still worried about this pesky mole. So I had to come in a second time for her to scoop out the rest. I was worried about the scar it would leave especially when I removed the bandages and saw the (what looked like a crater-sized) hole.

The scar has healed now and there is a new point of interest on the landscape of my chest. It is a dime-sized pink cluster of tissue that is a daily reminder, each time I look in the mirror after getting out of the shower, that I was one of the lucky ones. I had health insurance.

Many of us that have always had health insurance - decent to good health insurance - know that 90% of the time the only inconvenience is the darn several-dollar co-pay for pharmaceuticals or the doctor's visit. But for those without health insurance, each day is like running an obstacle course of dodging germs, driving slower, not participating in sports or other recreational fun, and being extra careful about what you eat or drink and sometimes doing the same for your partner or children.

In Michigan nearly a million people are uninsured and many more are underinsured. And that number is growing. This is unfathomable to me that in the wealthiest nation in the world we cannot get every American the basic medical attention they need to prevent health or financial-related disaster for them or their family.

There are two ballot measures coming to Michigan this year that will directly impact this. First, this week a campaign was launched to pass universal health care in Michigan. We would be the first state to pass such a broad and progressive proposal. This is most certainly a GLBT Issues especially since so many employers either do not cover domestic partner benefits and because marriage equality keeps us from accessing the benefits that do exist for our partners. Such a ballot measure may also help transgender people with necessary transitioning services. Triangle Foundation is strongly supporting the health care ballot measure and you should too. Polling shows the measure will likely easily pass in Michigan, especially with growing concerns that our economy may leave more people uninsured in 2008.

The next ballot measure you should be wary of is something deceptively called "Right to Work" which I call "Divide and Destroy." This measure could shred labor unions in our state which would dramatically reduce the number of people in Michigan with health insurance, not to mention diminishing the power of organized labor which would lower wages in Michigan. "Right to Work" states have lower standards of living and worse health for its citizens.

In 2008 do your part for the GLBT movement while also helping countless other populations by supporting the universal health care ballot measure. Support our friends in labor and don't let Michigan regress any further like we did under the marriage ban of 2004 and the affirmative action ban in 2006. We must fight for a Michigan that people want to call home. Michigan has its own scars in our state constitution. We can begin to heal those in 2008 if we vote for our community to be protected.

Sean Kosofsky is the Director of Policy for Triangle Foundation, Michigan's leading GLBT civil rights organization.

Disecting the Pledge of Allegiance

Dissecting the Pledge of Allegiance
by Sean Kosofsky
Originally printed 01/03/2008 (Issue 1601 - Between The Lines News)

All Politics is Loco

This holiday season many of us will be wrapped in the warm thoughts of family, friendship, pretty holiday lights and our most attractive winter outfits. Many of us will drink eggnog, eat too many cookies and lie to children about Santa Claus. It is just what we do.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about cultural customs that we perform or engage in without thought. One of them is the Pledge of Allegiance. Since we were very small many of us were taught the same things about Santa Claus that we were about religion. And we were taught that family was important and patriotism, too. It is time to give more thought to the Pledge of Allegiance. So curl up with your hot cocoa, throw up the sash or eat your figgy pudding but please indulge me in examining our national addiction to obedience.

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Word for word, the Pledge of Allegiance is an orgy of patriotic idolatry. First of all, the pledge focuses on the individual, not the family, the community, or the state in which you live. "I pledge" means that each of us as individuals are expected to make a personal commitment and promise to fulfill what we are about to promise. Who is monitoring us? Who is checking to see if we are allegiant? The CIA? The U.S. Department of Homeland Security? Our nosey neighbor? What does it mean to pledge allegiance? Basically we are all on our own and must be constantly on guard to make sure we are dutifully wrapped in the flag.

And why are we pledging allegiance to an object? No really...why? If the goal is to get Americans to be loyal to their country why are we not promising our loyalty to the Capitol Building, the White House or to the U.S. Constitution? Symbolism is important and it runs through much of our culture and many of our religions so I understand what the U.S. Flag is supposed to represent but let's be clear that it does not mean only one thing.

The flag means many things to many people. Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan would have very different ideas about what the flag represents. For some it was westward expansion and for others it was the extermination of Native Americans, and for others it was land. Nowadays people will say it stands for liberty, justice and freedom, but can they explain what they mean. After 9/11 it really bothered me to watch so many Americans slap American flags on their homes or on their cars without the simplest understanding of why. I asked my friend why he put an American flag sticker on his car and he was speechless. Patriotism for patriotisms sake!

"One nation, under God. indivisible" is my favorite part to pick at. We are not one nation. As John Edwards has declared on many occasions, "there are two Americas" - and probably thirty or forty Americas. Native Americans have been raped, murdered, displaced, robbed and lied to by this America. Poor people have been thrown under the bus by this America. Huge corporations own this America. If we were truly living in "one nation" there would be no need to spy on our citizens, and we would all devote our nation's resources to caring for each other and work to eliminate poverty and injustice. But we don't live in that nation. We live in a nation divided. So divided we can't even agree that war is bad and health care is good.

Our U.S. Constitution and the founding fathers were clear that we have a separation of church and state. There is no religious test for President and there shouldn't be a religious test for citizenship. It doesn't matter if you worship a sky god or tree gods, one god or fifty. You can be an American and be Godless. Now that is the American way.

Whenever my friend Tom Zerafa says the Pledge he always waits for the end. "With liberty and justice FOR ALL." He always says the last part louder so everyone can here. He is making a point. This pledge is empty as long as each American saying it is actually pledging liberty and justice for all Americans. If you voted for the marriage ban, or the Affirmative Action ban or for George Bush the second time, you have no right saying the Pledge of Allegiance. You should be saying you're sorry instead.

Sean Kosofsky is the Director of Policy for Triangle Foundation, Michigan's leading civil rights, advocacy and anti-violence organization for LGBT people.

More men OUT Larry Craig

More men are outing Sen. Larry Craig. Check it out here.

This man's poor family must be squirming. How painful it must be to watch him implode like this.

FBI Stats are mixed bag on Hate Crimes

I was recently quoted in a number of places criticizing the FBI annual hate crime report. The numbers are grossly inaccurate and most of the media treats them as if they are highly sophisticated, professionally gathered statistics.

You can read more here

The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 requires that all local law enforcement agencies report hate crimes. Problem is that only half of all police agencies have a "bias" box on their police report. So immediately 50% of all police are not reporting. The other half have received little to no training on hate crimes, what makes them different and the importance of these statistics. Until these number mean something, like money for survivors or real societal education, the numbers will be flat and empty.

Great Quote from Mark Twain

I love this quote from Mark Twain about the Jewish community. It reminds me a great deal of the contributions of the GLBT Community.

"...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.
The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"
- Mark Twain("Concerning The Jews," Harper's Magazine, 1899, see The Complete Essays of Mark Twain, Doubleday [1963] pg. 249)

Three MI Republicans Vote for ENDA

Yesterday was the historic and controversial vote on ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act). Three Michigan Republican Congresspersons voted YES which was very surprising to me given their past record.
They were: Congressman Joe Knollenberg, Candice Miller, and Thaddeus McCotter.

McCotter and Miller have both been co-sponsors of the Federal Marriage Amendment and Knollenberg used to have a 0% voting record with the Human Rights Campaign.

I am pretty certain that Knollenberg's position on ENDA stems from his current Democratic Challenger Gary Peters, whom many people believe may defeat him next November. Peters is known for being progressive on GLBT issues.

Vote for Bilerico today

Please vote for your favorite GLBT Blog. And please vote for The Bilerico Project where I blog with some incredibly talented people around the country.

Vote Here

Vote for The Bilerico Project

Please go vote for your favorite GLBT blog and please vote for the Bilerico Project.

http://2007.weblogawards.org/polls/best-lgbt-blog-1.php
You can vote daily up till the 8th.

Major Article in Detroit Free Press about Jeffrey Montgomery

The Sunday Detroit Free Press (the most read paper on the most read day in Michigan) ran a huge story about the transition of our Executive Director (and my dear friend) Jeffrey Montgomery. You can read it here.

GLBT Library Collection comes to OU

I have always had mixed feelings about Oakland University, a mid-sized public university in suburban Detroit. I received my BS in Political Science from there in 1998 and was very active as a student organizer there. I believed the student body to be pretty neutral on the issue of GLBT rights and most of the faculty and staff seemed pretty supportive.

But something kept me from having a lot of school pride. I never really felt "proud" of OU.

Well, I do today.

A few weeks ago I attended the opening of the Robert G. Gaylor Collection at OU's Kresge Library. It is widely considered to be one of, if not the finest, GLBT Collection in Oakland County (one of Michigan's most populous counties). The event left me speechless. The standing room only event showed me that there were many people in the OU community and alumni who were excited about OU making history.

The collection included hundreds and hundreds of titles including many back issues of magazines, newspapers and publications from the 1970's and 1980's. The room holding the collection was nice and everything was in good shape. I was most impressed with the fact that the Kresge Library hosted an entire event to brag to the world about the Collection.

I strongly encourage everyone to check out the collection. It does make me proud that a place like OU which doesn't exactly have the reputation for being a bustling center for diversity.

The following are the remarks that were given by Julie Voelck, Dean of the Kresge Library:

On behalf of Kresge Library and Bob Gaylor, welcome and thank you for joining us
for the opening of the GLBT Literature and Resource Center, featuring the Robert
G. Gaylor Collection.

Over the past few months I have been asked
by a few people: (1) Why do we need this Center? (2) Is this an
appropriate collection for Kresge Library, and for OU? Today I would like
to share my response.

As you may be aware, the literature,
history, art, and culture of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are
often overlooked in library collections, and sometimes even more generally in
academic studies. Our GLBT Literature and Resource Center is one very
positive way that we can respond to that oversight.

The foundation of the Resource Center, the Gaylor collection, provides decades of publications and a rich repository for researchers in LGBT studies. To illustrate, I
will describe two of the books you will find there.
On one end of the continuum we have:
Sexual Anomalies and Perversions by Prof. Dr. Magnus Hirschfield, first published in 1938, reprinted several times up through the 1960s—
Presumably it was considered an authoritative text for several decades. Each chapter discusses a different perversion, and—you guessed
it—there is an entire chapter devoted to the “perversion” of
homosexuality.

In contrast: The Big Gay Book, published in 1991—On the front cover the contents are described as: A compendium of gay travel, health, sports, and more!
As you can see from just these titles, this is an amazing research collection.

In my response to the question of why we need this Resource Center, I feel I must also refer to the unfortunate acts of vandalism that have occurred in many U.S. libraries.

Here are a couple of examples from my own experience:

In the late-1980s, at one university library in which I served, the pages of the national gay news magazine, The Advocate, were routinely torn, crumbled up, and thrown on the floor. This happened so frequently that we had no choice but to remove the issues from the open stacks, just so that we could preserve it. Of course, this automatically limited access to the publication, which probably pleased the
persons responsible for destroying it.

Before I came to OU, I was at CMU. While I was there, in 1996 vandals searched the catalog for gay studies books, pulled a number of them from the shelves throughout the main library, took them into one of the public restrooms, and dumped them into the toilets. This happened on two separate occasions/on two different days, and some of the books that were destroyed were irreplaceable.

You may say, yes but that was 10 years ago. Do these sorts of things still happen
today? Sad to say, they do. A recent example occurred just a year
ago in a branch of the Chicago Public Library. About 100 LGBT books were
destroyed after someone set fire to them.

But now let me share the good news of the library profession’s response to such censorship and hate crime. Our national association –the American Library Association—adopted a statement titled


[ALA statement: Adopted in 1993, amended in 2000, amended in 2004]

Access to Library Resources and Services
Regardless of Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation:
An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights


Framed copy in Resource Center (KL 106)
Excerpts:

“American libraries exist and function within the context of a body of laws derived from the United States Constitution and the First Amendment. The Library Bill of Rights embodies the basic policies that guide libraries in the provision of services, materials, and programs.

In the preamble to its Library Bill of Rights, the American Library Association affirms that all ... libraries are forums for information and ideas.

... [As such,] the American Library Association stringently and unequivocally maintains that libraries ... have an obligation to resist efforts that systematically exclude materials dealing with any subject matter, including sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

... The Association affirms that books and other materials coming from gay, lesbian bisexual, and/or transgendered presses, gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgendered authors, ... and materials regardless of format or services dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgendered life are protected by the Library Bill of Rights ...

... The Association affirms that attempts to proscribe or remove materials dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgendered life ... constitute censorship ... [T]he Association strongly opposes any effort to limit access to information and ideas
[and] ... encourages librarians to proactively support the First Amendment
rights of all library users, regardless of sex, gender identity, or sexual
orientation.”

Now I’m delighted to take this opportunity to recognize a number of people for their contributions to creating the GLBT Literature and Resource Center:

§ We are very grateful to the HOPE Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan for awarding us a generous grant to furnish the Center with furniture and shelving. Thanks to this funding we now have a beautiful room in which to read, study, hold meetings, and conduct research. Also, for submitting formal letters of support to include with the grant proposal, I would like to
thank:
o Executive Director of the Triangle Foundation, Jeffrey Montgomery
o Executive Director of the Affirmations Community
Center for LGBT People & Their Allies, Leslie Ann Thompson
o OU’s Assistant Director of Admissions (and the Founder of S.A.F.E. on Campus),
Sara Webb

§ Thank you to the staff in Kresge Library’s Technical Services for cataloging and classifying the materials in such a timely manner, so that anyone searching our catalog on the Web from anywhere in the world can learn about our collection.

§ A very special thank you to KL Acquisitions Supervisor Nicole Artanowitz, who worked countless hours on the Center and the collection. Also thank you to our
Development Officer, Rebecca Sellers, and our executive secretary, Kath Borg for
coordinating this event.

§ And for his strong, unwavering support of Kresge Library all along the way, I’m very grateful to Provost Virinder Moudgil.

§ Let me also express our heartfelt gratitude in advance to many of you here today who I understand are planning donations to help us sustain the Resource Center. It is such a worthy cause, and your contributions are truly appreciated.

Last but not least, I’m very happy to introduce the generous donor of the Gaylor Collection, Prof. Emeritus of the Oakland University Library, Robert Gaylor. Many of you know that Bob served as an OU librarian for 37 years, from 1965 to 2003, and his contributions during that time were many. However, for Bob, 37 years of
service is not enough—His commitment to OU continues through the donation of an
invaluable literature collection—one that he has painstakingly brought together
over the course of many decades. It is a collection which, to my
knowledge, is unduplicated and unsurpassed in all of Oakland County and will be
available for use by not only our students and faculty, but members of the
community in southeastern Michigan, as well. It is my honor to
introduce Bob Gaylor.

Republican Mayor of San Diego in Moving Video on Gay Marriage

This amazing video is of the San Diego mayor announcing his support of gay marriage and disclosing his daughter is gay. He is a Republican and former police chief as well.

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=26888@kpix.dayport.com

Larry Craig Defies Police

Good for Larry Craig. He may be a hypocrite and a right wing extremist who cheats on his wife but at least he doesn't take bull from undercover police officers who break the law in order to enforce it. He should call for the discipline, if not termination of the officer involved for entrapping him and lying on a police report about whether Larry Craig committed a crime.

Enjoy.

This was posted yesterday on the AP:

Senator Larry Craig files papers to withdraw guilty plea in gay sex sting
1 minute ago

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ‹ Senator Larry Craig filed papers Monday seeking to withdraw his guilty plea in an airport sex sting, arguing that he entered the plea under stress caused by media inquiries into his sexuality.

Craig, an Idaho Republican, pleaded guilty in August to disorderly conduct following his June arrest in a sting operation in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis airport.

In a "state of intense anxiety" following his arrest, Craig "felt compelled to grasp the lifeline offered to him by the police officer," namely, a guilty plea Craig hoped would keep the matter from being made public, said the papers filed in Hennepin County District Court.

The filing said Craig's "panic" drove him to accept the plea rather than seeking the advice of a lawyer.

In an interview before the filing, Craig's lawyer, William Martin, cited pressure from Craig's hometown newspaper, the Idaho Statesman, which spent months investigating whether Craig engaged in homosexual encounters.

Craig, who has denied such suggestions and accused the newspaper of conducting a "witch hunt," was so concerned about that investigation, he quickly pleaded guilty when arrested in the bathroom sex sting, Martin said.
Craig did not consult with a lawyer or appear in court.

He figured, "I'm innocent but if this will make it go away I'll do it,"
Martin said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show.

A police report alleged that Craig had solicited sex from a male officer at the Minneapolis airport in June.

MI Policy Summit An Unqualified Success

1. Whooooooooohooooooooo!
   
   After 10 months of planning and work, the Michigan Policy Summit was an unqualified success today. The diverse crowd came from every part of our state, from every background and from many different professions. Elected leaders mingled with business owners. Activists broke bread with health care professionals. Labor organizers strategized with teachers.
   
   Never before have such a broad cross section of the progressive community come together to work collectively on solving the problems faced by the State of Michigan. Our keynote speaker, Donna Brazile was overheard saying today that she was so impressed with the standing room only summit (we have 415 people show up) that she is going to encourage other states to do something just like it. There will be more press coming out on this Monday.
   
   Even though the main issues were education, health care and clean energy the place was filled with GLBT folks and our issues were unavoidably intertwined with the health of the state. It was wonderful. Triangle Foundation was a major sponsor and we were one of the original groups working to create this event back in December. I am so proud of what is happening with our statewide progressive movement.
   
   Here is just one recent article. And here are some highlights from Michigan Liberal.
   
   I am certain the event will be annual. Please stay tuned for more updates about the Summit.

Larry Craig and Entrapment

Here is a major article by Doug Ireland in the Gay City News about Sen. Craig and entrapment.

I challenge the police officer and the operation in MN because I believe, as many do, that as problematic as Craig's behavior is, he did not break that law.

Ejoy.

92% of Fortune 500 Companies Protect Gays

Everytime there is good news I want to blog about it.

The Equality Forum just released a report showing that now 92% of all Fortune 500 Companies now offer non-discrimination policies to protect GLB workers. Many of those do not fully protect transgender employees but those protections are climbing.

This is terrific news and impresses me greatly. It certainly pisses off the religious right.

The report also found that of the 37 Fortune 500 companies that do not protect GLB workers yet, 38% percecnt of them are in Texas. Big surprise. From the state that gave us George W. Bush and David Koresh.

At the rate that big companies are adding these protections, by 2010 most large companies, even beyond the Fortune 500 will be protecting our community from discrimination.

Of course, a report recently came out showing that even with non-discrimination policies in place, many GLBT people feel they face discrimination at work. So we know that our work is not done after we pass policies. We need to educate and train workers while enforcing policies once there is a violation. Laws need to be passed as an extra layer of protection for these workers.

In Michigan, two municipalities in the past month passed non-discrimination ordinances; Saugatuck Township and Saugatuck, respectively. Last year two more cities passed similar laws; Lansing and Ferndale. But we still need an amendment to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to make sure that our entire state is protected.

There are 800 municipalities in Michigan. Working for ordinances, city by city, is not the best use of our time. For more information on how you can help email Sean@tri.org.

My Trip Up North

On August 15th I headed up north to Camping.OUT the GLBT youth camp that Triangle Foundation runs. I participated in one workshop on transgender issues and then led a workshop on how to lobby your elected officials.

The youth were super charged and having a lot of fun. It was great to see youth that were at the camp last year, especially those that came from all over the country. It was also good to see some of the camp’s donors on site, like Mark LaChey (former City Commissioner in Pleasant Ridge).

Greg Varnum, Triangle's Director of Youth Initiatives is doing a fantastic job with the camp. It is so beautiful there and the youth are so empowered, that it certainly makes me jealous that there was nothing like this when I was young.

Later that same day I accepted an invitation from our board member Mary Scholl to speak at a potluck services for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Benzie County at their home in Honor. We were very well-received (pictures are included).

I love Unitarian Universalists. Their dedication to social justice is truly inspiring. For more on what Triangle Foundation does around Michigan email me at sean@tri.org

Homophobia as Strong as Shrapnel

Check out this story from the Associated Press about a MegaChurch that canceled a memorial services for a Navy veteran after they learned he was gay.

Imagine a loved one fighting and dying in the first Gulf War and then your local MegaChurch offers to host the memorial service. Then, get this, the church learns the veteran (who probably enlisthed to fight for things like religious expression) is gay and decides to express their way right out of their own vows to host the service.

After canceling, a spokesman actually said:

"We did decline to host the service -- not based on hatred, not based on discrimination, but based on principle."

WHAT?!? Hatred and discrimination ARE principles. Screwed up principles, but they are principles. This church did the unthinkable. How can anyone claiming to be a Christian not even honor a former soldier? The church claims they could not condone the "lifestyle" but I bet you everything I own that this church has not looked into the "lifestyle" of any other deceased church member. Have they never had a memorial service for someone who cheated on their taxes, or who had been divorced or ever shoplifted? You can almost guarantee that this church has ignored sinful behavior of others, only to call out the "unnacceptable" sin of homosexuality.

This is so offensive on so many levels. Is there no decency among leaders on the right? Are gays not even deserving of death with dignity? This man stood for everything conservatives love: family, country, Christianity. So what do they do the minute they find out you're queer. Give you the boot.

Please visit High Point church and give 'em a piece of your mind.

Killer of Gay Bartender in Windsor is Caught

Hot off the presses. Triangle Foundation does a great deal of work on hate crime issues. We are still working on this developing story but Triangle Foundation just posted an alert today about the capture and arrest of a potential serial killer.

The release is below and you can find it at Triangle Foundation

Windsor Murder Suspect Jesse Imeson Captured
Following Flight That Spanned Two Provinces

Jesse Norman Imeson has been captured near Renfrew Ontario. Imeson is the principal suspect in three murders, including the strangling death of Carlos Rivera in Windsor, Ontario, on July 19. Rivera was an immensely popular bartender at The Tap, a well-known gay nightclub in Windsor. Imeson is also suspected of killing an elderly rural couple, Bill and Helen Regier, near Mt. Carmel, Ontario, four days later. A Canada-wide manhunt ended Tuesday when the 22-year-old Imeson was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) following the
break-in at a home where he was surprised by the owner. OPP closed in on the suspect in a wooded area where he surrendered. He had two rifles with him.

"People are relieved that this suspect has been apprehended," said Jeffrey Montgomery, Executive Director of Triangle Foundation. "It was an edgy time in the community while he was at large, given his wide-ranging flight and the allegations of death and mayhem he left in his wake. We all hope that some of the open questions about these crimes will now be able to be answered.

"Further, we know that the family and friends of Carlos Rivera and the
Regiers will find some satisfaction in knowing that Imeson will face the justice system and his responsibility for his alleged actions."

Giuliani Against Civil Unions!

In a recent campaign stop Rudy Giuliani made yet another gesture to the religious right. He reiterated his opposition to marriage equality for gays and lesbians and more formally opposed civil unions, which he has stated before, but now he seems more convincing. He coupled the remarks with a mild gesture supporting equal rights.

Giuliani wants to speak out of both sides of his mouth. He has had many gay supporters in the past and now he is essentially blowing them off but with a kinder, gentler form of discrimination. He is basically saying he supports equality, but with an asterisk.

Here is the quote from the Siouxland article:

Giuliani said he believes marriage should be between one man and one woman and said he doesn't support civil unions, which he said are same-sex marriages in another name. But he said he would support "domestic partnerships," in which the rights of gays would be protected.

"People who are gay, people who are lesbian should have their rights protected," Giuliani said, and "the government should be out of that decision."

'Nuff said. The most pro-gay guy in the race is less pro-gay than Bush, who supports civil unions. That means the Republican contenders are actually devolving not evolving on these issues. This means one thing -- the right wing is bad for our nation's progress.

It also means that the most pro-gay Republican candidate, the one in the lead, is also less pro-gay than every Democrat in the race. No big surprise.

Gay Presidential Debate Should be broad in scope

I was very excited to learn that there would be, for the first time, an entire presidential debate dedicated to GLBT issues. Kudos to HRC and LOGO for pulling this together.

The event will air live on the gay network LOGO on August 9th. Already Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich have confirmed their attendance.

There is already some controversy over this event regarding which candidates have been invited and whether or not Melissa Etheridge is the best person to be asking questions at the debate. Although that is interesting to me, I don't really care about that right now. I just want to pause and think about what an important event this will be.

GLBT people from all over the world may see this as a beacon of the kind of political power our community is beginning to harness. I hope one day, however, that the Republican candidates would be eager enough to embark on such an endeavor. But hey, one step at a time.

My hunch is that there will not be a significant difference between most of the viable Democratic candidates. Clearly some of them are willing to go further on the question of marriage equality, but their attitudes are mostly aligned. The real question is, who has integrity and who will fight for GLBT equality.

I think this debate will be about style, reputation and cultural competency. People will be able to read the body language of these candidates to tell who is most comfortable with this. I also think it would be smart for the candidates to tell personal stories and anecdotes about their record on this issue and loved ones that are GLBT.

Most of all I hope that people do not dwell on marriage for most of the debate. There are many more issues affecting our community including issues that don't appear GLBT on their face like the REAL ID Act and access to health care. These candidates should not expect to only be asked questions about GLBT issues. They should be asked to articulate the interconnectedness of other progressive positions with GLBT issues and give our community a vision we can fight for.

I will blog about the debate after it occurs to flesh out my thoughts. Our community should be galvanized behind someone sooner than later.