LGBT POV

Like so many of us, my friends Mary Jo Godges and Renee Sotile are anxiously awaiting District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling on the constitutionality of Prop 8, the amendment passed by voters in 2008 that stripped away the right of same sex couples to marry in California. Walker does not have to give any advance warning that the decision is imminent – so we’re all just holding our breath.

Mary Jo (wearing the glasses in this photo) and Renee got married on Election Day 2008, becoming among the same sex couples married before the right was rescinded. When Mary Jo told me she had former Vice President Al Gore and LA Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean on videotape talking about the case – I realized this was more than just waiting for the news. For them, the wait alone was like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, threatening their marriage, as well, though the California Supreme Court ruled the 18,000 or so same sex marriages remained valid. I asked Mary Jo to write about their marriage – just a reminder to everyone what this Prop 8 ruling is all about. Please click inside to read Mary Jo’s story, plus see video of Lorri Jean on the ruling and Mary Jo and Renee’s wedding.

But first – considering how prescient Al Gore is (he was warning about climate change long before An Inconvenient Truth) – here’s the exchange between Renee and Gore, during a book tour stop in Beverly Hills on Nov. 12, 2009. Renee hands him a DVD of a documentary she and Mary Jo made about Christa McAuliffe, the first Teacher in Space who was killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. (Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars).  Gore says, “I hear good things about the court decision coming up on Prop 8.” He says this six months after the American Foundation for Equal Rights announced they filed Perry v, Schwarzenegger and two months before the case went to trial in San Francisco.

Grasp this: on Saturday, for the first time in American history, an openly gay man will be officially recognized for his accomplishments by the state of California. May 22 marks the birthday of the late LGBT martyr Harvey Milk, who will be honored with an official State Day of Recognition – Harvey Milk Day.

Openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk was assassinated on Nov. 27, 1978, along with his ally, Mayor George Moscone. Last September, when his when his Equality California-sponsored Harvey Milk Day bill passed the Assembly, openly gay Sen. Mark Leno said:

“[Harvey Milk] is an inspiration to people worldwide who believe in fairness and equality and he fought for many of the issues we value today, including access to education, public transportation, affordable housing and protecting the environment.”

EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors says, “I am truly thrilled that after several years of hard work we have succeeded in making Harvey Milk’s Birthday an official State Day of Recognition.”

Today begins a weeklong series of posts about Harvey Milk, including a calendar of events happening on Harvey Milk Day on Saturday so LGBTs and allies can more easily find a commemoration to attend. But who better to kick off the series than Harvey Milk himself, here speaking about the antigay Briggs Initiative that he helped defeat:

And here is a promo for the excellent documentary Times of Harvey Milk by Rob Epstein – which can be seen in its entirety on Hulu and purchased on Amazon:

General Carter Ham, Commander, US Army Europe, explains that the military’s working group on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is tasked with coming up with “objective” recommendations on the IMPACT to the Armed Forces IF the law were to be repealed — not HOW to implement the repeal. Is this just semantics – or is the working group looking at this differently from our understanding of Secretary Gates’ charge? (H/t DOD FED GLOBE) (US Army)

I have been infuriated about this racist Arizona immigration law since it first popped onto my radar two weeks ago on April 13. Last Friday, longtime Latina and LGBT activist Gloria Nieto wrote about it from her perspective and then when Gov. Brewer signed the bill later that afternoon, Gloria called for a boycott of Arizona over the new law. BTW – when asked by a reporter how a law enforcement officer would come by that “reasonable suspicion” that someone was undocumented other than by the color of their skin, Brewer said she didn’t know. Racial profiling is against the law in Arizona.

Since then, Rachel Maddow has pointed out the law’s link to the white supremacy movement. (See video below)

Today, Tobias Barrington Wolff, Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a longtime LGBT attorney and constitutional scholar, sent a letter to friends and colleagues urging everyone to “stand up against this law.”

Here’s an excerpt:

“The purpose of this law is not to get rid of all undocumented immigrants. The purpose of this law is to disempower all brown-skinned immigrants in Arizona, turning them into a third-class group who must live in constant fear of government and are subject to arbitrary abuse and exploitation.

LGBT people know what it means to be declared by statute to be inherent criminals — to be told that we are illegal people. Transgender people know what it means to be told that their very being, dress or appearance makes them inherently suspicious and subject to arrest and detention.

We must stand up against this law, and we must do so loudly and strongly.”

Please click inside to read Tobias’ full letter. Here’s Rachel Maddow’s take:

A little afternoon break. Here’s a video of openly gay music star Adam Lambert performing “Fever” at this Saturday’s 21st Annual GLAAD Awards. Warning to those over 45 – this is way not Lambert’s version of Peggy Lee’s iconic “Fever!” - though Lambert singing Lee would be interesting. Please also check my friend Greg Hernandez at GregInHollywood for more, including an interview with Lambert about his recent mentoring experience on “American Idol.”

Throughout the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner theatrical masterpiece Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe, Trudy the bag lady tries to explain human beings to her alien friends. In one instance, she uses Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Tomato Soup” artwork and a Campbell’s tomato soup can to distinguish between art and reality. At the end of the play, Trudy takes the aliens to see Lily Tomlin in the play “Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe” so they can experience “goosebumps.” Trudy’s disconcerted to learn that they’ve been watching the audience, not the play. But the aliens reply, “The play was soup, the audience – art.”

During Saturday night’s “Conversations with Coco,” the legendary actress and comedienne Lily Tomlin explained that Jane Wagner, her partner of 39 years, wrote Search based on the premise in physics that the very act of watching something changes that thing and the viewer. The two artists wanted the audience to leave the theatre changed. And if Coco’s extraordinary “conversation” with Tomlin before a packed audience at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre illustrated anything – it’s that the work and sensibilities of Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner continue to give us goosebumps and inspire change.

Please click inside to read about the conversation and see videos of Tomlin in character.

Here’s a clip of her accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Tony’s in 1977:

The day after Easter and you’d think the Catholic-lead National Organization for Marriage – which won the Prop 8 campaign to repeal same sex marriage in California using scary ads about “protecting” children from the prospective gay menace – would say something about the Catholic Church child sex abuse scandals since the Pope seems so uninterested.

But NO! Instead they put out a fundraising email claiming their little political ad (which LGBT POV reported on earlier) is “shaking up” GOP Senate hopeful Tom Campbell’s campaign.

Here’s the ad – please click inside to read the latest missive from NOM’s Brian Brown:

Tuesday, March 9th marks the first day that same-sex couples in the District of Columbia were able to marry. The Human Rights Campaign hosted three ceremonies at our DC headquarters building. Here’s the video of those ceremonies. Please click inside for more info on the couples and photos from Cathy Renna.

Here’s some history to make your LGBT heart swell. This is John A. Perez being sworn in as the first openly gay Speaker of the California Assembly. Please click inside to see videos of John’s acceptance speech, a transcript of his remarks, and photos.

Attorney General Jerry Brown just sent out this email to supporters announcing that he is formally running to be California’s next governor. Right now he seems to have the Democratic nomination locked. The Republicans have a primary fight between millionaires Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. Here’s Brown’s email:

Today, I am formally announcing my candidacy for the office of Governor of California, to deal head-on with the challenges facing this state I love. I have lived in California all my life, and I believe the obstacles in our path are substantial, but not insurmountable. If we have a Governor who will truly commit to dealing personally with the tough choices facing our state, and who will get in the trenches side by side with legislators, we can get California working again.

This campaign will not be easy. I will face an opponent with nearly unlimited personal resources to pour into television ads and attacks. I am counting on your support, and your hard work over the next nine months. I believe I have the experience, the understanding of State Government, and commitment required to move California forward. I look forward your help in this important campaign.

Sincerely,

Jerry Brown

I posted the two versions of “We Are the World” here and the YouTube version here. Is SNL right?

Fans of the Harry Potter films were slightly taken aback when young star Daniel Radcliffe bared all in a theatrical production of “Equus.” But it was during his Broadway performance of that play in 2008 that Radcliffe learned about The Trevor Project, the nation’s only helpline for LGBT and questioning teens who are in emotional trouble and may be considering suicide. Last Friday, Radcliffe taped a public service announcement for The Trevor Project. In an interview with the Associated Press, Radcliffee said:

“I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals. Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it….I think it’s important for somebody from a big, commercial movie series like ‘Harry Potter’ and particularly because I am not gay or bisexual or transgendered. … The fact that I am straight makes not a difference, but it shows that straight people are incredibly interested and care a lot about this as well.”

The PSA is scheduled to air in the spring.

Next Sunday, March 7, there is an Oscar night party at Here Lounge in West Hollywood benefiting The Trevor Project. Click here for details.

Be your own Rachel Maddow! Fans of the brilliant MSNBC commentator know that one reason Maddow is so popular is because she confronts lies with the truth. Now LGBTs and their allies can do the same thing when it comes to the debate about the military’s antigay policy, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

On Wednesday, the watchdog group Media Matters for America – founded by openly gay politico David Brock in reaction to the “Republican Noise Machine”– published a special report correcting the myths and lies perpetuated by biased or ignorant journalists – or reporters who slant coverage to keep access to powerful sources. That’s what many of us suspected was the agenda behind NBC’s Lisa Meyers’ devastating coverage of the original gays-in-the-military story in 1993. (See the video of Meyers report as part of this story. )

Consider, for instance, the February 23 edition of Fox News’ Special Report where Bret Baier uncritically reported that Gen. George Casey stated that repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy “might … adversely affect readiness.”

Lest anyone shrug this off as just another Fox News-Republican spin machine story, remember that the father of modern political conservatism – the late Arizona Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater – also called for lifting the ban against gays serving openly, crystallized in this famous quote: “You don’t have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.”

It’s one thing that the Fox News reporter didn’t know about Goldwater. But he should have known and reported that Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, appeared two days earlier (Feb 21) on NBC’ Meet the Press and was asked whether “soldiers on the ground in the field care one way or the other if their comrades in arms are gay or lesbian.” Petraeus said: “I’m not sure that they do….I served, in fact, in combat with individuals who were gay and who were lesbian in combat situations and, frankly, you know, over time you said, ‘Hey, how’s, how’s this guy’s shooting?’ Or ‘How is her analysis,’ or what have you.”

Please click inside to read more and see how you can help.

Bless artists! I didn’t know there was a “YouTube music community” until I came across this unique “collaboration” produced by lisalavie1 of 57 artists singing “We Are The World” edited together into one video. The site encourages people to help Haiti by buying Quincy Jones’ recent remake version of the original song on iTunes: “All of the money from sales go directly to relief in Haiti. Visit the official “We Are The World” foundation and do what you can to help.” I also encourage you to go to go to the YouTube site, click on “more info” under lisalavie1’s intro and there you will find the links to the YoutTube channels for each of the 57 artists featured here. (H/t Rex Wockner)

Lots of chatter Tuesday about Politico’s story on how Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele’s lavish spending is upsetting major GOP donors.

But Democrats shouldn’t get too gleeful. Political handicapper Charlie Cook told the National Journal, posted here via The Fix’s Chris Cillizza, that it is “very hard to come up with a scenario where Democrats don’t lose the House.” And, given all the problems the Republicans and Democrats have these days – he’d pick the GOP’s troubles any day.

Cillizza also notes that: “Stu Rothenberg, another noted political handicapper in Washington, has pegged Democratic House losses as between 24 and 28 seats. He writes: “We currently expect Republicans to fall short of the 40 seats they would need.”

Here’s Charlie Cook:

Could that odd sound you hear be the creaking hands of time clicking over to a new day?

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) announced on Monday that he will soon be introducing a bill in the U.S. Senate to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“I will be proud to be a sponsor of the important effort to enable patriotic gay Americans to defend our national security and our founding values of freedom and opportunity.

I have opposed the current policy of preventing gay Americans from openly serving in the military since its enactment in 1993. To exclude one group of Americans from serving in the armed forces is contrary to our fundamental principles as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and weakens our defenses by denying our military the service of a large group of Americans who can help our cause. I am grateful for the leadership of President Obama to repeal the policy and the support of Secretary Gates and Chief of Staff Admiral Mullen.”

Please click inside for more on DADT and the CPAC conference.

But back to that creaking clock of time. Who would have ever imagined that an antigay message delivered from the podium of the conservative CPAC stage would ever be met with the sweet sound of boos? And what prompted the boos? This guy condemning CPAC for allowing GOProud to participate. Best line: “The lesbians at Smith College protest better than you do. Bring it!” This video should be on the laptop of every LGBT person who lobbies Congress for LGBT rights.

Iowa’s progressive and highly regarded Grinnell College named (see Rod 2.0) black, openly gay Raynard S. Kington, M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D, as its new president. Kington was deputy director of the National Institutes of Health, where he won a number of admirers among HIV/AIDS activists. The Grinnell press release noted Kington’s partner, “Peter T. Daniolos M.D., a child psychiatrist at Children’s National Medical Center and George Washington University; and their two young children plan to move to Grinnell during the summer and occupy the president’s home at the college.”

One of those young children asks to join his father on the stage (4:17 into the video) during Kington’s moving acceptance speech Thursday. “I feel compelled to acknowledge the special pride I feel as the great grandson of slaves – to be here at this institution whose founders were active participants in our country’s abolitionist movement,” Kington said, in talking about the possibility for the world to change.

Next Thursday – Feb. 25 – I am going to be on a Los Angeles Press Club panel with Andrew Harmon, senior editor for The Advocate, advocate.com and my legally married friend, Ted Johnson, managing editor of Variety and blogger at wilshireandwashington.com. The discussion topic is: “Covering the Prop. 8 Trial: Can the Gay Press Maintain Objectivity (and Should It)?”

Having served on the board of the LA Press Club with Ted, I suspect this topic was selected long before the San Francisco Chronicle published a political column noting the “open secret” that Prop 8 trial Judge Vaughn Walker is gay – which I wrote about citing some facts to counter the spin from the National Organization for Marriage. But the timing is terrific because it may well draw many more straight people who quietly have questions and harbor a lingering doubt about Walker – and our coverage, which is sometimes cited by the mainstream media.

The panel will be moderated by openly gay radio news star and college professor Jon Beaupre who moderated another Prop 8 panel I was on last year. That lead to a political awakening for at least one of his students. Watch:

It’s one thing when a big guy like Keith Olbermann makes irate or snarky comments about Glenn Beck – the weepy, often wrong conservative talk radio and Fox TV commentator who has a “gazillion” followers. But when skinny PDd lesbian geek Rachel Maddow talks about getting death threats from Beck groupies, calls him out for lying about her and then tells Beck to “back off! – something’s happening here. I wonder if this might be the beginning of the “spinal transplant” Howard Dean has been calling for. Watch for yourself.

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