Fan Base Unity

One year ago today, I started a fan group on facebook called Princess Bride Fansfor Mawwage Equality. It was at a time when many facebook users were setting their profile picture to the red box with a white "equal" sign, which was a variation on the Human Rights Campaign logo. This symbol was a show of support for overtuning the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 (CA) which was the subject of hearings in the U.S. Supreme Court.

And many of my geek friends supporting equal opportunity quoted the line, "Mawwage! Mawwage is what bwings us togevah, today."  It started out a a bit of fun, but has become a group where I can post updates and news related to gay marriage in a context that is fun and entertaining.

Since the page started, we’ve seen more states step up and offer equal marriage rights to same sex couples than in any other year to date. Utah and Michigan are still going through some legal jumping jacks with those states appealing the decisions that struck down their bans on gay marriage.

Also, in that time, California made it back on the list, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the Federal Court decision striking down Proposition 8, which halted marriages in that state.

“But most importantly of all,” we’ve learned that the Supreme Court itself has declared a portion of DOMA unconstitutional. [I know I'm crossing references here, but I'm confident most of you will get it.] The decisions made by the Supreme Court made it possible for many of the states striking down their own bans.

And here, in Wisconsin, marriage equality in this decade seemed inconceivable because of a constitutional ban on same sex marriage, enacted in 2006. It was a step backward for a state that had previously been strong on gay rights. I will continue to point out that Wisconsin was the first state to prohibit job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Last month, Wisconsin Senator, Tim Carpenter (D) and Representative, JoCosta Zamarripa (D) sponsored a bill to repeal the 2006 amendment.  This put Wisconsin back in the lead, at least in terms of effort. We were the first state to attempt to repeal a marriage ban through the Legislature. The bill was defeated by a partisan vote.

So now, Wisconsin's chance to be forward again. Last month, actually prior to the legislative push, a lawsuit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of four couples seeking to marry in Wisconsin. The plaintiffs initially filed for a temporary injunction on the ban, which would most likely have been appealed. On the Judge's advice, they withdrew the motion for injunction in favor of a speedier trial. The trial will now begin in 2 days.

And that's where we stand, friends and fans. Equality in Wisconsin was inconceivable. Perhaps, it does not mean what I thought it meant. 

God Hates...Nobody

The news this morning is that Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist Church, has died.

Reactions and plans are...mixed.

Reports are that he was excommunicated from the Church he founded, a fact that means he may even have been disowned by his family. Ironically, this is something all too familiar to many gay and transgender people, against whom he expressed so much hate over the years. 

I can't say whether the family was all in agreement on the excommunication, since the church maintains confidentiality of church matters. But the fact remains that losing a family member is not easy, so I offer my condolences to the family, whether they want it or not.

Westboro is noted for protesting Military funerals, but started this repugnant practice at the funeral of Matthew Shepard in 1998.

Photo: from The Advocate.com. Friends of Matthew Shepard form an Angelic wall between the Phelps clan and the mourners. 

There have been many people saying things like "I can't wait til he dies so we can protest his funeral" In a strange twist, following Phelps' excommunication, the church has said that they will protest at his funeral. 

The later buzz online has been that many people are planning to show up to show signs of respect, forgiveness, and God's love for everyone. 

I cannot claim to have any respect for the "pastor" of Westboro, nor his clan of hate spreading zealots. But I do hope that the man, who as simply a man after all, has found peace at last. 

Reality Game Show Pitch

Here's a meme I've been seeing pop up on social media. It's a tweet from user Molly Manglewood (@undeadmolly)

I like this idea, and being a gamer, I've come up with some thoughts on how this could become a competitive Reality Show.  Perhaps not to show "how awesome it is" but maybe how "easy" it is. At least how easy they think it is. Yes, this is what goes on in my head sometime. So here is my pitch for a reality TV show based on living a 100% Biblical Life.

Judge Not

Season 1

In this series, a group of Fundamentalist Christians are brought together to live and interact under constant camera observation. Let's call them, "The Devout." The goal is to be the last Devout remaining, by staying sinless yourself, and bringing Judgement upon your opponents. But beware! A contestant may call any Devout to Judgement for breaking any of the laws in the Bible. (any version) If the accusation is true, then "Judgement is Upon" that contestant. One more Judgement will eliminate the player. Now, the trick is that whoever made the Judgement will be reviewed by the Higher Power (a panel of Biblical and Legal experts) and checked against the entirety of whichever version of the Bible was used to judge the opponent. If found to have broken any law, that contestant will have a Judgement placed on them as well.

There is a safety net. A Grace of God, or Salvation, if you will. The complex will have a "Confession" room, or Chapel, where anyone can go to confess any transgression so that they may not be Judged on it. Each week will also begin with an Absolution, meaning that only sins committed in the current episode count. Neither Confession nor Absolution will remove a Judgement that is upon someone, however. The only way to get rid of a Judgement is to Pass the Judgement onto another Devout by making a Judgement, in which case, one also risks getting a new Judgement when weighed by the same measure. 

If no one attempts a Judgement during a week, the panel calls the entire group under review, and decides who has transgressed the worst. However, as with other reality shows, the producers offer rewards for catching sinners and being pure yourself. Based on the real life behavior of most fundamentalists, it is unlikely that one won't be willing to point a finger and assume that he has nothing to hide, so this shouldn't come up. 

As soon as there is only one Devout remaining, that player immediately goes to final judgment, and if also found not to be pure, there is no winner, and no one goes to "Heaven." 

Give Credit Where Due, but No Trophy for GOP.

Following up on my "It's A Dry Hate" post, it is wonderful to know that the end result was a veto of the bill.

There is a part of me that wanted it to go through. Yes, part of me wanted a fight. I have a favorite quote from the Sci-Fi series, Babylon 5, fifth season.

"I have been working up a good mad all day, and I will not let you undermine it by agreeing with me."
-President John Sheridan.

Lucky for me, I had an opportunity to re-direct the "good mad" I had going. Jan Brewer did exactly what she said she would do. She reviewed the bill on her desk, considered the possible outcomes of enacting the law, and vetoed SB 1062 because that was what was best for Arizona. And then, the gay Republicans had the balls to tell me that because of the veto, I should be thankful to the people who passed this piece of shit in the first place!

What did it take to make the veto happen? It took a lot of brave people taking a stand.

In "Dry Hate" I mention George Takei making a call to boycott tourism in Arizona if the bill passes. Response to his blog post indicated that his fans supported the action. Major corporations, including Southwest Airlines, JP Morgan Chase, GoDaddy and Apple, expressed opposition to the bill. Also, activists and regular citizens got the word out against discrimination.

I was relieved to hear that the bill was vetoed, and it was refreshing to hear that Republicans like John McCain and Mitt Romney encouraged Brewer to veto it. But the released statement of Log Cabin Republicans struck me as a huge hypocrisy. It's like a wannabe hero who builds a bomb and threatens the city with, then is lauded as a "hero" when he diffuses his own bomb. Sorry, LCR, but as much as I loved Megamind, this is real life. Or, I should say, these are real lives your party was messing with.

Now, I'll admit that I wasn't as focused on the outcome of this until hearing that it had passed. But surely the organization that works for LGBT causes from within the Republican Party would have been following this legislation in a Republican controlled state from the beginning, right? Surely, they would be calling on their members to write and tell Arizona Republicans to oppose the bill. Granted, I am not dialed-in to the Arizona chapter, but I am on the National email list, and visit www.logcabin.org from time to time. With similar bills moving forward (backward?) in more states than just Arizona, I would have expected to see some calls to action, or at least public appeals to legislators to oppose such bills. There were no press releases or mention of any effort on LCR's part to oppose these bills in the days leading up to SB 1062's passage. But once it became a national hotbed, they were quick to put forward the pragmatic calls for veto. These statements glibly overlook the fact that it was their party that sponsored and approved the bill, or that while a few who voted for it changed their minds, there were more that continued to support it.

Had there not been a great public outcry against the bill, I doubt that its supporters would have changed their minds. And I am in no way naive enough to think that their reversals represent a "change of heart." This is pointed out pretty well by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show.   The politicians' answers show that they realized -not that the bill was wrong, but- that passage of the bill would result in consequences, and economic ones at that.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am in favor of the Log Cabin Republicans' mission, which states, in part "The mission of Log Cabin Republicans shall advance the interests of the gay and lesbian community within the Republican Party of the United States of America." (read the full statement on logcabin.org)

I have two objections. The mission statement speaks of supporting initiatives that promote non-discrimination. It unfortunately lacks a commitment to oppose initiatives that hinder equality and promote bigotry. I surmise that this is intentionally left out because the majority of those bills are created, sponsored, and approved by the Republican party.

My second objection is not with the statement itself, but with the action I see the group taking. They were silent while Republicans pushed SB1062 through the Arizona legislature, but brought out the trumpets when a few members changed their mind in response to being called out.  Now, I have no doubt that the Arizona chapter made calls to oppose the bill, but these efforts were not publicized because it put a spotlight on how strongly the Religious Right's agenda is still in control of the party.

The statements and actions that I have seen lead me to believe that LCR is more interested in changing LGBT perception of the GOP than they are in actually creating a more inclusive party.