AMERICAblog Gay | A great people deserve their rights

"Ex-gay" Donnie McClurkin was in a homophobic frenzy this past weekend

2009-11-11T18:58:00.003-05:00

The last time we heard from Donnie McClurkin, he was campaigning with Barack Obama. At the Obama campaign event, you may reacll, McClurkin harangued gays for over thirty minutes and proclaimed:

“God delivered me from homosexuality.”

Well, McClurkin is back. This weekend, he re-emerged spewing homophobic hate in Memphis. Rod 2.0 reports:

Donnie McClurkin ramps up the ridiculous to speak in tongues and call gays "vampires". The infamously "ex-gay" — or should we say merely "re-closeted" — Grammy Award winning gospel singer and evangelist rants against gays, gay youth and recently out gospel singer Tonex at the Church of God in Christ's Holy Convocation Youth Service. This happened last Saturday at the COGIC convention in Memphis.

In the first of three disgusting YouTube videos, McClurkin begins his rant against Tonex, the gospel star and minister who recently confirmed his long-rumored sexuality. McClurkin says Tonex is a "perversion" and must pray away the gay: "God did not call young people to such peversion. Society has failed him, his church has failed him ... I would be homosexual to this day if Jesus hadn't delivered."

McClurkin also rails against against openly gay youth as "broken and feminine": "I see feminine men, feminine boys, everywhere I go ... No, don't applaud 'cuz it ain't funny. It's because we failed. I see them everywhere."

Rod has posted the three videos of McClurkin's rant. Check them out. It's ugly.

Congrats, Michael Crawford

2009-11-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

The Advocate has named Michael Crawford, who is leading the charge for marriage equality in DC, as one of its "People of the Year." Michael is probably one of the nicest people I've met in politics, incredibly committed and very talented. He keeps his eye on the prize and doesn't seek the limelight. But, he deserves the recognition.

Here are a couple videos of Michael in action. The first he did for us. The second is at the rally in DC last week, after we lost in Maine:

Healthy pressure from the gay community

2009-11-11T14:10:00.002-05:00

From Josh Orton at MyDD:

A few years back, Markos and Jerome's book "Crashing the Gates" taught us that activists needed to start taking ownership of their own political advocacy - in part because DC-based groups had become co-opted dinosaurs more interested in their own preservation than actually advancing the causes of the constituencies they supposedly represented.

AMERICAblog's activism is crashing the gates.

Of 80 easy things the White House could have done to help the gay community this year, they did one

2009-11-11T12:40:00.001-05:00

Yet another reason we are boycotting the DNC, OFA and the Obama campaign until the President follows through on his promises to our community. Take the Pledge: Don't Ask, Don't Give.

Mike Signorile uncovered a rather shocking, and embarrassing, list from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force. In an effort to provide then President-elect Obama with lots of easy things he could do to the help the gay community, NGLTF made a list of pro-gay actions the executive branch could take that don't require congressional approval. The executive branch can do all these things by themselves. NGLTF listed 80 possible things the White House could do. President Obama has done one.

Here's the entire list. I highlighted the one thing that President Obama did in red, so you can find it easier among the other 79. (click the image to see a larger, readable version). Pam writes about this as well.

Pressure works: Barney Frank now says DADT likely to come up next spring

2009-11-11T11:25:00.002-05:00

And don't for a minute think that Barney didn't say this to try to help the White House out of a tight spot because of the DNC boycott. He clearly did. Which means they're worried. And that's good. But it's not enough, and here's why.

Nowhere in the story does the White House say the same thing about a possible repeal coming next spring.

We've always known that there was talk for a while now about Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal coming up next spring. But it's never been nailed down, it's simply been "talk." And even Barney Frank's new statement uses the word "likely," and a Washington Blade story is even less definitive, saying simply "may." (And I "may" strike it rich next year, stay tuned.) That means the White House still hasn't decided. Which has been our point all along - the White House has no firm plan, no firm strategy, for moving ahead on the President's promises, as they haven't even decided yet whether they plan to do it at all.

Now, what would make a difference, what would be significant movement? Having a senior White House spokesman, by name, say that the White House intends to push for the repeal of DADT next spring. Not Barney Frank, but someone in the White House. After all, the President has said that he's not going to lift a finger to repeal DADT until the military commanders are on board. And, Senator Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, with very close ties to President Obama, said only a few weeks ago that he wasn't sure we'd get to DADT next year because it's "controversial," and we all know how Democrats, and especially this White House, fear controversy. It's difficult to imagine Congress getting to the repeal of DADT in a congressional election year.

So, it matters little what Barney Frank says, we need the President military, and the President, on board first. As we've seen with health care reform, when the President refuses to get engaged, things on the Hill become a mess. It will take strong leadership from the White House to get DADT repealed. So while we appreciate that Barney Frank is simply reiterating the same talking point that's been thrown around town for months, that DADT may come next spring, let's hear from an on-the-record White House spokesman that it IS coming next spring. Then we'll talk.

But again, this shows that the only thing that works with this White House, with this Democratic party, is pressure. That's why it's important that thousands of you have already signed the pledge not to give to the party until they follow through on their promises to the gay community. I hope you'll take the pledge too.

Rhode Island's GOP Governor, Don Carcieri, vetoed bill allowing funeral decisions for domestic partners

2009-11-11T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is one of the most stunning and hateful moves I've seen by a politician in a long time. It defies basic decency and humanity. And, it makes us realize that it's just not safe to be gay in America. There are leaders who still hate us so much that they won't provide couples with any rights -- even after one of them is dead:

An opponent of same-sex marriage, Governor Carcieri has vetoed bill that would have added "domestic partners'' to the list of people authorized by law to make funeral arrangements for each other.

In his veto message, Republican Carcieri said: "This bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional marriage, which is not the preferred way to approach this issue.

"If the General Assembly believes it would like to address the issue of domestic partnerships, it should place the issue on the ballot and let the people of the state of Rhode Island decide.''

The bill, also sponsored by state Sen. Rhoda Perry and state Rep. David Segal, would add "domestic partners'' to the list, in current law, of people who can legally make arrangements for a deceased person's funeral, cremation or burial to include domestic partners if the deceased person left no pre-arranged funeral contract.

He thinks people should vote on whether someone should be able to bury their dead partner. Wow. He really hates us.

In Maine, near the end of the campaign, the Yes side put out an ad claiming to support rights for same-sex couples, not just marriage. It was a lie, but probably had an impact. In fact, the Bishop's lobbyist, Marc Mutty, who ran the Yes campaign, actively lobbied against domestic partner benefits.

Denying dignity in death. This easily makes Carcieri one of the most homophobic elected officials in the country. Probably makes the Catholic Bishops happy.

It's not just what he hasn't done. It's what he has done that is so infuriating.

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Obama administration, and their apologists, like to lecture us on how the President has only been in office for less than a year, so how can we expect him to fulfill his promises to the gay community in so little time. The thing is, people aren't simply upset with the President because he hasn't yet lifted DADT, passed ENDA and repealed DOMA in the first 10 months of his presidency. They're upset with what the President and the party have done to our community in that time. And it ain't pretty.

Let me revisit a few, then sign the pledge - don't give to the DNC, OFA or the Obama re-election campaign until the President keeps his promises to our community:

Asking a religious right activist who claims to have been “cured” of his homosexuality to headline campaign events in South Carolina. Then letting the anti-gay bigot spend half an hour, on stage, haranguing gays at the Obama event.
Refusing for months to interview with LGBT newspapers during the campaign, while his opponent did repeatedly.
Flubbing question on whether gays are immoral.
Inviting anti-gay activist Rick Warren, who helped pass Prop 8 in California, to give the invocation at the inaugural.
Inviting a gay bishop to the inaugural festivities, then not beginning the TV broadcast until the gay bishop has finished and left.
Refusing to appoint an openly gay Cabinet member.
Abolishing the LGBT outreach position at the DNC and never reinstating it.
Refusing to re-establish the White House Office of LGBT Outreach and the White House LGBT Liaison (which was a Special Assistant to the President at one point).
Continuing to discharge two gay servicemembers a day, even though he could stop it immediately by issuing a stop-loss order immediately.
Asking for a study on “whether” repealing DADT would hurt national security, rather than a study on how to repeal it, as promised.
Deleting his gay civil rights promise from the White House Web site.
Changing his commitment to “repeal” Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, to “changing DADT it in a sensible manner.”
Repeatedly defending DOMA in court, including just a few weeks ago, even though he didn’t have to.
Making jokes about marriage equality, which President Obama claims he doesn't support, even though he once did.
Comparing gay relationships to incest and pedophilia in a Justice Department brief.
Joking about gay protesters upset about the DOMA brief.
Refusing to provide health care benefits to the partners of gay employees, and then claiming that DOMA precludes it, when it does not.
Refusing to meet with gay legal groups to discuss how to provide such health benefits within the confines of DOMA.
Claiming that health benefits for partners of federal employees were new, then being caught in a lie.
Showing visible discomfort when asked about gay civil rights.
Suggesting he won’t get to DADT, DOMA or ENDA until his second term, if ever.
Refusing to suspend implementation of anti-gay laws, like DADT and DOMA, while suspending laws that hurt others.
White House staffers worked against amendment proposed by Rep. Alcee Hasting (D-FL) to defund Don't Ask, Don't Tell investigations
Saying won’t repeal DADT until wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have finished.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to beg President Obama to help on DADT repeal.
A White House official referring to gay civil rights advocates, marching on Washington, as part of “the Internet left fringe” whose opinions don’t matter.
Saying he won’t touch DOMA in his first term.
Refusing to release list of gay attendees at hate crimes reception.
Refusing to mention Maine or Washington state, or anything of substance, in his speech to the Human Rights Campaign dinner.
Saying gays are “naïve” for wanting the president to keep his promise.
Refusing to issue a statement specifically opposing anti-gay ballot measures in Maine and Washington state.
Attorney General Eric Holders flubs question on Maine, twice -- once while in Maine.
DNC/OFA emailed supporters in Maine and Washington state, but didn't ask them to vote against anti-gay ballot measures, then lied about it.
Senator Durbin (D-IL), a very close ally of Obama, says Senate probably won’t repeal DADT in 2010, as promised.
Senior DNC official accuses gays and lesbians of “helping Republicans” by simply asking Democrats to keep their gay civil rights promise.
Refusing to publicly endorse marriage equality for gays.
Continuing to dawdle over DADT.
Refusing to this day to interview with the gay press.
Refusing to apologize for any of these slights.

Mormon church endorses Salt Lake City gay and transgender non-discrimination ordinance, city council immediately passes measure

2009-11-11T00:57:00.006-05:00

Huge. Huge. Huge.

I never thought I'd see the day that I'd be praising the Mormon church. And I suspect they never thought they'd see the day either. But this is huge. It doesn't erase the hideous thing the Mormons did in stealing marriage from us in California (and let's not forget the million dollar mystery donor in Maine). But it's one hell of a precedent if the Mormons have now decided that anything short of marriage they can accept (if that is in fact where they are).

And don't think for a minute that this didn't happen because the Mormon church got the crap kicked out of it for its vital role in Prop 8, and for its years of anti-gay activism. Because it most certainly did.

This is great news. But the Mormon church needs to know, we're watching. And they have a long way to go before they make up for the sins of California, and so many other states in which the Mormons ripped the human rights away from gay and lesbian Americans.

CNN tells the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" story of Darren Manzella

2009-11-10T23:03:00.001-05:00

h/t "An_American_Karol" for catching this major story on "Don't Ask Don't Tell" featured on CNN's home page front and center. U.S. Army sergeant Darren Manzella's mostly positive reception parallels mine even though I was discharged back in 1988 before "Don't Ask Don't Tell." After my being gay was made public knowledge, many of my shipmates on my submarine made a point of approaching me and telling me if I was what it meant to be gay they had no problem serving with me. Granted, I'm not sure every single sailor felt that way but I do know how the controversial issue of racism was handled back then. There was zero tolerance for it; when it occurred, and it did, it was punished quickly and severely. It was stopped dead in its tracks by the military leadership. From the top down the military culture was cultivated to not support racism so it was very rarely a problem.

Manzella said he was read his rights and told that he would be investigated, but that he could continue working. As the investigation proceeded, word spread that Manzella was gay.

"Ironically, it pulled the unit together. A lot of them started to invite me out," Manzella said. "My co-worker was getting married; she told me that my boyfriend and I were invited to the wedding. It made me feel like I was more a part of the family."

I would argue it could have been done back in 1988, but by 2009 it is ridiculous to continue kicking openly gay or lesbian soldiers out of the military.

In 2006, Manzella's unit was sent back to Iraq, and he served his 15-month deployment with his unit knowing he was gay.

"I could have pictures of my boyfriend out, I could talk freely on the phone without having to worry about someone overhearing me and reporting me," he said.

Of course, sadly, after the military decided his profile was too public for them to continue to ignore him they discharged him, and ended his military career. It is time for the President to stop enforcing DADT and discharging patriotic gay, lesbian or bisexual troops. The President could sign a stop loss order and stop the discharges of troops like Manzella until the unfair policy is revoked.

It's just another one of those unfulfilled promises to the LGBT community that have, hopefully temporarily, closed the gAyTM for the DNC.

Bull as victim: Those crazy Mormons (and Catholics too)

2009-11-10T19:59:00.000-05:00

Joe Watts, the dad of my dear friend Connie, is from Utah. So he's quite aware of the Mormons. And as a longtime straight gay-activist, Connie's dad doesn't mince words.

[T]he whining of the LDS Church and its attempt to turn itself into a victim because of some scattered and isolated vandalisms is a rather pathetic scene. It’s like the bully on the block running for cover when some of his victims surprise him by getting up from their beating and fight back.

Our landscape is strewn with the broken lives of thousands of gays humiliated at the hands of the pulpit and its repulsive message that has condoned the real vandalism of homophobia, including Matthew Shephard, Harvey Milk, and our suffering gay children who are bullied and abused physically, mentally, and spiritually in our public schools, who are homeless because of rejection, many of whom are driven to suicides, and some of them occurring on the chapel doorsteps; and still the false prophets disavow their carnage.

CBS News on the DNC boycott

2009-11-10T18:46:00.000-05:00

They talked to FireDogLake's Jane Hamsher, who is a sponsor of the boycott.

She argued that the Obama administration is paying little attention to its base even as the opposition gins up support among the Republican base with events like the Tea Party protests.

"If you're suppressing your base, and the other side is revving up theirs, and midterm elections are all about turning out the base, I sort of question what their strategy is here," she said.

Hamsher has signed on to a financial boycott of the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America (the DNC-run operation to mobilize Obama supporters) and the Obama campaign. The boycott was organized by Americablog's John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay over what they see as President Obama and his party's failure to keep its commitments to the gay and lesbian community.

Sign the Pledge, take a stand, don't give to the DNC, OFA or the Obama campaign until the President keeps his promise. More on the campaign here.

Jane Hamsher of FDL suggests you unsubscribe from OFA's email list to show support for the DNC boycott

2009-11-10T17:40:00.001-05:00

Take the pledge. Boycott the DNC. Here's why.

Not a bad suggestion.

If you’re a member of OFA, you can “unsubscribe” here and let them know you’ll be back when these issues have been addressed.

I can report that Joe already unsubscribed.

Wal-Mart terrorizes gay couple with kids

2009-11-10T16:33:00.000-05:00

Just another day at Wal-Mart.

Jennifer Vanasco: Gays boycott the Democrats. Finally.

2009-11-10T15:27:00.000-05:00

Take the pledge. Boycott the DNC. Here's why.

Jennifer Vanasco at Huffington Post:

President Barack Obama was AWOL when it came to the marriage vote in Maine and the partnership vote in Washington.

The DNC was worse, actively working against us by sending out an email to Maine Democrats asking them to campaign for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine – instead of asking them to man phones in their home state, working for marriage equality.

Despite a supposed commitment to gay civil rights expressed in the DNC platform and by the Obama campaign and administration, there has been relative silence on our issues.

That needs to change.

And thanks to John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay, it’s about to.

Progress in DC: City Council will vote on Marriage Equality

2009-11-10T14:36:00.001-05:00

Via Twitter from Michael Crawford, progress in DC:

RT @DCforMarriage: The DC marriage bill has passed in committee! Now it goes to the full council.

The next step is first vote by the whole City Council vote, which should take place on December 1st. The Council will then take a final vote a couple weeks later -- and the Mayor will sign it.

Remember, Congress loves to interfere in D.C.'s laws, so the marriage equality law could become an issue on Capitol Hill.

NY Times: No marriage vote today in New York Senate

2009-11-10T13:44:00.004-05:00

We've been monitoring the action in Albany via blogs, traditional media, texts and twitter. Throughout the day, it was looking more and more doubtful that we'd get a vote. Now comes word that there will be no marriage equality vote today:

The State Senate on Tuesday delayed a highly anticipated vote on same-sex marriage, putting off the issue indefinitely as gay rights supporters continued to lobby for additional votes.

Republicans and Democrats said that as of Tuesday afternoon the measure was still several votes short of the 32 necessary for approval. About five Democrats remained either opposed or noncommittal, meaning that Republican votes were needed to secure passage.

But not enough Republicans have committed yet to voting yes, legislators said. The Democrats have a slim 32-30 majority in the Senate.

I'm a little confused by the strategy here. Our side didn't have the votes, but wanted a vote? This isn't over. More updates as they become available.

UPDATED: All eyes on Albany as State Senate could vote on marriage equality

2009-11-10T11:58:00.004-05:00

UPDATE @ 1:20 PM from Kerry Eleveld via Twitter doesn't sound good:

Marriage Equality vote not looking good, my sources say Liz Benjamin is about right: http://bit.ly/2g7GXS #LGBT

Benjamin updated her initial post to include this:

UPDATE: The Senate Democrats are right now discussing marriage behind closed doors in a members-only conference. They kicked the staff out, but a source informs me the debate is "very passionate," and advocates have not yet given up hope.

_________________
TowleRoad is getting regular updates from Albany. The New York Daily News is now reporting that there probably won't be a vote today. We'll see soon.

Joe.My.God has the livestream from the Senate chamber. The session begins at noon.

And, again, if you live in New York call your Senators. If you have friends or family in New York, call them and tell them to call their Senators. ESPA makes it easy by giving us this widget:

HRC responds to the gay boycott of the DNC

2009-11-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

TAKE THE PLEDGE: Don't Ask, Don't Give.

A very interesting statement from HRC regarding the gay (and straight) donor boycott of the DNC, OFA and Obama's re-election campaign that we launched yesterday:

“Individual donors should always make their own careful assessments of how to spend limited political contributions. We all need to focus on the legislative priorities identified by AmericaBlog and with whatever tactic individuals decide to employ, the ultimate objective needs to be securing the votes we need to move our legislative agenda forward.”

David Dayen, who wrote the story, thinks that this a tacit endorsement of the boycott from HRC:

That is a tacit endorsement, or at least not a public disavowal, of the strategy. The HRC hasn’t given to the DNC this year, as per the policy put in by Obama after his election that the Party cannot accept contributions from organizations structured as a C(4).

Background on the DNC boycott here,

David Mixner on taking a pause from donating to the DNC

2009-11-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

From David Mixner on our money boycott of the DNC that we launched yesterday:

Any sound political mind knows that as we enter 2010 we will be given the message that we have a tough fight to hold Congress and need to "wait until after the elections."

How many times has the LGBT civil rights movement been told over and over and over again to wait until after the next set of elections? Do they really believe we are that dumb? That we don't realize that politics and elections change can change the political complexion of a nation overnight? We know that in the near future we will not see a time again when we will have sixty Democratic senators and a comfortable margin in the House. What makes our Democratic leaders think it will be better in 2011? Won't we be told then to wait until after President Obama is re-elected?

This craziness has to stop and it has to stop now. This is not about politics, it is about freedom and justice.

Congrats to the Pam, Andy, Joe and Bil for receiving the "Courage Award"

2009-11-10T09:01:00.001-05:00

Congrats to Pam Spaulding, Andy Towle, Joe Jervis and Bil Browning for receiving the 2009 Courage Award from the NYC Anti-Violence Project last night "in recognition of the impact of LGBTQH weblogs have made in the fight for civil rights and against violence in our communities." Michelangelo Signorile presented the award to the bloggers. Pam has a post on the event, including their speech, which Andy mostly wrote and she delivered. There are some great pictures and video. It's good to see people who do important work get well-deserved recognition. Here's an excerpt from the speech:

Because crimes against LGBT people are seldom reported on a national basis, and covered mostly in local papers, if at all, we have a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about how severe and widespread these crimes are, and the frequency at which they occur. As one of the few forums, and perhaps the most effective, that exist right now to communicate these crimes to other gay people and our heterosexual allies, we can inspire them to take action.

Empathy is a two way street?

2009-11-10T07:52:00.000-05:00

Rod Dreher from Dallas Morning News argues empathy is a two way street. He finds it offensive gay people don't think their civil rights should be on a ballot for a popular vote.

Along those lines, gay marriage backers often say that civil rights shouldn't be submitted to a popular vote. If blacks in the Jim Crow South had depended on a majority vote to gain their civil rights, justice would have been a long time coming. That makes sense to people who see no moral or philosophical difference between race and homosexuality. But it is by no means clear that the two categories are interchangeable. For traditionalists, it's a category mistake to say that they are.

Yes, those poor abused empathetic traditionalists. How about those people who see a "moral or philosophical difference" between, say, the disabled and race? Should we empathize with them, as well, and say they can't marry?

At a time in which the traditional understanding of marriage, its duties and its obligations, has been breaking down under a variety of cultural assaults, it should surprise no one that most voters are afraid of radical change.

The only direct assault to heterosexual marriage I continuously see is "no-fault divorces." I don't see any popular ballot initiatives to end those. Maybe we should?

There are so many mistakes in Dreher's arguments. All I can say is "FAIL!" when I think of his weak attempt to justify the tyranny of the majority we've experienced as gay American citizens.

NY State Senate should vote on marriage equality tomorrow

2009-11-09T22:48:00.003-05:00

The New York State Senate is convening tomorrow. Governor Paterson wants them to take a vote on marriage equality and he's been talking it up. Corey Johnson and Andy Towle from Towleroad posted an interview with the Governor yesterday. And, Kerry Eleveld posted her interview with the Governor today.

The pressure is starting to build for the Senate to take the vote and approve marriage. The Assembly already passed the bill in May.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn gave a powerful statement in support of marriage equality today:

Mayor Bloomberg started lobbying for marriage equality today, too.

If you live in New York, call your State Senator. ESPA makes it easy:

Did top Obama aide endorse gay marriage today? Some say yes, White House says no

2009-11-09T20:52:00.005-05:00

As usual, what one hand giveth, the other taketh away. Make sure you read down to the part of the story where an unnamed White House official denies the entire thing even took place, claiming that Barnes never deviated from the White House line, which is certainly NOT pro- gay marriage.

Don't Ask, Don't Give

2009-11-09T11:30:00.017-05:00

Joe and I are launching today a donor boycott of the DNC. The boycott is cosponsored by Daily Kos, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake, Dan Savage, Michelangelo Signorile, David Mixner, Andy Towle and Michael Goff of Towle Road, Paul Sousa (Founder of Equal Rep in Boston), Pam Spaulding, Robin Tyler (ED of the Equality Campaign, Inc.), Bil Browning for the Bilerico Project, and soon others.

It's really more of a "pause," than a boycott. Boycotts sounds so final, and angry. Whereas this campaign is temporary, and is only meant to help some friends - President Obama and the Democratic party - who have lost their way. We are hopeful that via this campaign, our friends will keep their promises.

So please sign the Petition and take a Pledge to no longer donate to the DNC, Organizing for America, or the Obama campaign until the President and the Democratic party keep their promises to the gay community, our families, and our friends.

You can find our Frequently Asked Questions, below, that explain the entire campaign. You can use our "Tell a Friend" page to tell all of your friends, family members, and coworkers about this effort (and we won't keep any of the email addresses you enter, they'll all be deleted after the emails are sent).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is this?
We are asking voters to pledge to withhold contributions to the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America, and the Obama campaign until the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is passed, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) is repealed, and the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is repealed -– all of which President Obama repeatedly promised to do if elected.

Why are you asking people to take this pledge?
Candidate Obama promised during the campaign to be the gay community’s “fierce advocate.” He and the Democratic party have not kept their promise.

Can you give examples of how the President and Democrats have not been fierce advocates for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans?

Asking a religious right activist who claims to have been “cured” of his homosexuality to headline campaign events in South Carolina. Then letting the anti-gay bigot spend half an hour, on stage, haranguing gays at the Obama event.
Refusing for months to interview with LGBT newspapers during the campaign, while his opponent did repeatedly.
Flubbing question on whether gays are immoral.
Inviting anti-gay activist Rick Warren, who helped pass Prop 8 in California, to give the invocation at the inaugural.
Inviting a gay bishop to the inaugural festivities, then not beginning the TV broadcast until the gay bishop has finished and left.
Refusing to appoint an openly gay Cabinet member.
Abolishing the LGBT outreach position at the DNC and never reinstating it.
Refusing to re-establish the White House Office of LGBT Outreach and the White House LGBT Liaison (which was a Special Assistant to the President at one point).
Continuing to discharge two gay servicemembers a day, even though he could stop it immediately by issuing a stop-loss order immediately.
Asking for a study on “whether” repealing DADT would hurt national security, rather than a study on how to repeal it, as promised.
Deleting his gay civil rights promise from the White House Web site.
Changing his commitment to “repeal” Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, to “changing DADT it in a sensible manner.”
Repeatedly defending DOMA in court, including just a few weeks ago, even though he didn’t have to.
Making jokes about marriage equality, which President Obama claims he doesn't support, even though he once did.
Comparing gay relationships to incest and pedophilia in a Justice Department brief.
Joking about gay protesters upset about the DOMA brief.
Refusing to provide health care benefits to the partners of gay employees, and then claiming that DOMA precludes it, when it does not.
Refusing to meet with gay legal groups to discuss how to provide such health benefits within the confines of DOMA.
Claiming that health benefits for partners of federal employees were new, then being caught in a lie.
Showing visible discomfort when asked about gay civil rights.
Suggesting he won’t get to DADT, DOMA or ENDA until his second term, if ever.
Refusing to suspend implementation of anti-gay laws, like DADT and DOMA, while suspending laws that hurt others.
White House staffers worked against amendment proposed by Rep. Alcee Hasting (D-FL) to defund Don't Ask, Don't Tell investigations
Saying won’t repeal DADT until wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have finished.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to beg President Obama to help on DADT repeal.
A White House official referring to gay civil rights advocates, marching on Washington, as part of “the Internet left fringe” whose opinions don’t matter.
Saying he won’t touch DOMA in his first term.
Refusing to release list of gay attendees at hate crimes reception.
Refusing to mention Maine or Washington state, or anything of substance, in his speech to the Human Rights Campaign dinner.
Saying gays are “naïve” for wanting the president to keep his promise.
Refusing to issue a statement specifically opposing anti-gay ballot measures in Maine and Washington state.
Attorney General Eric Holders flubs question on Maine, twice -- once while in Maine.
DNC/OFA emailed supporters in Maine and Washington state, but didn't ask them to vote against anti-gay ballot measures, then lied about it.
Senator Durbin (D-IL), a very close ally of Obama, says Senate probably won’t repeal DADT in 2010, as promised.
Senior DNC official accuses gays and lesbians of “helping Republicans” by simply asking Democrats to keep their gay civil rights promise.
Refusing to publicly endorse marriage equality for gays.
Continuing to dawdle over DADT.
Refusing to this day to interview with the gay press.
Refusing to apologize for any of these slights.

But won’t your pledge hurt Democrats?
It never hurts Democrats to keep their promises to the voters. The American people respect strong leaders who have the courage to stick to their beliefs. And it will only help Democrats in the next election to stand by their commitments to a core constituency. If Democratic voters aren't motivated, they won't vote. We are concerned that the President's failure to fulfill his promises may suppress voter participation not only from gay Democrats, but from our families, friends and allies. In a very real way, this is an effort to ensure that we get-out-the-vote in 2010, 2012 and beyond.

But if you don’t give money to the DNC, won’t that help elect Republicans who are even worse on gay issues, and other issues Democrats care about?
We are not calling for a boycott of donations to the DNC. We are simply calling for a pause until the party follows through on its campaign promise to repeal DADT and DOMA, and pass ENDA. The party will get the same donations it would have gotten, when the promises are kept. The Democrats could choose to make good on their promise today. And by doing so, they will only further motivate the Democratic base to again turn out for the next election, a decidedly good thing.

You have to admit, gay rights is controversial – wouldn’t it be political suicide for Democrats to push gay rights?
Democrats should not have promised to support gay civil rights rights in exchange for our votes if they never intended to keep the promise. If we're not controversial during the campaign, when politicians are happy to accept our votes and our money, we cannot accept being labeled controversial after our candidates win. We kept our part of the bargain, we voted for Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress. It’s entirely reasonable for us to ask our elected officials to keep their part of the bargain too.

What's more, gay rights are not controversial. Americans favor allowing openly gay men and lesbian women to serve in the military by a margin of 69% - 26%. By a margin of 57% - 37%, "A clear majority of Americans (57%) favors allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with each other that would give them many of the same rights as married couples." That can't happen if DOMA is the law. And in fact, if these civil rights promises were controversial, they would have hurt candidate Obama at the polls. But, he proudly and loudly proclaimed his support for LGBT equality, and he won.

No matter how disappointed you are, aren’t Democrats still better than Republicans?
The Republican party is terrible on gay issues. That doesn’t excuse the Democratic party breaking specific promises to the gay community made in exchange for our votes. We didn’t break our promise at the ballot box, the Democrats shouldn’t break theirs after we helped put them into office.

President Obama has only been in office less than a year, why the rush?
In less than a year, serious damage has already been done to the President’s commitments to the gay community. The problem isn’t only that he hasn’t been quick enough to fulfill his promises, it’s that he has actually backtracked on his promises and hurt the cause of civil rights and our community, as detailed above.

But aren’t there bigger priorities than gay rights for the Democrats to deal with, like health care and the economy?
Would President Obama, the DNC and the Congress tell other minorities that their civil rights aren't important? The suggestion is that Democrats have more important things on the table. When won't Democrats have more important priorities than the civil rights of gays and lesbians? Will there ever be a day, a year, an administration, when the President and the Congress won't have serious crises to deal with? Suggesting that gay Americans and their friends and families wait until the President and Congress have nothing else to do is not only insulting, it's a recipe for never. And regardless, we trust that this President, unlike the previous, can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Who is behind this effort?
John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay, two longtime political operatives in Washington, DC, and the editors of AMERICAblog.com. AMERICAblog has raised over $300,000 for Democratic candidates and progressive causes, including nearly $50,000 for then-candidate Barack Obama, supported by AMERICAblog early in the primaries. The boycott is cosponsored by Daily Kos, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake, Dan Savage, Michelangelo Signorile, David Mixner, Andy Towle and Michael Goff of Towle Road, Paul Sousa (Founder of Equal Rep in Boston), Pam Spaulding, Robin Tyler (ED of the Equality Campaign, Inc.), Bil Browning for the Bilerico Project, and soon others.

You can contact us at: dncboycott@gmail.com

How can I help?
Sign the pledge, tell your friends about this campaign, read the blog, and stay tuned for updates and action alerts on how you help make sure that the President, the Congress and the Democratic party keep their promises to the LGBT community, our families, our friends and our allies.

Media Matters examines long record of gay bashing by the GOP's favorite paper, the Moonie Times

2009-11-09T10:28:00.002-05:00

From Media Matters, on the newspaper of choice for the GOP, the Moonie Times:

The Washington Times' anti-gay onslaught against Department of Education official Kevin Jennings -- which has featured anti-gay rhetoric, falsehoods, and distortions -- is only the most recent offense in the newspaper's long history of publishing anti-gay rhetoric and smears. Media Matters for America has compiled an extensive -- though by no means all-inclusive -- list of such rhetoric since the late 1980s, including the paper's warnings against the "gay agenda," attacks on the possibility of gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, minimizing of the AIDS epidemic, and attacks on gay relationships and gay rights.

It's ugly. Really ugly.

FYI: We call it the Moonie Times because the Washington Times was founded by cult leader, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who continues to own and subsidize the right-wing, homophobic paper.