Queers United

Open Forum: LGBT/Queer Personals List

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:21:00 +0000

Are you LGBTQIA or a straight ally but single and looking to mingle? Well here's your chance to meet someone else who also cares about queer culture and rights. This personals/dating post is open to all sexual orientations and gender identities and is non-location specific.

*Entries will only be accepted if they are in the order below and no personal information will be accepted.

Your Location: where in the world you are

Your Description: your physical and personality traits, gender identity, sexual orientation

Your Ideal Match: what you are looking for in a partner(s)

Contact: email, profile link, screen name

Who knows? Thousands of readers come here from all parts of the world. Maybe your match is one of them! Good luck.

BBC News Pseudo Apologizes for Homophobic Poll

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:48:00 +0000

12/18/09: From the Director of BBC World Service:

"The original headline on our website was, in hindsight, too stark. We apologise for any offence it caused. But it's important that this does not detract from what is a crucial debate for Africans and the international community.

The programme was a legitimate and responsible attempt to support a challenging discussion about proposed legislation that advocates the death penalty for those who undertake certain homosexual activities in Uganda - an important issue where the BBC can provide a platform for debate that otherwise would not exist across the continent and beyond"

The BBC does not understand that the nature of this poll is not only offensive, but provides a platform for homophobic and violent attitudes.

12/16/09: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the subject of controversy over their latest 'Have Your Say' section asking "should homosexuals should face execution?"

The site discusses how Uganda is debating the death penalty for homosexuals, and asks users to weigh in.

Naturally this has brought up many intensely homophobic and some violent commentary. This is not a 'debate' to be had, and since it incites hatred and violence against LGBT people, this is totally unacceptable. The BBC has a rule against users leaving homophobic comments, yet many remain on the forum.

Voice your concerns with the BBC complaint form.

Organization Spotlight: Gay and Lesbian Association of Dentists and Doctors (GLADD)

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:37:00 +0000

The Gay and Lesbian Association of Dentists and Doctors (GLADD) is available for those in the United Kingdom looking for help/support/advice or to make social contacts with other LGBT dentists and doctors.

Washington D.C. Legalizes Gay Marriage!

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:38:00 +0000

The Washington D.C. city council has finalized a bill legalizing same-sex marriage by a vote of 11-2. The two councilmembers who opposed the measure were Marion Barry, and Yvette Alexander.

The bill now goes to Mayor Adrian Fenty who has promised to sign the bill into law. Following that congress has 30 days to veto the bill, but the Democratic majority is likely not to interfere with the districts ruling.

Washington D.C. joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Vermont in affirming their LGBT residents right to marriage.

Demand McDonald's Offer Protections Based on Gender Identity/Expression

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:38:00 +0000

The worlds largest fast food chain McDonald's has been under the spotlight after an Orlando manager refused to hire a seventeen year old transgender woman Zikkeria Bellamy because of her gender identity. The manager harassed the teen by leaving a voice-mail saying: "You will not get hired, we do not hire faggots" The manager of that location has since been fired, but the corporate policy still does not include protections on the basis of gender identity/expression.

McDonald's issued this press release regarding the incident:

"McDonald’s has a strict policy prohibiting any form of discrimination or harassment in hiring, termination, or any other aspect of employment in the organization. The restaurant requires all employees to comply with local, state and federal employment laws." (GLAAD)

Please urge McDonald's to alter their corporate policy regarding employment practice to include protections on the basis of gender identity/expression.

Also, be sure to sign our act.ly petition to McDonald's on Twitter.

Senator DeMint: "Gay President Would be Immoral"

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Social conservative Republican South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint has made outrageous remarks about how he thinks the election of a gay president would be "immoral". He also restated his opposition to marriage equality both federally and locally.

“It would be bothersome to me just personally because I consider it immoral. Marriage is a religious institution. The federal government has no business redefining what it is DeMint told Hunt, adding that even state governments should not have the right to permit same-sex marriages. Governments should not be in the business of promoting a behavior that’s proven to be destructive to our society” (The Advocate).

This type of divisive and homophobic language is dangerous coming from a U.S. Senator. Demand he apologize for these outrageous remarks.

Senator DeMint can be contacted through his e-contact form, guestbook, and Twitter.

D.C. Marriage Equality Rally Tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:38:00 +0000

The Human Rights Campaign has scheduled a rally tonight in support of the expected final passage of the marriage equality bill tomorrow. The Mayor of the capital has promised to sign the legislation, and congress has 30 days to decide whether to veto the bill.

Even though a win looks very likely, it is critical to come out and show support for the measure.

Monday, December 14
7 pm
The Kennedy Recreation Center
1401 7th ST, NW Washington, D.C.

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Please feel free to share any links to queer or queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is queer in nature.

Open Forum: Will the Gay Vote Be Taken Seriously?

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:12:00 +0000

The gay community has been angered over the fact that neither mainstream political party makes a sincere effort on LGBT legislation. Every election cycle talk of whether the Democrats take the gay vote for granted and whether gays will go out to the polls comes up for discussion but nothing ever happens.

Financially speaking the LGBT community holds a large portion of the donations received by the DNC. Many queer people are withholding donations until change is made, and some are saying that it appears this gets the Democrats moving on legislation. Some threaten they will switch parties or won't go out to vote, but ultimately the Democrats know this won't go far since the other major contender is worse off on LGBT issues and not voting at all is unlikely among a heavily political base.

Will the gay vote ever be taken seriously? Does it require more funding to be cut from gay donors, a shift to another party, or more people self identifying as queer?

Weekend Protests Directed at Anti-Marriage Equality NY Senators

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Marriage Equality New York is organizing several protests against senators who voted against equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The protests follow a recent vote by the New York State Senate where same-sex marriage failed by a 38-24 margin.

The protests are scheduled throughout the weekend. Activists are responding by supporting opposition (pro-equality) candidates for the upcoming 2010 election.

MENY Protests are against Senators Hiram Monserrate, Carl Kruger, George Onorato, and Thomas Morahan.

Stop Maryland Vehicle Admin's Gender Change Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:25:00 +0000

Equality Maryland is asking people to take action to ensure that the proposed new rule at the Maryland Vehicle Administration regarding changing gender does not take place. The new rule would make it more costly, difficult, and lead to potential embarrassment and harassment for transgender Marylander's.

Click here to stop MVA drivers license changes.

Bill O'Reilly Furious Over 'That Gay Guy' Adam Lambert Being on 'Fascinating List'

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Fox News political commentator and host of the O'Reilly Factor is furious over the fact that Barbara Walters has chosen American Idol runner up Adam Lambert among her top most fascinating people of the year list. O'Reilly previously made headlines by Dividing American Idol's "Gay" and "Christian" Vote.

In the segment below, O'Reilly takes issue with several of Walter's choice of fascinating people, this list is subjective and he has every right to critique her. The problem arises over the fact that he refers to Lambert as "that gay guy" without giving any credence to his vocal abilities and insisting that he is capitalizing and misbehaving simply because he is gay, and that non-gay people would not engage in those behaviors.

Tell Bill O'Reilly to stop his "culture war" against LGBT Americans:
oreilly@foxnews.com

Love Takes Over - Campaign to Bring Queer Voice to Nationwide Newspapers

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Love Takes Over is a new campaign to take place during the week of January 3rd to January 9th to write an opinion piece to your local newspaper in support of same-sex marriage. All across the nation, others will be doing the same to ensure a unified voice in support of equal rights.

Please also email your article to ltonewspapers@gmail.com so they can post it up on their blog (http://lovetakesover.tumblr.com)

Word of the Gay: "Front Marriage"

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0000

A "front marriage" is a straight marriage of convenience between one or more spouses who are gay or lesbian for the purposes of adoption.

Straight Woman Offers Right to Marry on Ebay

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:37:00 +0000

In a clever bit of activism a straight unmarried woman named Jamie Frevele from New York is reacting to the NY Senate voting down marriage equality by offering her right to marry to the highest bidder. Proceeds will go to the Point Foundation which provides financial support, mentoring, leadership training and hope to meritorious students who are marginalized due to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

A snippet of her ebay auction listing:

"I'm an unmarried heterosexual woman, and since I probably won't be using my right to get married, I would like to give it away. I would like to sell it to the highest bidder and donate the proceeds to an organization that supports LGBT rights since the government designed to protect all of us is picking and choosing based on what they think is icky, weird, or unkown to them.

Bid now, and you can have my super wonderful privilege and legal ability to get married as many times as you want in a classy place like the one pictured. You don't have to know the person, you don't have to like them, you don't have to think through your decision to get married or anything - you can just do it! Because you can! Come on, it's cool to get married, and think of the pictures you'll have to show people of this person that they will definitely think is so wrong for you and probably is! But heavens to BETSY, do NOT marry someone of the same gender because that would be a mockery of the institution of marriage"

Check out her entire piece and possibly even join the bidders, oh and shipping is included!

The Affirmation Declaration

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:10:00 +0000

The Affirmation Declaration is a statement that expresses the convictions of Christians all over the world. It was written in response to the now famous Manhattan Declaration, to correct egregious errors contained in the document, errors that have been preached in the pulpits of many local churches for far too long.

With the growing notoriety and support for the Manhattan Declaration, our Affirmation Declaration reflects an urgent need to respond to the portion of the Manhattan Declaration dealing with issues related to sexual orientation—specifically, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. We strongly disagree with the contention that same-sex attractions and the oft-resulting romantic activities are immoral.

http://www.affirmationdeclaration.org/

Word of the Gay: "Pink Tea"

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0000

"Pink tea" is a homosexual who comes out of the closet.

Urge NJ Senate Judiciary Committee to Approve Marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:58:00 +0000

The 13 member New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee is voting today on whether to let the same-sex marriage bill go to a vote before the entire senate this Thursday.

Please contact the members of the committee below and urge them to vote in favor of marriage equality!

Sen. Paul Sarlo (Chair): (201) 804-8118
Sen. John Girgenti (Vice-Chair): (973) 427-1229
Sen. Bill Baroni: (609) 631-9988
Sen. Christopher Bateman: (908) 526-3600
Sen. Jennifer Beck: (732) 933-1591
Sen. Gerard Cardinale: (201) 567-2324
Sen. Nia Gill: (973) 509-0388
Sen. Joseph Kyrillos: (732) 671-3206
Sen. Raymond Lesnick: (908) 624-0880
Sen. Nicholas Scutari: (908) 587-0404
Sen. Bob Smith: (732) 752-0770
Sen. Brian Stack: (201) 861-5091
Sen. Loretta Weinberg: (201) 928-0100

H/T to Good as You for the senate contact numbers.

Web Spotlight: BiFest UK

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:16:00 +0000

BiFest is a one-day event celebrating bisexuality, for bisexuals and bi-friendly people. Originating in London, it has now spread to several other United Kingdom locations and seeks to expand further.

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Please feel free to share any links to queer or queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is queer in nature.

Sign the New Jersey Marriage Equality Open Letter!

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:13:00 +0000

The open letter in support of marriage equality has made big news across New Jersey state, prompting the legislature to promise to take up the issue this week. Over 200 influential democrats and ordinary citizens have signed the petition demanding marriage equality.

Please join with Mayor Cory Booker, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to sign this petition to push lawmakers to vote on and approve marriage equality in NJ.

Washington D.C. Marriage Rally Dec 14th

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:02:00 +0000

The Campaign for All DC Families and DC Clergy United will co-host a rally in support of marriage equality in Washington D.C. to advocate for the final passage of the marriage bill. The bill is scheduled to be voted on in mid December and is expected to pass by a wide margin.

Monday, December 14
7:00 pm
Kennedy Recreation Center
1401 7th Street N.W.

Open Forum: Sexualism Versus Homophobia

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:41:00 +0000

In recent years there has been a linguistic movement by some academics against using the term homophobia and replacing it with terms like sexualism or sexual prejudice which are considered broader and more appropriate with the growing list of sexual and gender self identifications.

For one the definition of homophobia is a fear of homosexuals or homosexual orientation, which is not true of all anti-gay people. The common line from so called "homophobes" is that "they have no issue with homosexuals, and even have homosexual friends" when defending their dislike or opposition to queer rights. The other dilemma is that many people associate homophobia as being exclusive to the discussion of gay and lesbian orientation, while leaving out bisexuals and transgender minorities.

Sexualism or sexual prejudice is the predisposition to thinking heterosexuality is the only norm, it is the concept of consciously embracing heteronormativity although is not synonymous with the term.

What do you make of the whole idea of bedding the term homophobia for something more inclusive such as sexualism or sexual prejudice? Does this term unfairly exclude transgender people whose discrimination against them is on the basis of gender or should gender issues have a separate word like transphobia or transsexual prejudice?

Rapper Eminem Resorts to Anti-Gay Lyrics

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Rapper Eminem cleverly avoids using the word "faggots" in his new song "Elevator" when referring to Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken, replacing it with the words "fake it's":

"Eminem Sorry Lance, Mr. Lambert and Aiken ain't gonna make it
They get so mad, when I call them both fake it's
All these f@#king voices in my head I can't take it
Someone shut that f@#king baby up, 'for I shake it
You're standing adjacent to Jason's last slut, they're facing
Together makes 'em, a f@#king bad combination
I lashed at the doctor in my last operation
Shoved the weiner snitzel up his ass, hopped away some-
body please stop the patient, get the cops to mase him"

Phonetically, it sounds just like "faggots" and considering his anti-gay troubles in the past, there is no doubt in most peoples minds what the intention was, and that's to stir publicity and pr drama at the expense of the gay community.

These lyrics peretrate hatred, fear and violence against sexual minorities and cannot be tolerated!

Eminem can be contacted via Twitter and Myspace

Crossposted via Towleroad.

New York Marriage Inequality Protest Tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Queers United) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:50:00 +0000

After marriage equality suffered a 24-38 loss in the NY state senate, advocates are now protesting the outcome and demanding full equality for all residents.

Tonight marks the second rally in response to the vote and is organized by Marriage Equality New York. NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn is also expected to be among the crowd. Signs and noise-makers are highly encouraged.

Thursday, December 3, 2009
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Union Square - North End (17th Street)
17th Street & Broadway
New York, NY