Iowa a safe place for gays?

Iowa is positioned to become the most recent state to provide some protection to LGBT individuals. A bill that adds sexual orientation to the list under the anti-discrimination policy was passed by the senate and will head to the house for final approval. If is passes the upper house, it will go to the governor's desk - and he's already committed to signing it.

Who knows Iowa would be a good place to work as a gay individual? Or better yet, why are there still 31 states that don't provide anti-discrimination protection to LGBT people? Come on - let's get this party rolling!

Civil Units in New Hampshire

NH's govenor has finally weighed in and will sign legislation creating Civil Unions in the state starting next year. I applaud him for making this move. But it begs the question, why are all the states that are making it a safe and semi-equal place for lesbians and gays to live in the North East? Come on, can't the rest of the country catch up? Even California, Oregon or Washington? I know it's not likely in South Carolina, Texas or even Michigan, but we've got to see this breaking out somewhere else in the country.

Who's the candidate for LGBT voters?

There has been a lot of talk in the past few days about what the candidates think about homosexuality and morality. Most disconcerting is the way Obama and Clinton sidestepped the question and waited for their campaigns to issue statements later clarifying their positions. Does this mean that the most LGBT-friendly candidate in the pack is a Republican (Guliani)? If so, what's happening to the Democratic party?

Sparky Update: ThinkProgress has statements from both Clinton and Obama retracting their non-answers. It's sorta sad that left-leaning candidates have to be so careful to not piss off the fundies that they can't even allow themselves to be on film saying that homosexuality might not be the greatest plague ever.

Iowa relaxing blood donation ban?

The largest blood donor service in Iowa is recommending that a ban on gay-men donating blood be re-examined. As we all know, the ban on men who have sex with men from donating blood dates back to the 1970's when the height of the HIV scare was just beginning. However, since that time our ability to test for the HIV virus has improved dramatically.

Each year during this week, the fraternities and sororities of Iowa State University hold a contest to see who can collect the most blood donations. However, one fraternity (Delta Lambda Phi - an LGBT fraternity) complained that they would be unable to participate as a result of the ban. So the entire greek community has decided to not hold the competition. They estimate this will amount to a loss of 500 units of blood.

While as a physician-to-be I cannot support boycotting blood donation, I do applaud the campus community for supporting their LGBT brothers and sisters who are being unfairly discriminated against. Maybe someone with authority will finally listen and re-think this unnecessary and discriminatory policy.

Mitch Albom Responds

Mitch Albom, who along with Alan Shore (character on "Boston Legal") is one of my favorite people, wrote this column in response to Tim Hardaway's comments about having a gay teammate.

All of this started, in case you've been living under a rock, when John Amaechi, a retired NBA player, came out on ESPN and in his new book. Ever since then reporters have been asking various coaches and players how they would respond if someone came out while still actively playing in the NBA. 99% of people have spoken tolerance (who knows how they'd actually react), but Tim Hardaway decided to show his true colors on the matter.

Mitch, you're so amazing... keep you witty humor and pointed insight - it's perfect!

Gay Football Player

ESPN ran a nice article about a gay football player who choose to come out DURING his playing career. Granted, he plays for a division 3 program, but still! And the best part, he plays for my alma mater: Washington University in St. Louis!! Go Bears!!! :)

Students rally against discrimination

Students at Spring Arbor University in Detroit, MI have rallied in support of a teacher who claims she was fired after revealing that she is a transsexual. It's great to see that students who attend Christian schools aren't as thick headed and narrow minded as those school's administration.

Boston Legal goes Pro-Gay

Did anyone else watch Boston Legal last night? One of the judges sued a religious organization that promised to cure him of his Same Sex Attraction Disorder (SSAD, aka homosexuality) with reparative therapy. It didn't work (shocker!). Alan Shore, who defended the judge, went on a 2 minute tirade against heterosexism in America. It was priceless!

I'll work on finding a youtube clip and post it. Everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy that rant as much as I did!

Edit: Found it!! See the comment for the link :)

Ted Haggard "completely heterosexual"???

Ted Haggard, the ousted Colorado mega church leader, has returned from 3 weeks (yes, 3 whole weeks) of intensive therapy to declare himself "completely heterosexual." Perhaps the three weeks of therapy involved hypnotism where he forgot about the 3 YEAR long affair he had with a man. Or maybe this is just his way of saving face so he can get back to the lucrative and ego boosting job of leading another mega church. Shame on him for thinking that three weeks of talk therapy can change his identity - but I guess that's just another lie he's telling himself.

No more domestic partnership benefits?

The MI court of appeals today overtunred a trial court's opinion, now stating that state universities are NOT able to provide same-sex domestic partner benefits to their employees. This mean that numerous LGBT faculty and staff at all Michigan state universities will no longer be able to cover their same-sex partners with health insurance (among other things).

The university is actively appealing to the state supreme court... I sure the heck hope they've got some sense in them. It would be disasterous to consider the consequences for many of us who may be directly effected by such a narrow sighted and discriminatory policy.

Mary Cheney: My baby 'is not a prop'

Dick Cheney became testy last week when CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked him what he thought of conservatives who are critical of his daughter's pregnancy. Cheney told Blitzer he was "over the line."

In a brief interview with The New York Times after Wednesday's panel, Mary Cheney said she agreed that Blitzer had crossed a line. "He was trying to get a rise out of my father," she said.

Glamour editor Cindi Leive asked Cheney during the panel discussion if she had anything to say to conservatives such as James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, who have criticized her pregnancy, asserting that children should be raised by heterosexual married couples.

She responded, "Every piece of remotely responsible research that has been done in the last 20 years on this issue has shown there is no difference between children who are raised by same-sex parents and children who are raised by opposite-sex parents. What matters is that children are being raised in a stable, loving environment."

Note to Mary Cheney: it's not unreasonable that folks who think that lesbians actually should have all the rights of, say, other human beings should want your father, who supports a regime that obviously doesn't think that lesbians deserve the same rights as other human beings, to justify his support for folks who think your decision to be who you are (instead of who James Dobson would like you to be) is abominable.

Mary Cheney's baby is not a prop. But Mary Cheney is certainly becoming one herself if she refuses to even acknowledge the hypocrisy of the current administration and her father's tacit role in propagating anti-LGBT hatethink.

HPV vaccine for gay men?

Merck, the makers of Gardasil (the HPV vaccine now being given to women) is conducting a trial of 4000 men, including 500 self-identified gay men, to test the effectiveness of HPV vaccination in men to prevent anal cancer. Although I think this vaccine should be given to all gay men, especially "bottoms," I'm glad to see the company pursuing this study. Obviously there are far more women who are eligible for the vaccine than gay men, but that they're still going after this market is a good sign, in my opinion.

Drug Politics: AIDS group sues Pfizer over Viagra ads

OK, so the AIDS Health Care Foundation has criticized Viagra ads that depict Viagra as a great way to have great sex on national holidays (e.g. Super Bowl, New Years). It also says that this encourages the use of Viagra as a party drug (often in conjunction with crystal meth). While this is true, and probably in bad taste (shame on Pfizer), the next point seems odd. They are suing for damages, saying that this advertising fostered an increase in the spread of STDs, which the groups has to pay for treating (it has many public health services that it provides). That seems to go too far. Might as well sue the alcohol industry and makers of every teen/college movie ever made. How about a combination pill that contains Viagra and a HAART cocktail (people from Pfizer should take note).

Politics: Gay Marriage and the End of Civilization

My attention wandered during the "Theology and Science" seminar. Just a little bit.

LGBT: Service with a smile

A new poll reports that approx 3/4 of American GI's are comfortable serving with lesbian and gay colleagues. In fact 1/4 of those polled were aware of a gay or lesbian colleague currently serving with them. I really hope this Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy can be "straightened" out with the new legislature coming to town in December. We're at the point were we need every soldier we can get, gay or straight!

LGBT: Civil Unions in New Jersey

NJ legislature has passed a bill authorizing civil unions in that state in an effort to comply with their supreme court ruling. While this isn't the gold medal marriage bill that most LGBT individuals are looking for, we should be grateful that there was plenty of support for this big step. Like Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said, "The distance between nothing and civil unions is greater than the distance between civil unions and marriage." I think that's a key fact to keep in mind. So, to all of you activists, keep fighting... but don't lose sight of the gains we've gathered so far!

LGBT: Soy as the cause?

This nutjob actually thinks that ingesting soy as a baby will lead to homosexuality. He's blaming it on all those "estrogens" found in soy products. Oh, he's trying to blame childhood leukemia on soy products too. The sad thing is that there are probably some people out there who will actually believe him.

Well, I want to go on record as saying I NEVER had any soy products as a baby (to the best of my knowledge) and I'm pretty sure it had nothing to do with my sexual orientation. Seriously, I'm all for free speech, but some people are just crazy!

LGBT: Gay Evangelicals?

Gay evangelicals struggle to find a church where they feel welcome and comfortable practicing their faith. Given the recent outing of two prominent evangelical leaders, let's all pray that this spurs some questioning from the evangelical community at large as to the acceptance of LGBT individuals. If someone like Rev Barnes can struggle his whole life and not be able to "convert," maybe that means that conversion isn't really the answer. Maybe some people were actually created gay by God and are meant to love a partner of the same sex. Maybe Jesus doesn't want us to be judged and discriminated against. Just a thought.

LBGTPol: spinning Mary Cheney's baby (not just on a merry-go-round)

Something fabulous about the way William Saletan breaks down the spins:

Nice liberal spin: They're model parents, together for 15 years and committed for life. Honor them by legalizing gay marriage.

Nice conservative spin: Nothing against this couple—we're sure they'll try their best—but kids need a dad as well as a mom.

Mean conservative spin: "Mary Cheney Cruel to Children … Our society already has too many children born without the benefits of marriage."

Mean liberal spin: If that's the way you haters feel, there's still time for an abortion.

Feels... very... cold... in... here...

LGBT: Mary Cheney pregnant

and some conservative groups are upset about it. WTF??? Can we say, "none of your damn business!"

Don't get me wrong. Mary Cheney is a Hypocritical Bitch. But that doesn't mean I don't think that the Hypocritical Bitch's Partner, who will be functioning as a parent for Spawn of Hypocritical Bitch, shouldn't have all the rights that I'll have someday when my wife and I hatch our own eggs.

Here's some highlights:

Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America described the pregnancy as "unconscionable."

"It's very disappointing that a celebrity couple like this would deliberately bring into the world a child that will never have a father," said Crouse, a senior fellow at the group's think tank. "They are encouraging people who don't have the advantages they have."

Crouse said there was no doubt that the news would, in conservatives' eyes, be damaging to the Bush administration, which already has been chided by some leaders on the right for what they felt was halfhearted commitment to anti-abortion and anti-gay-rights causes in this year's general election.

Carrie Gordon Earll, a policy analyst for the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family, expressed empathy for the Cheney family but depicted the newly announced pregnancy as unwise.

"Just because you can conceive a child outside a one-woman, one-man marriage doesn't mean it's a good idea," said. "Love can't replace a mother and a father."

Yeah, that love thing is totally overrated. Unloving mom+dad+2.6kids+goldenretriever households are so much better than those loving mom+mom+2.6kids+goldenretriever households. Right.

So, congratulations to Hypocritical Bitch and Hypocritical Bitch's Partner. No, really. I think it rocks that they are standing up for their human right to love who you want to love. Maybe the kid will even grow up to realize how grandad's politics were shit, and how mommy was really confused about her politics, but at least had the guts to stand up for what she believed when it came to bringing a kid into a loving household.