This story goes to the point of the Bayard Rustin quote I’ve been known to highlight:

“[T]he job of the gay community is not to deal with extremists who would castigate us or put us on an island and drop an H-bomb on us. The fact of the matter is that there is a small percentage of people in America who understand the true nature of the homosexual community. There is another small percentage who will never understand us. Our job is not to get those people who dislike us to love us. Nor was our aim in the civil rights movement to get prejudiced white people to love us. Our aim was to try to create the kind of America, legislatively, morally, and psychologically, such that even though some whites continued to hate us, they could not openly manifest that hate. That’s our job today: to control the extent to which people can publicly manifest antigay sentiment.”
–Bayard Rustin; From Montgomery to Stonewall (1986)

Apparently, Pat Boone doesn’t appreciate being called “homophobic.” Check out his final paragraph his latest column in WingNutDaily:

Me, homophobic? Ridiculous. I love my homosexual friends, but I detest these irresponsible street tactics that can and do lead to violence. Violence breeds more violence. But love – and respect, even through disagreement – can accomplish miracles.

This was after Pat said in another column:

Are you unaware of the raging demonstrations in our streets, in front of our churches and synagogues, even spilling into these places of worship, and many of these riots turning defamatory and violent? Have you not seen the angry distorted faces of the rioters, seen their derogatory and threatening placards and signs, heard their vows to overturn the democratically expressed views of voters, no matter what it costs, no matter what was expressed at the polls? Twice?

I refer to California’s Proposition 8. You haven’t heard about the well-oiled campaign to find out the names of every voter and business that contributed as much as $1,000, or even much less, in support of Prop 8? You haven’t heard about the announced plans to boycott, demonstrate, intimidate and threaten each one – because they dared to vote to retain marriage as between one man and one woman? You haven’t seen, on the evening news, prominent entertainers and even California Gov. Schwarzenegger, urging the demonstrators on, telling them they should “never give up” until they get their way?

Assuming you have become aware of all this, let me ask you: Have you not seen the awful similarity between what happened in Mumbai and what’s happening right now in our cities?

My eyes are rolling. He loves gays? Puh-lease.

Pat apparently doesn’t recall, in his “love” for LGBT people, that he referred to “furious homosexual activists” as “twisted freaks.” And, he doesn’t seem to recall that he’s recorded a robo-call in favor of a Republcan candidate that seemed a just a bit homophobic:

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/upload/Autumn/pboone60.mp3

Pat was worried, in the robo-call, about giving “special rights” to “even transgender individuals,” and asked Kentuckians if they’d “like Kentucky to be another San Francisco.” Apparently loving LGBT “individuals” doesn’t mean letting LGBT people enjoy freedom from discrimination in all aspects of their lives.

Pat Boone doesn’t like the term homophobic applied to him. Well, in my opinion, the term fits him like a glove — he’s been expressing his anti-LGBT sentiment for quite awhile now.

News and views for Saturday, December 6th …

[CA, USA] “Richard Masbruch brutally raped and tortured a Fresno woman in 1991. Today, in a case that may be the first of its kind, he lives in a women’s prison. Masbruch, who was reclassified by prison officials as a woman after he castrated himself, is the focus of an inmate complaint that says Masbruch is a danger to other prisoners at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. In recent years, the prison system has given female hormones to Masbruch, helping Masbruch transition from man to woman, said his brother, Craig Masbruch. Prison officials would not confirm whether Masbruch received such treatment, but said the prison system provides hormone treatment to some transgender inmates at taxpayers’ expense. Officials said that in March they transferred Masbruch, 41, to Chowchilla after he was reclassified as a female. There are dozens, and possibly hundreds, of California prison inmates who are classified as men but consider themselves women, state prison officials said. Those inmates are housed in men’s prisons. Masbruch appears to be the only transgender prisoner who has been transferred from a men’s to a women’s prison, or vice versa, they said. And Masbruch may be the only male inmate in the United States who has been reclassified as a woman while in the prison system, one expert said.” — Transgender inmate faces complaint

[CO, USA] “About 25 protesters braved a brisk wind and fumes from cars zipping past Friday afternoon to show their support for Blake Williams, a transgender teen who says he dropped out of Aspen Valley High School because he didn’t feel safe. Williams, 18, said he’s endured bullying and verbal abuse at three schools – two in Academy School District 20 and one charter school – in the two years since he began transitioning from female to male. He called on District 20 and other district administrations to begin training staff on the issues facing Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. “We need to be protected from the hate, the bullying,” he said. “We want to be treated as human beings.” … Those at the rally, though, believe that it’s taken too long for educational institutions to recognize the issues facing LGBT students, and several organizations represented at the protest are calling for action … As the psychologists, sociologists and others debate gender identity and sexual orientation issues, those in the LGBT community say they struggle to simply be treated as normal citizens. “Those of you who are not transgender may not understand us,” said Nancy-Jo Morris, who leads the support group Peak Area Gender Expressions. “But you know when people are being mistreated.”" — Transgender teen decries hate at schools

[CT, USA] “Murder defendant Anthony Rogers’ former girlfriend testified at his trial Friday that as they watched a news report about the homicide of Ricky Lee Blakes, he confessed to killing the Southern Connecticut State University student. LaToya Boyd, 25, of Norwalk, said after the report aired, Boyd told Rogers that she went to school with Blakes. In response, Rogers called Blakes – found by police dressed in women’s clothing lying in a pool of blood at Woodward Avenue and Lawrence Street – a derogatory word for a homosexual, Boyd said. “He told me he had something to tell me. . . that he killed Ricky,” Boyd said. Boyd said that Rogers told her that he was driving down Woodward Avenue early in the morning of July 30, 2004, when Blakes, jumped in his car. After Blakes touched Rogers, Rogers said he opened the passenger door and pushed Blakes out and shot him in the upper body, Boyd testified. Boyd said Rogers told her he drove around the block and returned to the intersection. “He came back to where Ricky was. . . . He saw him on the ground yelling for help. . . . He shot him a few more times. . . . He opened up the door and shot him,” Boyd said.” — Girlfriend: Rogers said he killed Blakes

[NY, USA] “The ad directs readers to NoMobVeto.org, which asks for signatures supporting a campaign to “expose and publicly shame anyone who resorts to the rhetoric of anti-religious bigotry — against any faith, on any side of any cause, for any reason.” HILARIOUS! They are asking for support to do EXACTLY what WE have been doing: exposing and publicly shaming anyone who resorts to anti-gay bigotry. So it’s HATE when we do it, but OK when they do. How fucking typical. You’ll note that they decry the “violence” of the anti-Prop 8 protests, but remain as silent as always about the uncountable brutal attacks against LGBT people which are committed EVERY DAY of EVERY YEAR by people trained by THEM to hate gay people from the moment they know what the word means.” — Full Page Ad From Beckett Fund In NYT Decries “Bigotry” Of Marriage Protests

[Mexico] From the New York Times, “Mexico can be intolerant of homosexuality; it can also be quite liberal. Gay-bashing incidents are not uncommon in the countryside, where many Mexicans consider homosexuality a sin. In Mexico City, meanwhile, same-sex domestic partnerships are legally recognized — and often celebrated lavishly in government offices as if they were marriages. But nowhere are attitudes toward sex and gender quite as elastic as in the far reaches of the southern state of Oaxaca. There, in the indigenous communities around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into gay and straight. The local Zapotec people have made room for a third category, which they call “muxes” (pronounced MOO-shays) — men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned netherworld between the two genders. “Muxe” is a Zapotec word derived from the Spanish “mujer,” or woman; it is reserved for males who, from boyhood, have felt themselves drawn to living as a woman, anticipating roles set out for them by the community.” — A Lifestyle Distinct: The Muxe of Mexico

[Mexico] From the Times photo feature accompanying “A Lifestyle Distinct: The Muxe of Mexico”: “Alex with her mother, Rosa Taledo Vicente, and her father, Victor Martinez Jimenez. Mr. Martinez is a construction worker who speaks Zapotec but little Spanish. He and Alex have a loving relationship, and when asked about having a muxe son he replies: “It was God who sent him and why would I reject him? He helps his mother very much. Why would I get mad? God sent him for both of us. Why would I get mad?”” — In Mexico, Beyond Gay and Straight

[Thailand] From Radio Australia, “Even before last week’s protests shut Thailand’s main international airport, the ongoing political crisis had led to a dramatic fall in tourist numbers. It’s forced the cancellation of several high-profile – including an annual beauty contest for transgendered people, who had been hoping to compete for the title of Miss International Queen.” (Listen) — Thai ‘ladyboy’ beauty contest cancelled amid protests

I wrote this yesterday on the way to DC for the summit. – ~~Autumn~~
~~~~~

I’m off to Washington DC for the same blogger summit that Pam — and many other LGBT bloggers — are attending. As I’m writing this, I’m at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, lamenting that I had to check-in my FlexPro ergonomic keyboard as the darn thing was too large to put in my small suitcase.. And since I’m flying American, checking in my first bag was $15.00…So round trip, my odd looking keyboard is going to be a $30.00 expense.

My right wrist, which I broke in the Navy back in ’95 (and contributes about 10% to my VA Disability Rating of 100%) , is already starting to ache a little bit just from typing this diary on my travel laptop’s flat keyboard. Travelling with my wrist’s osteoarthritis-that-mimics-carpal-tunnel-syndrome is always an issue — fully setting up my laptop is usually a five or ten minute experience. And, times like now when my laptop isn’t fully set up means I have to physically “pay” for not having my ergonomic equipment, and actually pay to make sure I have my ergonomic equipment available for the rest of the trip to/summit in DC.

It’s sometimes interesting too that I get to explain to folk that I’m a trans military veteran and retiree with these service-connected disability issues. Not many people who meet me for the first time as Autumn can picture me being a U.S. Navy Petty Officer — being a U.S. Navy sailor. Especially since seeing the movie Milk on T-Day night (after having some faux, vegetarian turkey dinner at my very close friend Vicki’s home), pointing out I’m a disabled, military veteran who is also trans (and uses a funky keyboard) seems a pretty important thing to do.

In other words, visibility matters.

No doubt I’ll be talking about being a disabled, military veteran who is also trans to folk I meet at the summit. I’m actually looking forward to it.

~~
Btw, my keyboard isn’t working right…must have got damaged on the trip. D’oh!

~~~~~
Related:
* The National LGBT Blogger and Citizen Journalist Initiative

The Los Angeles Times has a piece up this morning entitled Broader medical refusal rule may go far beyond abortion. The subheader for the piece is The Bush administration plans a new ‘right of conscience’ rule that would allow more workers to refuse more procedures. Critics say it could apply to artificial insemination and birth control. From the piece:

The outgoing Bush administration is planning to announce a broad new ‘right of conscience’ rule permitting medical facilities, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers to refuse to participate in any procedure they find morally objectionable, including abortion and possibly even artificial insemination and birth control.

For more than 30 years, federal law has dictated that doctors and nurses may refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further by making clear that healthcare workers also may refuse to provide information or advice to patients who might want an abortion.

It also seeks to cover more employees. For example, in addition to a surgeon and a nurse in an operating room, the rule would extend to “an employee whose task it is to clean the instruments,” the draft rule said.

…Health and Human Services Department officials said the rule would apply to “any entity” that receives federal funds. It estimated 584,000 entities could be covered, including 4,800 hospitals, 234,000 doctor’s offices and 58,000 pharmacies.

Not mentioned is that transsexuals like me might have difficulties receiving hormone prescriptions, or filling hormone prescriptions because of the religious convictions of providers.

The August press release on the new rules is here; the proposed rules are here.

These new rules are strongly supported by the Christian Medical Association (CMA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. From the July CMA press release calling for ‘right of conscience’ regulations:

[Below the fold: CMA and AHA comment on the proposed 'right of conscience' regulations.]

Read the rest of this entry »

“I have always held the belief that all people, no matter race, religion or sexual orientation, are entitled to equal rights. As many know, I consider myself a devout and faithful Mormon. I prefer to keep the details around my contribution through my church a private matter. But I am profoundly sorry for the negative attention that my actions have drawn to Film Independent and for the hurt and pain that is being experienced in the GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender] community.”
–L.A. Film Festival director Richard Raddon

Filling in the background of that public statement, the Los Angeles Times is reporting the following in their article L.A. Film Festival director Richard Raddon resigns:

Richard Raddon, the director of the Los Angeles Film Festival who has been at the center of controversy ever since it was revealed almost two weeks ago that he had contributed $1,500 to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California, resigned from his post over the weekend.

The nonprofit arts organization Film Independent sponsors both the Los Angeles Film Festival, held in May, and the popular Independent Spirit awards. Raddon is a member of the Mormon Church, which actively called on its congregants to work for the passage of Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.

…After Raddon’s contribution was made public online, Film Independent was swamped with criticism from “No on 8″ supporters both inside and outside the organization. Within days, Raddon offered to step down as festival director, but the board, which includes Don Cheadle, Forest Whitaker, Lionsgate President Tom Ortenberg and Fox Searchlight President Peter Rice, gave him a unanimous vote of confidence.

Yet, the anti-Raddon bile continued to bubble in the blogosphere, and according to one Film Independent board member, “No on 8″ supporters also berated Raddon personally via phone calls and e-mails. The recriminations ultimately proved too much, and when Raddon offered to resign again, this time the board accepted.

That $1,500.00 donation to the Yes On Prop 8 campaign has essentially cost him his career; it’s has cost him his ability to make a living in his chosen field.

They’re feeling this same lesson about how LGBT people vote with their wallets in Texas too, of all places. From the Austin American-Statesman‘s Prop. 8 backlash reaches to Texas; Austin Web site has ‘blacklist’ for businesses linked to money that supported gay marriage ban:

[Below the fold: Dell, Cinemark, wingnut Michelle Malkin, and reference to a 2001 survey by Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications.]

Read the rest of this entry »

Last July, a JJ In Chicago posted a comment at the Box Turtle Bulletin that included the following statement:

…How much lobbying are transgendered people doing on behalf of gay men and lesbians?

(And no, trans board members on state and national non-profits don’t count. I mean private citizens.)

How many trans folks are lobbying to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell??

How many trans folks are lobbying to end a relic of the Anita Bryant era– Florida’s complete ban on gay men and lesbians to adopt children??

The truth is very few, if any. That’s because it’s not their issue. They can’t have it both ways.

So, while fresh with same-gender marriage/marriage equality being in the spotlight, I’d like to hightlight that trans people have been involved working on marriage equality here in San Diego. Specifically how trans people were involved in San Diego’s Join The Impact event on Saturday, November 15th, if only just to highlight one example of involement as a representative example.

So although one of the reasons why I’m doing a little documentation is to accentuate the positive about working for change, what JJ in Chicago wrote last July reminds me that sometimes it’s also about stemming off negative perceptions that aren’t necessarily reality based; sometimes it’s about pointing out where people we don’t necessarily expect to be working on broad LGBT issues are working on broad issues.

“All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”
–Martin Luther King Jr.

There were trans people marching, and there were trans people in the planning process. At the Marriage Equality/Join The Impact march in San Diego a week ago Saturday, there were at least 20,000 participants. There were trans people marching, and there were trans people in the planning process.

Let me cite just one who was in the planning process as an example of the many.

In San Diego, the “Face Behind FaceBook” for the march was Kelly Moyer. Never heard of Kelly? Well, like so many of the new grassroots leadership, she’s been somewhat quietly working for LGBT and trans-specific issues — she’s a volunteer at the Hillcrest Youth Center an San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Center facilitating trans discussion groups. She’s also very active in San Diego’s lesbian community, working on event planning (such as for Dyke March) and is a member of a key community standing committee. She’s also on Sun Microsystems’ Gays, Lesbians and Friends (GLAF) employee resource group, working with Sun to increase the company’s diversity. Basically, she’s been “behind the scenes” — yet in plain view — for awhile.

After the Join the Impact in San Diego, she gave a speech on staying on a positive message with regards to marriage equality. I don’t have to agree with everything she says to understand that her message is important.

Below the fold is the last few paragraphs from her November 15th speech.

Read the rest of this entry »

I woke up tired this morning, after a really restless night of sleep. I dreamed I was in a hostage situation, and because I had to go to the restroom, the hostage takers were going to likely discover I was trans — it was pretty clear to me in the dream that if those folks found out I was trans that I would be considered an spiritual abomination, and would be killed.

But it was only a dream.

For the 30 individuals on the Transgender Day Of Remembrance list, being found brutally killed because those who killed them did it because of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

One of the last names added to the list this year was Lateisha Green. She was previously referred to by mainstream media by the name Moses “Teish” Cannon — the headline read Syracuse man was killed for being gay, police say. But as Rod McCullom of Rod 2.0 filled us in, the Syracuse murder victim has now been identified as transgender.

Was she killed because she was gender variant in appearance? — was it that Latiesha Green was a trans woman killed because she was perceived to be gay by her killer, ? From the articles, that’s what appears to have happened:

Dwight R. DeLee shot and killed [Lateisha Green] with a .22-caliber rifle Friday night because he didn’t like that Cannon was openly gay, Syracuse police said.

Thinking from a Matthew Shepard Act point of view, it’s important to point out Teich was trans, and to point out she was perceived to be gay. If we leave either sexual orientation or gender identity and expression out of the Matthew Shepard Act…well, one of the lessons of Teish’s death is that being trans or gay isn’t distinguishable in the perceptions of those who would harm us — sexual orientation and gender identity and expression are functionally the same thing.

I guess changing the focus a little, do I need to mention Teish was a double minority? Of the thirty names to be remembered this year, listkeeper Ethan St. Pierre tells me that three of the names are for caucasian victims, and the other 27 are of those who would be members of ethnic minorities. I’m not 100% sure his ethnic breakdown is 100% accurate, but it is clear that we most of the 30 names will be reading tonight will belong to non-whites.

In 2005 I wrote a poem for a victim whose story I found while archiving for transgendernews. GLAAD, in their blog, they have that poem up — for their series “What Does the Transgender Day of Remembrance mean to you?”

The stories mentioned in the poem are all real cases — there actually are two three-year-olds on the list. The three year olds were killed because of gender-variant behavior.

Below the fold is the poem.

If you haven’t thought about going to a Transgender Day Of Remembrance service already, please think about going to one this evening. Dyssonance provided a link in her diary to find out where individual local events are being held, worldwide. In San Diego tonight, we’re having a candlelight march at 6:00 PM, and a service beginning at 7:00 PM — both at our LGBT Center. I’ll be there.

Read the rest of this entry »

News and views for Sunday, November 16th …

[NY, USA] Trans woman Teish Cannon was shot and killed Friday night in Syracuse, New York: “Moses “Teish” Cannon was openly gay, and his family said Saturday that is why he was shot and killed Friday night. His death should be treated as a hate crime, they said … [Cannon's mother Roxanne] Green talked lovingly about Moses Cannon and said she accepted who he was. “That’s the life he chose. That’s who he wanted to be,” Green said about her son … “Teish was loving, caring and compassionate,” said Rhonda Gary, Cannon’s aunt. “She carried herself with respect.” The family did not mince words. Cannon’s death, they said, was a hate crime. The family said the person who shot Moses Cannon deserves a sentence of life in prison without parole. “I feel the person who lured him there (to Seymour Street) should get the same,” Green said.” — Mother: Gay son targeted by killer

[NY, USA] Syracuse police have charged a suspect in the Cannon killing: “Dwight R. DeLee shot and killed Moses “Teish” Cannon with a .22-caliber rifle Friday night because he didn’t like that Cannon was openly gay, Syracuse police said … “There was no previous argument between these individuals, there was no previous fight, there was no bad blood,” [Police Chief Gary] Miguel said. “Our suspect took a rifle and shot and killed this person, also wounding his brother, for the sole reason he didn’t care for the sexual preference of our victim. Isn’t that sad? Isn’t that a sad situation that that’s the sole reason why? “I talk to you about this atmosphere of violence and that certain individuals believe that violence is the answer no matter what, and here’s just another example,” Miguel said. Cannon’s family said his death should be treated as a hate crime. Miguel said it’s up to the District Attorney’s office to decide if it’s a hate crime.” — Syracuse man was killed for being gay, police say

[TN, USA] “Gay, lesbian, bisexual, most of us are familiar with, maybe even comfortable with. But matters of gender identity — which are separate from sexual orientation — are less understood. Simply put, Johnson’s brain and soul did not match her genitalia. That was tough for Skinner to deal with. And it certainly didn’t line up with her religious beliefs. But — and here’s the lesson — Skinner respected that her daughter knew herself better than even a mother could. Her love for her child, God’s child, never waned, even if her understanding of what her daughter was going through wasn’t complete. Skinner wants people to know that Duanna was a good, loving person. “She was very smart, and that’s why I wanted her to get her life in order.” And order didn’t mean life as a male. “I don’t think she would have ever returned, because she said she could never be a man again.” Because in her heart, Duanna Johnson never was.” — Essence of person can belie physical

[TN, USA] “About 75 people marched through the Cooper-Young neighborhood on a cold Sunday night in memory of Duanna Johnson.” — Transgendered murder victim mourned at vigil

[TN, USA] “With candles in their hands and great sadness in their hearts, dozens of Mid-Southerners demanded justice Sunday, November 16, 2008 during a prayer vigil for Duanna Johnson. “We’re here to commemorate Duanna’s life,” says vigil participant Casey Lanham, “and to remember the sacrifice she unfortunately had to encounter.” “All citizens of Memphis,” says Amy Livingston of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center, “should agree that all human life has dignity and should be respected and valued. Duanna was a beloved member of this community. And by community, I mean Memphis.” … “This is a stand for a human being,” says Will Bates, “who was killed because she was different than everyone else. This is a stand for humanity. This is a stand for all of us.” — Mid-Southerners Demand Justice for Duanna Johnson

[MA, USA] Gunner Scott of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition spoke at the Proposition 8 Protest in Boston yesterday [begins at 01:12 of the video] …

[NC, USA] Pam Spaulding attended the 2008 Equality NC Conference at Duke University in Durham on Saturday, and provided this video of NCTE’s Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality talking about the HRC, the non-inclusive ENDA and transgender advocacy …

[USA] From Donna Rose, “I hope that some of the broader community outrage over denial of basic rights gets saved for ENDA. It’s a whole different thing being on the side getting your rights than being on the side denied. Many of those same people out marching this weekend will find a way to justify excluding others from getting theirs if and when they’re faced with those kinds of decisions. Many of those writing passionate letters about higher ideals will be ready to betray those ideals if they have the opportunity when ENDA rolls around again. They will have conveniently forgotten what it feels like to be on the outside.” – The Side Denied

[USA] From Becky Juro, “Unbelievably, it took the actual stripping of already existent marriage rights from gay and lesbian Californians to finally mobilize our community to loudly and proudly fight for our rights in significant numbers nationwide. At last, LGBT America has said “Enough!” and we’re taking to the streets in protest all across our country. It’s about damn time … For me, and I’d bet for many of you reading this, particularly if you are transgender, the parallels to the recent past are pretty obvious. When the transgender community was stripped from ENDA, we responded in much the same way, though on a much smaller scale. For the past year or so, there have been regular protests at Human Rights Campaign events nationwide, and while significantly smaller in size, they’ve been consistent and they’ve been active. Despite their small size, the message has gotten out, slowly but surely, not by force of numbers but by constantly being out there, constantly promoting the same clear message of equality and fairness, and by never, ever, backing down or giving up on what we know to be right. That’s how this battle will be won. Not by marching and protesting for a week or even a few weeks, but by being consistent and unrelenting, by making our voices heard wherever and whenever they need to be heard, over and over and over, until the message finally starts sinking in to the community, to those inclined to support us, and eventually to average fair-minded straight Americans. We’ve seen it happen with HRC and ENDA, and we’ll see it happen here, perhaps even more quickly because of the huge numbers involved.” — It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

[USA] “Over the summer, a wrangle between eminent psychiatrists that had been brewing for months erupted in print. Startled readers of Psychiatric News saw the spectacle unfold in the journal’s normally less-dramatic pages. The bone of contention: whether the next revision of America’s psychiatric bible, the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” should be done openly and transparently so mental health professionals and the public could follow along, or whether the debates should be held in secret.” — Wrangling over psychiatry’s bible

[UK] From Helen G at Bird of Paradox, “MPs call for Commons committee to consider representation of… well,
just about everyone but trans people, apparently.”

From the Los Angeles Times‘ Angrier response to Prop. 8 steps up:

Leaders of the campaign against Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, raised nearly $40 million and ran a careful, disciplined campaign with messages tested by focus groups and with only a few people authorized to speak to the media.

They lost.

In the week since, California has seen an outpouring of demonstrations ranging from quiet vigils to noisy street protests against Proposition 8, including rallies outside churches and the Mormon temple in Westwood as well as boycotts of some businesses that contributed to the Yes on 8 campaign.

Many of those activities have been organized not by political professionals and established leaders in the gay community, but by young activists working independently on Facebook and MySpace.

The grass-roots activism is a tribute to political organizing in the digital age, in which it is possible to mobilize thousands of people with a few clicks of a mouse. It has generated national attention — and set up a series of Saturday demonstrations that organizers hope will attract tens of thousands of people to city halls throughout California…

I really recommend this entire article.

We’ve forgetten, apparenlty, that Stonewall began as mob justice in response to systematic, government injustice. The aftermath of the Prop 8 vote in California looks like its more a series of Stonewall style uprisings than a top-down, micro-managed/micro-messaged, LGBT Civil Rights organization led response.

Frankly, these marches and protest seem to be a further example of how the HRC doesn’t know or speak for the grassroots of the LGBT community; but it’s apparent now that other LGBT civil rights organizations — such as Equality California, The Gay and Lesbian Center of Los Angeles, the San Diego LGBT Center, NCLR, and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force to name a few — who were leaders in the No On Prop 8 Campaign didn’t and don’t speak particularly well for the grassroots of the LGBT community either.

If there ever is a time for the organizational reflection by LGBT civil rights organizations, I think winter of 2007 (remember ENDA?) is when it should have began, and it’s definitely way over due now. LGBT Civil Rights organizations are far behind the times on what the attitudes towards LGBT issues are, and their focus groups and marketing approach to messaging don’t speak at all to what the “mob” thinks about civil rights.

~~
A sorta related piece about this LGBT mob mentality would be in Edge Boston‘s Queer Anarchists Disrupt Church Service in Mich. Times are o’ changing.
.

Update: The Sacramento Bee reported that Scott Eckern stepped down from his posistion as the artistic director of the California Musical Theater. Whereas Marjorie Christoffersen, the owner of the El Coyote Cafe briefly mentioned as the L.A. restaurant owner below, chose not to apologize or express remorse for her donation to the Yes On Proposition 8 Campaign when she met with about 75 of her gay customers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s an example of the real cost born by individuals for their financial support of Proposition 8. From the Sacramento Bee:

Scott Eckern, the California Musical Theater official embroiled in controversy following revelations of his donation to the Proposition 8 campaign, issued a statement Tuesday expressing shock over the backlash, saying “I had no idea this would be the reaction.”

Revelations over the weekend that Eckern, the company’s artistic director, had given $1,000 to the voter-approved ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage had drawn calls of an artistic and audience boycott Monday of the Sacramento theater company that produces the Music Circus and presents Broadway Sacramento.

He made a statement — From his statement:

I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings maybe even betrayal. It was not my intent. I honestly had no idea that this would be the reaction. I chose to act upon my belief that the traditional definition of marriage should be preserved. I support each individual to have rights and access and I understood that in California domestic partnerships come with the same rights that come with marriage.

I definitely do not support any message or treatment of others that is hateful or instills fear. This is a highly emotional issue. I have now had many conversations with friends and colleagues and I now have a better idea of what the discrimination issues are, how deeply felt these issues are and I am deeply saddened that my acting upon my religious convictions has been devastating to those I love and admire… I am deeply sorry for any harm or injury I have caused.

Basically, it’s pretty much a Not good enough! moment for supporters of the theater who were against Prop 8. One example of a significant voice:

Gay and lesbian artists called Monday for an artistic and audience boycott of California Musical Theatre after learning that its artistic director donated $1,000 to a campaign that backed banning gay marriage in California.

…California Musical Theatre is the capital’s oldest professional performing arts organization and California’s largest nonprofit musical theater company. It has 32 full-time employees and its budget for 2007 was $16.5 million.

…”Hairspray” composer Marc Shaiman called Eckern Thursday to discuss his donation. “Hairspray” closed this summer’s Music Circus season.

In a post on one Web site, Shaiman relayed what he told Eckern: “The idea that your donation came from a salary that for a short amount of time was drawn from profits from a show I wrote upsets me terribly and I would never allow anything I write to play there and will encourage my colleagues to consider doing the same.”

Want to see another example of individual awakening to the economic cost to supporting the Yes On Proposition 8 campaign? There’s an example of a Los Angeles restaurant owner’s surprise at the economic backlash for supporting Prop 8 here.

Want to know how scary the economic impact is to business owners who were already aware that LGBT consumers vote with their pocketbooks? Take a read at The Facts About Marriott and California’s Proposition 8:

As many of you may know I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some might conclude given my family’s membership in the Mormon Church that our company supported the recent ballot initiative to ban same sex marriage in California. This is simply untrue. Marriott International is a public company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and is not controlled by any one individual or family. Neither I, nor the company, contributed to the campaign to pass Proposition 8.

The Bible that I love teaches me about honesty, integrity and unconditional love for all people. But beyond that, I am very careful about separating my personal faith and beliefs from how we run our business…

(Chino Blanco has a PHB diary on this Marriot statement here.)

If Prop 8 were put to a vote again in a year or two, I think the ProtectMarriage.com would have a lot of problems finding business owners and business executives who would donate to the campaign. There is a learning curve going on right now — these businesspeople are discovering that there is a real economic cost to their businesses if they don’t establish and publicize progressive policies towards LGBT people. And, their gods help their businesses if business owners and executives are perceived as being against progressive policies towards LGBT people to the point of supporting the withdrawal of fundamental civil rights of LGBT people.

As I looked at the Americans For Truth About Homosexuality website this morning, I’m struck by how it’s Veterans Day — I’m struck by how unlikely it is that Peter LaBarbera would thank me for my 20-year service to country, or thank any other LGBT veteran for their service to country.

What has me thinking this way is that Mr. LaBarbera posted a short comment on “big-boned men in dresses,” attached to the news of the Application for non-career federal jobs in an Obama Administration — the application process for which the Obama Administration has stated (emphasis added):

The Obama-Biden Transition Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law.

Mr. LaBarbera comments on that application statement in his piece Will Federal Female Employees Be Safe from Cross-Dressing Men Using Ladies’ Restrooms in the Obama Administration? With his piece, he included a thumbnail of the cover of a UK-based magazine entitled Trans-Living Magazine — the cover has a photo of a trans woman dressed in lingerie on it.

Mr. LaBarbera’s short comment:

Will big-boned men in dresses and high heels like this fellow be allowed to use women’s restrooms in federal buildings under the Obama Administration? That’s what Obama’s plan to create “rights” based on gender confusion might bring. Obama’s pro-transsexual agenda — he favors federal rights based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” — was never discussed or debated seriously in the election campaign.

Should I ever meet Col. Dianne Schroer (Ret.) again, I’ll have to remember to tell my big-boned man in a dress aquaintence that her honorable service to country doesn’t matter; she shouldn’t consider herself human or professional enough to work for the federal government. That’s because “Christian” Peter LaBarbera believes a decorated military veteran with 25 years of service, who served as an Army Ranger, who happens to be transgender would show up at work wearing nothing but lingerie like the trans woman on the cover of a magazine that Mr. LaBarbera know doubt bought at his local porn shop — the porn shop where Mr. LaBarbera apparently gets all his ideas about how all gay and trans people behave.

And, I’ll have to remember to tell Col. Schroer that “Christian” Peter LaBarbara implies she and all other potential trans emplyees would rape the cisgender women in federal buildings’ restrooms specifically because they are transgender — that’s another reason the federal goverment shouldn’t hire trans people like her.

Frankly, Mr. LaBarbera has acknowledged his propensity not to think before he speaks and insults trans people — he speaks and writes with the wild abandon of someone who doesn’t consider the trans people he speaks and writes about to be human.

Below the fold, I comment directly to Mr. LaBarbera.

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News and views for Monday, November 10th …

[TN, USA] As Autumn has mentioned here, troubled trans woman Duanna Johnson was found shot to death in Memphis today. The news reports as of Monday evening …

The victim of a shooting early today in North Memphis has been identified by a local attorney as the transgendered person who was beaten by police earlier this year … Police are looking for suspects in this morning’s shooting. A witness told investigators three people ran from the scene after a shot was fired.

Shooting victim identified as person who was beaten by police

The lawyer for a transgender woman who was preparing to sue Memphis police says his client has been killed … Wells said Johnson’s family still intends to sue Memphis police because of the jailhouse beating

Lawyer: Shooting victim was woman beaten by police

A statement from the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center: “Duanna bravely confronted the Memphis Police Department officers who brutalized her while she was in police custody. At great personal cost, Duanna was the public face of our community’s campaign against racism, homophobia, and transphobia. There was no justice for Duanna Johnson in life. The Mid-South Peace & Justice Center calls for justice in the investigation and prosecution of Duanna’s murder.”

Transgender Beating Victim Found Dead in North Memphis

[IL, USA] “Even a dreary, drizzly Chicago November evening did not deter a strong crowd of at least 300 from gathering to protest the Museum of Broadcast Communications’ induction of James Dobson into the Radio Hall of Fame on Saturday at the downtown Renaissance Chicago Hotel … “They said they couldn’t do anything because he won the vote,” explained Thayer while addressing the crowd early in the evening. “At one point in the history of our country, the premiere broadcaster [of the 1930’s] was Father [Charles] Coughlin, a notorious anti-semite and racist. They did not, rightfully, choose to honor him, but unfortunately a double standard still persists in this country for haters of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.”‘ — Chicagoans Protest Dobson’s Hall of Fame Induction

[NY, USA] ” ‘Malcolm Smith, the Queens Democrat who will be the new majority leader, appeared at ESPA’s annual Manhattan Fall Dinner last October and enthusiastically pledged to “forward” the marriage equality bill on “the first day of our session,” and to put it at “the top of the list” when discussing agenda items with the governor.’ I’m fine with that happening on the first day – so long as a bill to rectify the 2002 Gays’ and Lesbians’ Right to Discriminate Against Trans People Act (sometimes referred to as SONDA) is ‘forwarded’ first on that first day and so long as not one thing is done on the marriage bill until the bill to rectify the 2002 Gays’ and Lesbians’ Right to Discriminate Against Trans People Act has passed both houses of the legislature and has Gov. Paterson’s signature affixed to it.” — Marriage My Ass

[NY, USA] “I’m sure there were plenty of transwomen who wanted to vote in New York City who could have been profiled in this article. Or the Times could have done an article about voter apathy and used Michelle Carver as an example. So good on the Times for at least referring to Michelle Carver with female pronouns and a female honorific. But this issue deserves serious coverage, not condescending commentary on a someone who isn’t even facing the problems outlined in the beginning of the article.” — Traditional media still has trouble covering transgender issues

[USA] “In their first interview since the birth of their daughter, Susan, this past summer, Beatie and his wife, Nancy, speak candidly to Barbara Walters. Find out about the childbirth experience, how they’re raising their daughter, and what the future holds for them on “What Is a Man, What Is a Woman? Journey of a Pregnant Man” Friday on “20/20″ at 10 p.m. ET ,,, The hour also explores how gender boundaries are dissolving, and how transgender couples create families amid the social and legal complexities of this brave new world.” — Barbara Walters Exclusive: ‘Journey of a Pregnant Man’

[USA] “Today, I have no problem with my self-worth. I don’t need laws that protect my employment or include me in hate crimes legislation to justify my humanity. My self worth and humanity is based on me and me only. My renewed belief in God has also been very helpful. Trans people all over the country have come to realize that they will not relinquish their humanity to anyone. No one decided our humanity or self worth but us. Maybe our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters need to take a little lesson from the trans community when it comes to self worth. We have been put down and marginalized for such a long time and for so many reasons that we had to make peace with our humanity. We have been left out of legislation so many times that we had to build the strength within us to move on. We have seen so many trans-related bills fail that it has dampened our self worth. Yet, we keep moving forward.” — Devaluating Your Self Worth

[USA] “That is exactly how many of us feel about ”friends and neighbors” who somehow found a way to justify leaving trans people behind on ENDA. And although I hate to compare griefs the fact of the matter is that it’s all the same. Fundamental rights are fundamental rights, whether it be the right to have a job and earn a living or the right to have loving committed relationships recognized and to raise a family. Denial of both are materially harmful. No difference. Yet you made a conscious decision to harm us, Joe. You did. Perhaps you’ll recognize that you were that friend and neighbor – to me personally and to our community in general – who made that hurtful decision yet can somehow justify still being a “friend”. I hope that you recognize that the crowds still protesting the Prop. 8 outcome in cities throughout California and across the country are the same as gender variant people and allies who protest at HRC events around the country, upset with the injustice that has been forced upon us and needing to express that anger and frustration.” — What’s the Point?

[UK] The Department of Health has authorised the publication of “A guide to trans service users’ rights” (PDF here), the sixth in the series of booklets that it has commissioned the Gender Identity Research and Education (GIRES) to develop.

[Canada] “Put yourself in the place of someone who’s trying to transition. Many people simply just don’t understand why you would do that. Then add to that the realization that the APA, a socially-recognized mental health authority, considers you to be diseased, simply out of who you are. Ask yourself if you would be willing to trade a bit of your dignity for medical treatment. If not, why should anyone else have to?” — Non-normative gender is not a disease

[Sweden] “Jan-Olov Ågren, a male cross-dresser from Norrbotten in northern Sweden, has been handed a victory by the county administrative court in his bid to go by the name Madeleine. Ågren has a penchant for dressing up in women’s clothing and when he does, he likes to go by the name Madeleine, reports the Norrbottens-Kuriren newspaper. But the Swedish Tax Agency had previously rejected Ågren’s application to have his name changed to Jan-Olov Madeleine Ågren on the grounds that it’s not appropriate for a man to have a woman’s name.” — Cross-dressing Swedish man can be named Madeleine

[Peru] “In the city of Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, attitudes towards gender roles and sexual orientation are comparatively relaxed. But despite the thriving gay and transvestite scene, members of the cross-dressing community, known as chivas, still face prejudice and violence. Sixteen-year-old Rober has been working as a transsexual prostitute since he was 12. Donning his girlish clothes and wig every night, he says that he’s happier on the streets than at school, despite the risks to his safety.” — Walk on the wild side: Peru

News and views for Saturday, November 8th and Sunday, November 9th …

[USA] “Those waiting to see the change in Barack Obama’s presidency can look no further than his transitional Web site. The site, which is recruiting for a new administration , bluntly states it will not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity among other protections.” — Change, Already?

[USA] “After experiencing job discrimination first-hand, a Milwaukee woman decided to launch her own Web site to assist transgender individuals in finding employment with truly inclusive companies and organizations. Jillian Barfield created TJobBank.com, described as the first and only organization dedicated to providing employment services to the transgender community-a historially underemployed population. TJobBank.com launched in July, and there are several job openings already listed on the site.” — Web site finds jobs for trans individuals

[USA] “Nicole Kidman as the world’s first post-op transsexual, married to Charlize Theron? You betcha. Kidman will star in and produce “The Danish Girl,” based on the true story of Danish artists Einar and Greta Wegener. Their marriage took a sharp left turn after Einar (Kidman) stood in for an female model that Greta (Theron) was set to paint. When their portraits become wildly popular in 1920s Copenhagen, Greta encouraged her husband to adopt the female guise. What began as a harmless game led Einer to a metamorphosis and landmark 1931 operation that shocked the world and threatened their love.” — Nicole Kidman to star in ‘Danish’

[CO, USA] “The 3rd annual Transforming Gender Symposium kicked off Friday night with keynote speaker Monica Roberts and a local transgender activist panel. Roberts has been involved in transgender activism since the mid-1990s. Having transitioned 15 years ago, she is aware of many issues regarding transgender rights, with her experiences lending to a specific emphasis on “transgendered people of color.” After outlining some of the long history of the transgender community and its search for rights, Roberts brought her speech to a theme of the symposium: “The future of transgender activism.”" — Transforming Gender Symposium

[OR, USA] “As the nation’s first openly transgender mayor, Rasmussen cuts a distinct figure among his flannel-clad neighbors, from the wavy red mane, past the ample breast implants, along the maroon stockinged legs, over the crimson tips of his manicured nails and down to the size 11 black Mary Janes. “This is a place that takes you for who you are,” Rasmussen says, the sweep of his elegant hand taking in the Main Street of Silverton, population 9,588.” — Silverton gives its vote to transgendered mayor

[MI, USA] “”It was because of the fear and hate…that this issue lost,” [Hamtramck City Council member Scott} Klein said. "We're not done. We'll be back. We've got a good start and the Mayor and I are not deterred. We're ready to go for the next round." -- Hamtramck ordinance fails, supporters vow comeback

[NY, USA] “As CNN, The New York Times and Inside Edition rang her phone over and over, Genna Suraci pulled back in to the quiet of her work. People still called her Gary in those days … Fast-forward to Genna in a well-tailored pantsuit, to Saturday in a crowded Holiday Inn conference room. The people attending the LGBTQ conference (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning) have filled every table and are standing along the walls.” — A journey from he to she

[VT, USA] “People from all over the country were at UVM Saturday for the Translating Identity Conference, which focuses on transgender issues. Those who went were able to listen to speakers, sit in on discussions and visit vendors. More than 700 people signed up for the event. Last year some came from as far away as the Mid West and Canada. The event is entirely student run and is hosted by the University’s Free to Be group.” — Conference On Transgender Issues Held At UVM

[UK] ““I think we would do well to remember that Stonewall is named after a riot by drag queens. That is all I want to say.”” — Celebs split over trans protest at Stonewall Awards

[UK] From Julie Bindel writing in The Guardian, “Being nominated for an award is supposed to be a nice thing, right? Well not for me. When I was told a few weeks ago that I had been shortlisted for a journalist of the year award by the gay rights organisation Stonewall, I knew I would not win. I was certainly a worthy contender, but I knew from that moment that all hell was about to break loose.” — It’s not me. It’s you

[UK] There’s more on Julie Bindel and the Stonewall Awards protest at Sarah, Bringer of Tea and bird of paradox, among other places.

[UK] At Gender Variant Biography, “These are the mayors and mayoral candidate that I can think of. Who else should be added?” — Transgendered Mayors

[UK] The Gscene editors blog had three posts on Friday on the Natasha Thoday transgender discrimination case. — Guilty on 6 Counts!, Natasha Thoday claims tribunal victory, Natasha Thoday talks to Richard Smith about her recent discrimination cases

[Malaysia] “Several protesters walked through the city centre denouncing the National Fatwa Council’s decision against tomboys. The protesters yesterday claimed that Muslim women should have the right over how they want to express themselves or dress. Under the edict announced by the council on Oct 23, girls are forbidden to sport short hair and dress, walk and act like boys, due to recent cases of young women behaving like men and indulging in homosexual behaviour.” — Protesters denounce ruling against tomboys

[India] “A 16-year-old boy, who was kidnapped and coerced into prostitution by eunuchs after his sex was changed, was rescued by the city police on Saturday. With this arrest, the police claimed to have busted a major racket in the city.” — Boy forced to get sex changed

[International] Yesterday, November 8th, was Intersex Solidarity Day. — Barbin the hermaphrodite, Intersex Solidarity Day – An International Success

While we continue to look back and talk about the how fundamental marriage rights were lost in California, Arizona, and Florida this past election, looking forward we need to remember that on a federal level, we don’t have a fully inclusive ENDA either. And, I can tell you that as a result of employment discrimination against LGBT people, many LGBT people — especially minority transgender women like Sharmus Outlaw — are doing sex work as a means of survival. To me, that’s an economic issue that hits my community and me too close to home.

Prostitution in D.C.: A Transgendered Perspective
At a D.C. Council hearing Friday, community leaders, prostitution support groups and law enforcement officials talked about the District’s prostitution problem.

From the Washington Post:

“Sex work is about survival,” [Sharmus] Outlaw said. “It’s not about choosing a neighborhood to go into and to prostitute. We are struggling as transgender women to make ends meet and to survive in today’s world where we are misunderstood.”

But residents of a Northeast neighborhood not far from Union Station told a different story. Jeff King said that when he opens his door in the morning, he often finds condoms on the sidewalk. Joseph McHale said, “The last thing I hear when I go to bed at night is the clicking of their heels.”

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chaired the hearing of the Committee on Public Safety, said: “I agree with those who keep in mind that there are human beings involved in this. It is not just about punishing somebody.”

But Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said “street prostitution is nonnegotiable. There is no level of street prostitution that will be okay.”

As Sharmus Outlaw said in the video, she needs employment opportunities. Survival sex is about not having any employment oportunities.

We all need to start working now for a fully inclusive ENDA in the 111th Congress. If you’re looking to do something for equality and civil rights over the next few months, consider writing letters to and/or meeting with your local congresspeople about a fully inclusive ENDA — one that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression — for this coming Congress. And that’s especially true if you’re African-American, Latino or Latina, Asian American, Pacific Islander-American, etc.; a veteran; a disabled person; a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a Pagan, etc.; a transgender person…or for that matter just somebody who knows or knows of someone who has an LGBT identity and another identity listed in state or federal law as a protected class.

We have a more Democratic Congress than we’ve had in decades; in this time of economic downturn, LGBT people need broader employment rights and protections, and we should have the support in a Democratic Congress to get those civil rights and protections. Let’s make sure our congresspeople know what we want, and hold feet to fire if we don’t get it soon.

As it’s been mentioned in our blog, here at PHB and Bilerico we’ve been discussing race and Prop 8, as well as faith and Prop 8. To illustrate that there’s a variety of post-mortems and stories on this from a really broad spectrum of perspectives, here’s a sampling of some of those from a wide variety of sources:

* Michele McGinty at BeliefNet: It looks like the black vote saved Prop. 8 – Quote:

Now, will criticism of the vote constitute racism?

Hey, at least they can’t blame the conservative Christian Republicans

* Fernando Espuelas at CNN: Commentary: Latinos should see gay marriage a civil right – Quote:

Once you start the process of taking away other peoples’ fundamental rights — like food and water in a jail cell, or the right to drive and listen to whatever music you like — you must ask yourself where to draw the line, and who will draw it? What — and whose — rights will be next on the chopping block?

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.” You’d think that as Latinos, proud and strong and willing to fight for our own rights,- we’d refuse to turn against the “punier kid,” wouldn’t you?

That we might in fact stand up for that kid, tell the bullies to back off, the same way we told the bullies of racism and “the real America” to take a hike — and in the process carried Obama to triumph.

* Media release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento: Former Catholic Bishop of Salt Lake City Decries Religious Bigotry in Political Ad; Defends LDS Role in California Ballot Initiative Protecting Traditional Marriage – Quote:

“I call upon the supporters of same-sex marriage to live by their own words–and to refrain from discrimination against religion and to Lose Weight Exercise tolerance for those who differ from them. I call upon them to accept the will of the people of California in the passage of Proposition 8.”

* Focus On The Family: Success in California–Traditional Marriage Restored! – Quote:

[W]hat you helped achieve on Tuesday night goes far beyond upholding the sanctity of marriage in California. It also:

… helps protect millions of children from radical indoctrination in the homosexual lifestyle. In Massachusetts, legalized same-sex “marriage” quickly became the pretext for redefining marriage in the classroom, and it had already started in California, too.

… safeguards religious liberty in our most populous state. Wherever same-sex “marriage” has taken hold, religious freedom has begun to crumble. In Massachusetts, for example, Catholic Charities was forced to shut down its adoption agency because of their refusal to do gay adoptions.

I’m so pleased to be able to report to you the critical role that Focus on the Family played in securing this milestone victory. From the earliest strategic discussions … to the monumental task of gathering a million-plus signatures … to the campaign itself, Focus on the Family has been integrally involved.

* Jon Stewart at The Daily Show:

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