Skip to main content

MY FIRST OUT AND ABOUT COLUMN!

oadecember09.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Please check out my first column in Out & About Illinois magazine on newsstands this week!

LGBT Politics and Life: When the News Knocks at your Door

Mother told me there are three things you never
talk about in polite company: sex, religion and politics.
Unfortunately for her, thanks to my father her boy has always
been a very politically-oriented person. Current events was
the ‘sports’ of our household, and political campaigns is the
major leagues of the news.

Back when I was a kid there were two things that
happened once every four years and you never missed a
minute of it unless you were in a coma: The Olympics and
the election (or reelection) of another American President. I
became a political junkie at a young age.

I think, however, I’m a rare duck in the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender community. Most gays and lesbians
are content to live their lives every day just being the best
citizens they can possibly be. They aren’t radical, and they
aren’t activists. They are good neighbors working hard and
struggling to pay bills and get food on the table like most
Americans.

If all things were equal in America, this would be enough.
Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people would never
have to follow the political news and challenge the social
order.

Read more of "When the News Knocks At Your Door" (p. 9) and pick up a copy of Out & About Illinois at progressive bookstores, retailers and restaurants this week!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

HEY #p2!--CALLING ALL PROGRESSIVE ALLIES!

-HEY #p2! (Progressives). We can't do this alone. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans have been fighting for over half a Century to have basic Civil Rights. We have so much to do, and we are such a small group. Without an army of Progressive allies, we can't win. Our rights as American citizens are constantly being compromised, despite life-time service to our nation as good, contributing citizens. We can't wait any longer. We need our Progressive allies to step up and go to bat for us TODAY. We must demand Progressives have got to make LGBT rights a top priority in 2010, or we will keep being put on the back-burner. There will ALWAYS be something more important than LGBT equality affecting America--issues like Health Care Reform and the Economy effect LGBT people too! However, when we are discriminated against under the law every single day, we can't give our all to fixing these problems. We are long overdue to be counted as equal citize...

Howard Dean Supports Marriage Equality in Vermont

The Burlington Free Press revealed that at a Saturday state Democratic Party reception at the Burlington Hilton, Vermont's former Governor Howard Dean encouraged the leaders in his state to pass legislation legalizing Same-Sex Marriage. Dean was the governor back in 2000 when Vermont became the first state in the Union to enact Civil Unions legislation under pressure from the courts. Now they may just be the first state to enact Marriage Equality WITHOUT pressure from the courts. The Current Governor, Jim Douglas has vowed to veto the legislation when it hits his desk, however, he's also indicated that even he doubts the legislators would not have moved the legislation forward if they did not have a Veto-Proof majority. Let's hope this bolsters the cause of equality even more.

In anti-gay attack, AIM falsely asserts "pedophile" Jennings was "teaching 14-year-old boys" about sexual practices | Media Matters for America

In anti-gay attack, AIM falsely asserts "pedophile" Jennings was "teaching 14-year-old boys" about sexual practices | Media Matters for America : "In attacking the media for allegedly insufficient coverage of Obama administration official Kevin Jennings, a blogger for Accuracy in Media, which purports to 'set the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage' -- and which has a record of antagonism toward gays -- smeared Jennings as a 'pedophile' and falsely claimed that '[v]ideos have surfaced of Jennings teaching 14-year-old boys the dangerous sexual practice of 'fisting,' and discussing with them the particulars of oral sex.' In fact, Jennings did not conduct that seminar and, in fact, reportedly criticized it when he became aware of its content." AIM is a crock. They're nothing more than Republican mouthpieces.