University of Puget Sound and Third Place Books

I'm on my way to SeaTac in the morning, flying from Raleigh-Durham to the beauty of the Pacific Northwest! On Wed., at 7 P.M.(ish) I'll be lecturing at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. On Thursday., 7 P.M., I'll be at Third Place Books in Ravenna, Washington!

Hope you can come!

Peace,

Brett

Spring Hath Sprung, And Gay Couples Wed...or Stay Wed in Iowa!

This morning, on two separate occasions, on sidewalks in the Carrboro, NC, I saw dads with babies!  One dad, dressed in a running suit, had disheveled blond hair, pushing a child in a stroller with the chocolate Labrador retriever; another dad had a Snuggli on, a baby well strapped onto the chest of this handsome man, walking with his (male) friend(?).  Spring has sprung, and I just kept smiling.   

On towleroad.com and queerty.com, there was news of the legal case that Lambda is bringing to the state of Iowa, defending the married gay and lesbian couples in that great state of presidential caucuses.  Judge Robert Hanson supported gay marriage in 2007, though these marriages were later invalidated, calling the law of that state regarding marriage too restrictive.

Click here for more.

It is spring!  And it is time to not only stroll the lane with our babies in tow, but to fight for marriage for all...or whatever we may want to call our long term relationships!

Peace,

Cuba: Leading the Way For the US of A?

All the blogs (towleroad.com, queerty.com, advocate.com) had the news from Cuba: Mariela Castro, niece of Fidel and daughter of Raul, is leading the charge of making Cuba's laws for LGBT people more equal with heterosexuals in Cuba.  As the head of the National Center for Sex Education, she figured out that there will need to be a great deal of education of the populace before LGBT people are given more rights and privileges that will bring us to a place of equality with heterosexual people in Cuba.  As many of the "gay marriage advocates rightly understand, we were voting on the issues regarding "gay marriage" in the last few election cycles before the populace were rightly educated about what it is that we are asking for, and why.  Instead, with the stealth of the "Rove machine," and the fire in the belly in many communities of faith, along with the ambiguity of many in mainstream communities of faith who did nothing, amendments were made that were harmful to those of us who are LGBT.  But amendments can be overturned in those states that followed a strident script of anger.  There is always an opportunity, especially among those of us who are out, to work toward educating the greater populace and changing the conversation, in which we will have equal rights in all arenas of our lives.  Then we may be more like Cuba!  Isn't that interesting?  And yet sad?

Peace, Brett

It's March 26, 1975, and Gay Marriage Comes Into the American Narrative

On dailykos.com, there is a an article on the first gay marriage in Boulder, CO, when Clela Rorex, county clerk, signed the first gay marriage license.  I am writing this while watching a commercial on Bravo's "Top Chef," in which there is a heterosexual couple marrying.

Sigh...

Click here for the article

Peace,

Brett

"They Like Us! They Really Like Us!" Gay Marriage is O.K. for Majority of Vermonters!

On advocate.com, towleroad.com, and soon queerty.com (I'm sure), there is the news that 54% of Vermonters are O.K. with same-sex marriage, which is I guess a subtle move for a state that already allows same-sex or civil unions (click here for more).

To confirm that we homos "get" this marriage thing (kind of, sort of), is andrewsullivan.com's link to the Washington Blade story on the 50 year anniversary of a gay couple in the D.C. area. As I cite in On Being a Gay Parent, our relationships, statistically, follow the same pattern of hetero couples in terms of length of marriage, divorce, union, etc. (click here for more).

In reading this news report about how much Vermonters are getting "comfortable" with the idea of gays being in state-sanctioned marriages, I feel like parodying the words of Sally Fields, in accepting one of her Oscars, bellowing to the crowd, "They like us! They really like US!?"

I guess it will just take time for the ruling heterosexual community to get used to the idea of "gays marrying" before they officially let us register at Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Peace, Brett

The Movie "The Bubble" in Real Life: Love Defies Borders

Eytan Fox's movie, "The Bubble," is a little bit like Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," is like the musical "Westside Story," is like, well, "The Bubble," in which there are two star-crossed lovers who are not able to live completely and wholly as a couple because of nationalities and divergent family loyalties. In "The Bubble," the couple in love is a Palestinian young man who lives in the West Bank, while his partner-lover lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. With the sustaining tension in that part of the world, the two live a life of unrequited love because of the politics of Israel and the people of the West Bank.

Art imitate life, and life imitates art: in an article in Ynet news, there is the story of a Palestinian and Israeli who love each other, and have for many years. The Palestinian man, who lives in Jenin, is now allowed to live in Tel Aviv with his partner of eight years (click here for more).

The title under the picture in this article says "Love defies borders." It is a fitting title. It is love that defies borders. Even the writer of Ephesians understood this: "Christ is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us" (Eph. 2:14). The love of Christ, embedded in the hearth of believers, is able to break down the dividing wall between those who are gay and straight, rich and poor, able-bodied and disabled, of all ethnicities and heritages. The love and peace of Christ transcends the human-constructed barriers that divide.

The hope in this story is that love wins all.

Peace, Brett

Being Gay and Living in Nigeria!

There is this story from www.towleroad.com, this morning, in which a leader in Nigeria who is a gay Christian was almost killed (Click here):

LAGOS, March 21, 2008 – A shocking story of mob violence has emerged which almost culminated in the death of one of the leaders of the Changing Attitude Nigeria (CAN) group in Port Harcourt.

The violent attack occurred at the funeral ceremony held yesterday for the sister of Davis Mac-Iyalla, attended by six members of the Port Harcourt group on Thursday 20 March 2008.

Attacked was the CAN Port Harcourt leader who is not being named.

“I am in total shock and living in fear while feeling the pains,” the victim said.

“I suffered in the hands of a mob group that attacked me at the Service of Songs for Davis’s late sister. While hymn singing was going on a muscular man walked up to me and asked me for a word outside the compound.

“The next thing I saw was a mob group who were there to attack me.

“They started slapping and punching me, kicked me on the ground and spat on me.

“I have never known fear like I knew when they were brutalizing me. I thought they were going to kill me there and then."

I am not interested in tolerance of those of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, but expect respect and love. To quote Jesus: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34, 35). Mob violence is not love.

Peace,

Brett