Ellen Against Prop. 8

I have seen this youtube clip on several websites and thought I'd join in the fun, though towleroad.com has even better and more comedic ones, with Margaret Cho and Molly Ringwald speaking out against the measure in California.

It feels rather weird and absurd to have all these states outlaw--in their constitutions--the right for LGBT people to marry. What makes it more absurd is knowing that so far, even with the right to marry among LGBT people there has been no unraveling of anyone else's heterosexual marriage. There has been no cause-and-effect showing any impact on any one's life, save for the family and friends of those who are being wedded; no statistic showing that gay marriage has hurt the population or caused further global warming; no children seem to be marred or harmed in the process of gays being wed.

What a farce this supposed "hysteria" is by those who ally themselves being "pro" Proposition 8 in California are playing. And the Mormon Church is spending a huge amount for the passage of this Proposition. I have a DVD for them to watch about a young blond boy, Mormon, in the closet, who asks the elders directly: "What about all those years of polygamy?" Someone should ask U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, who is Mormon, who voted for the DOMA even though his family members practiced polygamy.

Here's the clip.

Enjoy. Pace, B

They'll Know We are Gay By Our Cars

My kids have teased me about this, and I have pointed it out to more than one or more friends who are lesbian about, you know, the um, er, car or truck they drive. When we had a red Chevy S-10, we felt very butch. We were told it was an appropriate truck for us to drive, as if a Ford or Toyota Tacoma wasn't butch enough.

I confess: I own a Jetta and a Cabrio.

I am so gay.

And it isn't just my friends who picked this up. On 265gay.com there was a list of the top 10 gay and lesbian cars:

Rank
1 VW Rabbit
2 VW Eos
3 Mazda MX-5 Miata and Audi A3 - tie
4 Mazda MAZDA3 and VW Jetta - tie
5 Toyota Yaris
6 Saab 9-3 and Dodge Caliber -tie
7 Volvo C30
8 smart fortwo
9 Toyota Matrix and MINI Cooper - tie
10 Maserati GranTurismo

While VW doesn't make Cabrios any more, they replaced them with the VW Eos.

See more by clicking here.

Pace, B

Fr. Geoffrey Farrow: Hero

Fr. Geoffrey Farrow: you are my hero for the day. Having come out to my Presbytery of New Hope, first the Exec. Presbyter and then the Committee on Ministry followed by the Church, I can relate to being gay and being part of an institution in which being "gay" is seen as a "sin," when it is the system itself that is "sinful." No separating "sin and sinner": the system is sinful.

Fr. Farrow came out in support of the "No" votes against Prop. 8, in which same-sex marriage in CA will be overturned. He also "came out," near Oct. 11th, National Coming Out Day. That he told his congregants that he did not support Prop. 8 during Mass seems appropriate. I would've enjoyed such an experience in preaching a sermon doing the very same thing. It is one of the high points of Catholic Mass (the other being the Eucharist).

Fr. Farrow: I salute you.

Read more here.

Pace, B

Confluence of Decisions Regarding LGBTQ Individuals and Families

The blogs and news channels are reporting the various decisions being made today: Connecticut said "yes" to LGBTQ marriages (third state in the USA); Portugal said "no," while Prop. 8 in California seems to be winning, same sex couples can adopt kids in Brazil, while pro-gay supporters are not allowed to protest in a town in Russia, and plans for a gay high school in Chicago continue to go forward.

What can you say but this: things are changing. Resistance is "fu-tile," is the Borg would say on one of the Star Trek movies. Things are changing not "our" way" or "their" way, but the right way: toward inclusion for and of all.

Pace, B

Why Do We Bless Animals So Freely But Not LGBTQ Couples and Families?

In today's News and Observer: Faith and Life Section there was a photograph of the blessing (with oil) of the animals at a nearby Greek Orthodox Church in Raleigh. I know that Duke Chapel also blesses the animals after one of the worship services, as do other Catholic and Protestant churches, some using oil, other water, usually with a hand on the head or the body of the animal. No doubt St. Francis of Assisi inspired some of this habitual ritual. And as the owner of two dogs (and in the past numerous cats), I understand that our pets are part of God's glorious creation...

LGBTQ people are also part of God's glorious creation...

LGBTQ couples are also part of God's glorious creation...

While I fully understand that there is a difference in some people's minds between blessing an animal--which is O.K.--and blessing a LBGTQ couple--which is deemed not O.K.--within the current politics (and thus theology) of the Church, I'm having a harder time understanding or comprehending the distinction. If we are blessing animals/pets for simply "being" in an ontological sense, why can't we do the same with those of us who are LGBTQ in our committed relationships?

Because God doesn't approve?

Really?

Pace, B

The Right Rev. Gene Robinson: The Good and Gay Bishop

Got a chance to hear and meet with the Rev. Gene Robinson tonight at Duke Univ. Chapel. What a wonderfully real, authentic, transparent person.

Pace!

B

Withdrawl and Re-Emergence: Back From Israel

It has been over two weeks since I've had time to get on-line and read about the LGBTQ world of north America. I went on an incredible pilgrimage to Israel, with an ear and eye toward seeing what it would be like to live in Jerusalem as a gay man. While there were the occasional winks and nods surreptitiously given among some men on buses and religious sites, there is not an obvious LGBTQ presence in Jerusalem, whether it is the Old City, West Jerusalem, or East Jerusalem. Nor was there a presence in Nazareth per se. While I met one other gay man while singing Broadway show tunes on a cable car descending from Masada (you had to be there), he said that there were a few of "our kind" in the city, but not much. As posted earlier, I know of gay men living in Tel Aviv, but not so much Jerusalem.

As I read towleroad.com, Advocate.com, and 365gay.com, I must say I miss www.mideastpiece.com, which my friend John and his friend managed. I now understand why it was such a break-through in that part of the world. But while there were not a visible community of LGBTQ people, I have no doubt we exist there, as we do in other repressive cities, towns, villages, and burgs.

Pace, B