Bill Whatcott may be an asshole, but judges say that he has every right to be an asshole. After distributing various pamphlets in the cities of Saskatoon and Regina with titles like “Sodomites in Our Public Schools,” the Canadian man was saddled with a $17,500 fine for what a lower court deemed “hate speech.” This week the Saskatchewan Court of Appeals overturned the decision on the grounds that Whatcott criticized homosexual behavior, not homosexuals as people.

This isn’t the first time Whatcott has made the news. He previously had his nursing license suspended for engaging in anti-abortion protests outside of work. After an appeal to the Canadian Supreme Court, Whatcott had his license restored.

This dude is quite the character. The only writing of his I could find online, while fervent, is coherent and level-headed. (It’s here, but WARNING – GRAPHIC photo of a beheaded teen girl from Indonesia at the top.) After reading his history on Wikipedia, it’s hard not to sympathize with him. Given that he aims to make homosexuality immoral, my sympathy only extends so far – but it’s limited by knowing that he escaped Canada’s foster system, and turned away from a life of drugs and prostitution. I’m sure Whatcott is convinced that Christianity saved him from a short, brutal life of degradation and drug abuse. He’s probably right. But a quick perusal of his Flickr page – a melange of naked men at gay pride parades, oddly-titled head shots that hint at personal vendettas, and graphic photographs of obliterated soldiers in Iraq – hints that all’s not well in Wonderland. This man’s demons haven’t been exorcised: they’ve merely found a new release valve.

Be that as it may, Whatcott has the basic human right to work out his neurosis in public. As for the law, the Court of Appeals did not strike down the portion of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code under which Whatcott was originally found guilty. In a section entitled “Prohibition against publications,” the Code states:

14(1) No person shall publish or display, or cause or permit to be published or displayed, on any lands or premises or in a newspaper, through a television or radio broadcasting station or any other broadcasting device, or in any printed matter or publication or by means of any other medium that the person owns, controls, distributes or sells, any representation, including any notice, sign, symbol, emblem,
article, statement or other representation:

(a) tending or likely to tend to deprive, abridge or otherwise restrict the enjoyment by any person or class of persons, on the basis of a prohibited ground, of any right to which that person or class of persons is entitled under law; or

(b) that exposes or tends to expose to hatred, ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of any person or class of persons on the basis of a prohibited ground.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) restricts the right to freedom of expression under the
law upon any subject.

The “Prohibited Grounds” encompass religion, creed, marital status, family status, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, colour, ancestry, nationality, place of origin, race or perceived race, and receipt of public assistance. That’s a broad class of speech, and the vagueness of the law (“tends to expose”?) practically invites abuse.

I can see an argument for banning speech that directly invites harm to a class of people – e.g., “Shoot the homos,” or “Let’s round up and burn the Jews.” That falls under the “inciting to violence” exception to free expression. And I’m down with meting out harsher penalties for hate crimes. But banning speech that merely creates an “atmosphere” of intolerance contradicts the guarantees that the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code makes regarding speech. It’s also counter-productive, in that it allows disturbed men like Whatcott to play the martyr. Better that his half-baked ideas are exposed, ridiculed, and tossed on the trash heap of history, rather than redacted with the censor’s pen.

Uncategorized bill whatcott, censorship, free speech, gay, glbt, saskatchewan

Students at Fresno City College tried to get the college administration to listen to their complaints about Dr. Bradley Lopez, who teaches Health Sciences I at the college. The prof, they claim, told them that gay people must be counseled and fed “hormone supplements” to cure them of their “biological misapplication,” and that abortion was the leading cause of death in the US. (Sorry, buddy – it’s pork rinds.) Students also say he dragged out quotes from the ultimate sexual education manual, the Holy Bible. Fed up that their school wouldn’t listen to them, the students took their case to the ACLU.

The professor – who, honestly, looks a little too Trotsky-esque to be hating on gay people – denies that he ever said any such thing. Did he quote the Bible? Well…sure. But hey, only to get people thinking! You got a problem with THINKING??

A guy named Garry Kennedy has put up a lengthy (and I mean “Zzzzzzz” lengthy) defense of his “good friend” Brad Lopez, which contains some interesting photos and tidbits from Lopez’s life. Suffice it to say that Lopez is, indeed, Super-Christ-y. Which is no crime in itself. But Kennedy concludes with some claptrap about how the ACLU and these students are impinging on Lopez’s “academic freedom.” Bullshit. Lopez has no more “freedom” to teach his students that conversion therapy works – a position contradicted by the American Psychological Association – than a professor of history has the “freedom” to teach his students that the Holocaust is an evil Jew lie. Students are well within THEIR rights to complain, and ask for better value for their money. Freedom flows in both directions, Gar.

On top of that, Lopez is teaching at a public community college, not a private institution. The citizens of Fresno have a right to ensure that their tax dollars aren’t underwriting hate. If Lopez can get Liberty University to bring him on board – hey, more power to him.

Uncategorized california, dr bradley lopez, fresno city college, gay, glbt, intolerance

I hate the iPhone. I hate it because I don’t have one. My current cell phone looks like something I salvaged from a cardboard box at Goodwill. Day in and day out I’m forced to endure the taunting of my Twitter followers who keep asking me to play “Words with Friends,” an iPhone application that might as well be called “Scrabble for Cool People.”

Still, I was interested when Apple announced it had started to pull apps from its iPhone Apps Store that it deemed “overtly sexual.” We’re not talking a handful of apps here, folks: last week, over 5,000 apps were removed. Typically, Apple removes around 100 a day. That’s a lotta yanking. (Yanking of APPS, you gutter-minds.) As you would expect, this vast sweep is catching software that’s guilty more of puerility than indecency. One app, Wobble iBoobs, makes a bikini model’s breasts jiggle when you shake the phone. The most egregious removal is Daisy Mae’s Alien Buffet, a silly game featuring a scantily clad (not nude) lead female character.

The removals are generating blowback from many iPhone fans (keywords: male, 30, parent’s basement) who don’t think Apple, which maintains a monopoly on iPhone application sales, has any business telling them they can’t ogle some animated lady’s moneymaker. But it’s also creating noise in the gay community. As Andy Towle reports, several popular gay-themed apps have also been given the boot. Congratulations, GLBT community – you’re being equally discriminated against! You’ve made it to the mountaintop!!

Looking past my own ghetto-cellular bitterness for a moment, the case raises intriguing questions about what constitutes “censorship” in an age where large corporations serve as digital gatekeepers. If it’s fine for Apple to pull applications containing near-nudity, is it also kosher for Facebook to ban breastfeeding photos? Forget “legal right” for a minute – does a company that’s reached a certain level of success have a social obligation to guarantee freedom of expression using its technology? We never had to face these questions with print media, because space in a newspaper or a magazine was always limited. Of course a publisher had to make decisions about what was appropriate or inappropriate for her audience. But the digital spaces we navigate are virtually limitless. How hard is it for Apple to create an Adult Ghetto in the iPhone App store? Then the issue becomes one of proper labeling, not of inclusion or exclusion.

America has a long and proud First Amendment tradition. Companies like Twitter have been instrumental in bringing the fight for freedom to dictatorships like Iran. Corporations should seek to expand freedoms in these virtual spaces, not restrict them.

For now, it doesn’t appear that Apple is budging. If you want scantily clad women or half-naked men, you’ll have to find them somewhere else on the Internet. Good luck with that.

Uncategorized apple, daisy maes alien buffet, gay, glbt, iphone, iphone apps, technology

It’s a stretch to say that the hard right has discovered a semblance of sanity on GLBT rights. We still have yohos like Rick Santorum working himself up into a frothy off-white mix about how the military brass has been “indoctrinated” into supporting repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. But there are signs of ice cracks. This week, Liz Cheney – whose sister, Mary, is lesbian – called for an end to the policy. This came days after her dad, Dick Cheney, also endorsed the rollback.

And what about the conservative rank and file? Increasingly divided – which is good news for the proponents of liberty. ThinkProgress has dueling videos of two different crowd reactions from the Conservative Political Action Conference involving GOProud. In one, Alexander McCobin, from the group Students for Liberty, is booed as he thanks organizers for inviting GOPride to the event. But a few minutes later, Ryan Sorba from Young Americans for Freedom condemned CPAC for allowing GOProud to co-sponsor the conference – and was shouted back into his seat. Sorba’s juvenile rant included telling his male hecklers that they protest worse than lesbians, and that a conference attendee had just made his “enemy” list. Check it:

Sorba did everything shy of calling his detractor a nancy and challenging him to a fist-fight at the monster truck show. If this is the voice of the anti-GLBT opposition, it’s no wonder that our side is winning.

What’s happening in the conservative movement isn’t surprising. It’s a microcosm of the shift occurring throughout the country. If the above video doesn’t hearten you enough, watch what happened when seven members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up in Long Beach, CA to preach on God’s hatred of gays. Westboro knew it’d encounter opposition…but did they believe they’d be outnumbered 4,700 to 7? (H/t Roger Ebert for the vid link)

Uncategorized conservative political action conference, cpac, dadt, dick cheney, don't ask don't tell, gay, glbt, glbt rights, liz cheney, ryan sorba

Welcome to your new Republican Party, whose motto is “Last One Off The Sinking Ship is a Drowned Rat.” Just yesterday, we saw that one Utah GOP-er proposed saving his fiscally strapped state by lopping off that pesky 12th year of secondary education. But wait! There’s MORE! If you thought GOP Scrooginess was just for the young and defenseless – think again! Today I learned courtesy of the tireless Talking Points Memo that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has rescinded protection for GLBT people via executive order. This reverses the executive order that former governor Tim Kaine signed in 2006 that put such protections in place.

McDonnell’s order was signed five days ago, with no fanfare. The anti-discrimination order used to mention sexual orientation; now, it doesn’t. McDonnell noticed the closet was open, so he slammed the door, nailed it shut, and set the house on fire.

HRC Backstory has a map of the states that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. There are 18 – 12 by law, 6 by executive order.

For the GOP, that’s 18 too many.

(H/t to EileenLeft on Twitter; Gay Politics for the HRC Backstory link)

Uncategorized bob mcdonnell, gay, gay rights, glbt, virginia

This is depressing. Typical and expected, but depressing. Washington D.C. is poised to become the first quasi-non-state in America to make marriage equality a reality. That has the Catholic Church scrambling to dismantle its adoption services in the nation’s capitol feifdom, so that it doesn’t have to sully its hands by putting kids with loving gay and lesbian couples. This is the follow-through on a threat the Church previously made in order to halt marriage quality coming to D.C. at all. Since the Church receives public funds to run its adoption services, it would be compelled by law to place children with same-sex couples. Since this would be a Herald of The Apocalypse, Rome has opted to take back its ball and go indoors.

Before I go any further, let me lay some groundwork. I’m not an atheist. (Not Christian, but not an atheist.) I’m not writing this to hate on the Catholic Church. My mother is Catholic. My ex-wife of 14 years comes from a Catholic family. Her uncle – one of the coolest, most intelligent men I know – is a retired priest. As a Buddhist-influenced Pagan, I’m down with the rituals that comprise a Catholic mass.

Catholicism is a lovely faith. But this is an ugly act. Yes, the Church has a “right” to be a big bunch o’ bigots, blah blah blah. Sorry, I’ve seen enough stories of nightmare parents to know that heteros don’t have a lock on loving families. It’s unconscionable to me that anyone would advocate keeping a kid trapped in foster care limbo, rather than place him or her with a couple like Vanessa Alenier and Melanie Leon (no pressure, ladies!!).

At least there’s a silver lining: the National Center for Children and Families has agreed to assume the Church’s work (and the District of Columbia’s funds). Good for them. The Church has every legal right to cling to its prejudices – and governments have a legal obligation not to underwrite it.

(H/t Laurie Writes for this link)

Uncategorized adoption, catholic church, catholicism, gay, glbt

Uh…WTF?? Officials at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri have told students at the college that they can’t form a Gay-Straight Alliance. The administration rejected the group’s application, saying a GSA was “rather parochial,” and would promote “a certain agenda.” (No, really?) It wanted the group to be a social justice alliance instead. After some back and forth, the university reached a “compromise” with students: they can form the group, but they can’t use any word relating to sexual orientation in its name. Oh, and they have to open up the group to “other students in need of understanding in support.”

So, what are they going to call it? The We Are The World Group Hug Committee?

A social justice committee sounds like a fab idea. Why the school can’t have both – like, you know, practically every other institution of higher learning in the Land of The Free – is beyond my ken. It’s hard to tell without diving into the heads of the administration what their thinking is. Is this some sort of fundamentalist religious tactic to water down GSA, and prevent it from championing for GLBT equality on campus? Or is this granola-crunching hippie “inclusiveness” run amock?

Either way, it’s a travesty. If I were the students, I’d tell the University to cram it, and hold my club meetings off campus. But that’s me, and as you know, authority and I have…issues.

Uncategorized gay, gay-straight alliance, glbt, lindenwood university, missouri

Lord of Lords, but stories like this make it hard to be nice. Via Joe My God, we see that the Florida Family Policy Council has sunk to an all-time low. The FFPC included the leftmost photo in a press release blasting a court decision granting a lesbian couple the right to adopt a child. Except that that’s not the couple involved in the case. The cuter-than-fuck couple on the right are Vanessa Alenier and Melanie Leon, the plaintiffs and proud new parents.

There’s a double shame here. The first round of shame goes to the FFPC, of course, for taking the first photo that popped up when they Google Image searched for “ugly lesbians,” and using it in their smear campaign. But that’s also heartening. As I pointed out a few days ago, the anti-equality crowd has nothing left except anger. Scott Maxwell, who originally wrote about this case for the Orlando Sentinel, put it righteously:

The rationale for preventing balanced, loving parents from adopting children — when the state has a backlog of needy children, no less — is hard to justify in concept. And when you actually look at the specifics of human lives involved in real cases — the way Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia did last month — it’s darn near impossible. In considering the case, Judge Sampedro-Iglesia heard from family members, a child psychologist, the boy’s preschool administrator, a social worker and the state-appointed Guardian ad Litem. All of them, the judge wrote in her order, “testified in support of the adoption as being in the best interest of the child.”

The state did not offer a single witness to rebut that claim.

How does the FFPC explain itself? On its blog, it refers to the “mistaken photograph” as an “admittedly boneheaded mistake,” and it offers to apologize “if you or someone else felt it was warranted.” “If”?! This rant makes FFPC out to be the victimized party, a poor political action committee bludgeoned by a reporter on a “slow news days.” Apparently aware that this wouldn’t fly with the majority of non-hateful Americans, FPCC President John Sternberger eventually issued an apology for his organization’s “mistake.”

Mistake my ass. The facts say otherwise. How does a photo from a “different adoption story” get substituted for two women who look like they stepped out of a corporate board meeting? Sternberger and crew are too chickenshit to admit that they got caught spraypainting dirty words on the side of the school.

The second round of shame goes to some of the Internet commenters on Joe My God and elsewhere, who are heaping insults upon the first couple. Really, folks, save the schoolyard shit for the haters.

Uncategorized florida, florida family policy counsel, gay, gay rights, glbt, parenting

Tracking the struggle for marriage equality over the past five years has made one thing crystal: the opponents of equality hate gay marriage, and will grasp at every last straw to prevent it. And when they’ve run out of hay, they’ll run over to their neighbor’s farm and steal a few bushels. For years, we heard that heterosexual marriage would be destroyed, kids would be sexually confused, and children of homosexual parents would grow up to be serial killers if gay and lesbian couples were allowed gift registries at Target. When gay marriage passed in several states and the North American continent failed to sink into the ocean, opponents abandoned these arguments and resorted to pure populist hatred and religious bigotry.

We’ve seen a similar tide-shift in the battle to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), the obscene policy that discharges gays and lesbians from the military if they are open about their sexual identity. No one better symbolizes this slippery dishonesty than John McCain, who for years defended DADT on the grounds that America’s military commanders thought it was a smart idea. As everybody and their mother reported this afternoon, however, when Admiral Mike Mullen, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the Big Dog of the American military, people – the white Colin Powell!) told the Senate today that it was time to repeal the policy, John McCain acted like he’d never uttered the first damn word about it, declaring to NBC News, “At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.” McCain also spat this at Defense Secretary Robert Gates, having the temerity to lecture the very men whose opinion he said he’d respect.

Which …er…what the fuck?? At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we NEED the 12,5000 soldiers who’ve been dismissed under this policy. We need Former Lt. Dan Choi standing on that wall a hell of a lot more than we ever needed the likes of Col. Nathan R. Jessup. (Yes, I know it was a movie. Symbolism, people!)

This policy isn’t just cruel, it’s stupid. It’s so cruel and stupid that even McCain’s own wife and daughter don’t support it. Meghan McCain has gone so far as to argue – rightly – that evicting gay soldiers endangers the lives of those she loves:

Let me tell you a little something about what I know about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: I have two brothers serving in the military and as far as I’m concerned, when an Arabic translator is kicked out of the military for being gay, it quite literally makes my brothers and our troops less safe. For me, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell isn’t just an equality issue. It is also a national-security issue.

On the one hand, I have to hand it to John McCain for taking a brave stand against John McCain. When John McCain speaks up on an issue, who’s willing to stand up and bark him down? JOHN FREAKING MCCAIN, that’s who!

On the other hand, screw “on the one hand.” It’s time for DADT to die. Or for John McCain to be retired by the voters of Arizona. Or, hey, both! But I’ll concentrate on the former – I doubt God loves me that much.

Uncategorized dadt, don't ask don't tell, gay, glbt, john mccain

It’s no shock to hear Ted Haggard claim that he’s been “cured” of homosexuality. Dude’s been crowing that for three years running. But now his wife, Gayle Haggard, joins the chorus. And guess what? She’s promoting a book on the subject. Smack my ass and call me Lucy.

Mrs. Haggard provides a litany of claims about her husband and the struggles in her marriage, none of which I’ll review. Her marriage is her business – even if she is pimping it on The Today Show for fun and profit. But really – whether this is heartfelt or not, it’s still predictable. The Haggards are used to a lifestyle of wealth and adulation. They could have admitted that Ted was gay, turned their back on the evangelical movement, and fought valiantly for the rights of gays and lesbians against the remaining bastions of prejudice in our culture. Besides being honest, it would have been a welcome way for Ted Haggard to repudiate his own self-loathing bigotry from his days o’ preachin’.

But the path of re-ascension was too great a temptation for this pair. Instead, we get Gayle Haggard telling the world her husband is ex-gay, even though all available research and experience indicates such behavioral changes are temporary.This isn’t inconsequential. Homophobes will use this as “proof” that the scientists are wrong, and that the American Psychological Association is one titanic conspiracy against straight-dom. Conversion therapy will live to fight another day, and gays and lesbians – particularly teens – will suffer for it.

On the one hand, Haggard seems to be going out of his way to be conciliatory to the gay community. He’s apologized to GLBT people (for what? batting for the away team?). He’s come out in favor of gay marriage (though, er, not really). But all of that is smoke-filled, coffeehouse crap if Haggard – and his wife – continue to tout him as a living, breathing slab of ex-gay.

Champions of conversion therapy are skulking about America with a gun. The Haggards are giving them a bullet.

Uncategorized conversion therapy, gay, glbt, sex, ted haggard