A few months ago, a young adult friend of mine called me to tell me that he had returned his Eagle Scout badge because he could no longer support an organization that rejected gay scouts and gay troop leaders. He just wanted me, the mom of a gay son, to know that.
BSA's has decided to alter its long-standing position about gays in Scouting. Yesterday was a momentous day. Here are some of the thoughts that this gay former scout had:
What can we as gay people do when we are confronted by the face of hate simply for being gay and living our lives openly in a neighborhood which has been synonymous with gay freedom since Stonewall?
Was it a major victory that the Boy Scouts of America voted to set an age limit on its discrimination or was it an outrageously offensive compromise?
We've heard this "good first step" argument before. Although "don't ask, don't tell" was ostensibly an improvement on a blanket ban on honorable gay service members, it came with a steep price, because it portrayed gay people as inferior and a threat to the cohesion of the Armed Forces.
You, a well-meaning Christian, sign on to Facebook, only to see an overweight deacon from your church downing the super-sized everything at the local fast-food joint. Are you going to tell him he's going right to hell because he is a glutton? You would have some biblical backing if you did.
A peaceful demonstration of approximately 20 people from many civil society organisations was held at the Daily Monitor building on Thursday, May 23 to protest the crackdown. Police officers in riot gear broke up the march and arrested 5 attendees.
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When the Mormon Church officially endorsed the Boy Scouts' new "young gays OK, grown-up gays bad" position, I pricked up my ears. I asked myself, "What does this organization have to gain from it?" Simply put: everything.
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Even momentarily concentrating on healthy solutions rewires psychological patterns to receive and share healthy sexual love in the present. Here are three meditations with the themes of inhibition, sexual safety, and imagination for you to ponder and practice this week.
I returned to Scouts after realizing that by quitting, I had done exactly as that hardened core, which doesn't have stranglehold on my local area, wanted: to purge gays and straight allies of the organization.
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Continuing to ban lesbian den mothers and gay scoutmasters is sending a horrible message to American youth, including the scouts, gay and straight. The Boy Scouts of America made this change to take some of the heat off, and no matter what equality advocates hope for, that will happen.
With the BSA finally dragging itself into the late 20th century, can the 21st be far behind? The answer, I hope, is that the time to end discrimination has arrived. But it isn't going to be accomplished without a lot of strife.
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Ji talks about creating his "Find Your Silver Lining" Foundation to educate people about HIV and help people living with HIV/AIDS. He plans to lead HIV-positive hikers on a seven-day trek on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in that nation.
On May 17 and 18 the Atlanta Cyclorama boldly allowed art collective John Q to stage "The Campaign for Atlanta: An Essay on Queer Migration" as an after-hours event. The climax was the screening of early films by gay photographer Crawford Barton.
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Although the increasing visibility of LGBT people and gains in equality may be associated with short-term rises in homophobic violence, these changes are merely triggers. We must move beyond superficial and individualistic analyses of such heinous events and target their root causes.
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Finally! A politician who speaks my language! Who understands my needs! Finally, if all goes to plan, next summer I can marry my mum! Thank you, Lord Tebbit. People said - 'you're gay? I presume you'll be wed to your mother then?' To which I replied, 'you betcha! After all, lesbianism is just another word for tax-avoiding incest, isn't it?!'
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In your recent speech at the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center you said, "We need to create an atmosphere that encourages people to speak up, so we get this right." This letter is me speaking up, with the hope that we can get this right.
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I was stunned when I visited a transgender support site that had reposted my article. Hundreds of trans people were leaving comments attacking transvestites, cross dressers, drag queens and other fringe members of the trans community simply because they don't want to be associated with them.
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I finally saw a map depicting the last six instances of gay-targeting hate crimes in Manhattan since April 1. Young men beaten into unconsciousness. Killed. All in places that I've considered part of my home, or my neighborhood, or where I've met friends time and time again.
There was another attack to add to the list in the East Village on Monday night. That systematic hatred fuels these crimes is undeniable -- and symptomatic of a growing divide. Gay bashing has flared up many times in New York over the past decade. How could it be that hate crimes are on the rise when our society is becoming progressively more tolerant? What do we, on the winning side of the battle for equality, do in the face of its violent antithesis?
