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June is Pride Month. And Black Pride contributes to the multicultural aspect of joy and celebration in the queer communities. Black Pride symbolizes not only black LGBTQ uniqueness as individuals and communities, but it also affirms our varied expressions of LGBTQ life in America. This year will be our first Black Pride parade with an [...]
My first essay for the L.A. Progressive was about Proposition 8 and the lies that self proclaimed Christian activists were telling in order to promote their bigotry. It seems almost ridiculous to catalog the number of violations of the Commandment against bearing false witness that these “Christians” embraced in order to sell their ballot measure. [...]
The California Supreme Court ruled again on same-sex marriage. This time it did to uphold Proposition 8, restricting marriage to one man and one woman. In a 6-to-1 decision, the justices decided that Proposition 8 would remain part of the state constitution. And the 18,000 same- sex couples that ran to the altar to legally [...]
There will be parades all across the country this Memorial Day commemorating our U.S. servicemembers who died while in the military. But not all of our servicemembers will be honored for their acts of bravery and patriotism. Back in the day, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer servicemembers who served our country were either closeted [...]
The CEO of Wal-Mart, just like Mormons, can exercise his right to free speech and expression however he sees fit. I too have that right — and will exercise it by refusing to give the company that pays him my business and by saying so. Why? Well, I have many reasons for not shopping there, [...]
Be warned: Those new National Organization for Marriage anti-GLBT “actor auditions” videos posted are gone. NOM noticed that its evil ruse had been exposed and demanded that YouTube take them down. Even a clip of a recent MSNBC Rachel Maddow clip that included the audition tapes is gone. NOM’s reason: copyright infringment. YouTube has to [...]
Is he the U.S. military’s worst nightmare? Imagine, a radical homosexual with his hands on the military’s purse strings. It’s hard to believe that after 15 years of repressive, misguided military policy (“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”), which stigmatized and prevented gay men and lesbians from serving honestly and openly in our country’s Armed Forces, the [...]
Within the next week, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments to help determine the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November 2008 election ballot constitutional amendment that removed the right of same-sex couples to legally marry in California. The Court will convene in San Francisco on March 5, at 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. [...]
As quietly as it would like to be kept by the Obama team and even by many in the LGBTQ community, Obama exploits the queer community for his political gains. And like pawns on his chessboard, Obama checkmates us each time when our hopes to be included in his big tent are dashed. Our most [...]
Forty years ago, in many states, my marriage to my wife would have been illegal. In fact, we would have been regarded as criminals and locked up for miscegenation, or “race-mixing” as they called it. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, which found that [...]
Every Friday the LA Progressive features a comment that was particularly noteworthy. This week we are featuring a comment submitted by TJ Dietderich commenting on the ongoing struggle for marriage equality:
I’ve been watching this same-sex marriage debate for some time and, like most of my community, I’m deeply conflicted about it. As sexual orientation is a deeply personal matter, I chose to remain silent in the pre-election debate. I believe what I believe about who I should be allowed to marry and was not prepared [...]
December 1 is World AIDS Day and Black women are dying of AIDS. Is anyone doing anything about it? Right here in the nation’s capitol, the HIV/AIDS epidemic rivals that of many Third World countries. Affectionately dubbed the “Chocolate City,” Washington D.C.’s population is approximately 60 percent people of African descent. Of its residents, one [...]
As I prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of the autumnal harvest time’s spiritual significance. As a time of connectedness, I pause to acknowledge what I have to be thankful for. But I also reflect on the holiday as a time of remembrance – historical and familial. Historically, I am reminded that for [...]
There’s enough hate, discrimination, injustice and bigotry (HDIB) generated against Americans of all stripes, that no one group can ever begin to absorb all of it. No need to covet another’s HDIB. There’s plenty to go ‘round. A bountiful amount available to all.
by Thomas A. Foster – The recent decision of California voters to take away the right of gays and lesbians to marry highlights the danger of exposing civil rights protection to popular vote. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of California ruled that under the California constitution gays and lesbians had the same right as [...]
From coast to coast, from sea to shining sea, people are rising up. Outraged and heartsick over California’s recent passage of anti-gay marriage initiative Proposition 8 — the first time in US history when rights were snatched away from a particular group of citizens — men and women of all hues and orientations are taking [...]
Rev. Irene Monroe – Last week we saw democracy work with the election of Barack Obama as our country’s first African American president. My enslaved ancestors who built the White House could have never imagined that one of their progenies would one day occupy it.
The California Field Poll showing Proposition 8 behind with 44% support and 49% opposition that was released earlier today is making the headlines of the state’s newspapers—and in fact is national news. These results are remarkably similar to a poll released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California that showed it with the [...]
It’s getting really religious out there. I’ve just learned that Jesus Christ is against same-sex marriage and is promoting a yes vote on Prop 8. Prop 8 would amend California’s constitution to take away the right of same-sex couples to get married. I found this out when I saw a full page ad in the [...]
Bible or no Bible, the bigotry of opposing gay marriage obstructs our overall pursuit for equality. When I was many years younger, I had shared with a group of men how I was bothered that a woman I was attracted to thought I was gay. Most of them nodded and shared their past insecurities whenever [...]
Proposition 8 on the November ballot would take away the right of same-sex couples to marry. A simple majority (50% + 1 vote) is all that is needed to defeat or pass this dangerous and discriminatory constitutional amendment.
For four days, Democrats reminded us what it is to dream of a better world. The old lion, Ted Kennedy anchored the week, reminding us that Democrats have long championed the dream of a better America that can and should be built by a nation blessed with advantages and resources which most nations can’t imagine. [...]
Barack Obama has spoken out against Proposition 8, the proposed California constitutional amendment which takes away the right of same-sex couples to marry. In a letter to the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Democratic Club in San Francisco, Barack said: “I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in [...]
Even today, my SpellCheck tells me to change “UGLA” to “ugly.” And, it used to be worse! Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance’s first acronym was “UGA,” Uptown Gay Alliance. (SpellCheck’s suggestion? “ugh.”) Well, what can you do? Lesbian activist Saundra Tignor brought the “L” word to the table in 1985, two years after Bobby Brown’s [...]
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill, last night, Alive as you and me. Says I “But Joe you’re ten years dead.” “I never died says he.” This old song popped into my head while I was reading a rightwing blogger’s paean to Jesse Helms. The blogger praised Helms as a “heroic warrior for conservative values.” [...]
The Bible says that Solomon had 700 wives. David had wives too numerous to number. And Gideon had so many one wonders when he had time to practice with his trumpet. These Biblical characters came to mind as I listened to people campaigning for a November ballot measure to overturn the California Supreme Court’s decision [...]
Dan Bluemel: Women’s rights advocates entered a Walgreens pharmacy this week in downtown Los Angeles to protest the Obama administration’s efforts to restrict access to the emergency contraceptive commonly known as the morning-after pill.
Robert Reich: Is the central goal of his second term to achieve a grand bargain on the budget deficit? Or progress on gun control? Or restore jobs? Or reform the immigration laws? It is difficult to tell.
Brent Budowsky: Ryan famously tried to employ Catholic theology on behalf of his budget austerity against the poor, and was quickly forced to retreat as the absurdity of this view became obvious.
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First Wave — Second Wave — And Then Came Sarah Palin
Jane Addams Hull House In the late 19th century, in Chicago, a grassroots organization founded by Jane Addams (shown here) gave rise to Hull House where educated women worked to alleviate the suffering of the city’s impoverished victims of laissez-faire capitalism. Addams’s colleague, Florence Kelley, described Hull House as a “colony of efficient and intelligent [...]