GLBT Roundup

In the past month I have neglected to post about some interesting events within the GLBT world. I had read about them but my priority at that time was studying for my first round of 1L finals rather than blogging, so here is some things I wanted to write about but never got the chance.

The Matthew Shepard Bill is moving through the legislature and towards approval. 10 years in the making but definitely a step in the right direction. There needs to be more hate crimes laws passed that include GLBT words rather than narrowing the scope of the laws to protect for racial or religious reasons only.

The M.A. A.G. is suing the US Government to force them to extend benefits to the gays couples who are legally married in that state. While this will not affect the marriage rights of gay couples in other states, if she wins, it does give us some legal precedent to start moving forward with. With small legal victory only sets the stage for larger ones down the line. I have watched GLBT issues change and grow since I came out 15 years ago, these legal battles will continue that growth.

Bill O'Reilly had a grand time mocking Oregon's Trans Mayor Stu Rasmussen. The fact that Fox News allows this man to openly mock someone for their sexual and gender identity in 2009 shocks me to the core. These larger companies have to see that by allowing this to be said in national television it only reaffirms the hate and fear people carry concerning members of the GLBT community. My partner is Trans and we know first hand how fear and hatred can be potentially dangerous and lethal. While I do not advocate censorship, Fox News needs to stick to reporting the facts and not let hateful personal opinions pollute their airwaves. Would they allowed it had the insults been racially or religiously motivated? I highly doubt it.

Three cheers to the following for coming out in support for GLBT rights: Bill Clinton, Miss Universe, YWCA, St. Paul, M.N., Vermont Senator Leahy, and the Quakers! Hurrah!

Supreme Court FTL

The Supreme Court turned down the challenge to the "Don't ask, Don't Tell" policy citing that the policy contributes to the necessary cohesion of the military.

What?

So knowing the guy standing next to you is gay will make your unit less cohesive? If this is true, and gay people are still that freaky and threatening to the other members of their unit, why not spend some time educating the phobes within the unit? Teach them that everyone is different (and that's OK), something I thought we all learned in kindergarten, and that just because your bunk buddy is gay, doesn't mean he wants to screw you.

But instead of spending sometime educating people, and forming cohesion through genuine friendship, the government instead sees fit to preserve cohesion by forcing people to live stealth, to not get married, if they are lucky enough to live in a state they can, and to pretend they basically have no life outside of their military role. I call BS.

From what I understand the military strongly is in favor of family support and ties, knowing that military personnel need it more than most people do. Too bad they feel that only state sanctioned families count.