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This news comes from Equality Pennsylvania, a state-wide LGBT advocacy organization.

PA House Judiciary Committee Passes HB745, LGBT-Inclusive Hate
Crimes Legislation

The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee today passed House
Bill 745, legislation to amend the Title 18 Ethnic Intimidation
Act to include protections for actual or perceived sexual
orientation or gender identity by a bipartisan 18-8 vote. House
Bill 745, introduced by Representative Josh Shapiro (D-153),
would reinstate hate crime protections originally passed in 2002
for LGBT people, but that were later struck down by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2008.

“This morning’s bipartisan vote shows that protecting each and
every Pennsylvanian, regardless of their sexual orientation or
gender identity, is not a Democratic issue or a Republican
issue, but rather a moral imperative for our entire
Commonwealth,” said Jake Kaskey, Policy and Programs Director of
Equality Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s leading lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization.
“Thousands of LGBT Pennsylvanians thank those elected officials
that today stood up against violence motivated by hate.”

According to statistics compiled by Equality Pennsylvania, from
2006 to 2007 hate violence against LGBT people across
Pennsylvania increased by 28 percent, and one report by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates hate crimes targeted
at LGBT Americans are under-reported by more than 30 percent.
Since 2001, more than 420 people have called the legal hotline
to report incidents of hate-incited violence, from every corner
of the state.

“Today’s bipartisan vote was a significant step forward for
Pennsylvania to ensure that hate violence perpetrated against
our people and communities is not tolerated,” said
Representative Josh Shapiro, prime sponsor of House Bill 745.

Equality Pennsylvania led member organizations of the Value All
Families Coalition in engaging their elected Representatives and
advocating for today’s vote. Over 50 organizations from across
the Commonwealth support hate crime protections for LGBT people,
and together this coalition worked tirelessly to see this bill
passed. Thousands of letters and e-mails were sent to members of
the Judiciary Committee in support of protecting lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender Pennsylvanians from all across the
Commonwealth.

“Today’s vote is a huge step forward for all Pennsylvanians,”
said Lynn Zeitlin, Executive Director of Equality Pennsylvania.
“I look forward to the entire House passing this important
legislation to protect all Pennsylvanians from hate violence.”

Today’s bipartisan vote brings hate crime protections for LGBT
Pennsylvanians one step closer.

I want to highlight two stories I ran across that may seem unrelated or too closely related- I’m not sure. The first I saw via a Google Alert and appears on a conservative/Christian site:

Pro-family activists have drawn attention to a disturbing exchange on a homosexual blog run by Joe Jervis of New York. The exchange takes place between individuals named Fritz and Tex in the comment section of a blog discussing the Maine homosexual marriage defeat and pro-family activists Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel and Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. LaBarbera says the two commentators discussed carrying out acts of terrorism against Christians.

Seems the wingnuts are working to portray the queers as terroristic violence prone crazies. I read it and chuckled a bit, expecting that it was based on a few comments pulled somewhat out of context and I believe probably express some folks venting their frustration more than anything else. For a split second, I wondered about trying to fact check it- was the FBI really investigating this? But at about 3/4 of that second, I decided I really wouldn’t know how to fact check it, and doubted it was worth the effort. The wingnuts are going to believe what they want to believe no matter how much light you shine on the misinformation and the fear. And even if it was true, freedom of the speech allows for people to express things like this without it being a terrorist threat.

Without a doubt the level of frustration is very high for many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folks. Not everyone seems to be taking it seriously enough. We (in the most general sense of the GLBTQ communities) have had enough of being treated as less than equal Americans, and we want our equal rights, and we are not interested in continuing to wait and be poorly treated. It might be true that we understand that change takes time, but there is a difference between accepting the slow progress of change, and waiting forever for too little that never arrives.

What’s most funny about the story is the way it demonizes gay rights activists as if we are monstrous and dangerous,, while it fails to even acknowledge the violence, hatred and inequity perpetrated upon GLBTQ people every day.

Homosexual blog forecasts violence against Christians

Then I forgot about this story until this evening, I saw a story posted to Twitter:

Memphis police arrested 23-year-old Ross Burton early Wednesday morning as he and another man attempted to set fire to the rainbow flag (see singed rope in photo, above) at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center…

Not only did these two men attempt to burn down the rainbow flag, they fought with police officers, and attempted to take a gun from one of the officers:

When police officers approached the men, an altercation ensued, and one suspect attempted to disarm an officer. Additional police were dispatched and some reportedly received lacerations and abrasions from the struggle.

Two Men Attempt to Burn Rainbow Flag at Memphis Gay Center – Towleroad, More than gay news. More gay men.

This attempt to demonize as violent is also the main theme in another story found on another wingnut site. Of course, this is really the same story as above, except, here linked in a way to the horrible shootings at Mt Hood.

Is violence coming or is it here already? Violence in the lies and misinformation if not more.

It was a real pleasure today to read Arlen Specter’s writing in the Huffington Post concerning a variety of legislation of interest to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Americans. Follow the link below to read the whole thing, but here are the highlights:

• DOMA: The time has come to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
• Hate Crimes: The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S 909), which I sponsored with the late Senator Kennedy, makes it a federal crime to target victims on the basis of disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
• ENDA: The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009, of which I am an original cosponsor, was introduced on August 5, 2009 and is currently before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• DADT: the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is outdated, and should be rescinded entirely.

Sen. Arlen Specter: Time to Repeal DOMA.

The OIDE invites you to attend an event to raise awareness and take action to end violence in our communities during YWCA’s 14th annual Week Without Violence initiative at Allegheny Campus on Monday, October 19th from 5:30-7:30pm in the SSC Auditorium.

The event is a presentation and discussion regarding the History of Hate Crime Against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community in the Region. The Keynote Speaker will be Tom Wyse, Chairman of the Educators & Allies Committee for Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network GLSEN (GLSEN). There will also be a speaker panel comprised of members from the following organizations: Persad Center,  GLCC (Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Pittsburgh and PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

The event is free and open to the public. We encourage faculty to inform  students of this event.

Refreshments will be served!!

The linked article is not the kind of thing I generally post or write about, but today, struck me as very important. During a phone call this weekend with an activist I have the highest regard for, we were talking about the upcoming Equality March on Washington, and the issue of organizing at the state level for legislative change vs a different approach to prioritize for national legislative change instead. I want to write more about my decision to attend the Equality March, and so will touch more on that aspect of it then, but I want to say a bit about why I am opposed to an isolated insistance on national legislative change for GLBTQ issues.

If we learned nothing from the Black Civil Rights movement, I hope we have learned that simply changing a few laws does not make prejudice go away. The path to full equality is made up of smaller steps, with each step gaining some ground. And even with full equality on the books as laws governing our society, the effects of years of inequality still abound. Or look to the fight for reproductive freedom and the battle over abortion. This may be a fight closer in many ways to the gay civil rights movement, or the opposition uses the same religious weaponry to battle a woman’s right to choice  as they do against homosexuality. When an abortion doctor, who operated completely within the law,  can be gunned down, in his church- one has to ask, if achieving some form of legislative win will solve much in terms of how homophobia leads to violence, abuse, and mistreatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. We need laws, and we need cultural change. These two must go hand in hand and each support the other.

But what about underneath the easy-to-talk-about political layer? It is easy to write about how GLBTQ’s deserve equal rights, and having full equality will make a difference in many ways for many people, especially when viewed from a general or almost theoretical perspective. But what are the issues affecting real, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, day to day, in their real lives? What does it mean to talk about a GLBTQ community or culture, especially in relation to the greater society as a whole?

Much of my focus, if you have been reading my blog, has been on PA HB 300, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the states nondiscrimination legislation. And I’m 100% committed to that as an important legislative agenda here in Pennsylvania. But recently, two other issues have been rising to the top of my priority list: Hate Crimes legislation and Anti-bullying legislation, which really seem connected in my line of reasoning. When we allow the use of homophobic slurs and bullying in our schools, we are setting the stage for people to act out violently against anyone seen as different from the norm, and especially gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgenders. A hate crime is bullying gone way to far. That is over simplified, but I hope you get my point.

As usual, I have strayed away from the linked article trying to set the stage for it. If we are focused only on legislative advances we fail to see and address the ongoing effects within our communities, that are a result to some extent of the level of homophobia and anti-gay sentiment that we live in 24/7/365. Changing laws alone won’t either fix the problems this has caused nor alter the elements of our culture that are the result of it. So, at the same time as we work for full equality, we must also look at how it has impacted us. The linked article is a very good read toward that end.

Reeuq.com – Gay Social Media Done Right!.

John "Jake" Raynard

I saw this story and Twitter and re-tweeted it, but felt it was important enough to post to my blog as well.  Violence happens- there will always perhaps be crimes of violence. However, crimes like this one is not just about violence in that random sense.  Crimes like this are the result of a culture where the level of hate speech and verbal violence in our churches, schools, and elsewhere give license to treat others so badly.

A few laws on the books, either at state or at a national level won’t end all violence like this, but it is a big step towards forcing the cultural change needed so that everyone can live free from this type of hatred.

Hate crimes legislation as well as nondiscrimination protections are the beginning steps towards a culture where all women and men are allowed to be themselves.

The people who need to look most closely at this picture and story are those who are opposed to equal protections for gays and lesbians on religious grounds. Those who claim that if gays have rights it will interfere with their religious freedom.

Look at this picture and tell me how you have more religious freedom because the treatment of this man?

This was a planned attack.

Man in hospital after vicious brick attack – TbNewsWatch.com .

A Facebook friend asked me this morning about the Matthew Shepard  Act. I hadn’t posted anything waiting to see what happened next, but then I saw Chris’s excellent write up and wanted to pass it along- here it is:

Hate Crimes: Where Are We?.

This came from the ACLU of PA, however, everyone in every state needs to act!

If you support hate crimes legislation, oppose the death penalty, or both, read this.

On Thursday, the US Senate amended S. 1390- a defense appropriations bill- to include federal hate crimes protection on the bases of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, and disability. Today, as early as 3pm, the Senate is expected to vote on Senate Amendment No. 1615, an amendment offered by Senator Sessions of Alabama that would expand the federal death penalty to include kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, sexual abuse, and attempted murder.

The amendment is clearly unconstitutional since the US Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be used in non-homicide cases. It is also a blatant attempt to kill the hate crimes provision.

The Senate could vote on this amendment as early as 3pm today. Please call Senator Specter at 202-224-4254 and Senator Casey at 202-224-6324 and ask them to oppose Senate Amendment No. 1615 on S. 1390, the Sessions amendment. Talking points include:

At a time when states are narrowing and repealing capital punishment, this is no time to expand the federal death penalty.

More than 130 people have been exonerated in the United States after being sentenced to death, including five this year alone.

(If you support hate crimes legislation…) This is a blatant attempt to kill the hate crimes amendment that the Senate passed on Thursday.

Too bad the Baptists can’t remember that bearing false witness is a sin, and a big sin at that!

“Once you start elevating homosexual behavior to the same level as race, you jeopardize tax-exempt status. That is what happened to the Methodist organization up in New Jersey, where they lost tax-exempt status for one of their properties on the beach. [The Methodist organization, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, denied use of the property to a lesbian couple for a commitment ceremony].

The truth about this case is that This Methodist organization agreed to operate this beach pavilion as “open to the public” and even took tax dollars for the repair of the roof. That is why their failure to abide by New Jersey law was a problem, and they lost their tax exempt status for that pavilion alone, retaining it for their other properties which were not being operated as “open to the public.”

I always find it interesting when religious groups don’t want others to be protected classes, but religion itself is a protected class. Talk about wanting to hold onto special rights!

via Baptist Press – Q&A: Hate crimes bill & religious liberty – News with a Christian Perspective.

Religious Right leaders have gotten undeserved support for their accusations from some members of Congress – notably Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) – and from right-wing media outlets and figures, like Fox’s Sean Hannity.  In the Senate, South Carolina’s Jim DeMint in particular has distinguished himself as a purveyor of false information, and has promised anti-gay groups that he will launch a filibuster against the bill.

The Religious Right’s campaign of distortions and outright lies about the hate crimes bill has been unfolding all year and has been well-documented by RightWingWatch.org and others; in April, we published “Right Wing Sounds False Alarm on Hate Crimes Legislation.”

People For the American Way: As Senate Prepares to Take Up Hate Crimes Bill, Far Right’s Inflammatory Claims Should Not Be Taken Seriously.