I think there are some who do not feel they have an adequate voice within the larger LGBT community. It may be real or only perceived, but that doesn’t matter in some regard. These individuals feel as if the “Gay Community” in the broadest sense of what it is, doesn’t represent them, or give their voice and needs agency.
For all these things that ENDA suffers however, there is one action step that you and I can take that can have positive impact.
Pittsburgh Pride’s theme this year is “You Belong,” and from my vantage point, one of the places you (the generic you pointing at every gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or supportive ally in Pittsburgh) belong, is within the community of people advocating for change by being engaged in the legislative process and speaking out for equality.
This is a really wonderful blog post, and a perfect kick off to Pride Month. Â I don’t read Daniel Scogin’s blog on a regular basis, but this post is a must read! Quoting just the end- read it all by following the link- I am gay I am not defined by this I define me! via I Am Gay, Not Those Other Things You Say I Am! – The Queer Guy Tells it Straight.
Elected officials don’t really respond well to being called names or told that something is the right way or the wrong way. But, when you tell your own story- when you talk about how something will impact you or your loved ones, you make a difference.
But what about a constitutional convention? The only way that all of the voters get the same level of voice is if the convention included 100% of the voters. Which would be impossible. So, by the very nature of the convention, some people do not have a voice while others get to make decisions that impact those who have been silenced.
But even though same-sex civil marriage is relatively new, men and women have been forming and maintaining relationships for a long, long time. We should be getting married to make visible these relationships- as one more way of being out of the closet and visible, not just as individuals but as couples and families.
As you head to the polls today (if you live in Pennsylvania at least), think about your vote very carefully. While there is a lot of frustration at Washington DC, the force trying to capitalize on that frustration has been the Tea Party movement. Fueled mostly by lies about Health Care Reform and a desire for lower taxes, the Tea Party movement  has been a mixture of astro-turf, raw frustration, and manipulation. Deemed “astro-turf” because[Read More…]
But what are the “take home” messages from what happened in Bloomfield (both the beating and the rally), and how do we see continuing benefits for our diverse community and the city as a whole? So here are my take home messages.
It is especially important for LGBTQ Americans to take notice of this. We are already treated as second class citizens, and historically, we have moved through periods of history where the very act of loving another was a crime. In the not too distant past, some far right conservatives wanted to round up all the gays and put them in camps as a way to protect others from AIDS.