This story was originally published on L.A. Youth.
By Kristy Plaza
*To protect his privacy, the name of Kristy’s friend has been changed.
At my school same-sex couples are welcome to every school dance. The administration is trying to create an open-minded environment, but the reality is that not all students at my school are tolerant. There are guys who call my gay friend Tom* offensive things like “you stupid, sick fag” whenever they see him. He told me that even though now he doesn’t care what “a bunch of idiots” think, the attacks used to make him sad. But during high school he decided he wouldn’t let the words hurt him anymore. Whenever I hear stuff like this I think, “Why is there such hatred in this world?”
We’re seniors now, but people have been picking on Tom since middle school because of his high-pitched voice and how he giggles a lot. I was frustrated by how he was treated. Gay or straight, everyone can be hurt by words and we all deserve kindness and respect. I eventually realized that if I didn’t stand up for gay rights, then I’d be just as bad as those who make fun of people who are gay. So sophomore year I signed up for my school’s Gay-Straight Alliance—a club for gay and straight students to combat the homophobia gays face.
When my best friend, Angie, and I walked into our first meeting there were about 15 people writing on pieces of paper. The advisor, Dr. Brown, told Angie and me that everyone was writing questions that they were too embarrassed to ask out loud. I was surprised that kids were embarrassed to ask questions. Since it’s common at my school to hear students use “fag” and “that’s so gay” as an insult, it seemed like it took courage to join GSA. After the other students wrote their questions, Dr. Brown put them in a box and pulled out many that asked how someone should come out to their parents.
Read more...Did a High School purge one of their lesbian students from her Senior yearbook?
That's the story out of Wesson Mississippi that is making the rounds today by way of the Jackson Free Press:
When Veronica Rodriguez opened Wesson Attendance Center's Yearbook on Friday, she didn't find a trace of her lesbian daughter Ceara Sturgis after a long battle with school officials to include a photo of her daughter wearing a tuxedo in the school's 2010 yearbook.
"They didn't even put her name in it," Sturgis' mother Veronica Rodriguez said. "I was so furious when she told me about it. Ceara started crying and I told her to suck it up. Is that not pathetic for them to do that? Yet again, they have crapped on her and made her feel alienated."
While the original article by JFP's Adam Lynch cites that Copiah County School District spokeswoman Martha Traxler refused to comment and referred questions to the county attorney, we went ahead and called Wesson Attendance Center directly.
The principal was out on traffic duty when we called, but Tammy Newman, who answered the phone at the school, said reports that Ceara was scrubbed from the yearbook are “inaccurate – what we’re asking is for someone, before they make accusations against us, they need to actually look at the yearbook.” How soon until a full scan of the yearbook can hit the Internet and settle the question?
original: Jackson Free Press via boingboing
By: Joseph Christopher Rocha
Those, like me, who are following the Pentagon's plans to end the ban on gays in the military, expect big changes soon. Based on a just-completed 45-day review of "don't ask, don't tell," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has received recommendations to apply the policy in "a manner that is more appropriate and fair." And while a full repeal of the policy likely remains months away, even the simplest change - raising the bar for the kind of evidence required to launch an investigation - could have a profound impact on the lives of gays and lesbians serving in the military. I know, because if that change had been made three years ago when I was enlisted, I would be a sophomore at the United States Naval Academy today.
After a childhood of abuse at the hands of a meth-addicted mother, I had only one dream, and only one ambition: to graduate from the Naval Academy and to dedicate my entire life to serving my country. I enlisted on my 18th birthday and, after serving for nearly four years and receiving three congressional nominations for the Naval Academy, I was accepted to the academy's preparatory school.
Read more...
The federal trial over California's ban on same-sex marriage opened on Monday in San Francisco with pleas from two gay men and two lesbians to be treated like anyone else who wants to marry. The plaintiffs are suing to overturn Prop. 8, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection by discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender.
On Daily Kos, Adam B discusses a related 5-4 Supreme Court decision announced on Wednesday regarding YouTube broadcasting of the Prop 8 trial. The Court granted a stay of the order allowing same-day YouTube broadcast of the trial. Slate's Emily Bazelon writes about how the decision is awful and heavy-handed.
This is the first trial in any federal court over same-sex marriage; it is also seen as the first step in a case that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court determining the legality of same-sex marriage.
Previously:
- Voters Oppose Putting Gay Marriage Back on Ballot
- New York Senate Votes Against Gay Marriage
- State of the Unions
Reporter Rachel Krantz spent some time in Havana this past fall, and contributed a series of photo essays and stories. We're running one each day this week.
You always call the same phone number to find the party. When someone answers the phone, you always ask the same question:
"Donde esta la fiesta?"
The answer is an address--sometimes familiar, sometimes a new location. But without fail, every weekend, some sort of secret gay party is thrown in Havana, Cuba.
One Friday in Havana, my friend Damian agrees to take me to one. Damian is 23-years-old, Cuban, a filmmaker, and gay. With medium brown skin and a wide, knowing smile, Damian charms most people he meets. Although he only wanted his first name used for print, Damian is open when he talks about what it's like to be young and gay in Cuba.
"The hardest thing is finding a place to have safe sex," Damian says. "It's hard for everyone, but straight guys, they could bring a girlfriend home. I couldn't do that, of course not. My mom doesn't let me, it's forbidden."
Read more...
The New York state Senate defeated a bill Wednesday afternoon that would have legalized same-sex marriage, the New York Times reports. Gay rights advocates had expected the measure to win, but instead, the vote marks the latest impediment to the gay marriage movement. Last month, Maine blocked same-sex marriage through a voter referendum.
The measure, which no Republican senator supported, lost 38 to 24. A similar bill had passed twice in the state Assembly. Also, Gov. David Paterson had said he would sign bill, making New York "the latest state where gay rights advocates have made considerable progress only to see their hopes dashed," says the Times. If the New York measure had passed, New York would have become the sixth state where marriage between same-sex couples is legal or would soon be permitted.
(via The New York Times)
A recent Los Angeles Times/USC poll found that a large portion of voters oppose efforts to place the same-sex marriage issue back on the ballot next year.
Views on same-sex marriage were polarized based on political party, with 66% of Democrat respondents believeing it should be legal and 71% of Republicans thinking it should not. Nonpartisan voters backed same-sex marriage 59%-34%.
Overall, 51% of California voters favored marriage rights for same-sex couples and 43% were opposed to same-sex marriage. Most noteably, almost 60% of Californians did not want to revisit the issue in 2010.
In November of 2008, Californians voted 52% to 48% to limit marriage rights to one man and one woman. Same-sex marriage advocates have been split over whether to push for a new vote next year or wait until 2012, when the presidential election will draw more voters to the polls.
Supporters of gay marriage are also strategizing in other states. On Tuesday, voters in Maine repealed a state measure that had granted marriage rights to same-sex couples.
(via The Los Angeles Times)
The Latin American Youth Center’s Joel Carela attended the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. this month and sent a photo and some brief thoughts.
During the National Equality March, I was surrounded by some of the most dedicated queer rights advocates. Everywhere I turned there were people from places as close as Baltimore, Maryland and as far as San Francisco, California. To see all of these advocates converging on to the nation's capital both sent chills down my spine and raised my confidence.
