I mean you would have expected them to lead it actually. But hey, better late than never as the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce has come out calling for legalizing same sex marriage rights. I mean about bloody time, but then I guess some businessmen just aren’t as smart as they like everyone to believe. Just look at their stand on Illegal Immigration and Outsourcing.

The chamber has endorsed a legal brief by San Francisco-based Levi Strauss and LGBT advocacy group Out and Equal Workplace supporting a lawsuit by same-sex couples in the state. (story source)

It really does amaze me at how so many are opposed to the simple act of providing equal rights to all citizens. It isn’t about making some Priest marry people, it is about gaining the benefits being married gives people. It is about Civil Rights, not Religious ones.

It is sad to see supposed Men of God resort to bigotry and racism, in order to push their hatred onto others. While many are not fans of Microsoft, the attack by their neighbor pastor is just one example of the bigotry facing Homosexuals in the United States. And the candidates of both parties (see Gay Talk comment ‘Battling for God’s Voters‘) have demonstrated their inability to accept the role of Leader, by condemning such hatred.

(Seattle, Washington) Gay rights foe Rev. Ken Hutcherson is calling on religious conservatives to buy stock in Microsoft so they can force a shareholders vote on the company’s policy that provides equality for gay workers. (source)

If you listen to the man, he denies that this is racist, simply because he hasn’t seen any Gay’s forced to sit in the back of the bus. Nor has he seen them denied education or nor has he seen them change to a different color. Least so he says, but has he heard about Mathew Shepard?

Just as ‘african americans‘ were hunted, beaten, denied jobs because of color, Homosexuals today are hunted down, beaten when they walk out of restaurants, and denied jobs such as serving the US Military, just as ‘his‘ people were back in the day before civil rights. To claim this isn’t anything but racism, shows how convenient it is for this man to put aside the teachings of the one he claims is on his side.

If one believes the tales, Christ is supposed to have demanded that those shunned by society, those reviled, be brought to him, for they needed him the most, to hear the message of love he brought them from GOD. Too bad no one told Mr Hutcherson that.

There is no ‘Gay Agenda‘ other than the agenda to stop hiding, to stop being thought of as second class, or evil. While some will pretend to be straight, in order to avoid the stigma society has placed on being Homosexual, Mr Hutcherson forgets that many African American’s tried similar acts, if they had a lighter skin tone than most. He forgets that the GOD he ministers for, is a GOD OF LOVE, not HATE.

Homosexuals seek no ‘special‘ place in society, we simply wish to be treated like all other human beings, with dignity, respect, and be left alone to be who we are. We don’t want schools to be battlegrounds, so as to deny us the ability to learn, nor do we want our young to be hounded to the point where suicide is preferred to living.

If that is the ‘secret gay agenda‘ then so be it. It is the same ‘agenda‘ most minorities have, when their rights are denied. Perhaps one day, GOD will send Mr Hutcherson a ‘cease & desist‘ order. Better yet, maybe he’ll buy a computer that isn’t filled with Microsoft Products, and he can twiddle his thumbs trying to find something that will work on his ‘anti microsof’ machine.

The idea of having people spend money to become shareholders, to vote against a company’s support of equal rights is okay with me. He forgets, Bill Gates owns the majority of shares, so go on Mr Hutcherson, fill Bill Gates’ pockets with more money. The more you spend, the less you’ll have to pay for your outrageous expenses, the less money you’ll have to buy new mansions, to fly around spewing your hate. So go on, buy Microsoft Shares.

The House of Representatives today passed a law, prohibiting discrimination against people, based on sexual orientation. Despite a threat of a Veto, it is important to have the bill pass, to put on record those who oppose Racism, and those who SUPPORT IT.

In the House on Wednesday, 35 Republicans joined 200 Democrats voting for the bill, which was approved 235 to 184, perhaps reflecting polls showing that a plurality of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted as an alternative lifestyle, though a majority still oppose same-sex marriage. Voting against the bill were 25 Democrats and 159 Republicans. (source)

At last Gay and Lesbians are able to seek employment, and not be denied that job, simply because of who they are. It is a blow to the Conservative Movement, and has riled the Religious Right to no end, but then what doesn’t rile them when their narrow view isn’t made into National Policy?

A Victory is nice, now the question is, will this congress have the guts and the votes to over ride the upcoming Presidential Veto?

I suppose what gets me is that how can people who believe in GOD, be so hateful? The Religious Right seem to froth at the mouth at the mere mention of giving Gays equal rights, equal protection under the law, and I don’t really understand why. You would think, they would be in the front line demanding the Congress give us rights, as they did for the African Americans in the 1950′s and 1960′s. Yet instead, they lead the fight to deny us protection, to deny us equality. (see comment ‘GOD’s Own Party… Maybe‘ on Gay Talk)

The more one reads about the way Republican’s are attempting to get their way, it makes one wonder how any person can support a party so riddled with cheats, liars, and outright criminals. Take the latest nonsense from Cincinnati where a group tried to use fake names to get a measure on the ballot to repeal the city law, protecting Gays from discrimination.

State Rep. Tom Brinkman, who was the head of the organization was never charged, but at a hearing the judge in the case suggested he was involved and knew that Lois Mingo, 48, and Precilla Ward, 32, had falsified the petitions by crossing out names and addresses of signers and replacing them with addresses of registered voters in order to make them appear valid. (source)

What I don’t get, is why does any political party seek to deny protection to any group? I mean what is it about the Republicans and their faithful that they are even willing to resort to lies, and other dishonest methods to insure that some minority they hate, is denied equal rights? Seems to me, given how they all profess such high ideals, such high morals, that to lie, cheat, and steal, as they are doing, that be rather hard to justify in one’s conscience, but then maybe that is it. I am assuming they have one, when the reality is, they simply don’t.

This whole issue of ethics, of morality has me totally confused. You get the Democrats who say they support such laws, then attach them to bills they know will be defeated, if not Vetoed. Republicans who propose bills to specifically deny rights to Gays, and yet both sides try to claim the Moral Path. And people buy into it.
Like okay, so the legislators and such are tempted by the money, the power, but what is the excuse for those who follow them? I mean if you believe in God, in Freedoms, how can you go out to get petitions signed, or vote for them? I mean where are YOUR ethics, YOUR morality?

I won’t vote for Stephen Harper simply because he will not support equality for all. Whether his education policies, his health care policies, or whatever were to be top notch, the fact he cannot support the very basic rights of all to be safe, to be treated equally, makes me support anyone else but him.

So why don’t American’s practise what they preach?

I am confused. The Hate Crime Legislation was attched to the War Spending Bill that Harry Reid pulled, after being unable to garner sufficient votes to pass the bill. The defeat was about the war, but somehow the Hate Crime Bill, dubbed the Mathew Shepard Act, was attached to a war spending bill, that the Democrats knew wouldn’t be passed.

Huh?

Democrats were seven votes short of passing the defense bill, which called for the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq by spring 2008.The hate crimes statute was one of several dozen amendments attached for easier passage; a statement from the White House after the House passed an identical hate crimes measure, the “Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007″ seemed to indicate that the proposed law would be vetoed were it to be a freestanding bill. (source)

You have to love Politicians. In thinking that Bush would VETO a free standing version of the Hate Crimes bill, the Democrats thought it would make it easier to pass if they attached it to another bill.  So like, they selected attaching it to a war spending bill, they knew would be defeated, somehow is going to get the hate crime bill passed?

Who they kidding?

It would seem to me, that if they truly believed in the bill, then attach it to a bill they KNOW that is going to get passed, that BUSH will have to ACCEPT.  Instead they are using it as a means to get votes from the GLBT community, by pointing to a bill they passed, but can’t get into law, for which they’ll blame the Republicans.  Neat little political trick there, and damn devious.

Which makes me wonder, do the Democrats really want to pass this bill, or is it simply being used as a way to claim they support our equal rights, claim to care about protecting us, when the truth is, they have the same concept as the Republicans, but are unwilling to at least be honest about their Homophobia?

At last, many public funded organizations are finding out that when you blur the line between Equal Rights for All, and Equal Rights for Some, there is a hidden cost. In the case of many Universities, the cost is in attracting employees, faculty who can help boost the state run organizations tuition and standing.

We are seeing this in Kentucky and now also in Virginia.  Where even gym memberships, are subject to these arcane, homophobic, racist restrictions. See, somehow the ban against same sex marriage also translates into health benefits. Now, if this was truly just about the so called sanctity of marriage, civil unions that all say are the same thing, would then still allow those to reap the benefits. Guess again.

Civil Unions, Partnerships, Registry, whatever, are not the same as Marriage, and in Virginia, not married, then no partner benefits, period. State funded authorities are placed at risk, because one, the state will withhold monies, two they won’t attract the quality of employees needed, without huge pay hikes. After all, in America you get the health care you can afford, and hey if you can’t afford it, you don’t get it.

(Richmond, Virginia) Hamstrung by Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which the state attorney general says includes a barring benefits to same-sex couples by public institutions, the University of Virginia has found a way to at least provide one small benefit to non-married couples. (source)

Then there is the third cost, legal costs. When every dime a University gets should go to education, it seems asinine to force them to use that money to go to court, to defend offering benefits to faculty and staff they need. It is wrong of any State Government to waste public funds, simply because they are anal retentive and are Homophobic.

Course the real cost is going to be in the students, and the quality of Public Education itself. Without high quality staff, faculty, the level of education does suffer. It isn’t hypothetical, it is real. And the longer this witch hunt opposing homosexuals exists by the so called Conservatives, the harder it will be to recover from. With community colleges becoming the only affordable level of higher education for many middle class kids, this insane stance is endangering that last hope.

Eventually, if left unchecked, there will be no public education at the higher levels. At least not any that can compete equally with the private RELIGIOUS FUNDED colleges like Notre Dame or Holy Cross.

Think about it. A nation where higher education is controlled by either big corporations or churches. Then tell me its okay to discriminate against homosexuals, all in the name of outdated bible phrase.