Since the passage of Prop 8, there have been a number of acts of anti-gay violence around the country. I found most of these doing a google news search.
Anti-gay violence since the election
On November 9, a transgnedered woman was murdered in Tenessee.
December 3, a gay-bashing in Salt Lake City.
On December 7, a two Ecuadorian brothers were beaten in Brooklyn, NY. The attackers (assuming that they were a couple, because they were walking arm-in-arm) shouted anti-gay, anti-latino slurs at them. One of the brothers died of brain injuries. (His facebook memorial page is here.)
On December 10, a gay man was attacked in a DC restaurant.
On December 13, a lesbian in Richmond, CA was raped by a gang of attackers who targeted her because of her sexuality.
December 16, another attack in DC leaves a gay man dead.
Anti-mormon violence since the election
Um... none that I could find.
Of course, "mysterious white powder" sent to the LDS church in LA is a reprehensible act. It has NOT been linked to any gay-rights group, and frankly, antrhax attacks are historically the M.O. of right-wing extremists.
But I could not identify a single case of anti-Mormon or anti-Christian violence since the election. Please let me know if you are aware of any, and link me to a news source!
So all those cries of persecution coming from Prop 8 supporters ring a little hollow to me. These people have not had their safety jeopardized.
---
This blog is not meant to imply that the Prop 8 campaign directly led to acts of anti-gay violence--gay bashing has a long and inglorious history that preceded the election. But I wanted to put to rest the delusional claims of persecution espoused by religious extremists, who have never had to fear for their safety for being themselves.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
This week in gay-bashing
-The US joins China, Russia, and pretty nearly every Islamic Country in refusing to sign on to a UN declaration opposing persecution of homosexuals. The Vatican takes its hypocrisy to new heights, letting its homophobia outweigh its opposition to the death penalty (the punishment for homosexuality in Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen). (And this passes for spiritual leadership?)
-Obama extends an invitation to Rick Warren to preside over the beginning of his term as president. Warren not only supported Proposition 8, but he also equates homosexuality with incest and pedophilia. His campaign--delivered from his pulpit--was blatantly dishonest, fabricating legal implications for churches if Prop 8 failed. (And this passes for spiritual leadership?)
-Obama fails to include a single out gay or lesbian in his cabinet or his inauguration ceremony. Unless you count the marching band. (This isn't a huge slight, but it provides a context in which we can interpret Obama's other actions. Remember, this is the full extent of his outreach to the gays so far.)
-The Yes on 8 people (that would include Rick Warren) sue the state of California to force the nullification of the same-sex couples already married prior to election day. (If you want the names of this crew: youcanthideyourhate.blogpost.com)
That's a lot of abuse for a single week.
But then again, when the times are dark, a ray of light shines. There are at least a few people willing to stand up for what's right.
-Obama extends an invitation to Rick Warren to preside over the beginning of his term as president. Warren not only supported Proposition 8, but he also equates homosexuality with incest and pedophilia. His campaign--delivered from his pulpit--was blatantly dishonest, fabricating legal implications for churches if Prop 8 failed. (And this passes for spiritual leadership?)
-Obama fails to include a single out gay or lesbian in his cabinet or his inauguration ceremony. Unless you count the marching band. (This isn't a huge slight, but it provides a context in which we can interpret Obama's other actions. Remember, this is the full extent of his outreach to the gays so far.)
-The Yes on 8 people (that would include Rick Warren) sue the state of California to force the nullification of the same-sex couples already married prior to election day. (If you want the names of this crew: youcanthideyourhate.blogpost.com)
That's a lot of abuse for a single week.
But then again, when the times are dark, a ray of light shines. There are at least a few people willing to stand up for what's right.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Prop-8 backer Rick Warren to lead invocation at Obama's inauguration
Many of us said that Proposition 8 put gays and lesbians on the back of the bus.
Well, now President-Elect Obama has thrown us under it.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A flag for equal rights
My friends at The New Gay blog posted a piece about the Equal Rights flag, created by Carl Tashian, where there is one star for each state where same-sex and opposite-sex couples are treated equally.
The original version of this flag had three stars, for Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California. After November 4th, and the passage of Prop 8, that empty blue field got a bit emptier.
The backstory can be read here. It was a protest symbol from the women's suffrage movement.
I post this to remind the readers that we are NOT fighting about marriage, and we are NOT fighting for California.
Let's be clear about one thing: We will have a full field of stars, and soon. Not just in California, but in every state from Alabama to Wyoming. And we have our Constitution to thank for that. We've waited over 100 years for people to realize that the 14th amendment applies to us. This day will come sooner than you think.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Santa Monica and nearby cities
This flier covers Santa Monica and surrounding areas, including Culver City, Venice, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Westchester, Marina Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, and Playa Vista. (For other communities in this area, check out the Westside Flier)
Download PDF here.
Download PDF here.
Hate the bigotry, not the bigot
This post is just a reminder that I'd like all the people to use these fliers to fight prejudice and bigotry, but not personally attack the people who promote it.
We have to view these people as victims. They were raised to believe that bigotry is morally correct. They were lied to by their religious leaders.
So, please, if you know anyone on this list, think of it as an occasion for dialogue, not an invitation for harassment.
If you don't know the people on the list, you probably don't want to go out of your way to contact them--odds are, angry confrontations with strangers will not be persuasive.
We have to view these people as victims. They were raised to believe that bigotry is morally correct. They were lied to by their religious leaders.
So, please, if you know anyone on this list, think of it as an occasion for dialogue, not an invitation for harassment.
If you don't know the people on the list, you probably don't want to go out of your way to contact them--odds are, angry confrontations with strangers will not be persuasive.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Laguna Beach
Just one city on this flier! But wow, for such a tiny and gay-friendly city, Laguna Beach was certainly an outpouring of financial support for Prop 8!
Download pdf here.
Download pdf here.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Contrary to popular belief, I'm not boycotting anyone
I am not boycotting any businesses on account of donations to Proposition 8.
I couldn't think of a single one. There is no business I used to patronize prior to the campaign that I have ceased to patronize.
Largely, this is because most of the businesses I use are supportive of equal rights, or stayed neutral in the campaign.
So although some might boycott El Pollo Loco, Cinemark, or other such businesses, I can't, because I never patronized them in the first place.
No change in shopping behavior? No boycott. It's that simple.
I couldn't think of a single one. There is no business I used to patronize prior to the campaign that I have ceased to patronize.
Largely, this is because most of the businesses I use are supportive of equal rights, or stayed neutral in the campaign.
So although some might boycott El Pollo Loco, Cinemark, or other such businesses, I can't, because I never patronized them in the first place.
No change in shopping behavior? No boycott. It's that simple.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Humboldt County
Humboldt County, including Arcata, Eureka, McKinleyville, Blue Lake, Fortuna, and Ferndale.
No donors to Prop 8 lived in the towns of Carlotta, Trinidad, and Bayside.
Note: All the donors are listed on side 1. Side 2 just contains some extra info about the campaign waged by Prop 8 supporters. Interesting to read when people complain about boycotting and blackmail.....
Download PDF here.
No donors to Prop 8 lived in the towns of Carlotta, Trinidad, and Bayside.
Note: All the donors are listed on side 1. Side 2 just contains some extra info about the campaign waged by Prop 8 supporters. Interesting to read when people complain about boycotting and blackmail.....
Download PDF here.
Monday, December 1, 2008
We won't be making a list of "No on 8" donors
If you're interested, get yer own blog. You can do all the research here, just like we did. Then you can start a blog using blogger, livejournal, wordpress, or any other service you like!
Making a flier takes a bit of effort, and I'm not very interested in "outing" the prop 8 opponents. I have no problem with someone else doing that. There are a ton of ways of finding gay-friendly businesses to support (just check out the advertisers in your local gay paper), so these lists wouldn't offer much new. Anti-gay bigots can use these same sources and boycott appropriately. Right-wing organizations such as Focus on Family have long tried to organize boycotts against large companies they percieved as being too gay-friendly (Disney, Microsoft, McDonalds, Ford...), and so far with no measurable success.
There have been some high-profile donors to the No on 8 side, like Google (which, incidentally, owns Blogger), Apple, Brad Pitt, Levi Straus, Pacific Gas and Electric, George Lucas, Fall Out Boy, etc etc etc. You have PLENTY of targets on the "No" side, if you'd like to boycott. The Queers United blog has made an honor roll list, if you'd like to check.
But no, we will not be doing that on this site. If you do it, and start your own blog, let us know--we'd be happy to link to you, whichever side you're on.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a big city, but you probably want to know, right? We are working on more neighborhoods, but we can tell you all about who gave in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and other Westside haunts.
Download the PDF here!
Not everyone is too happy about the public knowing about their donations to strip away civil rights. Despite knowing your political donations are always public, some donors are getting cold feet. The proprietress of Los Angeles restaurant El Coyote is regretting her donation to YES ON 8 and is hoping her diners will forgive her. Will we?
Download the PDF here!
Not everyone is too happy about the public knowing about their donations to strip away civil rights. Despite knowing your political donations are always public, some donors are getting cold feet. The proprietress of Los Angeles restaurant El Coyote is regretting her donation to YES ON 8 and is hoping her diners will forgive her. Will we?
New England
New England was the cradle of the American Revolution, as well as the Marriage Revolution. Currently, only two states in the nation (Massachusetts and Connecticutt) support full equality for all couples. However, most of New England still affords some recognition to same-sex couples.
Although most New Englanders stayed out of the fray (notably Vermont, who donated $0 to the cause, and Massachusetts, which has yet to descend into chaos despite recognizing same-sex marriage since 2004), huge amounts of funding came from this distant corner of the country. 99% of this money came from the Knights of Columbus, headquartered in New Haven, CT.
Download PDF.
Although most New Englanders stayed out of the fray (notably Vermont, who donated $0 to the cause, and Massachusetts, which has yet to descend into chaos despite recognizing same-sex marriage since 2004), huge amounts of funding came from this distant corner of the country. 99% of this money came from the Knights of Columbus, headquartered in New Haven, CT.
Download PDF.
East Bay
Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, Kensington, Alameda, Richmond, Albany, El Sobrante, Orinda, Walnut Creek, San Pablo, San Leandro
Download PDF.
Download PDF.
San Francisco
Despite being a such an enlightened city, citizens of San Francisco donated ~$75,000 to support Proposition 8 and deny equal rights to their neighbors. Who donated? Find out here.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Drag them out of the Closet!
The aftermath of California's passage of Proposition 8 is running through the state. Supporters of marriage equality -- gays and lesbians, straight married couples and college students, religious leaders and laborers, a cross section of California -- have taken to the streets dumbfounded and needing to act. But what can we do?
We can march.
We can support the lawsuits introduced this week.
We can prepare another initiative for the ballot.
And we can call out the bigots that pushed this horrible amendment onto the Constitution. People have targeted the Mormon Church which played a key role in fundraising for Prop 8. This isn't entirely fair because many Mormons did not support the hate-filled lies paid for by the campaign to end marriage. People have targeted African-American voters who vote nearly 70% in favor of the ban. This isn't entirely fair because almost a third of black voters did not support the ban.
But 100% of donors to the Yes on 8 campaign supported the ban and they should be our targets. This site is designed as a clearing house on information on Prop 8 donors and a source for materials in protest. Come back often.
All information was obtained from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/
We can march.
We can support the lawsuits introduced this week.
We can prepare another initiative for the ballot.
And we can call out the bigots that pushed this horrible amendment onto the Constitution. People have targeted the Mormon Church which played a key role in fundraising for Prop 8. This isn't entirely fair because many Mormons did not support the hate-filled lies paid for by the campaign to end marriage. People have targeted African-American voters who vote nearly 70% in favor of the ban. This isn't entirely fair because almost a third of black voters did not support the ban.
But 100% of donors to the Yes on 8 campaign supported the ban and they should be our targets. This site is designed as a clearing house on information on Prop 8 donors and a source for materials in protest. Come back often.
All information was obtained from the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/
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The following people donated money to Yes on 8. Do you really want to support those that donated to take away your rights?
El Pollo Loco
Roland Spongberg, Long Beach, CA
WKS Restaurant Group, President
$6,000 on 8/21/08
This one is the saddest for me as WKS Restaurant group owns most of the El Pollo Loco franchises (over 50) in So Cal and several Denny's and Corner Bakery Cafe's in CA, AZ, and Utah. El Pollo Loco is one of my favorite restaurants. I am working on the locations so I know which ones I can't go to anymore, but it includes the El Pollo Locos in the following locations.
Long Beach, 3425 E. Anaheim St.
Lakewood, 2727 Carson Ave.
Inglewood
Los Alamitos, 3502 Cerritos Ave.
Stockdale
Los Altos, 2200 Clark Ave.
Fullerton
CSULB, 1212 S. Bellflower Blvd., CSULB-Student Union Bldg.
Artesia
Newport Beach, 2232 S. Bristol St.
Rosemead
Sherman Oaks
Lake Elsinore
Lakewood II, 11601 Carson Ave.
Lake Forest
Bakersfield, 3701 California Ave.
Perris
Bakersfield, 2000 White Lane
Colton, 1090 S. Mt. Vernon.
Imperial Hwy, 1360 W. Imperial Hwy.
CSULA, 5151 State University Dr., Golden Eagle Bldg.
Temecula
Bell Gardens
Harbor City
Murrieta
Northridge
Sunset/LA, 3925 Sunset Blvd.
West LA, 3008 Sepulveda Blvd.
Granada Hills
El Cajon
Midway
Mira Mesa
Genessee
Fountain Valley, 11025 Warner Ave.
Stanton
San Bernadino
Tempe, AZ
Glendale, AZ
Marana, AZ
Chandler, AZ
Fontana (Denny's)
Peoria, AZ (Corner Bakery)
He owns others, but I couldn't find a complete list.
Terry Caster & Family, San Diego, CA
A-1 Self Storage–4607 Mission Gorge Place, San Diego, CA 92120 • Tel: 800.219.4854 • Web: www.a1storage.com and www.castergrp.com and www.servinghands.com
$693,000
The Caster Family owns A-1 Self Storage, with 40 locations throughout California. Terry Caster is quoted in the San Diego Union Tribune as saying “without solid marriage you are going to have a sick society.”
Robert Hurtt, Orange, CA
Container Supply Company–PO Box 5367, Garden Grove, CA 92846-0367 • Tel: 714.892.8321 • Web: www.containersupplycompany.com
$550,000
Robert Hurtt, President of Container Supply, gave: $25,000 on 4/18/08, $25,000 on 7/22/08 (from Container Supply), $250,000 on 9/5/08 and $250,000 on 10/17/08.
Robert Hoehn, Carlsbad, CA
Hoehn Motors–5475 Car Country Dr, Carlsbad, CA 92008 • Tel: 760.438.4454 • Web: www.hoehnmotors.com
$25,000
Robert Hoehn, President of Hoehn Motors in Carlsbad, CA gave: $25,000 on 2/8/08
Hoehn Motors has 6 large car dealerships located along the 5 freeway in Northern San Diego County: Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, Infiniti, Acura and Honda.
Roland Hinz, Valencia, CA
Hi-Torque Publications–25233 Anza Dr., Valencia, CA 91355 • Tel: 661.295.1910 • Web: www.hi-torque.com
$12,500
Roland Hinz, President of Hi-Torque Publications, gave: $12,500 on 4/7/08
Hi-Torque Publications is the world’s leading publisher of off-road, motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle magazines, with a readership of over 2 million per month. The magazines are:
Motocross Action, Mountain Bike Action, Dirt Bike, BMX Plus!, Dirtwheels, Road Bike Action, 4Wheel ATV Action and R/C Car
Amanda Crane, San Diego, CA
Larsen Golden Spoon, Owner
$10,000 on 8/8/08
adapted from: http://soqueer.blogspot.com