Anti-gay violence, anti-mormon violence

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.
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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.

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.

Posted

Prop-8 backer Rick Warren to lead invocation at Obama's inauguration

Read the story here.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

We won't be making a list of "No on 8" donors

Lots of people have--for a variety of reasons--asked us to make a comparable list of "No on 8" donors. Some people want to find out which businesses to support, and others would like to conduct their own boycotts.

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.