Focus on the Family, a radical anti-gay group based in Colorado, is pressuring Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski to vote against the 2010 Defense Budget because it includes the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
A Bent Alaska reader received a pre-recorded call from CitizenLink, FotF's political action wing:
"... After their intro remarks, they summed up by using all the buzz words and concepts, something like "if you don't condone 'open homosexuality' in the military or want your tax dollars spent on abortions at military bases, call Lisa Murkowski and tell her to vote no on the defense budget which has amendments to repeal DADT and bar abortions on military bases."
"There was absolutely no opportunity to talk to a live person at the end... We need to counter by calling her to vote YES!"
The repeal of DADT is attached to the Defense Budget, and the Senate will vote on it soon, but I have not heard of an abortion amendment on this year's military budget.
Murkowski claims to be a fiscal conservative and a moderate Republican. She should resist the pressure from outsiders like FotF and vote for the repeal of DADT. It will allow gays and lesbians currently serving in silence to serve with honesty, and allow many qualified Americans currently barred from the military to join and defend our country.
Call Senator Murkowski and urge her to vote YES for the repeal of DADT: 202-224-6665, or toll free in Alaska at 1-877-829-6030.
Her other Alaska phone numbers and online email contact page are HERE.
Argentina passed a same sex marriage bill early this morning with a 33-27 vote, becoming the first Latin American country to gain marriage equality. President Cristina Kirchner released a statement in favor of the bill.
Now 12 countries on 4 continents have gay marriage!
The Argentine law changes the legal code from husband and wife to "the marrying parties." Same-sex couples will have the same rights as heterosexuals in terms of adoptions, social security and family time.
Nearly 70 percent of Argentines are in favor of giving gays and lesbians the same marital rights as heterosexuals, but the Catholic Church opposed the bill, and the LDS church from the U.S. also got involved.
"They are portraying this as a religious moral issue and as a threat to 'the natural order,' when what we are really doing is looking at a reality that is already there," said President Kirchner. "It would be a terrible distortion of democracy if they denied minorities their rights."
The House passed the marriage bill in May, and the Senate debated it for almost 15 hours before voting. Around midnight Alaska time, gay Latino blogger Blabbeando tweeted from the east coast:
"MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS LAW IN ARGENTINA 33-27 FUCKYES!!!!"
He also translated this sweet gay marriage ad from the LGBT Federation of Argentina, with the tag line "The Same Love, The Same Rights, With The Same Name."
Freedom to Marry, a U.S. group working for marriage equality, issued this statement:
"Today's historic vote shows how far Catholic Argentina has come, from dictatorship to true democratic values, and how far the freedom to marry movement has come as twelve countries on four continents now embrace marriage equality. Argentina's vote for the freedom to marry marks an important advance for fairness and family values as more couples around the world will now share in marriage, with families helped and no one hurt. Today's vote adds momentum to the international movement to secure the freedom to marry for all loving and committed couples."
"Key to Argentina's human rights achievement was strong leadership from legislators and the president. It is time we see more of our own elected officials standing up for the Constitution and all families here in the United States. America should lead, not lag, when it comes to treating everyone equally under the law."
The Ray Boltz concert in Anchorage was a hit with LGBT fans and mainstream Christians - but not with Jerry Prevo, who warned his flock to avoid the free concert and wrote a column attacking gay Christians, calling Boltz an "ex-Christian" with "deadly secrets". Boltz took the high road and answered the hate with a new song about love:
"I will choose to love, though they shake their fists at me. And I will be myself with you, living authenticity. Though they wrap their hatred in a message from above, I will choose to love."
Amen to that.
In June, Bent reported that Ray Boltz was coming to Anchorage and posted his hit song "Don't Tell Me Who to Love", featured in a video for marriage equality. Meanwhile, Prevo warned his followers about the concert in a special all-caps "BEWARE" message, and explained in the ABT bulletin why Christians should not attend the concert of one of their favorite Christian singers:
"Many of us are familiar with such Christian songs as "Thank You" and "Watch the Lamb" written by Ray Boltz. For years, Mr. Boltz performed before numerous crowds and churches, singing and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He sold over 4.5 million records before retiring from Christian music. Why did he retire?"
Prevo is very familiar with the song "Thank You" - in fact, his congregation chose the Boltz song as their special tribute to Prevo when they celebrated his 38 years of spreading fear and hate against gays. Oops! Boltz had already come out, but ABTers are notoriously behind the times.
"In December of 2004, Boltz revealed to Carol, his wife of 30 years, and his four children that he was a homosexual. Since that time, he has divorced his wife in lieu of his settling into his new-found lifestyle."
Carol writes a blog in support of gay Christians, and gives advice to their former spouses. She also manages Ray's website, and weeds out the hate mail from people like Prevo. Boltz lives with his male partner, as an honest gay man whose family loves and accepts him. He performs at gay-friendly churches around the country, and the tickets are often free.
"How does this happen? Paul gives us a look into this phenomenon. "For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim 3:2-5). These are the religious people; these are the ones who exist in the community of believers; these are the ones who exhibit a "form of godliness."
Do you think he has a special grudge against gay Christians? Blasphemers, traitors, brutal - he aims that whole list of sins at gay people of faith, just because they tell the truth about how God created them and continue to believe that God loves them. Prevo hates that truth.
"How hopeless can it be to know the truth and deny the power of that truth? How can we go through the motions day after day, coming to church, and even involved in ministry, yet "denying the sovereign Lord who bought us?" (2 Peter 2:1) "They profess to know God, but in works deny Him" (Titus 1:16). Jude wrote "They have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah" (v.11)."
Actually, these quotes apply perfectly to preachers who sell hate-for-profit disguised as religion. Just sayin'.
"Only an individual and God can know what deadly secrets he/she keeps. Don't let them have power over you like Cain's hatred for Abel (Gen. 4:7). Having a clear understanding of doctrine, attending church, and working in the ministry are vital to the Christian life, but they can also be counterfeited to fit a religious form. Jesus did not say the good branch sits faithfully in pews; He said, "It abides." This is revealed in a continual desire to draw near to God, the expression of obedience, and a hatred for sin. Nothing would be more tragic than to say those hopeless words, "Did we not prophecy in your Name?" to the Lord who never knew you."
Being gay is a "deadly" secret? Yes, says Prevo, a secret that will lead to the murder of good Christian Abels who are taken in by the "counterfeit" gay Christians.
THAT is HATE.
Hate laced with the threat of violence. Don't let them have power over you like Cain... don't let them murder you with their deadly secrets... defend yourself and your family... kill them first.
Crazy dangerous hate.
Why does Prevo hate Ray Boltz so violently? He should be happy that Boltz continues to believe and has not abandoned the church.
Prevo hates Boltz because he knows that when Christians hear a believer they respect singing heartfelt songs about being gay and knowing God's love, they will forget to be afraid of him and will be touched by the truth and humanity of his music.
And when they stop fearing gays, they won't pay Prevo to protect them from a non-existent threat.
Try it for yourself. Watch the video below and the other videos from the local concert, and see if his songs move you. "Who Would Jesus Love" from the new album True is especially appropriate for Anchorage in the aftermath of the ordinance.
"Would He only love the ones who look the same as me? Would He only offer hope when He saw similarity? Would he leave the others waiting like a stranger at the gate? Would He discriminate? Tell me, who would Jesus love?"
The following video opens with photos of his Alaska visit set to "Don't Tell Me Who to Love", then switches to the concert. Boltz tells about coming out to his supportive family, and sings the new song "I Will Choose to Love." (The song starts around 4:20 and it's worth waiting for.)
The haters in Anchorage need to hear this message, even more than the gays and allies do. I hope a few disobeyed Prevo and went to this incredible concert. Perhaps they will also choose love.
Mad Myrna's, the new KFAT 92.9, and Alaska Airlines have teamed up to send two lucky Alaskans to Lady Gaga's Monster Ball concert in Tacoma, Washington.
Everyone who comes to Mad Myrna's on the next four Saturday nights will qualify for a chance to win round trip tickets for two to Lady Gaga's August 21 concert at the Tacoma Dome. Double your chances by showing up at Myrna's dressed as Lady Gaga!
Go GaGa starts on July 17 from 8-10 p.m. at Mad Myrna's, 530 E 5th Avenue in downtown Anchorage, and continues every Saturday night until the grand finale on August 7.
It's currently legal to fire someone for being lesbian, gay or bisexual in 29 states, and transgender workers can be fired for being trans in 38 states. Alaska is in both categories, having no job protections for LGBT employees.
While Congress is slowly working on ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, several discrimination cases are moving through the courts. Last week, transgender employees won an important legal victory:
U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story handed down a decision finding the firing of Vandy Beth Glenn—a former Georgia state legislative editor who announced that she would be transitioning from a man to a woman—unconstitutional.
Born Glenn Morrison, the plaintiff alleged that her boss, Georgia Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby, dismissed her after two years of employment because the gender transition she was about to undergo would make coworkers feel "uncomfortable" and be seen as "immoral" by Georgia lawmakers. In Glenn v. Brumby et. al., Sewell argued that lawmakers "would no longer trust his office if a transgendered person worked there," states UPI.com.
But in a 50-page decision, Story wrote: "[A]voiding the anticipated negative reactions of others cannot serve as a sufficient basis for discrimination and does not constitute an important government interest."
He fired her because coworkers might feel uncomfortable? I've felt uncomfortable around homophobic coworkers, but never suggested that otherwise qualified employees should be fired because of their bigotry. As usual, substitute any other minority group for "transgendered person" and you'll see how absurd this is.
Note that she worked with adults - not with children, not in a religious setting, and not visible to the general public. Those are the main talking points that bigots use to whip up fear of transgender workers. But none were present in this case. It wasn't fear for the children that got her fired, it was a boss who was afraid of working with someone different from himself - someone he had already been working with for two years.
Sadly, this kind of firing is not unusual. And it doesn't just happen in the south, it happens here too. This court decision will help end job discrimination against transgender workers in Georgia, and eventually throughout the U.S.
... In this case, "the court proved that the Georgia General Assembly isn't above the constitution," says Lambda Legal transgender-rights attorney Dru Levasseur, who is co-representing Glenn, in a press release. "The evidence was clear—Vandy Beth was fired because her boss didn't like who she is, and that kind of treatment is unfair and illegal."
Last September, Ms. Glenn testified at a congressional hearing on the federal bill ENDA, which, if passed, would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression through the country. She explained her case in the testimony:
Futurama is back on Comedy Central, and last week's episode on robosexual marriage coincided with the federal court ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional. The clip parodies the infamous Gathering Storm ad, and includes the pro-equality part of a public debate. Later in the episode, the opponent turns out to be a closet robosexual, of course.
In a previous episode, Bender and Amy tried to keep their love hidden from coworkers, and dealt with a street preacher (another closet robosexual) who sounds like a familiar Anchorage homophobe. How many of our local haters are closet cases? Watch the clip:
