OUT SPOKEN: EMAIL REP. RITA MAYFIELD

Action Alert: IL Rep. Rita Mayfield

NOM has issued an action alert.

Representative Rita Mayfield, a Democrat from Waukegan, has announced that she will be tallying emails received for and against same-sex marriage, and she will take that information seriously into account as she weighs her vote. Please take a moment right now to send Rep. Mayfield a short messaging asking her to OPPOSE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Her email address is mayfieldr@ilga.gov.

What are you waiting for? We'll need every vote. (Tipped by JMG reader John)

MY LETTER:

Dear Rep. Mayfield,  

I ask that you support Marriage Equality.  

Marriage Equality is not a matter of religion but of ensuring that all citizens are treated equally by the Government of the United States. 

When my nephew was called early to serve in Afghanistan, he and his fiancée were refused their request to be married in the Catholic Church simply because they did not have time to complete the Catholic Church's requirement to take premarital counseling. They were eventually married by a non-denominational minister, who also marries gay couples. It wasn't until they filed paperwork for a license that they were legally married.  

As much as people against Marriage Equality will have you believe, regardless of which religion you believe in and choose to have a marriage ceremony performed by, if you do not receive a marriage license from the US Government, you do not have a marriage recognized by the US Government and are not entitled to any of its marital laws.

This is the difference between Legal Marriage and Religious Marriage. Gay couples seek a Legal Marriage and are entitled to have the US Government recognized their love and their relationship as well as legal protections for their themselves, their family and their children (if they have or desire to have children).  

How can you find this fair or wrong? 

I am not one of your constituents, most of the other emails you receive - both in support and against Marriage Equality -- will not come from your constituents either. I ask that you not base your vote what the final total is but on what you know it the right and fair thing to do. 

Thank you! Sincerely,  

Sean D

Thanks to Joe.My.God. 

OUTSPOKEN: THEY DESERVE A VOTE

Dear Sean, Here’s what President Obama said about our daughter last night: “One of those we lost was a young girl named Hadiya Pendleton. She was 15 years old. She loved Fig Newtons and lip gloss. She was a majorette. She was so good to her friends, they all thought they were her best friend. Just three weeks ago, she was here, in Washington, with her classmates, performing for her country at my inauguration. And a week later, she was shot and killed in a Chicago park after school, just a mile away from my house.” We were honored to join First Lady Michelle Obama as her guests at the State of the Union. And we were deeply moved by the president’s words -- about Hadiya and about the need for Congress to fix our broken gun laws Our daughter was a bright and beautiful girl who deserved a full life. No parent should have to bury their child, and there’s no excuse for any more delays. Congress has common sense proposals in front of them. It’s time for them to vote! Call Congress RIGHT NOW and tell them: 33 Americans are murdered with guns every day. THEY DESERVE A VOTE. We’re in Washington, DC today meeting with our members of Congress. We’re going to tell them about our daughter and what it’s like to lose someone you love so much to gun violence. But we won’t stop there. We’re going to demand that they act now. We’re going to tell them:“You guys signed up for the job. Now do something!” It’s time. Please join us by calling your members of Congress today: http://www.demandaplan.org/TheyDeserveAVote Thank you for making your voice heard, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton & Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr. Mayors Against Illegal Guns   A campaign of Mayors Against Illegal Guns | About Us | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe

OUTSPOKEN: ME

The controversy of DC Comics hiring a known homophobe, Orson Scott Card, to write the digital-first series "Adventures of Superman," continues the question of how proper or ethical it is to boycott a business to not hire or to fire a person for voicing their beliefs. We have the same situation where a straight principal of a catholic high school has been fired for voicing his support of marriage equality.

Are these the same or different situations? I think they are two sides of the same coin and both sides have the right to express their opinions, however, one side does so at the oppression of the other while the other is protecting its self from oppression. 

Is it right or wrong? I think it's a struggle for power. Every culture has laws that govern behavior to protect its population. As the population grows so does its number of laws. Voicing an opinion opens you up to the opinions and influence of the group and eventually these opinions become laws and part of its culture. 

I don't eat Chic-fil-A, shop at Lowes or Autozone. I send emails of thanks for companies that support LGBT issues, use LGBT spokes people and images in their hiring and advertising and emails of discontent to companies that don't. And when given the opportunity, I sign petitions urging change or in protest. 

Here is a petition urging DC Comics to not hire Orson Scott Card followed additional information provided by a post in Towleroad.

Sign here:  www.allout.org/dccomics-osc

DALLAS, SAN FRANCISCO RETAILERS BOYCOTT DC COMICS' 'ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN' OVER ORSON SCOTT CARD INVOLVEMENT

Last week I reported that DC Comics had hired uber-homophobe Orson Scott Card to write their digital-first series 'Adventures of Superman'. Retailers are now responding to outcry from readers, GeeksOut reports.
The first is Richard Neal at Dallas-based Zeus Comics and Collectibles. The second is the Whatever Store in San Francisco.
  

Since my first report, an AllOut petition was created to get DC comics to dump card.
And DC Comics responded with a statement to the Advocate suggesting that they'll keep him on  "As content creators we steadfastly support freedom of expression, however the personal views of individuals associated with DC Comics are just that — personal views — and not those of the company itself."
Meanwhile, NOM's Brian Brown is exploding with rage:

“This is completely un-American and it needs to be stopped,” Brown said. “Simply because we stand up for traditional marriage, some people feel like it’s okay to target us for intimidation and punishment.”

Brown called the attacks on Card frightening and said it’s another example of gay rights activists trying to punish those who believe marriage should be a union between a man and woman.

“Marriage is the union of a man and a woman,” Brown said. “That is not hateful. That is not bigoted.”

He said it’s not the first time gay activists have tried to have people fired for their personal beliefs. He recalled the story of a waitress in California who gave money to Proposition Eight. Pro-gay activists set up picket lines at the restaurant calling for her ouster.

“We can disagree on core issues – but we can do so in such a way where we don’t try to hurt or intimidate each other,” Brown told Fox News.

Posted Feb. 13,2013 at 8:26 AM EST by Andy Towle

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/#ixzz2KnU8oDz4

OUT SPOKEN: BRIAN SIMMS - PA REP (D), former FOOTBALL PLAYER

"I think I knew I wasn't straight 

long before I knew I was gay."

EXACTLY! I'm not sure I have ever heard anyone put it quite that way but it is, for me, the perfect answer and perspective on what it's like to not be heterosexual.

I read Brian's complete quote on Joe.My.God.:

"The truth is I was gay my whole life. I had dated girls in high school. I think I knew I wasn't straight long before I knew I was gay. I knew by the time I got to college that I was gay. My team actually came to me to ask me whether I was gay. They wanted to talk about it. They asked me about the struggle and when I was going to tell people. I didn't go through the same struggles as people today. Today, you have 14-15-16 year olds so confident and secure in their sexuality. I was not. I wasn't a gay 17-year-old ready to come out to the world. When I got to college, I realized I was gay. I just didn't know how to go about it. My college didn't have a LGBT group to give me the language to come out. It was my quarterback who asked me first."

 - Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims, whom ESPN calls  "the only college football captain to ever come out."

OUT SPOKEN: ELLEN ON THE SCOUTS

Ellen has such a deliciously effective way of making her point using humor and heart.

She weighed today in on the debate going on within the Boy Scouts of America organization regarding a proposal to lift its ban on openly gay members and leaders.

During her monologue, Ellen has this gem of a statement: ‘I realize this is a big decision for the Boy Scouts because, if the Boy Scouts start treating gays equally they’re going to become the first group to do it – after the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard, all of the United Kingdom and Cher.’

She also had this observation: ‘They won’t let their members be gay, well, openly gay anyway, but they’re letting them wear neckerchiefs and green short shorts.’

And this one: ‘When you’re camping in the woods, do you realy need to be worried about someone’s sexual orientation? You should be worried about bears and poison ivy and poison oak and black widows and tics and Lyme Disease.’

Ellen also said it is ‘heartbreaking’ that gays are excluded.

‘Obviously I think that the Boy Scouts should allow gay members,’ she told her audience. ‘The fact that they don’t is insane. … I hope when (they) finally decide to take action, they make the right decision.’

Thanks to Greg in Hollywood

OUT SPOKEN: NPH SAYS: CALL THE BOY SCOUTS...TODAY!

You can also send a personal email to the Boy Scouts: NationalSupportCenter@Scouting.org. Sample message (keep it short): 

"Dear Boy Scouts of America, I think everyone should have the chance to take part in Scouting. I support an end to the ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. Sincerely..."

THAT'S 1-972-580-2330 

If you don't call, I'll sick Ernestine on your asses!

source

OUT SPOKEN: CYNDI LAUPER: FORTY TO NONE PROJECT

Lauper Launches Forty To None Project

Gay icon, diva, musician, singer, LGBT advocate and ally, and tireless worker in helping homeless LGBTQ youth, Cyndi Lauper has once again stepped forward to help.
She is launching a new project, Forty To None, to help homeless LGBTQ youth--and 40% of all homeless young people are LGBT.

Cyndi Lauper:

Five years ago, on the Christopher Street Pier in New York City, my eyes were opened.

I was doing a photo shoot for Interview magazine and thought it was important to include some gay and transgender youth to reflect my work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.  My goal was to send a message of inclusion and acceptance, but what I realized after talking to these kids was just how different my vision was from what they had experienced in their own lives.

The youth on the pier that day told me story after story of exclusion, of rejection and of pain. As a mother, I can’t ever imagine throwing my child away. I can’t imagine kicking a kid out of my house. I can’t imagine rejecting a person who is, literally, a part of me.

But for the kids of the pier, that rejection wasn’t something unimaginable. It was their reality.

Anybody can end up on the street. Homelessness knows nothing of age or race or gender. It can happen to anybody.

But when statistics show that as many as 40% of the nation’s homeless youth are gay or transgender, compared to 3-5% of the overall youth population, we have to acknowledge that we’re facing a crisis. The disparity suggests that gay and transgender youth stand a much higher chance of becoming homeless because of abuse, neglect and familial rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity that drive them to the streets.

The kids on the Christopher Street Pier that day, and the other gay and transgender youth living on the streets who make up the 40% have done nothing wrong, other than being born the way they were supposed to be.  And because of who they are, these kids have been forced to leave their homes, subjected to abuse or worse.

This week, we launch the Forty to None Project, a national program of the True Colors Fund dedicated to raising awareness around lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness.

And I want you to know that we’ve done our homework. The True Colors Fund started this project with a year-long assessment of the state of affairs for homeless LGBT youth. We looked at the state and level of services available to them and the public’s awareness of the issue.

We traveled the country, visiting shelters, drop-in centers, outreach programs and advocacy organizations. We talked to community leaders, service providers, government officials and the kids themselves. We held meetings in 10 cities, from Washington to New York to San Francisco to Minneapolis. We looked for the holes in the system, and we’ve developed a five-year plan to make significant changes happen.

In our first five years, Forty to None will work to drive down the number of gay and transgender youth on the streets through a campaign that includes: education and awareness to raise the visibility of these young people and the direct service providers who work with them; advocacy at the state and federal levels; strengthening the network of services, advocates, community leaders and others working on the issue; training service providers to be more inclusive and understanding of the issues specifically affecting these kids; and empowering homeless gay and transgender youth themselves with valuable resources and information.

For two years, I’ve been telling people that it’s time to Give a Damn about a part of our society that has been swept under the rug for far too long. The Give a Damn Campaign, another program of the True Colors Fund, has been about raising awareness of the problem, especially amongst my fellow straight people. The Forty to None Project is the next step. Forty to None is about action.

As the country continues to evolve and the stigma of growing up gay finally begins to fade, it’s easy to forget that we’re still facing a crisis.

Those kids on the pier opened my eyes, and I’ve made it my mission to open everybody else’s. There’s no shortage of organizations focused on ending homelessness or addressing the needs of homeless youth—but everything we’ve learned over the past year has made it clear that runaway and homeless gay and transgender youth are being left behind. These kids, even more than others, have not received the attention, resources and support that they so desperately need.

There’s a void that needs to be filled. There are kids who are struggling and need real help, and my mission is to get them that help.  As I’ve said before—I can’t imagine any parent throwing a kid away. But when it happens, we need to make sure no kid is allowed to fall into a void. That’s why we started the Forty to None Project. Because I give a damn, and society should, too.

Visit the site today and sign the petition [HERE] asking Congress to pass Senator john Kerr's bill, the Reconnecting Youth to Prevent Homelessness Act.

Forty To None

True Colors Fund

We Give A Damn

TOTALLY BOB'S POST FROM I SHOULD BE LAUGHING - because I couldn't have done it better!

OUT SPOKEN: ANNA PAQUIN COMES OUT AS BI: NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE

This is amazing news. Here we have a star, an Oscar winner, coming out during another peak in her popularity, who to my knowledge has had no "gay rumors" about her. Based on my knowledge of Anna, I think we'll see that she is doing this for the benefit of others not herself.

THANK YOU ANNA!!

And you still get the toaster but yours will toast both bread and muffins.

In a new PSA for the True Colors Fund, Anna Paquin, who is engaged to True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer, says she is bisexual.

RadarOnline, which has the video, reports: "Our source tells us that people close to Paquin, who were at the shoot, did not know she was going to make the statement, and it was a surprise to them. ing they 'Give A Damn' about equality as they too publicly declare their sexuality, be it straight, gay or bisexual. The True Colors Fund is the non-profit arm of the True Colors Tour. Co-founded by Cyndi Lauper, the organization, according to it’s website, is dedicated 'to inspire and engage everyone, particularly the straight community, to become active participants in the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) equality and ensure a strong and vibrant LGBT community.'"

Via Towelroad