Thoughts in the Interlude

While we await this morning's Supreme Court hearing on the DOMA case, United States v. Windsor, here's some incidentally related things to refresh your mind with.

Your Head Trucker remembers seeing many signs like
this one in the legally segregated South of his childhood.
Little did he suspect that as a gay man, he would spend
most of his adult life shoved aside in just such a waiting room.

• Everyone has heard of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board, 1954. But have you ever studied it? Do you know what pro and con arguments were used at that time about racial segregation, or what reasoning the Court used in ruling it unconstitutional? Just as we saw in yesterday's hearing on the Prop 8 case, the justices were not of one mind, and had to work their way through a swamp of legal and constitutional entanglements, and considerations of original intent of the Fourteenth Amendment about equal protection and due process, in order to reach a decision - so in that sense, Brown is highly relevant reading for us today. If you like, here's the Wikipedia article, with lots of links to primary sources, as well as the actual ruling of the court. And also revealing of the mixed mood of the times, read Governor Leroy Collins's courageous refusal to sign and remarks at the end of the Florida Legislature's Resolution of Interposition, 1957, which declared (unsuccessfully) the Supreme Court's desegration order "null, void and of no force or effect in Florida."

• The more I think about Justice Alito's lame-brained demand for "scientific evidence" that gay marriage is not harmful to society, and Justice Scalia's assoholic demand to be told "when the Constitution changed" - the more my blood boils.  But do read this sweet, cooling essay by a proud daughter:  "What Makes a Family."  Excerpt:

Two gay, Catholic Jesuit psychologists raising a multiracial daughter in San Francisco: it sounds like Hollywood’s next sitcom, but in many ways my life is just like yours. When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments next week on marriage equality, I want the country to know the love that exists in families like mine, and how my upbringing is in many ways an American success story. . . .

• Or this one, in which silence is golden, which warms my heart: "Justice Sotomayor's Quiet Nod to Gay Americans."
• Check out the amusing video of a 1971 takeover of the New York City Marriage Bureau by the Gay Activist Alliance in "The Prehistory of Gay Marriage."  Even the cops seem rather jolly when they arrive on the scene - by contrast, imagine the SWAT team that would respond today.
• Compare this 1989 protest at the same marriage bureau by ACT UP, and the prediction about what would happen across the country within twenty years.
• And you'll get a kick out of humorist Andy Borowitz's little zinger:  "Scalia Furious He Has to Hear about Gay Couples All Week."
• And as a prelude to today's hearing:  "It's All About Edie."
• SCOTUSblog's review of the issues in the Windsor case:  "Will The Court Defend DOMA? In Plain English."
• And in case you've forgotten, here is a summary of the 1,138 federal rights and benefits denied to same-sex couples by DOMA.

That Bor-ing Gay Agenda

Unretouched photograph of actual homosexuals caught in the act of
promoting the gay agenda

Coming soon to your town, courtesy of Randy Roberts Potts, grandson of televangelist Oral Roberts, and his boyfriend, Keaton Johnson.




Randy's Gay Agenda page is on Facebook if you want to check it out.

Lesbian Honored at Buckingham Palace

Her Majesty's Government is far, far ahead of our own: on advice of the government, a lesbian activist was included in the Queen's Birthday Honours list this year. From PinkPaper (links added by me):

Brighton lesbian Clare Dimyon was presented with an MBE by Prince Charles at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, last week.

On Friday, 29 October, Clare Dimyon, 45, was honoured for her “services to promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Central and Eastern Europe”. The honour is a historic first for Pride.

A party of three lesbians of three generations, from Britain, Poland and Hungary accompanied Clare to Buckingham Palace. One of them, Gaby Charing, a 66 year old lawyer exclaimed: “I never thought I’d live to hear the Lord Chamberlain utter the words 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender' inside Buckingham Palace. I remember his office censoring homosexual plays in the sixties.”

Dimyon’s first parade was in London 25 years ago. She was first inspired to take part in Pride parades in Central and Eastern Europe following the events of Riga Pride 2006 and the banned Warsaw Pride of 2005.

Since then she has participated in parades throughout the former Soviet bloc. In 2009, she created the Solidarity Tour, visiting each one in turn, to draw attention to emerging LGBT communities in Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Macedonia, the Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

A clip of Clare speaking at a rally against anti-gay violence in Trafalgar Square last year; the camera wobbles a bit at the start, but it is steadied by the time Clare begins to talk:

Camp Courage: "This is the Time for Telling"

Lt. Dan Choi, speaking about his work with Camp Courage, a travelling workshop in California run by the Courage Campaign to teach community organizing and communication skills to LGBT rights supporters around the state:

I would liken a lot of the things Camp Courage has taught to a lot of the values that the Army tries to inculcate, and I think Camp Courage does that brilliantly. It really just says, “You have to stand up for who you are,” and, “Your fears and your human tendency to hide and to be comfortable are the things that make our movement and our society absolutely weak.”

A lot of people have a sense of worthlessness, particularly within the LGBT community just because of the way society has set up judgment against us. Camp Courage really turned that on its head, and says that the sense of worthlessness and that hiding is what makes you worthless. When we break through that, even with all the consequences — particularly with me, the consequence of getting kicked out of the military — some of us feel like we’ve been stripped of our dignity. But us just standing and sharing that story, that is our dignity in itself. And so that’s really the message that I’ve tried to portray to a lot of people as much as possible — there is so much strength in that very simple value of honesty and integrity. I’ve realized that parts of my identity help me to spread that message in different ways, and they build a platform, in a way, so that I can communicate to a wide array of people. But the basics of it all, the foundation, is the fact that when you stand up, you confer that dignity upon yourself. . . .

We can have all this legislation and we can have all these successes in the courtroom or in Congress or even in the executive branch or the bureaucratic level, and those are measureable. But the true measure for me, when I think about my work and this activism, is are we capable as individual gay people in the world to live honestly, and how have we progressed in the ability for people to come to terms with themselves. So when you look at that very noble end state, then every single thing we do, even if we seem disunited, is working toward that.

If you think just in terms of if the activism is going to the end of having legislation, then, sure, you can think of it in terms of lobbying. You can look at the other lobbies and see other constructs and the constraints of our particular political system. But my goal from the very beginning is to tell every soldier—and of course that’s applicable to every Southern Baptist, or every Asian-American, or every gay person in America and the world — that you are honorable. When we can make that message very clear to all these people, I think, in the end, that is much more important for us as a community, to have that dignity. Are we there yet? I think we’ve come a long way in that goal.

The Dallas Principles: Speaking for You?

Stop telling your fundamentalist kinfolks that there is no "gay agenda" - it's all down in writing now (cue Wagnerian trumpets and timpani): The Dallas Principles. And if you aren't with 'em - you're against 'em, it's that simple.

What, you didn't hear about it? Girlfriend, you mean you didn't get the fax or the email or the invite?! Gee, that's too bad. Well, confidentially, I didn't get one, either . . . must have been an oversight. Everybody knows I've shown my principles all over Dallas.

But who wrote this earth-shaking document? More than that, a bigger question is, what purpose does this document serve? What does it do for anybody? Why is it needed?

Been meaning to blog about this but haven't had the chance to study it till now. Prompted by a continuing discussion over on my truckbuddy NG's blog, here are the Dallas Principles, an unsigned, undated document whipped up May 15-17 by 24 LGBT folks who got together up the road in Big D and took it upon themselves to make this big, splashy pronouncement:

PREAMBLE

President Obama and Congress pledged to lead America in a new direction that included civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. We now sit at a great moment in our history that inspires the nation to return to its highest ideals and greatest promise. We face a historic opportunity to obtain our full civil rights; this is the moment for change. No delay. No excuses.

Nearly forty years ago, a diverse group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people stood up to injustice at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. In doing so, they submitted themselves to bodily harm and criminal prosecution. Their demand was simple -- equal protection under the law.

Still today, full civil rights has eluded the same community that rioted forty years ago. Instead, untold sums of resources have been spent to divide our nation and turn our lives into a political football.

At several junctures in American history, the stars have aligned to deliver the promise of equal protection under the law to those previously denied. [cue "this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius . . . " - Russ] At this unique time in history, our nation must once again exercise the great tradition of making its people equal.

Justice has too long been delayed. A clear path toward full civil equality for the LGBT community is overdue and must come now.

Using fear and misunderstanding to justify discrimination is no longer acceptable in this nation. Those content with the way things are will be judged harshly by history. Those who do not actively advance these ideals or offer excuses will be judged just as harshly. Those who attempt to divide our community or to delay and deny action on civil equality, waiting for the right moment to arrive, will be held accountable. [cue Darth Vader theme - Russ]

We reject the idea that honoring the founding principles of our country is controversial. We believe in the inherent human dignity of all people. No longer will we submit our children, our family, our friends and ourselves as a political tool for any Party or ideology. A new day has arrived.


PRINCIPLES

The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action. In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now. Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.


FULL CIVIL RIGHTS GOALS

Being united by common principles and engaging in united action, we will achieve the following goals:

1.DIGNITY AND EQUALITY. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person has inherent dignity and worth, and has the right to live free of discrimination and harassment.

2.FAMILY. Every LGBT person has the right to a family without legal barriers to immigration, civil marriage or raising children.

3.ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. Every LGBT person has the right to economic opportunity free from discrimination in employment, public housing, accommodation, public facilities, credit, and federally funded programs and activities.

4.EDUCATION. Every LGBT child and youth has the right to an education that is affirming, inclusive and free from bullying.

5.NATIONAL SECURITY. Every LGBT person should have the opportunity to serve our country openly and equally in our military and foreign service.

6.CRIME. Every LGBT person should enjoy life protected against bias crimes.

7.HEALTH CARE. Every person should have access to affordable, high quality, and culturally competent health care without discrimination.


CALL TO ACTION

1.We demand that government officials act now to achieve full civil rights without delay.

2.Our organizations and individuals need to develop a collaborative and revolutionary new organizing model that mobilizes millions of supporters through emerging web and phone technologies.

3.All LGBT individuals must accept personal responsibility to do everything within their power for equality and should get involved in the movement by volunteering, giving and being out.

4.We will hold elected officials and our organizations accountable for being transparent and achieving full civil rights by active participation when possible and active opposition when necessary.

5.Our allies need to be proactive in public support for full civil rights.

6.Every government measure that quantifies the US citizenry must permit LGBT individuals to self-identify and be counted in every way citizens are counted.

7.We demand that the media present LGBT lives in fair, accurate and objective ways that neither include nor give credence to unsubstantiated, discriminatory claims and opinions.

Mmm, so just who is this "we" that the document speaks for? Is it all of teh gayz, or just some, or merely a self-selected, elite handful?

Your Head Trucker is on the case, and from the website, here are the identities and occupations of the 24 Authors - none of whom were elected, btw, to represent our community:

Juan Anhoven-Jover, Ph.D. - Miami Beach, FL - a high-tech entrepreneur who retired at age 40, now a philanthropist; co-founder of eQualityGiving.org.

Ken Anhoven-Jover - Miami Beach, FL - emergency medicine physician and co-founder of eQualityGiving.org.

John Bare - San Francisco, CA - former research biologist/geneticist, now a donor and activist.

Jarrett Tomas Barrios - Boston, MA - formerly an openly gay state senator in Massachusetts for nine years, now runs a health access foundation.

Dana Beyer, M.D. - Montgomery County, MD - physician, surgeon, scientist, and political activist.

Jeffrey H. Campagna - New York, NY - independent film producer, attorney, fundraiser, and LGBT organizer, formed ThePowerOnline.org in the wake of Prop 8.

Mandy Carter - Durham, NC - African-American lesbian political activist since 1968, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, owner of Mandy Carter Consulting.

Michael Coe - Washington, D.C. - oversees operations at the Hawthorn Group and heads the firm's State and Local Government Relations Practices.

Jimmy Creech - Raleigh, N.C. - a United Methodist minister for 29 years, has worked to end bigotry against LGBT people since 1987, ordination revoked in 1999 for disobedience to the church.

Allison Duncan - San Francisco, CA - founder and CEO of Amplifier Strategies, works closely with donors and philanthropists to "achieve measurable social impact" with their dollars.

Michael Guest - Washington, DC - appointed as an openly gay Ambassador (to Romania, 2001), resigned 2004 to protest discriminatory policies in the State Department; now Senior Adviser to the Council for Global Equality.

Joanne Herman - Boston, MA - first transgender member of the Boards of Point Foundation and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders; has written numerous columns for The Advocate on transgender issues.

Donald Hitchcock - Washington, DC - has held leadership and activist roles in IBM Employee Alliance for LGBT Equality, Human Rights Campaign, DC Youth Pride, National Coalition for LGBT Health, and DC for Marriage.

Lane Hudson - Washington, DC - recognized as a Time Magazine Person of the Year for his political blogging, also recognized as influential by The Advocate and Out Magazine.

Charles Merrill - Palm Springs, CA - of the Merrill Lynch family, philanthropist, artist, and activist.

Dixon Osburn - Washington, DC - CEO of the Osburn Network, co-founder and former Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Lisa Polyak - Washington, DC - on the Board of Directors of Equality Maryland, Moderator of Families with Pride, in Baltimore.

Barbra Casbar Siperstein - Edison, NJ - President of New Jersey Stonewall Democrats and member of the New Jersey Civil Unions Review Commission; New Jersey's first transgender delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 2004 and 2008.

Pam Spaulding - Durham, NC - editor and publisher of the award-winning blog, PamsHouseBlend.com, one of two LGBT blogs selected to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention as a member of the press pool.

Andy Szekeres - Denver, CO - staff member of numerous LGBT and political campaigns, most recently that of openly gay Congressman Jared Polis, elected in 2008.

Lisa Turner - Virginia Beach, VA - president and owner of The Turner Group, Ltd.; political and campaign consultant for 18 years, also lecturer and instructor.

Jon Winkleman - New York, NY - founding member of ThePowerOnline.org; recently served on the board of National Stonewall Democrats and Hillary Clinton's National LGBT Steering Committee.

Paul Yandura - Washington, DC - served as LGBT outreach director for the Clinton/Gore '96 campaign, founding director of the Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council; founding partner of Scott+Yandura, political consultants.

What I'm seeing is a handful of very well-heeled folks, and a bigger number of writers, bloggers, and political activists who can put a message out and stir the pot good.

Now, all these folks sound like they have done good work for the queer community, no doubt; but ya know, guys - I just have this little problem with people, even nice, smiling, well-scrubbed and well-intentioned ones, coming up with a list in secret, and then telling me they are MY values and goals.

Don't you? Or am I just being too sensitive here?

Check out their FAQ page, then let me know what you think, guys, let's talk about this one. It's going to be quoted in the media many times as being your principles. You got a problem with that?