African-American civil rights activists and would be Presidential candidate Al Sharpton called out the Christian right for obsessing on gay rights and abortion to the peril of social justice issues including poverty, education and civil rights.

Tony Perkins, official spokeswhore for the wingnuts, disagrees.  He believes that poverty and education issues are symptoms of a the breakdown of the family unit. 

So if we criminalize abortion and homosexuality, we'll end poverty.  Huh.

I'm with Al. 

From the PG:

In response to a national church decision that appears to allow local option on the ordination of sexually active gay clergy, Pittsburgh Presbytery declared yesterday that it will continue to accept only clergy who "live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness." It also reiterated a prohibition on its clergy conducting marriages for same-sex couples.

That's our options.  Switch teams or remain chaste. 

The Rev. Jim Glatz, pastor of Union Presbyterian Church, compared clear standards on sexual behavior to the effort to keep fire in a fireplace, instead of allowing it to burn down the house. He alluded to ministries destroyed by clergy sexual misconduct.

"Sex is a good gift of a loving God that needs to be kept within the loving union of a man and a woman," he said.

Forcing homosexuals to be chaste by denying them marriage is a nice sidestep. Don't ask, don't pray?  Don't ask, don't bless?  Don't ask, don't fear?  Which is it ....

Perhaps Reverend Glatz should put a bit more of his energies into taming the out of control heterosexuals in his pastoral areas and less into demonizing homosexuals.  Where's the fun in that?

I have been brought to my knees by a mighty round of ailment and have barely touched a computer over the past two weeks.  Thanks for all the inquiring and encouraging emails.  It is nice to be missed. :-)

I'm sure you've caught most of this but I'll do a quick round up of some things that may have slipped beneath your radar.

Mark Foley - Scummy pedophile hiding behind alcoholism, history of abuse and the turmoil of being gay?  Boo fucking hoo.  On behalf of alcoholics, victims of abuse, homosexuals and all of our families, grow a pair and take responsibility for being a fucking pedophile.  As for Hastert and all the rest, are you really surprised at their desperate desire to cover this up and somehow blame the homosexuals --- the Catholics have been doing this same maneuver for years.  And its pathetic to consider abolishing the page program to "protect the children."   Even the Catholics didn't go that far. 

The always eloquent LA Johnson wrote a two-part series for the Post-Gazette about  a local woman, Dannylee Mitchell, who is suing her former employer for discrimination. Dannylee is a transgender woman and believes she was dismissed because of her gender identity rather than her work performance.  This is an amazing little series, very brave and forthright.  I have never met Dannylee, but I admire her courage in sharing so much of her inner life with Post-Gazette readers.  Go check it out.

Reverend Janet Edwards published an Op-Ed piece on her struggle with the Presbyterian Church over performing a wedding for two women.  She explains why she is pleading innocent.   Here's the backstory on our coverage of Janet's situation.

The Lesbian and Gay Film Festival opens this month.

Former Whitehall native James Yearsley now of Tampa wrote in a lovely little anti-gay diatribe to the Post-Gazette that was only printed in the online edition.  Don't ask, Don't tell, Mr. Yearsley opines, keeps the military blood supply HIV free.  Good to know, Jim. 

Contrary to reports from the PA Department of Education, incidents of bullying is significantly high for gay and lesbian students.  A report from GLSEN indicates that 80% of respondents had heard homphobic language in school.   Only 12% of Pennsylvania schools have Gay Straight Alliances in comparison with 22% of schools nationwide.  GSA's are an important tool in addressing homophobic harassment and bullying.

I'm sure there are stories I missed, but they'll resurface soon I am sure.  Enjoy this beautiful day!

In another step forward, the Philadelphia School District has added LGBT History Month (October) to the other culturally significant items included in a student calendar which will be sent home with all students (Philly Inquirer)

Noting that October is Gay and Lesbian History Month is an attempt to be inclusive and is no different from recognizing months devoted to the history or heritage of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians, said Cecilia Cummings, a spokeswoman for the district.

"The school district maintains and upholds Policy 102, which is a multiracial, multicultural gender-education policy," she said. "Basically, it's a policy intent on fostering knowledge and respect for people of all races, ethnic groups, social classes, genders, religions, disabilities and sexual orientations."

Some parents are up in arms.  Shocker!  Nicola Rucker thinks her son shouldn't be learning about this "stuff" until he's old enough to come ask her about it.  He's 9 years old.  He's old enough to ask.  The problem isn't the questions he'll be asking, but the answers she'll be giving.  She throws out the tired old arguement that sexual orientation is a preference.  So it will be very interesting for her to explain to her 9 year old why Mommy chose to be a breeder instead of a dyke.

According to his authorized biography, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has his priorities in order (AP).

"He found it little short of outrageous that church leaders should be obsessed with issues of sexuality in the face of the challenges of AIDS and global poverty," wrote Allen.

That's John Allen, Tutu's former press secretary and author of "Rabble Rouser for Peace" which will be released on Tutu's 75th birthday in October.

Tutu decried the capitulation of Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, to conservative forces in the church on issues such as the ordination of gay priests.

Do you think it will matter?

Here's a bit of a roundup from the blogosphere coverage ...

Ann Rodger's PG story was picked up all over the country, including The Huffington Post.

Pam's House Blend points out while 14,000 seats in the Mellon Arena remained empty, Dobson didn't miss an opportunity to make the Christian connection with the African-American community.

Street Prophets note that a turnout of 3,000 doesn't bode well for electoral turnout among the wingnut faithful.

Regarding the Antifa contingent, there's a LiveJournal report here  and a blurb from their own website here. 

According to the Post-Gazette, 3,000 Pittsburghers showed up to listen to the Focus on the Family hatefest spew its usual wingnut messages: Democrats kill babies, Democrats hate families, Democrats embrace homosexual perversion, blah, blah, blah.  One interesting twist was his open criticisms of Republicans for being too soft.  Never fear - he did his best softshoe endorsement-that's-not-an-endorsement of Ricky "My Children Lie For Me" Sanctimonious.

The good news is the Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community did not let that message go unchallenged. 

Those waiting to hear James Dobson's message last night parked in lots above Mellon Arena and trickled toward Gate 1. Those hoping to counteract Mr. Dobson's message crowded in front of the entrance, lining both sides, creating a tunnel of signage -- in essence, one message forming the physical passageway to the opposite message.

Here, perhaps only here, the two ends of a polarizing issue rubbed against each other. Those walking into the arena saw some 150 protesters. They saw two arrests. They saw signs -- for instance, "5 Christian kids + 2 Christian moms = 1 Christian family." And then they kept walking.

150 people!  That's awesome.  For a midweek 5:00 PM turnout, that's a powerful statement about the impact Dobson's anti-gay message has had on our community.

You'll recall some tension between the "Standing With All Families" organizers and Pittsburgh's newest incarnation of RESYST! (now known as Antifa).  How about this:

For several minutes, the signing and chanting gave way to mayhem. Just before 6 p.m., a band of teens and twenty-somethings -- dressed exclusively in black, and wearing fabric over their mouths -- approached the arena cursing about Dr. Dobson and fascism. Several in the group -- Pittsburgh Antifa, unaffiliated with the rally -- attempted to rush onto Mellon Arena property holding a sign. Security officers stopped the blitz, and police later handcuffed two members, arresting them for disorderly conduct.

Then, things again grew calm. The Antifa members joined with the assembly, creating an odd union of peace-preachers dressed in rainbow colors and radicals holding signs saying "Feed Dobson to the Lions."

Ledcat was there last night (I'm in Phoenix at a conference) and reports that Antifa made their presence known but did not violate the space of the other protestors.  They got themselves arrested and all is well in their world I suppose.  She reports that the police did have at least one dog for crowd control, but those protesting (aside from the trespassers) followed instructions and there was no problem at all.

And I still have to say hurrah to Antifa for showing up to make a statement, however ill advised.  I have many friends who couldn't bother to be there for a variety of reasons, but still feel compelled to complain about Focus on the Family.  Kudos to the 150 people who made it a priority.

I love the image of the last paragraph quoted above.  That's the new queer community at its best. 

David Schelbe, Vice President of Pittsburgh PFLAG, attended the rally itself.  He has this to say:

Last night, at Pittsburgh?s Mellon Arena, [Dobson] whipped his devoted followers into a focused frenzy using fear and hate as rallying cries.  Almost everyone was on their feet.  But, as they stood for family values, they did not stand for mine.

I wish I had been there.

Local Presbyterian minister Janet Edwards has been formally accused of violating Presbyterian Church law when she performed a wedding ceremony for a lesbian couple in 2005 (PG).

The Presbyterian Church (USA) permits blessing of same-sex unions as long as the service cannot be confused with a marriage ceremony. But Ms. Edwards intended this to be a marriage ceremony.

The charges, filed Tuesday by a task force that has been investigating a complaint against her for a year, accused her of "knowingly and wilfully performing a marriage ceremony for two individuals of the same sex that was contrary to the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

Ledcat and I were guests at the wedding.  It was a very sacred event and I feel rather sad that Janet is under fire.  Sad, but not surprised. 

A church court in Pittsburgh Presbytery will hear the case. Its verdict can be appealed by either side to regional and national church courts. If found guilty, Ms. Edwards faces sentences ranging from a reprimand to permanent removal from ministry.

Hurrah to Janet for not bowing to bigotry.  We should all be so steadfast in our faith.

"I do not understand my action to be contrary to the constitution [of the church]. It was a fulfillment of my ordination vows. It fulfilled the instruction of the Presbyterian Church in 1978 to provide all pastoral tenderness to gays and lesbians."

KDKA's John McIntire had Janet on his radio program Wednesday night.  Click here for that story. 

Previous PghLesbian coverage of this issue. 

Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community is taking a stand against the hate and fear spread with glee by wingnuts like Focus on the Family and their other lunatic (but rich!) family values crowd organizations.

As we reported last month, Focus on the Family patriarch Jimmy Dobson and his merry band of bigots are rolling into town later this month for a good old fashion hatefest/rally for the family values candidates event. 

Not to be underestimated, LGBTQ organizers have been working diligently on response efforts.  What's great about this approach is that its not merely a reaction to FotF.  Its a thoughtful response to the role of faith in the lives of contemporary homosexuals.  Here's the plan in a nutshell:

Monday, September 11 - GLAAD media training, Gay & Lesbian Community Center

Tuesday, September 12 - Town Hall meeting on "Religion in the 2006 and 2008 elections", Andy Warhol Museum

Sunday, September 17 -  An evening with Lars Clausen, First United Methodist (this guy rode a unicycle across America)

Monday, September 18 - Gay civil rights film and discussion, Friends Meeting House

Wednesday, September 20 - Stand With All Families Rally, Mellon Arena

Here's what the organizers have to say ...

Our presence around the arena on the night "Focus on the Family Action" is in town for their "Stand for the Family Rally" is meant to also open dialogue but through sounds, signs, standing and strolling. We will be encouraging a respectful presence at the arena that night, with the following:

a gathering area at corner of Center and Mario Lemieux Way for songs led by Rennaissance City Choir people, diverse families as a visible statement, signs with various messages, read poetry,etc.  Additionally, walking the perimiter of the sidewalks of the arena we are encouraging diverse families (with or without kids, couples, families made up of friends, parents and adult children, etc.etc.) to come down wearing either the same color T-shirt for their unit or we'll provide them with a sash so they can stroll the perimeter holding hands, holding signs and otherwise creating a visible statement that diverse families exist and love.

 

We will also have leaflets we pass out maybe saying "What Did Jesus Teach About Homosexuality?" and then you open it and there's nothing inside.  Ha!

Sounds good so far.  I am very bummed because I will be out of town for work that entire week.  I'll miss all the fun.  Thankfully, Ledcat has plans to be there with bells on and will give me all the scoop. 

So dust off your protest signs or, if you prefer, sign up for one of the other events.  Get your Casey for Senator bumper stickers on your car and plant those yard signs.  Make no mistake (as I've said before) that Papa Jimmy is coming to town to rally for Ricky making visibility an issue for that evening AND on election day.

Stay tuned for event details.  Or visit Marriage Equality PA. 

As reported earlier, Jimmy Dobson and his merry band of bigots are rolling into town in mid-September for a very special "Stand for the Family" hatefest as only the Christian wingnuts can muster ....

Never fear, however, for Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community is taking action and taking a stand.  Sayeth Marriage Equality organizer and Pittsburgh hometown girl Dana Elmendorf ...

Whether you are a glbtq person or an allie, it?s time for us to interrupt this rhetoric and show that our families are real. The only families being threatened are ours which lack the same civil rights protections as heterosexual married couples. We need to be visible and outspoken in refraiming this issue to reflect the reality that our families exist, are valued and that it is possible to follow one?s faith and spiritual journey while witnessing for compassion and peace for ALL families.

Multiple events are planned with the most prominent being rallies before and after the FotF event. 

You can get involved with the planning.  The first meeting will be Tuesday, August 29, 2006  from 7  - 9 PM at the GLCC in Squirrel Hill.   Just show up.

Some agree with the planned action, others think it feeds into the agenda of the bigots.  What's a given is that if we do nothing but stay home and complain, they win.