Beth Pittinger, Executive Director of the Citizen Police Review Board and longtime friend to local activists, seems to have changed her tune of late. Usually on the frontline defending members of the Pittsburgh Organizing Group and other local activists from police-driven infringements on their right to assemble, Pittinger's sensibilities have been offended by local animal rights activists who protested at Dan Onorato's church in response to his decision to kill geese in North Park.
?We?re concerned about the disruption that occurs to the person?s family and neighbors,? says Beth Pittinger, executive director of the CPRB, who called a recent protest by animal-rights activists at the church of county chief executive Dan Onorato ?offensive.?
?There are plenty of other places a group can take their protest,? she says.
To protect the home as a "safe haven," Pittinger wants Pgh City Council to make pickets at dwellings illegal.
Well, that's an interesting twist. It is certainly debatable whether protesting at someone's home is tactically sound or in good taste, assuming one is concerned about such things. But at last check, the Constitution wasn't designed to protect friends and neighbors from being offended.
I'm perplexed that Pittinger has championed this cause. She shows up at just about every peace and justice event in town to keep an eye on police conduct. She pushes for transparency on police procedures regarding crowd control (and the use of tasers). She seems to actually be trying to protect the civil rights of city residents, even when her organization is dismissed as ineffective and powerless.
Unfortunately, I believe that Pittinger has failed to deliver on a promise she made to the LGBTQ community in the fall of 2005 when she agreed to work with the Mayor's office to appoint someone from our community to the CPRB. That was three mayors ago. So I'm skeptical of her ability to deliver. (It would be great if someone could prove me wrong and identify a current member of the CPRB who was appointed to represent the LGBTQ community.)
I'm even more skeptical of her motive for restricting free speech. What does she say to housing and community groups that show up at the front door of slumlords who have refused to take responsibility for their properties? Does the disruption to the neighbors outweight the disruption to the neighbors of the blighted rental properties?
Is it possible that Ms. Pittinger is looking ahead to a potential City-County merger and what that might mean for her organization? Is it just a coincidence that she has spoken out when the protest involved the County Chief Executive, the most powerful Democrat in the region?
I should disclose that Ledcat has ties to the Department of Public Safety, so I fully expect that Ms. Pittinger's defenders would use that to suggest bias on my part. That is probably true. However, I also used to work for a statewide agency that served adults with developmental disabilities and Ms. Pittinger was the former divisional director and ongoing legal guardian to consumers while I was there, giving me ongoing indirect contact with her over civil rights issues. More room for bias? Probably true. Just want to get that out there.
Personally, I think protesting at a church over the geese issue wasn't tactically sound. I think killing geese was a stupid option given that there are proven dog herding methods that are more humane and just as effective. However, I doubt the church folks see it that way. That being said, they had a right to assemble there.
But where would it end? Would survivors of sex abuse at the hands of priests be unable to protest at a church that harbored a perpetrator? What is a so-called Christian politician engaged in political activity in direct conflict with his or her professed faith?
If someone showed up to protest my neighbor harboring her drug-dealing, gun toting son and his incessant need to hurl glass bottles all over the street, I'd bring them glasses of ice team and an assortment of pastries. Alas ///
My favorite example is Fred Phelps of www.godhatesfags.com. He protests at the funeral of soldiers, believing that God is mowing them down to punish America. Laws are being passed to protect the families of soldiers. Unconstitutional laws, but perhaps well intended. Too bad Beth Pittinger and every elected official in the United States didn't feel so moved to restrict free speech when Phelps showed up at the funerals of gay men and women, bearing signs that said "Your son is in hell." What's more offensive -- geese lovers in the parking lot after Mass or a grieving mother faced with personalized hatred directed at her dead child?
The degree of offense is not the point. The point is that Beth Pittinger and the City Council are not in a position to protect people from being offended. Unlike the bubble zone ordinance, this is not a matter of balancing two constitutional rights. If the protestors prevent people from attending their religious services or trespass on private property, enforce the law. But don't strip the protestors of THEIR rights.
One can only imagine that police misconduct must be non-existant if Ms. Pittinger has turned her attention to the woes of Onorato's neighbors. If only that were the case ...
My favorite Christian-flavored homobigot, Diane Gramley of the PA American Family Association, had a little missive published last week in the North section of the Post-Gazette. This time she rallies to the defense of the poor Boy Scouts being persecuted for their own homobigotry. I'd post a quote but it is really rather a rambly as she tries to connect transgender work issues with evicting the boy scouts from their taxpayer financed dwellings in Philadelphia. Along the way, she lambastes Dan Frankel for his homosexual activism.
Boy, she got a lot of mileage out of a simple article about Boy Scouts improving a woodlands trail.
In other news, Pittsburgh got a new bishop. His name is David Zubik. He supports the rights of immigrants and opposes the death penalty, abortion and gay marriage. Of course, like any responsible Catholic, he chose to focus on abortion and gay marriage in the 2004 elections. So sorry little immigrants and folks on death row. You only count in off-election years.
"It is totally inappropriate and out of line for me to suggest the candidates that people would vote for," he said. "It is totally appropriate and in line for me to share what the teachings of the church are, so that when people go into the voting booth, they will register their votes according to all that they have read and prayed over."
And up in Beaver County, Mr. Ian Thompson of Baden reminds his community of Melissa Hart's derring do while in office. Mainly, she "yes, yes, oh yessed" the President.
For those who may have forgotten, last summer, when Republicans still ran the show, Congress spent weeks on end attempting to amend the Constitution to ban flag burning and to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. Once again, Hart was right there voting yes, yes, yes. Meanwhile, close to 50 million Americans were living every day without health insurance, and thousands of young men and women continued to face life-altering injuries and death in the awful quagmire of Iraq.
And don't forget that Saturday is the 2nd Annual Dyke March. It has caused the most PghLesbian controversy that we've seen in months and months. Probably since I accused Chris Potter of sexism. So it is definitely the place to be. Ledcat and I are very proud that we played in part in organizing the Dyke March. Eli is a really cool chica and it was a lot of fun to get to hang out with her even for a few hours. Getting to know her more than makes up for all the accusations others have hurled that I've sold her out because I talked to men about the march. On the radio. With my friend John McIntire. I'm not quite sure if I'll be disdainfully ignored or spat upon on Saturday evening, but I'll have Ledcat with me so I'm not afraid!
Be warned Chris Potter that if you spit at me, Ledcat will give you a swift kick on the shins and steal your reporter pad.
? 633.12 NUMBER OF PETS PERMITTED IN CITY LIMITS; EXCEPTIONS.
No person or residence shall be permitted to own, harbor or maintain more than five (5) dogs or cats or any combination thereof within City limits. This section shall not affect any person or residence whose number of dogs, cats or any combination thereof exceeds the limit of five (5) prior to the effective date of this section and upon elimination of dogs or cats by adoption, death or any permanent removal from that person or residence, owners exceeding the limit of five (5) are not permitted to obtain additional dogs or cats. This section shall not affect kennels and catteries that have been granted a kennel/cattery permit by the City Animal Control Department nor shall it affect kennels registered with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
(Ord. 29-1992, eff. 7-16-92)
I haven't heard this mentioned at all during the whole cat licensing debate. I spoke with the staff at three different City Councilpersons and none of them had heard of this.
Here's the deal --- my dogs are licensed and thus "on the books" whereas my cats are not. If I have more than two cats, I go over the limit. So, if I license my cats, I open myself up to fines or penalties for breaking the pet limit law.
Take it a bit further ... if you face fines and penalties, perhaps you would need to get rid of a pet or two. Where would they go? Would Jim Motznik adopt them? No, inevitably some would end up at the shelters and some would end up on the streets.
There's more. In 1994, PA Commonwealth Court struck down the five-pet limit law of the Borough of Carnegie because it did not connect owning five pets with creating a public nuisance or adversely affects the safety, health and welfare of the community. No one can arbitrarily determine that the pet conditions of five is okay whereas six puts ya over the top. Here's a pet site with a detailed explanation and the court ruling.
Now, this is just me. If I tried to be a law-abiding citizen and licensed my cats, I might get cited for violating the pet limit law. I would not turn my pets over to a shelter. I would not take them to visit Uncle Jimmy. I would not let them roam loose in Manchester and toss some kibble over the fence every day.
I would sue the City.
Yes, that's right. I would drag the City into court based on the 1994 decision and probably win. Tax dollars would be spent defending the City. I doubt the cat licensing fees would cover those expenses.
There are hundreds of households with more than five pets that are perfectly neat and clean and humane. My understanding is that state law permits up to 15 pets (maybe it is 18) and then requires a kennel license. A kennel license brings a greater level of scrutiny to the pet owner. Thus, the municipal duty of protecting the health and welfare of the community is preserved without compromising the liberty of citizens to self-determine how many pets they can care for within the requirements of the law (and sanity). Please don't comment about hoarders. That's a whole different pond of koi. Cat licensing and pet limit laws aren't going to do a damn bit of good for hoarders.
Licensing cats is a waste of tax payer dollars. Put those monies into spay/neuter and trap/release programs. Put those monies into education campaigns about spaying and neutering AND keeping your cat inside.
Maybe giant billboards with Luke stretched out in the Barkalounger with a few cats draped artfully across his lap while he watches the Stillers.
So, call your Councilperson and let them know that a cat licensing law is going to trigger a nasty mess over the pet limit law. Is that really where we should be investing energies? Call Payne and Carlisle. I bet there are dozens of little old ladies with 6 or 7 cats in their districts. Call Koch. Lots of dog/cat households on the Southside. Tell Peduto and Harris you don't want your mother to be dragged down to court because she has 7 animals and give both more ammunition to fight a stupid law.
My understanding is that most of the calls have been coming from outside the City. That's not very helpful. Get your City people to make a call. It takes five minutes b/c they barely listen to you anyway. Well, they listen a bit more attentively than Specter's people. But your boss won't even notice you doing it. Seriously. Call.
And save up a few pennies for my legal expense fund. I'm not going down without a fight.
While over one hundred city residents packed Council Chambers to discuss issues of domestic violence and the police, Luke went golfing. Jeremy Boren at the Trib has the story:
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl played at a celebrity golf tournament rather than face more than 100 women angered by the promotions of three police officers linked to accusations of domestic violence or disturbances in their pasts.
"I can confirm that he was there both days," said Nancy Angus, director of the Mario Lemieux Foundation, which organizes the annual Mario Lemieux Celebrity Tournament.
"He played as an amateur. He didn't play as a celebrity," Angus said Tuesday.
David at 2PJs does an excellent job skewering the hypocrisy.
Wait a sec! He was denying he was there as recently as Sunday - and it was a charitable event?? He's denied he was at a charitable event and then when it was confirmed that he was - THEN he says criticising him for it "smacks of crass politics and yellow journalism"?
Here's what I want to know more about. According to the Mario Lemieux Foundation website, the cost for an amateur to participate in the two-day golf event is $27,000. This includes:
One golf group each day (three golfers per day) of the Pro-Am at the exclusive Laurel Valley Golf Club
Breakfast/lunch in private dining area
Pro-Am gift bag
Team prizes awarded to 1st-3rd place teams on each day
Commemorative money clip
Evening Social for Pro-Am participants, Laurel Valley Golf Club
So, Luke spent $27,000 to go golfing for charity rather than attend a public hearing on police battering women.
Where on earth did he get the $27,000? Maybe he can pull out that "commemorative money clip" and come up with a comparable donation for the Center for Victims of Violence and Crime, Women's Center and Shelter, and PAAR.
Guess whose back in all his self-loathing glory? Yes, that's right ... Santorum's very own spokesfag, Robert Traynham. After licking his wounds with some of the soothing corporate money vis a vis his PR consulting work, Traynham has hitched his wagon to the potential Thompson campaign as a senior advisor.
Now it seems he's changed course and has signed on with actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson's campaign as a senior adviser.
Just two short years ago, blogactive's Michael Rogers outed Traynham as a closeted gay man working for Santorum. Here at Lesbian Central we choked on the hypocrisy of that match.
Apparently, Traynham needs to whomp on his fellow homos a bit more. Thompson on gay issues? Hate Crimes - voted "No" twice. Defense of Marriage Act - voted "Yes." ENDA - voted "No."
As Rogers puts it "At least Robert will feel right at home."
Great. Check out our previous posts on the derring do of our favorite spokesfag.
This afternoon, I thought it might be interesting to live blog an event that the Mayor actually attends. Something critical and groundbreaking, perhaps even newsworthy. Like, say perhaps, a "garden" party to celebrate his single-handed reclamation of a porn palace for the good citizens of Pittsburgh. <insert applause>
So off we toddled to West Park for the 4 PM kick-off time. We were promised live music and refreshments, plus entertainment. After snagging a primo parking spot on Arch Street, we thought things were going to be groovy and we were really looking forward to seeing the theater.
Unfortunately, Luke's partying aptitude requires a heavy dose of yinzerettes and Iron City, because this was just ... sad.
See, the party was across the street from the Garden Theater. But ... we weren't allowed to go in because there was a performance scheduled for later that evening. The nice lady keeping the homeless people away from the refreshment stand told us that we could save $2.00 on admission to the show. She also told us that the garden party was from 1 - 4 PM (it was 4:15 at the time) and refreshments would be served at 5 PM. So, perhaps she wasn't the most reliable of reporters.
This is where I stop the narrative. Why would you throw a party to celebrate reclaiming a theater and not let people see it? What the hell? Instead, I got to see 20 photos of the glory days and argue with a fussy gay man that, no I was not spending time at the Garden in 1974, because I was three years old and dealing with a curfew. Thus, I could not authentically sign his Garden Theater memory book. He seemed pissed.
So we milled around with the yuppies for awhile and fended off the overly eager Citi-Parks employees handing out programs, as well as some frightening giant puppet people. There were a few artsy vendors. I think someone drew a giant circle of protection in chalk around the whole affair to ward off people who don't pay property taxes. <am I being too mean? Ledcat thinks that, yes, I am.>
Meanwhile, I thirsted. The food lady told me that there were two whole coolers of beverages, but none for me. I had to wait until after the Mayor spoke. Cause if you throw a summer party and invite the entire Northside, why provide beverages to slake their thirst? Make 'em wait! I suppose I could trot down to the corner store ... oh wait, this is the Northside. The corner store is 17 blocks away. Darn.
My thirst got the best of me. So we trotted back to Arch Street with plans to head to see our niece and get a glass of water to boot. With ice. On the way, we passed a car with tags that read "Ms. Tonya" and a bumper stickers proclaiming "African-Americans for Kerry/Edwards" so I presume my City Council Rep was there. Good for her.
I hope she brought a bottle of water.
Truth be told, I wasn't really going to live blog. I brought my trusty notepad and several pens. I even wrote some stuff down until I was accosted by yet another puppet person and decided to flee for the relative sanctity of Perry Hilltop. I did make time to stop and tell all the locals (taxpayers and otherwise) that dinner was on at 5 PM sharp.
This was a silly little event designed for self-congratulations and the never-ceasing Mayoral commitment to throw us off the important issues. Who throws a party and doesn't let you see the inside of the building? If my tax dollars built the damn barn, get the friggin giant puppet the hell out of the way and let me see what I have bought.
Maybe they should just send the giant puppets to City Council meetings and leave Luke to do the really important stuff ...
The Newark city school district redacted this photo from the high school yearbook after labeling it "illicit" even though the book featured multiple heterosexual kissing couples. So the district blacked it out. After a brouhaha erupted, the school district offered to provide an "unredacted" version to anyone who wanted it. Huh.
?I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me,? Elizabeth Edwards said at a news conference before the parade started. ?I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.?
She made the remark almost offhandedly in answering the final question from reporters after delivering a standard campaign stump speech during a breakfast hosted by the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, an influential San Francisco political organization. California's presidential primary is Feb. 5, one of the earliest contests in the nation.
She conceded her support puts her at odds with her husband, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who she said supports civil unions among gay couples ? but not same-sex marriages.
?John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted,? she said. ?He has a deeply held belief against any form of discrimination, but that's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town.?
No serious presidential candidate from either major political party has publicly supported gay marriage.
This past week, this photo appeared in the Post-Gazette commemorating the vote to keep same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts. It is not available online, but Mozarti at PghGay.com found it (h/t).
From well-known member of the LGBTQ community Barry Ralph comes this letter to the editor:
As a gay senior citizen, I never thought I'd see the day when a photo would be published such as the one that appeared in Friday's Post-Gazette (Page A-7) of the two men celebrating in Boston ("Massachusetts Vote Supports Legal Status of Same-Sex Marriage in State," June 15). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I did not actually see the photo and only found out about it from Mozarti. I miss all the good stuff when I rush off to work. :-)
Three years ago, the Post-Gazette's Ervin Dyer wrote a half page story on the growth of PrideFest. Two years ago, Caitlin Clearly wrote a short, vapid piece about gay flash. Last year, Anita Srikameswaran wrote a thoughtful story about Governor Rendell's participation in PrideFest and the issue of gay marriage.
This year? PrideFest merits a black and white photo with a caption indicating that 300 people participated in the parade and then went to the festival. It is not even online so I have to tell you to turn to the Region section and look for it.
This is the same thing they do for the Strawberry Festivals and Pumpkin Patch events. Cute picture, little caption and ... next. What the hell does this say about PrideFest -- that we are just a fun little festival with nothing newsworthy happening?
Well, actually, that's not far from the truth. It was a very nice event, but nothing exceptional happened. The parade grand marshall was this very cute older man that I had never heard of who apparently was instrumental in launching funding for AIDS services. He gave a little speech about how great the older gay white men are and how us young folks should respect them. The parade was charming and a little zippy, the vendors did a brisk business, old friends reconnected ... overall, a nice afternoon. But nothing significant really happened.
The big news seemed to be an "adult" street party on Liberty Avenue. I guess that's okay, but the level of hype, IMHO, plays right into stereotypes about our community so I pretty much ignored it. If you want to get drunk and dance on Liberty Avenue, fine. Just don't make it the hallmark of PrideFest.
Maybe PrideFest has become mainstream enough that it serves its purpose of providing a celebration and that's all. Because, frankly, there wasn't any more substance to it. I was astounded at how so many politicians could be in one place and not say anything political. Let's do a quick review of who was there -- Bill, Doug and Jimmy M. from City Council, City Council candidates Bruce Kraus and Patrick Dowd. Luke. Jack McVay.
Let's do a not-so-quick review of who wasn't there. Dan Frankel. Chelsa Wagner. Wayne Fontana. Rich Fitzgerald. Tonya Payne. Dan Onorato. Michael Lamb. Brenda Frazier. Heather Arnet. I'm sure some had good reasons, but it is absolutely noticeable when some of your biggest allies don't attend the biggest event of the year. Allies, perhaps you should let those of us who are paying attention what happened.
Here's my problem. None of them said anything political. They wished us a nice day, lauded the gays that they do know and made some other rah-rah comments. Only Steve Glassman, chairman of the PA Human Relations Commission, even mentioned political issues. I was stunned. Where was my friend Bill's mojo? And what happened to the County Council's promise to work toward consider domestic partner benefits? I guess if no one from County Council shows up, you don't have to talk about that.
So what does this all mean? Have we as a community arrived to the point that PrideFest is benign? After all, our mayor understands our struggle for acceptance. If that's not apocalyptic, I don't know what is .... hey, do you think Luke has gay friends? Do you think he'll ever invite Ledcat and me over for dinner?
Consider this. A week ago, the Post-Gazette ran a very lengthy story, complete with three sidebars, about gay parenting. I was braced for the ire filled letters of protest, but none appeared. In fact, only one letter has been printed and it applauds the article (thanks to Dr. Michael Marshall of the University of Pittsburgh).
In fact, the Post-Gazette and the Trib run gay oriented articles year round. When newsworthy things happen. Maybe PrideFest just isn't newsworthy.
The problem I have is that we can be lulled into a sense of complacency. Sure, life for your average white middle class gay couple has improved dramatically, but many of us still face huge barriers in finding housing, at the workplace, even just walking down the streets. The fact that none of the local fundies show up with protest signs doesn't mean that the anti-gay rhetoric isn't spewing about the faith communities this morning. And I'm sure more than one parent rushed their children past the festival or the drunkfest for fear of gay exposure.
For the first time in a long time, the General Assembly is considering legislation to help us by extending discrimination protections to include sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We aren't fighting back marriage amendments this time. We are fighting for something. Something that our good friends Dan Frankel and Chelsa Wagner are actively supporting. Something that has a chance to pass. This is the time to stand up and be counted, not merely bask in the sun at Riverfront Park or frolic on Liberty Avenue. It is a shame that not a single state legislator could make the time to rally the troops. Dan, Chelsa and Wayne missed a hell of an opportunity to promote this legislation.
Maybe now that Pride is on solid financial footing, they can continue to move forward. Bringing in nationally known comedian Poppy Champlin was refreshing. We liked Eric Himan. Continuing to pump that up and professionalize it is a good step. More Pride events would be nice, too. I know the age old issue is that they can only do as much as their small volunteer crew can manage. So more people need to get involved to make it happen.
We aren't picking strawberries, after all.
ps: if strawberry picking has any sexual connotation whatsoever, I am unaware of it so don't mock me.
