We did a lot of gay things this weekend ... the dyke march, the quiet storm queer performance, pride march, pridefest, pride baseball game, etc. All of them had their awesome moments.
There was only one moment that really pissed me off. And it was when a self-styled queer woman had the gall to suggest that my girl and I aren't the "type" of lesbians to show up at either a dyke march or the recent queer cabaret show (Steel Queer N'At).
Meaning we aren't dyke enough, queer enough, cool enough, hip enough and a whole other list of prejudicial exlusionary things enough for this chick's comfort.
I guess its easy to take a look at us and write us off as middle class white yuppie lesbians. And, yes, that is part of who we are ... we have a house, two cars, professional jobs, advanced degrees and all that assimilationist stuff that goes along with it. What you don't see if you don't bother to look is the important stuff about who we are -- our values, our beliefs, our practices, our contributions, our commitment, and so forth.
Here's a small slice of what you f*cking don't know about us. You don't know how many hours of volunteer work we do. You don't know how we choose to spend the money we earn working public service jobs rather than for corporate America. You don't know if we eat meat, recycle, take care of our aging family members, ride share, go the library, live in an inner city neighborhood, drop everything to help our friends, support LGBTQ human service agencies, shop at thrift stores, feed homeless cats or boycott Wal-Mart. You don't know if we stand up, speak out, shut up, kick ass, takes names and speak to the manager when we see discrimination, oppression, injustice, unfairness or plain old hatred. You don't know if we recognize our privileges. You don't know what we say when get access to people with power and money. You don't know how many times we've been harassed, assaulted, violated, picked on, laughed at, mistreated, misled, denied, ignored, repudiated and disregarded because we are gay or women or both.
Guess what, honey? You need to f*cking get over yourself. Who the hell are you to tell either of us - whom you barely know - that we aren't cool enough to play in your sandbox? This is the kind of exclusive crap that reinforces those giant walls that keep women in our community disempowered.
What you also don't know is that you pissed off the wrong lesbians. Because now we will come to every f*cking event there is and we will plop our middle-class asses down right next to you and make you acknowledge us. And we will bring others -- from Sewickley and Homestead and Bethel Park and Greensburg --- we will invite them to be part of the dyke experience and they will come. There will be minivans parked next to bicycles. There will be burgers and tofu. They will listend to WYEP and KDKA.
Nearly 125 women of all ages, ethnicities, sizes and shapes turned out Friday evening for Pittsburgh's first-ever dyke march, a grassroots effort organized by two local queer women in less than one month.
The event kicked off with a rallyesque bang at the CMU lawn with some spoken word, a few djs and a lot of lady mingling. We marched from CMU to Pitt and back along the Forbes/Fifth corridor. The pace was a little fast for those of us who aren't uber-physical, but the energy was high as the parade participants chanted, cheered and enjoyed the delicious feeling of being amongst a crowd of women laying claim to the dyke mantle.
The organizers expected/hoped for about 40 participants especially as they relied mainly on word of mouth to promote the event. They got well over 100 women, some reportedly driving in from West Virginia to attend.
The event grew out of frustration that most spaces in the local community are defined by men, either the men who attend or the men who own the actual space. This holds particularly true for PrideFest where some sense that queer women are invisible. Some women just opt not to participate in the LGBT community or travel out of state to attend dyke-friendly events. Eli and Khalia, the organizers, chose to create dyke affirming spaces and settled on a dyke march to coincide with PrideFest.
They are both quick to point out that the PrideFest Committee and the Gay & Lesbian Community Center have been supportive, providing listings of the march on their calendars and spreading the word about the event. PrideFest organizer Jeff Freedman told the City Paper that he viewed the Dyke March as a mobilization of the community, something he claims is long overdue.
The event did face an organizing problem when the Pittsburgh City Police failed to show up on time for the start of the march even though the organizers had followed all of the city policies and procedures to request the permit and arrange the event. They tried repeatedly to contact the police and were unsuccessful. Rather than see the event collapse, they turned to allies and asked them to help block traffic counting on the fact that the permit would offset potential problems.
We marched up Forbes and all the way to Fifth Avenue near the Cathedral of Learning when one squad car from Pittsburgh's Zone 4 showed up at the event. Organizers showed him the permit and he allowed the event to continue. This sargeant stayed for about 20 minutes and then left the group to finish the parade unescorted.
The event ended back at the lawn where jubilant women spent some time decompressing from the bit of a high this sort of dyke-positive event had created. I spent some time talking with both Eli and Khalia to get their perspectives on the value of creating dyke friendly spaces. I found them both to be articulate, passionate and -- perhaps most importantly -- willing to take action to build the dynamics they think will strengthen the community.
What I did not find was any sense of man-hating or male-bashing or desire to completely disengage from the male homodynamic. I did an informal survey at PrideFest about the Dyke March and found that a lot of the women who did not attend had heard these sort of rumors about the event and the organizers. Fortunately, they were willing to listen to our experience and expressed a genuine interest in participating in the future once we reassured them that no one was planning to castrate gay boys.
These women have done a good job creating a dyke-affirming event. The next challenge is to reach out beyond their circles of genderqueer women to all those dykes who didn't attend, didn't hear about it and are pretty much mainstream. Their voices should be part of the dialogue because they too are being disregarded by those in power. There are lots and lots of suburban dykes in Pittsburgh complete with minivans, car seats and years of misogeny on thier backs.
More on that later when I discuss why being labeled an assimilationist is not cool ...
Join members of the local trans community and their allies to celebrate, commemorate and advocate for trans-inclusion within progressive, queer and feminist communities.
Here's a bit o'background for those of you asking what the heck camp trans is about. Click to go the Camp Trans website.
Camp Trans is an annual gathering of trans people and their allies in Michigan with the intent of:
Protesting the exclusion of trans women from women-only spaces, most notably the Michigan Womyn?s Music Festival;
Building a trans-inclusive community that is welcoming and safe for all;
Empowering the next generation of activists to fight for trans issues locally through organizer trainings, workshops, and leadership development; and
Advocating for the inclusion of trans issues in progressive, queer, and feminist movements by building coalitions with supportive organizations and bringing attention to local campaigns.
This is a divisive issue here in my little local gay women's circle. The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival is hallowed ground among some women. Even the Correspondents don't see eye to eye on this issue. But I'm writing this post so I'm gonna tell you what I think.
I won't set foot at the Womyn's Festival as long as they exclude transwomen, genderqueer women and so forth. Don't get me wrong -- I bet Michigan is a wonderful experience and even though I prefer to camp with AC, television and showers, I'd probably enjoy the opportunity participate. But I can't do it. It seems wrong in 2006 to be having these kinds of divisive battles and inconsistent with the emergence of an entire generation of queer homosexuals. Its like shopping at Wal-Mart which the Correspondents never ever do. I'm not willing to trade the welfare of hundreds of thousands of employees and their families to save $$ on my dog food.
And I don't want to trade on my white/lesbian/middle class privilege to go to a music festival -- it would feel very artificial b/c there's at least 200 women who cannot attend sitting up the road. I'd rather use that privilege to do something good for my community instead of just doing something good for my personal enjoyment. Maybe I really am too much of a social worker after all. Whatever.
So mark your calendars for Friday, July 21 and head over to The Quiet Storm to show your support for all women in our community.
Today my Dad and I enjoyed our usual Father's Day ritual of movie attendance. We caught a matinee showing of A Prairie Home Companion. We both laughed a lot which is a fine way to spend a Father' Day.
The movie is hysterical, especially if you are a Garrison Keiller fan.
From the movie -- What did the elephant say to the naked man? That's cute, but can you really breathe through that thing.
I love my Dad. He's always willing to fix things (or at least try), likes when we take him out to new restaurants and does his very best every day to love and care for the people around him.
There's much to blog about today, but I'll start with PrideFest which was really nice this year. Organizers estimate that 6,500 people attended. I can tell you it was very crowded and there were more vendors than ever before.
This is the first year I've seen the parade from the beginning where we drove to catch the opening remarks of Governor Ed Rendell. His comments about legislative attacks on homosexuality and wingnuts using our identitites to polarize and divide the Commonwealth were very well received. And, as promised, he did say "Ladies, Start Your Engines" to the dykes on bikes. Which I must admit was pretty cool.
He also openly endorsed gay marriage. Openly. Not second-class citizenship. Not separate, but equal. Not telling us to go make the environment safer for him to speak out on our behalf.
The parade was larger than ever and filled with happy homo-lovin' people. I heard from others that Councilwoman Tonya Payne marched in the parde which makes her the coolest City Councilperson going. The others showed up at the festival, but we think that there's something about being in the parade -- about actively marching for community pride ---- that distinguishes our supporters from those who just talk to us.
We then drove down to the festival on the North Shore (my previously broken foot cannot handle two marches in two days). The festival was great. We arrived in time for the opening comments and to hear the political guests: our community's greatest champion -- State Representative Dan Frankel; City Councilman Bill Peduto, Doug Shields and Jim Motznik; Allegheny County's Valerie McDonald and Councilman Rich Fitzgerald. Frankel was eloquent and ferocious as always. Valerie spoke movingly about her family's African-American pride and made wonderful connections between the civil rights struggles of all minorities. Motznik told George Bush to kiss his ass which drew a mighty response. Shields and Peduto lived up to expectations with their enthusiastic support. And it was great to see a County Councilman there. I don't know much about Rich Fitzgerald, but my Councilwoman wasn't there so I'm gonna look him up.
All these fine and lovely people showed up to support our celebration, the second largest gathering of the LGBT community in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What's striking is who was NOT there, namely three specific people: Bob Casey, Dan Onorato and Bob O'Connor.
I heard it everywhere yesterday. How come Bob Casey didn't show up?
Bob Casey blew it. He is under fire for being too moderate and there are many people in the LGBT community who view his support with skepticism and dismay. There are many people who don't plan to vote at all. He didn't attend the recent national gay democrats convention and he didn't show up for this. So in our opinion this was a perfect opportunity for him to reach out to the everyday homosexuals, not just those who can afford $100 plate HRC dinners. This was his chance to show up that he values and respects our families, our contributions, our lives. But he didn't show up. Sending interns with stickers doesn't cut it.
Even the local Democrat top dogs didn't bother to show up. Both Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and City of Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor had committed to attend and speak with the crowd. Both blew us off. At the very least it would have made the absence of the Democratic nominee for Senator in the race against our greatest foe a bit more palatable if the local boys had come in his stead.
What the hell is that about? Does our community lack the political muscle to turn out these guys? I fully expect to get a Rovian spin from the Steel-City folks who on KDKA radio openly approved of Howard Dean's 700 Club outreach, but there's very little you can do to convince me that NONE of these guys could show up.
Who else wasn't there?
State Senator Wayne Fontana in whose district this was held and whose staff hasn't acknowledged my correspondence asking if he would attend.
US Congressman Mike Doyle.
Any Allegheny County Democrats running for office. The only candidate who made this a priority was running for office in Butler County (I missed his name but I'll get it and post it b/c he deserves the props). The list goes on of course.
Everyone will have a good reason to offer, but I suspect if it were an event put on by a union, senior citizens, African-Americans or other groups they would have found a way to be there. Laura summed it up very well "They don't respect us enough to show up."
I wonder if they respect our votes and our financial support?
As for media coverage, I was disappointed with KDKA's typical exploitive coverage. On the 11 o'clock news, they covered the Epilepsy Run right before us and the camera showed a wide range of people in the race: adults, families, people with strollers, dogs, wheelchairs, scooters, couples, singles, friends, etc. When it came to PrideFest, they showed two shots of anyone who wasn't a drag queen and one shot of Governor Rendell. The text was fine, but it was obvious that the KDKA news team puts about as much effort as FOX into fair and balanced coverage of the LGBT community.
On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette got it REALLY right this year. Front page of the region section with a very well-done article contextualizing PrideFest with the marriage debate. They even worked in "Ladies start your engines."
Wearing "Just married in Canada" T-shirts and identical gold wedding rings, Maria and Beth Kramer, of Ross, were on a motorcycle at the start of the gay community's Pride March, which Gov. Ed Rendell kicked off Downtown yesterday with "Ladies, start your engines!"
A few minutes earlier, the governor had brought the couple, who married in Stratford, Ontario, in April, on stage.
"Some day I hope that shirt says 'Just married in Pennsylvania,' " he said, to a roar of approval from the crowd.
The Tribune-Review had nothing. Perhaps our quasi-buddy and Trib columnist Mike Seate will weigh in this week. I didn't see the news on WTAE or WPXI, but there's nothing on their websites under local news.
We'll weigh in on specific aspects of Pride over the coming week. I need an entire post for the Dyke March itself. And I want to revisit the queer v gay issue.
When Dan Frankel was discussing the passage of the so-called Marriage Protection Act in the PA House of Representatives on KDKA last week, he tersely addressed the issue that 20 Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. Frankel told me (I posed the question) that the burden is on the gay community and our allies to disprove the perception that a pro-homo vote is career suicide in their districts.
I agree that the community needs to reexamine our ability to mobilize constituents and generate the kind of political grassroots efforts that the AFA of PA and other wingnuts seems to do so well. We are doing goodwork but obviously we need to do better in order to avoid losing further ground and to unelect Rick Santorum.
But we still need to hold these legislators accountable for their votes. My comrades tell me firsthand accounts of Thomas Tangretti of Greensburgh repeatedly REFUSING to meet with a gay constituent (how busy could he be over a three month period?). Or being stonewalled by Joseph Markosek of Monroeville. I wish I had the opportunity to bring this up to Representative Frankel --- how are we supposed to get their attention when they won't even meet with us face to face? Is it shame? Fear? What?
The Republic of T put the entire issue of Democrats hemming over gay marriage (and other gay issues) perfectly:
The thing is, at the point, I?m not asking anyone to gay on same-sex marriage or even gay issues in general as the issue for their campaign. I?m not even asking that anyone support same-sex marriage. After hearing the same message over and over from the progressive blogosphere during the FMA debate ? that there were "more important" issues to discuss, thus implying that the issue wasn?t even worthy of debate ? I?d settle for Democrats simply not running from the issue when and where it comes up (note, I?m not asking them to bring it up or make it an issue). I?d settle for them not equivocating on the issue when it comes up, and simply calling it out for what it is; calling it discrimination and simply saying that the party doesn?t support discrimination and doesn?t believe it has a place in our laws or our constitution. Unapologetically.
But over and over I basically hear about all of the above "If that?s what we have to do to win ? "
And then I remembered something I hear a certain A-list blogger (who honestly seems to care about these issues, and keeps asking how Dems should talk about them) say a while back: just getting Democrats elected is not sufficient. Certainly not if they?re going to put their constituents and the convictions in the closet in order to win. A party that believes it has to put its own values on the back burner in order to win must not believe that it can and should win based on its values. It becomes something else entirely, and will find it hard to go back if the trick should work.
Like I said earlier, I get the message: the Democrats going to lead on our issues. When I bring up the shift that?s occurring in the party, and the unlikelihood that they will be able to return to their old values if new, more conservative constituents bring them back to power, the answer I get from the netroots is: "it?s your job to shift public opinion and give them cover to make it safe for them to take a stand on those issues."
Well, I?ve been doing that job as an activist for about 20 years now. At this point, as a partnered gay dad, everything we do is an exercise in public education; from a trip to the grocery store to getting the mail. But I don?t think I?m the only one with a job to do. I think Democratic leadership still has a job to if they?re up to walking the (these days, coded and/or whispered-behind-the-hand) talk of their values. It?s called leading by example.
Here's House Blend's Pam weighing in on this issue:
Amen, brother. There you have it folks - it's our job to make it safe for the spineless Dems to say discrimination is wrong. Jeebus H. Christ on a cracker. No, the problem is that we're doing our job, and we need allies, who have the numbers to change minds, to speak up.
Perhaps the "progressive netroots" haven't been paying attention, but the last time I looked, marriage amendments are passing left and right, permanently affecting thousands of taxpayers in those states who happen to be gay. We can't shift cultural numbers to stop the bleeding without help from heavy hitting allies willing to call out the discrimination and campaign for fairness with a better frame. We can affect change on a personal basis, but not when we're up against an organized effort to spread fear and hate and disinformation.
We need leadership from the party, not a bunch of scared, self-serving political assclowns. But I guess we better get back to work on "our job" of shifting public opinions since we're on our own, right?
That's exactly what Dan Frankel told us on KDKA. Its our job. But we need our allies pure and simple. And they ain't stepping up. When Mike Divin votes the correct way and Bill DeWeese panders to homophobia, how do you combat that? When Tangretti and Markosek duck their constituents, how the hell are we supposed to make an impact?
These 20 Southwestern Pennsylvania Democrats are NOT doing THEIR job. They are violating the mission and spirit of the Democratic platform. They are hurting Pennsylvania families. They are counting on hate and fear to keep them in office.
While Howard Dean is busy "reaching out" to the 700 Club wingnuts, LGBT families are being told that we should do a better job of making the entire socio-political culture in the United States safe for Democrats to defend us.
During an early June interview with Al-Jazeera, Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi, a leading Muslim scholar, emphasized that homosexuals are perverts who deserve punishment. In his mind, that's not open to debate.
He does concede, however, that there is debate over the best method to murder homosexuals:
The same punishment as any sexual pervert - the same as the fornicator.
The schools of thought disagree about the punishment. Some say they should be punished like fornicators, and then we distinguish between married and unmarried men, and between married and unmarried women. Some say both should be punished the same way. Some say we should throw them from a high place, like God did with the people of Sodom. Some say we should burn them, and so on. There is disagreement.
The important thing is to treat this act as a crime.
Ah. Democracy is action? This is interesting:
Qaradawi is controversial: among Muslims he is widely considered a moderate conservative, while many Western critics regard him as dangerously radical or as a supporter of violence. Some Muslim opponents see him as lax and influenced by Western ideas.
So tossing and burning are the moderate, Western influenced suggestions?
SheikAl-Qaradhawi attributes the electoral (or perhaps political) victories of George Bush to American perversion.
Kerry, who ran against Bush, was supported by homosexuals and nudists. But it was Bush who won [the elections], because he is Christian, right-wing, tenacious, and unyielding. In other words, the religious overcame the perverted. So we cannot blame all Americans and Westerners.
But unfortunately, because the Westerners - Americans and others - want to flatter these people on account of the elections, a disaster occurs. In order to succeed and win the elections, he flatters these people, rather than saying to them: No, you are sinning against yourselves, against society, and against humanity. This is forbidden. Instead of leveling with them, people flatter them to win their votes. This is the disaster that has befallen humanity.
Well, I suppose its a step forward to be linked with nudists instead of pedophiles and animal abusers. Still, I don't get where Bush and his religious whackos are "flattering" us -- how is amending the Constitution of the United States to make us permanent second class citizens flattery? I think its pretty consistent with telling us we are sinning against ourselves, society and humanity. Especially since they are telling us that in order to win votes ...
When I spoke with Mary Cheney on KDKA last week, I asked her what she is doing to help the homosexuals in Iraq. She acted stunned that she could do anything (ahem) and pointed out that homosexuals have bigger issues to worry about than gay rights.
Like worrying about tossed off a building or set on fire?
Wipe away all the rhetoric and propaganda, and all you have left is discrimination based on fear and prejudice. There is no danger to the family, there is no threat to our children. There is simply hatred and fear. And a use of language geared to incite that fear.
Stanley M. Stein of Elizabeth Township takes a different approach:
The forces of hate, bigotry and intolerance are again afoot in the land. Only this time the victims are gay people instead of people of color. But the rhetoric and hypocrisy are pretty much the same. Like hate-mongering white ministers shamelessly quoted the Bible to justify slavery and racial segregation, President Bush and the mullahs of the fundamentalist Christian right wing do the same to justify their own form of intolerance.
Stanley doesn't note that his very own state rep, David Levdansky is one of those who puts his own political career ahead of standing up to bigotry and intolerance. Mr. Levdansky may or may not harbor homophobic feelings in his heart, but his homophobic actions --- his willingness to let fear and hatred fuel his career --- speak volumes about the values he does hold dear.
The controversy over the gay marriage bill should add numbers and energy to Pittsburgh Three Rivers PrideFest 2006, taking place this weekend.
PrideFest is the occasion for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to hit the streets. It will begin at noon Saturday with a march from the Eliza Furnace Trail, Downtown, to the festival grounds at Riverfront Park on the North Shore.
A decent piece, situated in the entertainment section where it should be well read. The article goes on to mention the Theater Festival, the movie from the Film Society, and an event at the Holiday Bar. What it fails to mention (or just alludes to) is Pride Night at PNC Park. I want a specific reference to the Bucs being homo-welcoming.
The City Paper took a different approach, focusing on the two parades/marches associated with Pride: the Pride Awareness March and the Dyke March. I like the thoughtful contrast between the two events.
A separate and more overtly political statement by Pittsburgh?s gay community is planned for the day before PrideFest ? the city?s first Dyke March. Organized by a Bloomfield woman who calls herself Khalia Latte, the June 16 event will travel between the university campuses in Oakland. ?It was created as an act of visibility ? not to be an attack on Pride ? to counter the [greater] representation we felt was given to gay men,? says Latte. ?We?re hoping that this event will act as a catalyst ? as a rallying point for our community, to network, to try to politicize our community. Increasingly, gay space has become de-politicized, assimilationist.?
That's a valid arguement. I suspect, however, that for many people attending PrideFest itself is a political act. Leaving their closets, even just for a day, to mingle with gay people and experience first-hand a gay affirming atmosphere is the political statement.
Then there is the rest of us. Sure there are those its easy to peg -- the party crowd who come to Pride to see some skin, ogle the hotties and have a good time; the family crowd who want to check out the booths, stroll in the parade and enjoy a beautiful day surrounded by other same-sex parents; the ... oh wait, I guess that proves my point -- PrideFest is what you make of it.
Now, I know what Khalia is referencing. The GLCC is solidly white, middle class, middle aged gay male dominated. The committee has been chaired by white, middle class, gay men for at least the past five years and counting. The white, middle class, gay men tend to be the most visible and outspoken components of the community. And the ones with the money to donate to the organizations. Followed closely by the white, middle class, middle aged lesbians. The power dynamic is clear. The invitation to be part of the organization has been extended, but that's not the same thing as creating a queer friendly environment. See earlier post about Queer v Gay and the posted comments for a glimpse into the larger dynamic at play.
To be fair, these people have stepped up and saved the GLCC and PrideFest. They put in hundreds of hours to keep the center running and provide essential services. Their time, talent and donations ensure we can run a phone line, service dozens of kids each week and provide a gay-affirming space in the heart of Pittsburgh. They deserve kudos for that. Others stepped up to turn Pride from financial ruin and keep it free for the public. PrideFest has gone from a small little street fair to a huge public celebration of the gay community thanks to these very same white gay men.
I credit both Khalia and Jeff Freedman, PrideFest organizer, for publicly acknowledging that the two events are complementary, not competitive. The beauty of the current model of PrideFest has been its generative nature -- creating space for new "acts of visibility" including everything from a gay film to a dyke march to a religious service.
If these disparate queers and gays can generate this type of relationship around Pride, it bodes well for the larger dialogue. And that dialogue is coming. There are some significant issues of inclusiveness/exclusiveness in the gay community that I've referenced in previous posts. The most obvious divides are along race and age, but certainly include socio-economic status as well. But it goes further than that --- the GLCC is not handicapped accessible, but many of the queer events are held in bars or other venues where smoking is de rigeur --- both are acts of exclusion. PrideFest is free, many queer events are by donation -- both are acts of inclusion.
How mighty it will be when some of these energies move from working side by side to working together.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The threat of a split in the worldwide Anglican family hovered over a national meeting of the Episcopal Church, as delegates considered whether they should preserve unity by temporarily barring gays from becoming bishop.
Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, head of a network of conservative Episcopal dioceses that opposed Bishop Robinson's consecration, told delegates the progressive and conservative wings of the church should acknowledge their differences and part.
"We've reached a moment where it is very difficult, indeed I think we've reached an impossible moment, in holding it together," Bishop Duncan said.
The Episcopals are in the throes of much turmoil these days in the wake of ordaining New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop. The Archbishop of Canterbury had appointed a commission to examine the rift between teh American churches and the worldwide Anglican communion with the appointment of Bishop Robinson. That commission called for a "moratorium" on future gay appointments.
In response, the American churches have proposed that they act with caution in future appointments. They also choose not to express regret over the appointment, only over failing to consult with other Anglican entities.
No one is happy. Conservatives are waiting to jump ship over the issue. Progressives call for careful wording and avoiding demonization of homosexuals.
GENE ROBINSON, the first openly gay bishop in the history of the Anglican Communion, stood before 1,500 American Episcopalians and proclaimed: ?I?m not an abomination in the eyes of God.? The Episcopal Church should ?stand up for right?, he insisted.
During an early June 
