Episode 3: Revenge of the Gays, Are You One Too?

[PrincePhillipFan]

At least your mom is understanding about it, Patrick. Although not sure what to say about your dad though. I just hope that he takes the news well and not go into shock you might say.

As the heterosexual son of an heterosexual couple I can tell you that children will find ANY excuse to mock, ridicule and even humiliate a fellow student. In my case, I was teased for the mere fact that I was a special needs kid. In other words, due to a disease that caused me to lose oxygen in my brain my speech, cognitive, emotional and physical skills were severely affected and thus needed special affection in school. My parents weren't divorced, they aren't gay, they were pretty normal and yet that didn't stop the other kids from mocking me.

Exactly. Even long before I came out, kids were teasing me about possibly being gay, but they also teased me relentessly about other things - being clumsy, acting slightly ditzy, my big butt. Point is not matter what, kids in school are going to find something to tease you about based on how you act or a physical attribute. The schools and the other kids need to learn to be more open to a child who might have two daddies or two mommies and respect their family, just as they would respect anybody else's parents and family.

[Goliath]

From the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8565107.stm

Same-sex couples marry in Mexico City

Five same-sex couples have tied the knot in Mexico City under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was a guest of honour at the weddings, held in the colonial-era city hall and conducted by the head of the city's civil registry.

The Catholic Church and conservative groups have opposed the move, which was backed by city legislators in December.

Certain parts of Latin America allow civil unions for same-sex couples.

Among the couples to marry were Judith Vazquez and her partner of more than six years Lol-kin Castaneda.

Raising her thumb, with which she had marked the official documents, Ms Vazquez said: "This is the mark of freedom."

'Victory for all'

She said she and Ms Castaneda had previously considered themselves married, but still wanted official recognition.

"The difference today is that the state will recognise it," she said.

"This is a victory for all. For us this is a day of celebration."

Ms Castaneda added: "We are putting a face on a reality that has been denied, silenced and hidden."

Judge Hegel Cortes, who officiated at the weddings, said it was a "historic day" for Mexico City.

"With the signing of these marriage certificates, we leave behind the traditional idea of a family and we allow for two people, regardless of sexual orientation, to get married," he said.

The building's courtyard was decorated with flowers, banners in the colours of the Mexican flag and a sign that read "Tolerance, Liberty, Equality, Solidarity".

The couples all handed in their papers to get married as soon as the law came into effect on 4 March.

Despite happy scenes inside the venue, about 20 protesters gathered outside holding banners denouncing gay marriage.

"This is not a good image for our children. A family is a man and a woman," said Terese Vasquez, 51.

Gay right activists have welcomed the new law in Mexico City but say homophobic attacks are still frequent across the country.

Harsh criticism of the move came from the Catholic Church, conservative groups and the centre-right government, which tried unsuccessfully to get the Supreme Court to block the law.

In Latin America, only Uruguay has legalised civil unions nationwide and allowed same-sex couples to adopt children.

A handful of cities - in Argentina, Ecuador and Colombia - allow gay unions.

[Margos]

Hooray for Mexico City!

For goodness sakes, it's in Mexico! They're so Catholic it isn't even funny, but even they recognize gay marriage! When will the US finally get its head out of its ass and realize that it's time for a change?

[Disney's Divinity]

Harsh criticism of the move came from the Catholic Church, conservative groups and the centre-right government, which tried unsuccessfully to get the Supreme Court to block the law.

YAY! I despise these people that try to turn the government into a nationally-enforced religion.

But it is a bit embarassing for the US, isn't it?

(Waits for Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps to attribute the earthquakes, tsunamis, and global warming to this attack on the traditional family *tear*)

[Flanger-Hanger]

YAY! I despise these people that try to turn the government into a nationally-enforced religion.

I'm sure what dust is left of Thomas Jefferson is turning in his grave. Separation of Church and state is so 18th century.

What's sad is that even though same-sex marriage is recognized and performed in 5 US states plus D.C. it still isn't recognized on a national level because of the "Defense of Marriage Act" apparently. I hope Obama's administration does something about that, but considering what happened in Maine and California what would stop the next Republican and or religious douche from removing any change in rights?

Laws involving who can get married are only done at the federal level in Canada (as they apply to all in the country), so I can't believe the division of powers in the US would allow for these rights (which involve national ones) to be decided on a state-by-state basis. With such low majorities in certain states it's even more frustrating.

What's even sillier is that apparently in a state like New York they recognize gay marriages formed elsewhere, will perform divorces, but not allow marriages themselves to happen in the state!

Of course it all comes down to cultural fear and homophobia and turning a blind eye to the scientific research showing how begin gay is not a choice, spinning the Bible to cave into these fears, ignoring the psychological damage caused by these restrictions and the money that could be generated through marriages formed.

So ya, America is quite stupid. However it's sad to hear how other countries like Australia are not much better.

[Goliath]

Laws involving who can get married are only done at the federal level in Canada (as they apply to all in the country),

How do you mean this? I'm sure all countries have laws on a state-level about who can marry... Did I not understand you correct?

[Flanger-Hanger]

How do you mean this? I'm sure all countries have laws on a state-level about who can marry... Did I not understand you correct?

In Canada, who can get married strictly falls under federal law as listed in s.91 of the Constitution Act of 1867 (ss. 26 "Marriage and Divorce Laws"). How people can get married is what is done province by province (s.92 ss. 12 "the solemnization of marriage in the province").

[Aqua]

Being a "Latino" (or simply Puerto Rican/Latin American descent), it's still kind of difficult to be open with family and friends. I hate the machoism of Latin American culture. It's really quite disgusting and almost impossible to be "yourself" in a culture that expects all men to be over the top macho. Nevertheless, I'm happy Mexico D.F. allows gay marriages. A lot of people are now arguing gay marriage is wrong because of gay divorce "rising". That kind of upsets me just because yeah, the LGBT community stresses the importance of marriage and equal rights but it kind of irks with the "gay divorces". They're basically conforming to what the anti-gay crowd percives us. It's really frustrating, really it is...

[Goliath]

Well, what is the divorce rate among heterosexual couples? Should we abolish heterosexual marriage because a lot of them end in divorce?

Personally, I feel 'marriage' is a backwards institution anyway, that's not needed anymore in modern society. It's something of the past that we just keep out of habit, but it doesn't serve a purpose anymore. So why anybody would want to get married is a mystery to me. But I'm not going to impose my personal feelings onto all other people, like the religious people who feel that marriage should be between a man and a woman only.

[Flanger-Hanger]

So why anybody would want to get married is a mystery to me.

I believe it's popular because of companionship and legal rights.

[Margos]

This isn't related to our current topic of discussion, it's just an odd connection I found.

According to an article I read for a psychology course, autism can be defined by an "exaggerated masculine profile." Like, the way guys think, only amplified = autism. There are also many, many more autistic males than females. And I wondered if, maybe, an unusually high percentage of autistic females were lesbians or bisexuals. I thought it would make an interesting study, my psych teacher agreed.

Well, it just so happens that a study was done involving women and "sound tolerance." Apparently, many bisexual women and lesbians have a much higher sensitivity to sound, and lower tolerance for high-pitched noises, than straight women. I know I certainly don't like that type of sound, typical of my Asperger's Syndrome.

To quote Bernie from The Incredibles.... "Coincidence? I think NOT!"

Kind of a rant, just wondered if anyone else had heard of this.

[Goliath]

Dutch fury at US general's gay theory over Srebrenica



Dutch officials have rejected a retired US general's claim that its forces failed at Srebrenica because of poor morale over openly gay soldiers.

A defence ministry spokesman dismissed as "complete nonsense" the remarks by John Sheehan, a former Nato commander.

Gen Sheehan had been speaking at a US Senate hearing on allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military.

He said Dutch leaders had told him that the presence of gay soldiers had contributed to the Bosnian massacre.

Srebrenica was a UN safe haven under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers when, in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the town, killing some 8,000 Muslim men and boys.

Gen Sheehan said the former chief of staff of the Dutch army had told him that the presence of openly gay soldiers in the Dutch peacekeeping force were seen as "part of the problem" which contributed to the fall of Srebrenica.

He argued that since the end of the Cold War, European militaries had changed and he concluded "there was no longer a need for an active combat capability".

'Totally off-target'

This "socialisation" process, Gen Sheehan said, "included open homosexuality" and led to "a focus on peacekeeping operations because they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back".

"It is astonishing that a man of his stature can utter such complete nonsense," Dutch defence ministry spokesman Roger van de Wetering said in response.

"The Srebrenica massacre and the involvement of UN soldiers was extensively investigated by the Netherlands, international organisations and the United Nations.

"Never was there in any way concluded that the sexual orientation of soldiers played a role."

The Dutch ambassador to the US, Renee Jones-Bos, added in a statement on the embassy's website that she "couldn't disagree more" with the claims by the former general, who retired from the military in 1997.

In the US Senate itself, Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told Gen Sheehan he was "totally off-target".

Several countries - including Britain, Canada, Australia and Israel - allow openly gay people to serve in the armed services.

From the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8575717.stm

[Goliath]

Pink Army backed by Dutch parliament

A substantial majority of the Dutch parliament has voted in support of the intiative taken by the Pink Army foundation to take former US General John Sheehan to court for slander and defamation.

General Sheehan claimed last week during a US Senate hearing that the fall of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica in 1995 was partly due to the presence of gays in the Dutch army.

The Christian Democrats, the Labour Party, the conservative VVD, the Socialist Party, Green Left and Democrats 66 all backed the Pink Army's aim of extracting a retraction and an apology from the general. The Dutch cabinet and the military trade unions have already condemned the general's remarks.

The Pink Army foundation is currently collecting funds to mount a class action lawsuit in the United States. It is likely to cost at least 200,000 dollars.

From: http://www.expatica.com/nl/news/dutch-r ... 33059.html

[Lazario]

Another great day for gay rights:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100331/ts_csm/291560

Those inhuman pieces of garbage, The Westboro Baptist Church, the anti-gay group who protest the funerals of soldiers to get media attention for their messages of hatred, are not only still actively protesting funerals and slandering Americans' good names, but now courts are starting to rule in their favor. Making people who are appalled at them pay their legal fees. It was understandable and inevitable that somewhere along the line someone would try and sue these filthy scumbags. Albert Snyder, one of the parents of a soldier whose funeral was besieged by this group, did sue them and won a $5 million judgment. That really would have put a good dent in these people and America deserved something to be done about them. Now, that outcome has been affected by a federal appeals court claiming Snyder owes THEM money. Over $16,000. This would not only help this "Church" continue to operate, but also send a message the courts of America agree with its' message!! We have to remember the original lawsuit was completely justified, the charges were for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Both of these things this group did. And do dozens of times at least, to many other people who don't know or don't care to test the first amendment's abuse in the case of defending hatemongers, with no personal shame whatsoever. This is a first class, front row example of where freedom of speech is being abused and now our courts are getting involved to reinforce fear and hatred. This is pure injustice and yet another reason to fear for the future of equality. The straights can't even get protection over institutionalized homophobia.

[Goliath]

In The Netherlands, groups like those would be arrested immediately for speading hate speech and insulting minorities. Our laws forbid that kind of behavior. Picketing a funeral like that would be impossible over here. This has nothing to do with 'free speech'. It's all about insulting people and offending them. It's preposterous it's legal in the US.

[Aqua]

Only in America....as they say.



BTW, isn't this the group that claims "GOD HATES CANADIANS!"?

[Disney's Divinity]

Apparently, God hates everyone.

I find it strange that they keep living in America though.

[ajmrowland]

Christians just get crazier and crazier.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I find it strange that they keep living in America though.

Because America is the greatest country in the world.

Plus moving would be an even bigger hassle than ruining people's funerals. I mean there's all that packing and choosing and what-not.

[Aqua]

Because America is the greatest country in the world.

"If you don't like this country, then leave! Go back to Africa or Europe!" is what many would actually repond to my original post 'cuz anything bad said about about USA makes you a liberal and anti-American.

Europe may not be a utopia and has its own issues as well but thankfully, for most part, they don't go apeshit over drinking, the ghey, healthcare, and all these annoying "political" issues that America seems to be bi-poular with. Don't most nations have gay marriage over there? Shocking that the continent and region didn't rip from its foundations into the middle of the ocean like many thought it would.

Maybe I should move to foreign country or at least out of state....