The Senate stripped the language prohibiting civil unions and passed the legislation 38-12. Now the amended amendment heads back to the House for approval. 

The wingnuts are up in arms about the changes, believing that permitting civil unions is marriage by another name which discredits the entire attempt to preserve the sanctity of marriage from homosexual assault (PG). 

Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, said the "weaker" language of the Senate bill "won't give Pennsylvanians an opportunity to effectively defend the institution of marriage."

He claimed that civil unions "are marriages, for all intents and purposes," more often used by same-sex couples, and said both civil unions and gay marriages should be outlawed.

So some folks voted against it b/c it was too weak, while others voted against it b/c it was discrimination.

This is a good thing, don't get me wrong. I know the odds are very much against the two chambers passing the same bill by next Friday.  Which is a win for our side

But the issue still remains that some Democrats voted FOR the amendment in the first place.  Which demonstrates that there are too many spineless legislators who would sell us out -- sell our families out --- sell our civil rights out --- to pander to the right wing nutjobs.   

Still looking for roll call to identify said spineless cowards ... will post as soon as I find it.

You remember James Loney.  He was a Christian aid worker who was held hostage in Iraq by insurgents and freed by Coalition forces.  He is from Canada.  And he's gay.  A fact his family and partner kept quiet for fear for his safety while imprisoned. 

So he's freed by the troops and returned to Canada where his partner can end what could only be hellacious agony born in solitude without the "comfort" other spouses can seek from public support. 

And he finds that his summer camp program has been de-funded by the Canadian Knights of Columbus b/c the curriculum might promote homosexuality to kids according to Loney.

The good Knights deny this was their agenda.  

In an interview with the Toronto Star KC official Jack Clancey said Loney's allegations were "out of left field."

"We closed down that leadership camp because we needed to review the way we were going and the curriculum that we were teaching," Clancey told the Star

But of course.  The timing, and the fact that the Knights support anti-gay marriage amendments EVERYWHERE has nothing to do with it.  Its just business. 

Just Catholic bigotry as usual.

However, some in the LGBTQ community aren't that thrilled with Loney.  Particularly as he was engaged in "missionary" work in the first place.  From the UK-Ireland edition of gay.com comes this perspective:

While Loney has obviously suffered trauma at the hands of his kidnappers, it's not hard to question his presence in Iraq, preaching Christianity on behalf of an unashamedly homophobic organization.

Aside from putting his own life at risk, Loney undoubtedly endangered the lives of beleaguered US soldiers, already overworked with insurgencies and bomb threats.

It?s also highly unlikely that war-torn Iraqi citizens are in need of God-bothering missionaries attempting to convert them as gore and missiles rain from the sky.

Loney seems to have learned little form the experience as he?s considering the possibility of joining a Christian Peacemakers Team project in Colombia or the Palestinian territory next year.

He acknowledged his experience in Iraq could make it a lot more difficult, but seems oblivious to the inherent selfishness of such an act.

Big shout out to Sister Patricia McCann of Oakland who outed her Roman Catholic self as a believer that:

Building family depends on good, loving, generous, mature, self-giving and stable adults who are able and willing to parent. God makes those in a variety of patterns.

Amen, Sister Patricia.  You tell those who are glued to their pulpits in righteous indignation that they should get out in the world and actualy work with families before them jump to their hateful little conclusions. 

The well-being of children and young people is threatened by a family context of violence and dissension, by parental alcohol and drug abuse, by narcissistic behavior in adults, by parental neglect or lack of interest in their activities. I've seen young people, both rich and poor, raised by loving and devoted parents, grandparents, stepparents, foster parents, gay parents, single parents and adoptive parents who thrive and grow into mature adulthood because of loving and stable homes. And I've seen youths raised by adults who, through their own limitations, handicap children psychologically and morally for life.

Another PG luminary, columnist Reg Henry weigh in with his thoughts on how fortunate Pennsylvanias are that legislators are tackling real issues like gay marriage.

But how exactly will gays threaten traditional marriage? That is a good question, but only in the sense that no one has a good answer.

In ignoring the question, we need to heed our most prominent moral leaders, i.e., our politicians. Just because they are shifty characters you wouldn't lend a dollar to unless it was attached to a string, doesn't mean they can't thunder like Old Testament prophets.

Now that's deserves another cup of coffee ...

In response to the Post-Gazette's two-thirds hearted opposition to the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment, two of the amendment's sponsors took the time to whine about the PG's mischaracterization of their bill.  You've heard it all before, but since the PG has been parsimonious in covering this issue of late, I'll take a stab at it.

State Senator Bob Regola (R-Hempfield) and State Senator Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster) have seen a future filled with married homos and it scares the living hell out of them:

No one can legitimately claim that Pennsylvania's Defense of Marriage Act will not be challenged in court. The testimony of gay-marriage advocates in Harrisburg confirms it is not a matter of if, but when. Prominent individuals from the ACLU and other organizations believe same-sex marriage should be legalized. Knowing there is little chance of accomplishing that goal legislatively, using the court to achieve this legislative agenda becomes an attractive tool.

They take to task stout-hearted fellows like Dan Frankel who have been pointing out that this legislation might actually hurt tens of thousands of unmarried heterosexuals, but Bob and Scott assure us that won't happen -- their crusade against homos won't have collateral damage.  Doesn't that sound familiar? 

And they call out those tricky legislators who took the political route to compromise the full degree of hate and fear that was embedded in the original bill.

Opponents are aware of this and have repeatedly tried to dilute the amendment in both the state House and Senate. A vote to weaken the Pennsylvania Marriage Protection Amendment by allowing civil unions is a vote that will kill the effort to protect marriage in this legislative session.

You are either for the original amendment or you hate freedom.   Something like that. 

These guys suck.

The Senate may vote on the anti-gay marriage amendment on Wednesday.  Here's what the AFA is seeking ... notice that they've not asked for either prayer or fasting ... so much for God's will ... 

ACTION NEEDED: 

1.)  Call your State Senator ASAP and ask him or her to support

 the original language of H.B. 2381 and to reject the Earll

Amendment.  Click here for contact information.   If you do not

know who your State Senator is, please enter your county or

nine-digit zip code in the upper right hand corner of that page

or call Commonwealth Directory Assistance at 717.787.2121. 

Please do not assume that your Senator will support the

Marriage Protection Amendment!  Contact them!

 

2.)  Feel free to forward this alert to other concerned

 Pennsylvanians.  If this alert is being forwarded to you by

a friend, please feel free to sign up by sending an e-mail

 to info@afaofpa.org

 

3.)  Please consider supporting the ongoing work of the

American Family Association of Pennsylvania.  Make

 an online donation.

 

In His service,

 

Diane Gramley

President

American Family Association of PA

You gotta love Mike Seate, columnist for the Tribune-Review.  No matter how carefully he crafts his essentially pro-homo thoughts, he always gets a little jab in there -- just enough to remind us that he is a heterosexual middle class male after all.  For the most part, they are benign and usually amusing.  But I digress ...

Yesterday, Seate took a stab at the gay marriage amendmen furor.  His conclusion?  Gay marriage happens everywhere but the courts and pretty soon state governments will recognize that. 

And that homosexuals are scapegoats right now. 

A point that the wise and wondrous Post-Gazette editorial board glossed over in their passive missive yesterday.

It's an interesting coincidence that as we pass 39 years of legally sanctioned interracial marriage, the Pennsylvania state legislature has been busy approving an amendment that would ban gay marriage.

From Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, there are gay and lesbian couples who've adopted children, cohabited like legally married couples and even enjoyed health benefits from progressive employers. They continue living their lives as married couples even while our lawmakers play to bigoted voters by passing meaningless anti-gay marriage laws.

And he connects gay civil rights with the larger struggle for civil rights (here's the little sparky jab):

Though several lawmakers throughout the union staged public tantrums about having to legalize interracial marriages back in 1967, their fears of a ruined, lawless society never materialized. By the 1990 U.S. Census, one in 33 Americans identified themselves as being of mixed race heritage. By 1995, that number had risen to one in 26.

Better yet, interracial marriage has produced people as stunningly beautiful as Paula Abdul and Shakira, which even the most ardent segregationist has to agree is a positive development.

Ah, Mike.  Your not so bad for a breeder yourself.

From Monday's Post-Gazette comes this rather unimpressive denouncement of the still breathing Pennsylvania legislation on gay marriage (amend the constitution, hurt the homos and the heteros, you remember).

Today is the day we are supposed to see some action in the Senate on the revised bill which would still make gay marriage unconstitutional, but not civil unions.  This bill should reach the floor as early as today.  If it passes, it has to return to the House for passage in its amended form.  The homo-haters and hate-panderers are up in arms at the watered down language of the legislation so what will happen is anyone's guess.

The only solace is that is all has to happen by the end of next week or it goes kapoot (how do you spell kapoot by the way?). 

I'm glad the PG opposes the amendment.  And I'm glad they point out how this could hurt many heterosexual couples b/c frankly that's our best shot at avoiding passage.  Hurting homsexual families doesn't seem to be a concern for our homegrown Democrats so we need to pull out all the possible cards. 

But this editorial reads like a carefully crafted compromise rather than a thoughtful articulation:

This whole amendment is objectionable. That the civil union language was in there at the start proves the lie at the heart of its supporters' claims: This isn't about protecting the sanctity of traditional marriage (if it were, it would ban divorce, the real culprit). It is about writing a note of prejudice into the state constitution.

Objectionable?  A note of prejudice?  Was Tony Norman off this day -- who the heck uses phrases like "note of prejudice" over an amendment that would overtly constitutionalize second class status for an entire group of people?  About the violation of our civil rights?  About the fact that we've been here before and it wasn't so good that time around? 

The PG wimped out on this issue.  You'll note they stopped printing letters to the editor on this issue.  Perhaps readers are getting bored?  But isn't that the damn point ---

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.

Let us know what you think.

Michael Toepp of Dormont puts it this way:

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. 

One has to wonder how many meals homobigots must forgoe to win votes and influence legislators?  Three?  Six? 

It seems the AFA of PA is peeved with the PA Senate Judiciacy Committee, specifically Senator Jane Earll of Erie for weakening the Marriage Protection Amendment when they stripped the anti-civil union language.  Chief scribe and bigot Diane Gramley sent me this message:

Senator Jane Earll of Erie offered the amendment stripping the strong language of H.B. 2381.  Yesterday the AFA of PA delivered over 800 letters from her constituents in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment.  She will now have to face those constituents.

 

?Pennsylvanians understand the issue better than their Senators give them credit.  They understand that civil unions must be addressed or traditional marriage will be weakened because homosexual activists will continue pushing for same-sex marriage.  Even homosexual activists recognize civil unions will be used as a stepping stone to legalize same-sex marriage, continued Gramley.

If Senator Earll stood up to 800 Erians, what does that say about the 20 SW PA Democrats who kowtowed to hatred and prejudice?  Exactly ...

?If the Senate is not willing to deal with the issue of marriage in its entirety ? same-sex marriage and civil unions ? then they send the clear message to their constituents that they are not willing to take the tough stand necessary to protect one man one woman marriage,? Gramley concluded.

Diane, honey, the members of the Pennsylvania legislature are no more going to take a tough stance on ANY issue than they are going to vote to reduce their size.  The weenie Democrats in Southwestern PA didn't stand up FOR your little gaybashfest of a bill; they stood up AGAINST early retirement.