The Post-Gazette reprinted a piece from the New York Times on what amounts to a gay college fair in Greenwich Village.

All this is good news for the young gay applicant. Of course, being gay does not lend an advantage, and the embrace is not universal inside admissions offices, and out. While much of the stigma of homosexuality may have eased over the years, harassment and even violence are still real concerns around campus -- Matthew Shepard, after all, was an undergraduate.

Students are looking for colleges where they will feel comfortable and safe, Mr. Windmeyer says. Also, he says, "straight students who have gay family members want to find a campus that is welcoming," so, for example, two moms can show up for parents weekend without a ripple. "They don't want to pick a college that's not going to be accepting of people they love."

Very interesting read. While not everyone can get to Greenwich Village for a college fair, you can do some internet searching to determine which colleges thought it important enough to attend and follow up. 

We've reported before on legislation introduced by State Representative Phyllis Mundy to create a "Children in Foster Care Act" to identify and protect rights of our most vulnerable children.  The significant problem with this legislation is the need to strip protections for LGBT children out to ensure passage.

Representative Phyllis Mundy of Luzerne County says she has introduced her “Children in Foster Care Act” legislation during every session since 2005. But this time, she’s made some adjustments that may make the bill more popular, by omitting a section that would have protected children against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Because many children are in foster care because of their sexual orientation, she says the clause would be relevant in the bill of rights. However, since she’s had trouble passing it with that inclusion, she says she’d “rather pass an imperfect bill than no bill at all.”

I've been in touch with a few co-sponsors and determined that the language protecting LGBTQ foster children could be reintroduced as an amendment. That is an opening we cannot afford to miss, friends.  If we don't step up to protect children in our own community, who else can they count on? 

The list of cosponsors is here (there are 42).  These are friendly folks so simply drop them a line saying thank you for cosponsoring and ask them to remember that LGBTQ kids in foster care need protection, too.  Every one of you who reads this blog has some personal story to add ... a memory of your own experiences as an LGBTQ teen or a story from your loved one's life.  You just have to ask them to do this.  The legislation has bipartisan support so if the legislators from Western PA can head in to a vote with your comments to back up their vote, you can make a difference.

Peter Daley (Washington and Fayette counties)   Email him.

Dan Frankel (Allegheny County) Email him.

Patrick Harkins (Erie County) Email him.

Deberah Kula (Westmoreland and Fayette counties) Email her.

Tim Mahoney (Fayette County) Email him.

John Pallone (Armstrong and Westmoreland counties) Email him.

Joe Preston (Allegheny County) Email him.

Chelsa Wagner (Allegheny County) Email her.

May is Foster Care Awareness Month so I'll be following this legislation and the story.

The legislation is current in the Children & Youth Committee.

Stay tuned ...

This is a refreshing take on why the Boy Scouts discrimination against gay scouts and scout leaders and gay people is problematic for all young men.

The Boy Scouts' policy is contributing to the problem of prejudice against gays. Although the organization officially denies making efforts to discover anyone's sexual orientation - much as the military maintains a "don't ask, don't tell" policy - it also doesn't hesitate to expel outed members. It's ironic that the conservatives running the Boy Scouts, who are typically proponents of limited, unobtrusive government, concern themselves with the innermost lives of their members.

If the Boy Scouts is a private organization, as the Supreme Court has held repeatedly, it has every right to enforce its code of ethics and morality. But if it aspires to be a distinctly American institution embracing a democratic, multicultural society, then it should approach sexual orientation not as a church would, but as an accountable public entity that doesn't allow discrimination. Public schools, after all, play host to the Boy Scouts more than any other type of facility; Mormon and Catholic churches come in second and third.

Part of the Boy Scouts' mission has been to protect and project traditional notions of masculine identity. That may be why many local Scout leaders, as well as the central leadership in Texas, resist even acknowledging the possible presence of homosexuals.

But as the Boy Scouts of America enters its second century, it should recognize that, despite all it has done for the youth of this country, it has more to do. Like the U.S. military, it should understand that embracing a broader definition of masculinity can reinforce a public culture in which misogyny and homophobia are no longer welcome. Discrimination is not a value that we should be teaching our youth.

Written by an Eagle Scout in the Philadelphia Inquirer. This is about far more than publicly subsidized rent.  It is about leadership for young men across the nation.

You've undoubtedly heard about Fulton, Mississippi -- Meanest Town in America -- which treated a lesbian student pretty poorly.

Never doubt that Pennsylvania can sink to those depths courtesy of our homegrown hatefest, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania.  These are the folks who never miss an opportunity to write a letter to the editor or send an email to their elected official.  They are organized, tenacious and out to corrupt our youth. 

AFA of PA ACTION ALERT   

April 8, 2010

Issues  (check corresponding number in ‘Details’ and ‘Action’ Sections)

1.)     Will Students Be Silent in Your Child’s School?

2.)    Gay Prom in Harrisburg

Details

1.)     The Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) will again act as the primary organizer for the Gay Day of Silence which will be observed in most schools on April 16^th.  This day is supposedly used to highlight the ‘silence’ and discrimination that students who identify as homosexual, bisexual or transgender must endure during the school day.  However, the stories out of schools show that it’s Christian students who are being forced to remain silent or be labeled a homophobe or bigot.  The majority of parents/taxpayers have no idea this effort to normalize the homosexual lifestyle is taking place in their local school.  GLSEN used to post the participating schools on the Day of Silence website, but in recent years they have kept that information top secret!  The AFA of PA helped expose Pennsylvania schools which permitted students to remain silent throughout the school day, perhaps this is one reason they no longer make that list public!  Also, remember Kevin Jennings, President Obama’s ‘Safe Schools Czar’ was the founder and executive director of GLSEN until August 2008 when he left the organization to work for candidate Obama’s campaign. 

2.)    Last month I was contacted by a reporter from the Harrisburg Patriot News about an upcoming ‘gay’ prom that was being sponsored by local homosexual activists groups (that’s my description, not the reporter’s).  I told her the groups had every right to have such an event, but I believed they were taking advantage of troubled students, that students should not be encouraged to engage in the homosexual lifestyle and the compassionate response to students who are questioning their sexual identity is to warn them of the dangers of engaging in homosexual activity and encourage them to steer clear.  I also told her adults should be protecting students not leading them down the wrong path.  Click here to read the online version of the story (which doesn’t mention my comments, but apparently they were in the print edition, see below) 

Action Steps

1.)    The AFA of PA has joined a national coalition asking parents to be part of the Day of Silence Walkout if their child’s school permits students who are participating in the Day of Silence to remain silent during instructional time.  Click here to listen to my interview with Laurie Higgins, Director of the Division of School Advocacy for IFI.  Go to the Illinois Family Institute’s (an AFA affiliate) Day of Silence Walkout webpage for a list of additional reasons for the Day of Silence Walkout, instructions for parents, and a sample letter to send your school if you decide to keep your child home that day.   What NOT to do:  Don’t call your school and ask if they are sponsoring, endorsing or supporting the Day of Silence.  Their answer will be ‘No’ because technically it is to be student initiated.  Click here for specific ways to approach your school.  For an idea of PA schools which have participated in the Day of Silence in the past, check out our website here.  But remember GLSEN allowed anyone to register any school, so even if the school is on one of the lists the administrators may not have permitted silence during instructional time.  Call your school to find out what their plans are this year..

 2.)  Note the organizations which sponsored the ‘gay’ prom:  Allies at Millersville University  (note they have 35 members out of a student body of over 7,300) , Common Roads and TransCentral PA .  As mentioned above my comments were included in the print edition of the article and apparently were not appreciated by a Lancaster County homosexual activist, click here to read that letter to the editor.  Beware that this issue is no longer simply a ‘big city’ issue, but rural Pennsylvania is also being targeted. The only way to counter this homosexual activism is to be vigilant as to what is taking place in your local schools and community and be a voice for Biblical truth and  PRAY. 

(I don't understand how you are supposed to both call and not call you school about the Day of Silence, but hey ... )

These folks are complete wingnuts, but never make the mistake of underestimating their determination to protect our children from ... us.

sdf

Quite a disturing tale from Mississippi .... you remember Constance McMillen who just wanted to take her girlfriend to the prom.  Then came outrage, banishment, the ACLU, court cases, media frenzy ... and a fake prom.  Yes, the senior class held a "private prom" and sent Constance, her date and five special needs children to an alternative prom. Basically, they pulled a fast one on her. 

What is wrong with people?

Fulton, Mississippi has earned the title of the Meanest Town in America from all sorts of people, including Perez Hilton. From Pam's House Blend

To think that Fulton not only displayed rank homophobia, it raised the bar of evil by sending learning-disabled students to the fake prom, clearly labeling them "others." I challenge any of these "Christians" in Fulton to cite where in the bible Jesus teaches that the physically or mentally challenged deserve to be outcasts.

This social hellhole isn't even worthy of a boycott, since no gay person or ally would want to drive through this evil place to begin with. For Constance, one can only hope for a scholarship to get the hell out of there to attend college in an environment where she can thrive. Leave the evil behind, gain strength, knowledge and, should you want to challenge the hate, return to reclaim your space with others ready to fight homophobia in the darkest of places.

Fulton, Mississippi has earned its stripes as the cruelest town in America, by treating one of its young residents as a pariah for no good reason that the God they claim to worship can imagine. I do hope there is no adultery or fornication going on in Fulton. The bible had a lot to say about that.

There's a lot of LGBT news circulating, including DOJ action on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but somehow this latest twist in a story involving a 18 year old lesbian has caught the attention of people everywhere. 

It should. One of the reasons we struggle so hard to win our equal rights -- hate crimes protections, anti-discrimination protections, domestic partner benefits, marriage equality  -- is to protect our children.  We want queer youth to grow up into a world where they don't worry about their jobs, healthcare and access to swimming pools. We want them to fall in love, get married, have children and grow old together.  We want to protect them, nuture them and benefit ourselves from the amazing new world they create. 

There are the other kids, too.  The ones who went to Bigot Prom 2010.  These kids didn't organize a prom on their own.  They were led there by adults.  I'm betting more than a few of the kids caught up in this bigotry actually grasp the truth behind the situation and I hope they get out of Fulton, Mississippi to see the big world. 

Pam has a poll up to see if Constance herself should stay in Fulton.  Her "peers" have started an anti-Constance Facebook page.

Sigh.  This is one of the reasons I believe LGBT parents in Pittsburgh need to get more involved in advocacy and political.  These children matter to all of us, but that's a particular interest group who need to be drawn more actively into advocacy. 

On a related note, PA Representative Phyllis Mundy has introduced legislation to protect children in foster care.  The bill has been introduced.  Again.  This time, it does not include sexual orientation as a reason to protect children.

Mundy has introduced legislation in previous sessions in response to testimony she heard from former foster children eight years ago as a member of the Joint State Government Commission's Task Force on Services to Children and Youth. In its report, "Children and Youth Services Delivery System in Pennsylvania," the task force made recommendations to the General Assembly for preventing the abuse and neglect of the state's foster children.

"It is critical that we establish this act to assure that clear and concise information is made available on the basic protections for children in foster care in Pennsylvania," said Joan L. Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. "The lives of 31,000 vulnerable children will be positively impacted by this legislation and we support it wholeheartedly."

Mundy noted that the bill is not a reflection on the many wonderful foster families who provide loving care and support to vulnerable, at risk-children. Rather, she remarked that it is an acknowledgment that more can be done to prevent abuses that do occur despite the best intentions.

All good stuff.  I worked in the foster care system for three years and there are clearly reasons to take this step.  But other news is more disturbing.

But this time, she’s made some adjustments that may make the bill more popular, by omitting a section that would have protected children against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Because many children are in foster care because of their sexual orientation, she says the clause would be relevant in the bill of rights. However, since she’s had trouble passing it with that inclusion, she says she’d “rather pass an imperfect bill than no bill at all.”

I wrote about this before. Constance isn't in foster care and her family is standing behind her.  Who is standing behind the LGBT children in foster care?  The faith based foster care agencies like Catholic Charities which closed up shop rather than acknowledge gay marriages?  Imagine how they treat LGBT kids in their care. Maybe that's not the best example. 

Parents, I urge you to get involved.  Contact Steel-City Stonewall Democrats or follow them on Twitter @stonewallpgh   There's also PFLAG, GLSEN and the GLCC. 

According to my contacts at the ACLU, the prom situation has happened in Pittsburgh.  It has always been resolved with a letter from the ACLU, at least when someone called the ACLU. 

Think of all the kids who would love to take their same sex dates to their proms. Think of how many aren't able to turn to their parents for support (or their foster parents).  Or their grandmas or their friends. 

You can support these kids (and Constance) by following the links.  Sign the petitions.  Etc.

The PA House Bill has 42 co-sponsors including Dan Frankel and Chelsa Wagner. In 2008, the earlier version has 24 sponsors. 

Maybe a weaker bill is better than nothing, but the bill won't be strengthened if the LGBT community and our allies fail to speak out to protect children here in PA. 

Let Representative Mundy know you support including sexual orientation in the legislation. 

The other sponsors include:  MUNDY, EACHUS, TRUE, BELFANTI, BRADFORD, BRIGGS, CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL, CURRY, CUTLER, DALEY, DePASQUALE, DeWEESE, FRANKEL, HARKINS, HICKERNELL, HOUGHTON, JOHNSON, JOSEPHS, KULA, MAHONEY, MANN, McILVAINE SMITH, MURPHY, MURT, PALLONE, PARKER, PASHINSKI, PAYTON, PETRI, PRESTON, SAMUELSON, SANTONI, SHAPIRO, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, STABACK, STURLA, WAGNER, WILLIAMS, YOUNGBLOOD, and GINGRICH

If your rep is on this list, please drop them a line thanking them and explaining why it is important to reintroduce sexual orientation into the legislation. You can find your legislator here and get the contact information.

This is a good example of seizing a moment to educate and bond.  Those relationships can lead to further dialogue on other issues. 

There are kids who need you.

sdf

Jesus, Mary and Joseph ... this is exactly why we need a strong gay ally at the helm of the Commonwealth.

Representative Phyllis Mundy of Luzerne County says she has introduced her “Children in Foster Care Act” legislation during every session since 2005. But this time, she’s made some adjustments that may make the bill more popular, by omitting a section that would have protected children against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Because many children are in foster care because of their sexual orientation, she says the clause would be relevant in the bill of rights. However, since she’s had trouble passing it with that inclusion, she says she’d “rather pass an imperfect bill than no bill at all.”

They can't pass a bill that protects children from being abused in foster care based on their sexual orientation?  I know we are battling mightily to add sexual orientation to non-discrimination laws, hate crimes laws, etc.  But this is pretty despicable.

I'd be lying if I said I'm incredulous.  Three years in foster care taught me quite a bit, mostly about the wonderful kind people who step forward to parent children in foster care.  The best foster parents I knew were able to separate their personal opinions from the requirements to provide care consistent with the regulations.  Christian parents kept Jewish and Muslim children connected to their cultures. This was true across boundaries of race, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc. 

That doesn't mean there aren't unscrupulous people who don't fulfill their duty and moral obligation to these children.  This issue hasn't been on the radar that I've seen. I'm going to get more information.  Clearly, LGBT adults need to do some educating of our legislators on this issue. 

This is just a post to raise awareness that this is an issue.  The campaigns are sexy, but we can't lost site of issues.  I don't know if we can make an impact now or later on this issue, but I hope we can at least make sure we keep it on our radar.

Oh those wacky Polish children's rights watchers .... always a day behind and a dollar short.  Remeber back in 1999 when Jerry Falwell deemed Teletubbie Tinky Winky a homo because he carried a purse (TW is the purple one)?  Now Ewa Sowinski is on the same bandwagon.  Well, she way until apparently someone reminder her of 1999 so she's off again.

"I noticed that he has a purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy. At first I thought that must be a bother for him," Sowinska told the magazine in an interview her office approved before publication. "Later I learned that there could be some hidden homosexual undertones."

Sowinska is a member of the League of Polish Families party, which is militantly anti-gay rights and anti-abortion. The party is a junior member in the coalition government led by Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Spokespeople from Sowinska's office have confirmed that they will not ask psychologists to examine the character.

Kacszynski has famously said, ""It's not in the interests of any society to increase the number of homosexuals, that's obvious."

I have a recurring dream that my father and I are on a long highway and we see a bridge that says "This way to Poland" and another exit that says "This way to France."  For some reason, I always want to go to Poland.  My father goes to France anyway.  For the record, as a lesbian and a woman, I'd much rather go to France.  Thank goodness for my Dad.

April 18 is the 11th Annual Day of Silence.

The Day of Silence is an annual event held to bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools. Students and teachers nationwide will observe the day in silence to echo the silence that LGBT and ally students face everyday. In it's 11th year, the Day of Silence is one of the largest student-led actions in the country.

Pittsburgh's chapter of GLSEN leads the charge on the student-driven effort to educate and empower their fellow students around LGBT bias in America's schools and the school systems. 

So what happens?  Essentially, participants remain silent that day in solidarity with those who are "silenced" because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or alliance with the LGBT students.  According to the national website, more than half a million students have participated over the past ten years.

Why do we need a Day of Silence?GLSEN’s 2005 National School Climate Survey found that 4 out of 5 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and more than 30% report missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety. The Day of Silence helps bring us closer to making anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling unacceptable in America’s schools.

The Day of Silence is a call to action. Students can use this day, as well as other GLSEN Days of Action, as a means of achieving an “ask.” An ask is a very specific action that calls for a change in school policies, climate, and culture to achieve a larger goal of safe schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Some examples of an ask include: adding sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in your school’s non-discrimination or anti-harassment policy, or training teachers to respond effectively to anti-LGBT bullying, harassment, and name-calling.

Here's a good example of why this day is so important.  Christian-opponents have begun organizing "Days of Truth" to spread their message of gay-intolerance in the schools.  They believe that the learning environment should not respect or protect the rights of all students to pursue an education without harassment or discrimination.  They twist this into a Christianity versus homosexuality situation and have gone to court to force school districts to recognize their free speech and freedom of religion in this context.  The schools are backing down because its a fine line.

What's interesting is the Christo arguement that a Day of Silence impedes their free speech.  Ironic, no? 

Check out the GLSEN website and take a moment on April 18 to contemplate all the ways in which you are silenced. 

The Post-Gazette has a thoughtful piece on Dreams of Hope, a local drama troupe for LGBTQ teens and their allies.  Their performance theme this year is "Gay Youth in Good Faith."

"One of the biggest themes is the personal issue of sin, of how something that is so natural and doesn't seem like a bad thing, can be seen as horrible and people reject them for it. That is a big issue that most of them are dealing with," said [founder]Ms. [Susan] Haugh.

One need only read back posts on this blog to verify that the intersection of faith and sexual orientation can be treacherous. It can also be uplifting and magnificent as our own local Reverend Janet Edwards has demonstrated. 

The youth themselves have different experiences of faith -- in some cases, acceptance by their faith community while others have been cast out by their very own clergy-parents.  What's cool about these young people is that they channel those individual experiences of faith into a constructive dialogue for the larger LGBTQ community. 

What a great gift for those of who aren't so much youth any longer.  These kids are creatively exploring these intersections of identity that perplex the hell out of most adults, particularly gay people of faith in non-affirming communities. 

Kudos to Dreams of Hope for being a few steps ahead of the rest of us, but inviting us along for the journey. 

One scene re-creates a bus ride two actors took during which another rider condemned them by reciting Bible verses.

"That really hurt me, because I believe in God," said Renee Ballard, 20, a pastor's daughter from the North Side, who was on the bus.

Ms Ballard said that when she came out as a lesbian, her relatives rejected her, asking how she could still call herself a Christian. But there has since been reconciliation, she said.

"I told them I believe in God and God is in my life no matter what I'm doing. God loves me, no matter what. My sister came and said that she would also love me, no matter what," she said.

Check out Dreams of Hope at their website.

The woman who loves to hate us dykes and faggots is at it again.  Diane Gramley, the high priestess of Pennsylvania family values, has snagged herself a story in the Beaver County Times outlining her "concerns" about recent outreach from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to the Ambridge Area School District.

The Ambridge School District caught our attention late last year when School Board member William Scherfel referred to the high school's GSA as a "sex club" and its members as "fags."  Scherfel later "apologized" by claiming he didn't remember making the comments while acknowleding that he may have used the word fag since he grew up in that era.

In the meantime, GLSEN has stepped up and offered to work with the school district to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues, a move that could actually improve the learning environment for gay students and possibly assist the school district in avoiding lawsuits.

"We just want to help schools understand, so they can deal appropriately and develop some sensitivity to that particular minority," [Network co-chair Tom]Wyse said.

Ambridge Area High School Principal Alan Fritz has said he'd be receptive to having a professional development workshop for teachers, but it was something he would have to discuss with the superintendent."

Aghast at the thought of tolerance in Darryl Metcalfe country, the AFA of PA is riding to the rescue.

But Gramley said such sensitivity workshops overstep the boundaries of proper public education because she said it pushes acceptance of homosexuality and threatens the First Amendment rights of those who believe homosexuality is a sin.

"Unfortunately, a school board member made a disparaging remark. That was not called for at all, but if the principal accepts an invitation from GLSEN, that's going in the wrong direction," Gramley said.

What direction would that be?  Why straight to hell, of course, with a pit stop in San Francisco to pick up some kicky thigh highs and a pink feather boa. 

Note Gramley's subtle reference to Christian persecution with the First Amendment argument. That insidious tact seems to work very well if the minds of my colleagues are reflective of general sentiments.  They do feel like they are under attack for being Christian, rather than for trying to shove their brand of Christianity down our throats <insert obvious gay joke here>.

It is heartening that Principal Fritz is willing to consider training for the faculty and staff.  And Ambridge still has a Gay-Straight Alliance club with the goal of fostering understanding and creating bridges between gay and straight students.  However, as recently as mid-December, the GSA founder described an environment of increasing intolerance among the student body especially since Scherbel's comments.

Well, duh.  When an elected official sets the bar low, can you be surprised that weak minded adults as well as their spawn scurry underneath it?  The ignorance of the common heterosexual is sometimes truly astounding.  These desperate little people truly seem to believe that their way of life, their identity will be destoyed if their children even associate with a known homosexual much less have a conversation or <gasp> actual dialogue. 

Ambridge - breeding homophobes, one salvation at a time.