Why Bob Marshall of VA is a F*cking Idiot

Bob Marshall led the Virginia House of Delegates to defeat the nomination of Tracy Thorne-Begland, a gay prosecutor from Richmond, to a post on the general district court. Now he's trying to defend his anti-gay bias.

Bob Marshall said, "You could preside as a district judge for a marriage of two guys if he wanted to, in violation of the law." He continued, "Moreover, if you have a bar room fight between a homosexual and heterosexual, I’m concerned about possible bias." He also said, "I said sodomy is not a civil right, and there’s an effort by homosexual lobbyists to equate the two. That’s wrong."

He's concerned about Thorne-Begland showing bias when a gay person is involved in a case? Does he share this same concern when a straight person is involved in a case overseen by a straight judge? What about a black judge overseeing a case where the defendant is black? Can a female judge preside over a rape case? Can a judge that's a parent oversee family court cases? What a crock of shit this douche bag puts forth.

Furthermore, to state that "sodomy is not a civil right" is to say that "being gay is solely about sex", which couldn't be further from the truth. To believe such nonsense one must come from a place where he/she feels absolutely no emotion for their spouse or partner - no love, no caring, no empathy - instead feeling only a physical attraction, lust. I feel sorry for Bob's wife, if he has one. His remarks should make clear to her that she's nothing but a vagina to him.

This is what's wrong with the GOP when it comes to LGBT issues. They get so hung up on the thought of gay sex - which personally I think titillates the hell out of them far more than they'll admit, even when they're caught tapping their toes in a men's room - that they can't get to the real issue, which is equal rights. It's always been about equal rights. It's never been about taking rights away, which is the enormous grotesque lie that the religious fundamentalists would like you to believe, or special rights, another big fat lie from the right. It's about making sure that there is only one class of citizen, that we're all on equal ground. What's wrong with that?

For more, read Luke Johnson's article on HuffingtonPost.com.

Cardinal Dolan's "Reckless Indifference to Children"

On behalf of hundreds of thousands of homeless LGBT youth, Carl Siciliano, the founder and executive director of the Ali Forney Center in New York, wrote an open letter to the Cardinal Archbishop of New York and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Timothy Dolan.  In it he effectively argues that the Cardinal's actions contribute to "a climate where parents turn on their own children" and invites the Cardinal to visit the Ali Forney Center, which is a mere 30 blocks from St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan and provides housing, medical care, and vocational and educational support to LGBT youths who have been driven from their homes.  Siciliano realizes that it's important for the Cardinal to meet children directly affected by his staunch anti-LGBT position.  

Read Carl Siciliano's letter to Cardinal Dolan HERE.  

The Cardinal responded in the defensive tone and snarky prose of a man unhappy that someone clearly sees what he's doing and has called him out for behaving in a manner he knows in his heart is not Christian.  The Cardinal behaves as though he's beyond reproach, "above the law", perfect.  He needs to be reminded that he's a man, not a deity, and that men make mistakes.  A truly righteous man can recognize when he's on the wrong side of something, is humble enough admit that he was wrong and will take action to make things right.  Based on his response, I doubt that Timothy Dolan is that kind of man.  

Read Cardinal Dolan's dismissive response HERE.

Siciliano has responded to the Cardinal's letter, pointing out that the Cardinal completely ignored what was at the core of his original letter - the children.  But I fear that his second letter will get no further than his first.  

Read Siciliano's second letter HERE.

I believe the Cardinal is so blinded by the Church's misguided and patently pointless damnation of homosexuality that he can't see the damage he's doing, the needless pain and suffering perpetuated by his service to his god, the child victims rejected by their families, falling into substance abuse, prostitution, some becoming so hopeless that they take their own life.  Cardinal Dolan has the power to change all of this, but he refuses.  Instead he continues to speak out against the LGBT community, which only creates more homophobia and hostility.  The Vatican has rewarded his vigilance against LGBT rights and marriage equality by elevating him from Archbishop to Cardinal, and he can't very well disappoint the Vatican. Everyone knows you shouldn't piss off your boss.

Click HERE to learn about supporting the Ali Forney Center.

Void of Compassion, Priest Denies Lesbian Communion

I just read an article posted on Advocate.com about a catholic priest at St. John Neumann Catholic Church  in Gaithersburg, Md. that denied a woman communion at her mother's funeral.  He said "I cannot give you communion because you live with a woman and that is a sin according to the church."

Read the article: Priest's Actions Against Lesbian Stir Uproar

Immediately upon reading this I became enraged. It's this priest's brand of self-righteous arrogance, his literal 'holier-than-thou' attitude that has made me an Atheist.  I mean really, who do these people think they are?  Do they really think they're better than other people?  Is that what their god teaches them, that they've been elevated above the rest of us?  What a crock of shit.  I hope this priest, Father Marcel Guarnizo, experiences the kind of rejection, humiliation and emotional pain he subjected this woman to during her mother's funeral.  He deserves nothing less.

Prop 8, California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Declared Unconstitutional

The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

It's that last bit, "nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws", that's particularly important and makes clear that Prop 8 is/was unconstitutional.

The justices concluded that the law had no purpose other than to deny gay couples marriage, since California already grants them all the rights and benefits of marriage if they register as domestic partners.  The measure "serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples," Judge Stephen Reinhardt, one of the court's most liberal judges, wrote in the 2-1 opinion.

It's still not clear to me why the Prop 8 proponents are so hellbent on denying marriage equality to gays and lesbians.  They say they must "protect traditional marriage", to which I respond "From what?".  Newt Gingrich and Kim Kardashian have done far more damage to traditional marriage than all of the married gays and lesbians in CT, IA, MA, NH, NY, VT and Washington DC combined!  Others try to object on religious grounds.  I don't quite understand that either, but then again I'm not one for organized religions.  As the saying goes, "I don't have religious views, I have views on religion", and in my experience a lot of people hide their fear, hatred, intolerance and bigotry inside the robes of religion.  I plan to explore the concept of objecting to equal rights for gays and lesbians on religious grounds, and as my knowledge base expands I'm sure you'll see more posts on the topic.  In the meantime, you're welcome to share your thoughts here...