YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO GET INVOLVED!

I am in seventh grade, but believe so strongly in this cause that I have started this page anyway.

 

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Welcome to the blog of Marriage Equality Now! Read on for actions, news, editorials, and progress updates!

 

ACCEPTANCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY AROUND THE WORLD

 

A few months back, Indonesia passed a law that makes homosexuality a criminal act, and requires that the criminal gets lashed 500 times to make up for their deed. While some may not have any personal connections to Indonesia, I do. My father and I sponsor a child there. Of course, I have no idea whether this child is LGBT or not, but if she was, and she was open about this, she would get 500 lashes. This is more than brutal. this is grossly in-humane. This, however, is just the beginning. Right now, Uganda is debating a law that would either provide life in prison, or the death penalty for LGBT Ugandans. Death for homosexuality. It makes one's blood curdle. Already there are several countries in Africa that impose life in prison, or even the death penalty for being a homosexual. In Uganda, however, it is even more maddening. The reason? Ugandans introduced this law after there was a conference in Uganda, conducted by American Evangelical Christians, on how to defeat the homosexual. Imprisoning, and killing the homosexual is not Christian. Christianity is a great religion. Why must people mangle it so? What I am trying to push across is the notion that Americans, including LGBT Americans, are relatively blessed because of our constitution. In other counties, people do not have those blessings. In other countries, one could be killed because of who they love. Count your blessings, and take action for others who are not so fortunate.



I will be posting updates on the judicial decision over same-sex marriage in California, as well as ways to take action for those around the globe who are less fortunate, in the coming days.

 

TODAY'S BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION

It has begun. What many has dubbed to be the most important civil rights court hearing since Brown vs. Board of Education, is here. Californian courts have begun a hearing that is questioning whether Proposition 8, a proposition banning same-sex marriage approved by voters last year, is constitutional. For LGBT rights activists, this may seem like a question with an all-too obvious answer. It is a question with an all-too obvious answer. The answer is yes: Prop. 8 is unconstitutional. However, judges have a hard time grasping this. Judges had a hard time grasping the concept that segregating schools was unconstitutional, as well. Nevertheless, judges in the Brown vs. Board of Education trial did, in the end, finally grasp the concept that segregation is wrong. Perhaps in this historic trial, judges will finally grasp the concept that withholding marriage from lesbian and gay Americans is wrong as well.


I'll provide links to follow this enormous hearing soon.

 

WE LOST IN NEW JERSEY

On Thursday, January 7th 2010, the state senate of New Jersey struck down same-sex marriage in that state. Although same-sex marriage was approved in the house of representetives, the state senate did not approve the measure. Over the last few months, there has been a string of some disappointing defeats for same-sex marriage:

1. On election day 2009, the citizens of Maine repealed same sex marriage

2. The state senate of NY voted against same-sex marriage, dispite the fact that the house of the state passed the measure three times.

3. A high spot: Washington D.C. passed same-sex marriage

4. The state senate of NJ voted against same-sex marriage.

 

Despite all this, i still remain hopeful that eventually, all states in the union will have equality! We must keep on fighting for equality, and good will come.

 

Washington D.C. passed same-sex marriage!

Will the Catholic Church take away funding for homeless people?

 

This is a serious good news, bad news situation. The good news is that same-sex marriage passed in he nations capital. The bad news is that the Catholic Church of D.C. has been using homeless people as pawns to push an anti-gay agenda. They have long threatened to cut funding for homeless people if the polititians in Washington passed same-sex marriage. Now, thanks to our hard work, same-sex marriage has become legal. Will the church stop giving money to homeless people now??? It is truly ridiculous that the church would be so bold to threaten such a thing, but they have none the less. Check out the gay rights section of this website, and sign a petition telling the church to keep funding the homeless of Washington.

 

Annise Parker has been elected the first LGBT mayor of major U.S. city!

 

 

New Jersey passed same-sex marriage in state assembly!

The bill will have to go through more rounds of voting, however, and there is still quite a fight. Go to www.gardenstateequality.org to take action!

 

Don't lose hope!

 

It has been a rough few weeks, with both Maine and New York nixing same-sex marriage. However, to just look at the negative side of the news is never good, and there are two major opportunities for change:

 

1. New Jersey:

New Jersey has delayed a vote on same-sex marriage (it was originally scheduled for 12/10/09), until a date that has not yet been conceived. Nevertheless, it still may come before the end of the year, and we must keep hope high. The good news is that this delay has come at the request of the bill's sponsors, and is therefore legitimate. We will continue to fight in this state. Visit www.gardenstateequality.org

 

2. Washington D.C.

Same-sex marriage has passed! D.C is proof that our fight is not in vain! However, the Archdiocese of D.C. has threatened to cut funding for the homelesss, becaus of the passage of this proposition.

 

WE ARE NOT GIVING UP!

Rallies Erupt in New York City over negative vote regarding same-sex marriage! We will not stand for injustice!

 

NO GAY MARRIAGE IN NEW YORK:

 

In a devastating vote that rocked the LGBTQI community, the state senate if New York voted against same-sex marriage, and for oppression and discrimination. It wasn't even close, with 38 votes against the bill, and only 24 votes for it. To make matters worse, there was not a single republican senator in all of New York that supported this bill. Why should equality be defined by party lines? It shouldn't be! To all republicans: you're party is going to sink like stone if you do not support equality. Rethink you're actions. Live with an open mind, and support equality for all! Every minority group is living through the same fight, and if politicians are not going to support that, then we the people will remove them from office. We the people of the United States of America want justice, and we the people of the United States of America are going to get justice, because in America, WE control the country! This is why I have hope! "There is hope for a better world, there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those blacks, and the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us's. Without hope, the us's give up." This is what Harvey Milk said so long ago, when the fight for LGBT's in this country was first beginning. Those words are so powerful. "There is hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow." Yes, there is hope. There is hope for all who are oppressed, and all who want justice. For the us's, there is still hope.

 

NEWS:

WASHINGTON D.C. COUNCIL APPROVES GAY MARRIAGE! NEXT VOTE WILL COME IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS! THE MEASURE IS EXPECTED TO SUCCEED

 

NEW JERSEY VOTE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WILL COME NEXT WEEK

 

 

TAKE ACTION:

 

 

 The U.S. senate, for the first time, will be voting on a bill that would pass a version of the Anti-Workplace Discrimination Act that would include anti-discrimination for LGBT peoples. Visit www.passendanow.org to take action on this matter

 

Visit www.anniseparker.com to help Annise Parker, an openly lesbian candidate for Governor of Houston. If elected, she would become the first openly LGBT mayor of any of the 10 largest cities in America!

Thoughts on Transgender Day of Remembrance

 

Transgender day of remembrance is a day that is set aside for the remembrance of those who were brutally murdered just because they are transgendered. This day was started in honor of Rita Hester who was murdered in 1998, and encompasses all who have suffered this horrible fate. Now, I ask all who read this to  take a moment to remember all who had their lives unjustly and prematurely ended simply because they were transgendered, and vow to end hateful prejudice in  the future. With a hate crime bill already passed in congress to condemn this act, we have come some distance, but we must always fight to come farther, and never stop.

 

WHY MARRIAGE EQUALITY MATTERS

Marriage equality  is absolutely critical. Some people can not make connections from their personal lives to the political scene, but with this decision, I certainly can. I think of all the children who are gay and lesbian in this country who are not accepted by their parents. I know some who are growing up in conservative households, will they be accepted by their parents? Will they still be loved and cared for like they were before they came out as gay or lesbian? It is a terrible question, "will my parents accept me?" but one every LGBT person has to ask them self. Usually the answer is yes. But what about in a strict, christian, conservative household? I am scared for these children. But we can make a difference. If you know a child like this, you can help them. You can make them accept themselves. And if nothing else, at least let these children marry, no matter who they love. And we will fight for this! We will fight for equality in every state in the union! And we will not stop until every every child in America is able to marry! May America have justice for all.

 

WHY?

 

As many of you know, Adam Lambert, an openly gay former American Idol contestant, has recently been heavily criticized by the American public for his supposedly raunchy performance at the American Music Awards. Because of this, he has also been taken off the guest list of Good Morning America, the show claiming that it could not trust what he would do on the show. What???? Good Morning America is not protecting children from raunchy behavior. It is simply being prejudiced! During the American Music Awards, the only possible thing that the show could have objected to was one kiss that Lambert gave to his male keyboard player. There were countless other potentially raunchy performances during the awards, but the only one that the show objected to was Lambert's. The reason? LGBT people in America cannot show affection in public without criticism. To make matters worse, it was not only the television show that responded negatively to Lambert's actions, but also hoards of American people. Equality activists, we are not the only ones in this world. There are plenty of people who are happy to spread hate, but they will not prevail! We must teach those who are filled with ignorance that it is okay to kiss someone of the same gender! It is okay to be gay! Please, spread the word, and donate right now to this cause.

 

 

THE FIGHT AHEAD: THE ANTI-WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION ACT, AND THE FUTURE OF THE LBGT MOVEMENT

 

We have lost in California, lost in Maine. Some say that we have lost some impetus. But we have not lost hope. Many years ago, Harvey Milk stepped up in front of a large crowd of supporters and spoke powerful words. He said, "There is hope for a better world, there''s hope for a better tomorrow... without hope, the us's give up. I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, got to give 'em hope." And those words gave a generation hope, and the fight continued. Now, the fight must go on. We must not stop and rest. We must not quit, we must continue. For if we have hope, all will fall into place. Never does justice get beaten for too long if those fighting for justice do not give up hope. Right now we have several individual fights going on. This includes the fight for same-sex marriage in D.C., as well as the fight for the passage of the Anti-Employment Discrimination Act. Please, visit one of the sites listed in the "Take Action" section of this web page, and do not lose hope!

 

 

For more on Transgender Day of Rememberance, visit the website of The Human Rights Campaign at www.hrc.org, or check out this article:

http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/education_needed_on_transgender_day_of_remembrance

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:

We have another donor! Joe Cosentino has given $25 to this page! Thank you Joe!

 

Also...How about backtracking

On the Internet, when I was looking up an email address, I came across a site where you could ask a question and a user could give an answer. Go to the second to last answer towards the bottom of the screen , and find some straight-up hurtful gay-bashing. If you are a Yahoo! user PLEASE report abuse. Of course, that's not the only spot on the site where there is gay-bashing. Just go to the very bottom, and find a REAL burning question, "Is so and so gay?" The world must know, it would make so much difference! We must make more progress.

 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081006164059AAcXyQM

 

DONATE NOW!

 

Progress Report: I have decided to extend this website for another week. Our goal of $500 in 3 weeks is seeming rather impractical at the moment. However, we have certainly not failed, and we will persevere. In addition, some large donations might be right around the bend. Just hold on a little longer! However, despite the fact that we may be getting some significant donations, WE STILL NEED YOU! DONATE NOW! We have had quite a long drought since money has been flowing here at my page. Please be the one to stop this!

DONATE NOW!

Speaking of backtracking:

Read this article about the disgusting "charity", NARTH

http://www.truthwinsout.org/narth/

NARTH is an organisation that provides therapy to people with "unwanted homosexuality." Their website includes an interview with ex-gay activist who rid himself of "unwanted homosexuality" and has since moved on to live a wonderful life, free of being gay. This is laughable. Come on people! This website is so hateful in so man ways. It's message, and style of presenting the topic of homosexuality is absolutely incredible! The propoganda is so ridiculous, and to think that gays go to this place, only to feel lonely and depressed rather than cured of their "unwanted homosexuality." Why is homosexuality "unwanted?" Since when is it curable? This just blows me away.

 

Setback in Maine: Prop. 1, a bill banning same-sex marriage, has been voted lawful by the citizens of Maine

 

It was a heck of a race for marriage equality in Maine. However, in the end, we have come up empty-handed. The citizens of Maine voted YES on prop. 1, banning same-sex marriage in that state. However, I believe that it is just a setback. Nobody ever accepted what is right immediately. Change does not happen overnight. But we will persevere! At the party last night in Maine, held by the people at "Protect Maine Equality", a speaker echoed the words of Martin Luther King, and said that as long as you preach justice, you will always win. We WILL win!

 

Other election results:

 

In Virginia, the democrat who was most friendly to gays,  Deeds, lost to the republican candidate. In New Jersey, the same occurred, with the gay-friendly democrat, Jon Corzine, losing to republican Chris Christie. In New York City, Mike Bloomberg, an independent, was victorious over the democrat, and most gay-friendly candidate, Bill Thompson.  In a day that may be fairly bitter, there is some good news: In Washington state, civil unions for gay couples is now legal, in Kalamazoo, an expansion of the cities anti-discrimination law has been put into place, and Annise Parker, a lesbian running for Houston's mayor, has advanced to a two-person runoff for the seat (originally it was a three-person race.)

 

 

 

Please help me support MARRIAGE EQUALITY USA by making a donation. It's fast, easy, and secure.

Thanks so much for your support - and please don't forget to forward this page to any friends you think might be interested. This page will be up for one month with a goal of raising $500. I will post progress reports regularly, and do my best to make sure that this goal is met. But we need your help! Please donate to this excellent and credible cause, so that everyone will have the legal right to marry!

 

Note: The URL of Marriage Equality USA's website is www.marriageequality.org 

 

 

News: 

A story about hate crimes targeted at people of different ethnicity, and LESBIAN AND GAYS just appeared on the news. It is ridiculous that these people are getting targeted for horrendous crimes. Please contribute to this cause that will boost the acceptance of lesbian and gay people throughout the country.

 

Talk to your daughters and sons about this page, and tell them that activism can start at a very early age.  As I stated before, I am in seventh grade, but this cause is so important to me that I decided to create this page anyway. I hope this proves that everyone has the power to change the world, and that there is no age barrier on activism. And, of course, tell your daughters and sons, and any other children that are close to you about how society has been grossly unfair to lesbian and gays, and that everyone has the right to marry whomever they choose. Please spread awareness around to the young people of America so that a new wave of citizens can put anti-same sex marriage laws to rest for good.

 

 

 

 

Note: Please, may everyone who visits this page spread the word on to friends and family, so that you may increase your impact! 

 

I am attempting to upload a great video about the life of the great gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be loading properly. The video is excellent however, and it appears on this webpage: www.queervisions.com/2008/harvey-milk-quotes/  (You should be able to copy and paste the URL and reach the website.)

http://www.causecast.org/videos/2980-got-hope-harvey-milk

This video is of Harvey Milk's "Give 'em hope" speech, and is probably better than the previous.

Harvey Milk's cause is the cause that I am fighting for now. He may not have been fighting specifically for gay marriage, but certainly for gay acceptance. He is a hero to lesbians, gays, and straights. He is an American hero. He rallied hope, paid deathly consequences, and changed the world. 

 

 

 

Prejudice in pop culture:

American Idol is one of the most popular shows on television, yet I have spotted many examples of it being quite prejudiced. I was watching a rebroadcast of Season 5 this afternoon, and was very upset when Ryan Seacrest, in previewing one of the contestants, described him as having an "identity crisis". Once this contestant walked into the room where the judges were to judge his performance, they seemed to focus on the contestant looking like a girl more than his singing in general. The judges have also poked fun at the phrase "coming out of the closet," when it was used in a scenario that had no reference to being gay in the first place. Of course, American idol is far from the only show, or popular anything, where there are prejudices made against lesbian and gay people. Stereotypes fly everywhere. I would say that most people do not have an accurate interpretation of what being lesbian or gay really means. I do not think I even do, thanks to stereotypes! Not a day goes by when gay bashing does not occur at my school. 

Here is a link to an article written in the gay rights section of this website relating to how people are using the bible to justify beating up gay people.   http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/using_the_book_of_leviticus_to_beat_gay_men_into_comas

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ THIS PAGE!

IT WILL ABSOLUTELY ASTONISH YOU! The page is about how the government in Uganda is attempting to put a bill in place to KILL GAY PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE GAY! And... Go after foreign gays and gay activists, LIKE ME! In Uganda, I COULD GET 7 YEARS FOR THIS. PLEASE, you need to check this page out, and if you are a gay rights activist, or even someone reading this right now, read this page! For your own health, if nothing else! Here's the URL: http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/uganda_wants_to_kill_and_imprison_gay_people

Progress Report #7

My infinitely generous cousin has just donated $35! This is the largest donation yet, and I am very exited that people, who I have not even counted on my list of possible donors, have donated! I didn't even need to e-mail her a thousand times, and yet she still donated! Maybe we will meet our goal of $125 by tomorrow after all! We just need $15 more outside of my next contribution of $25! So please donate, whomever you happen to be that has stumbled upon my page. Also, if you are interested in this charity, you may be interested in the Human Rights Campaign, which also is a charity for gay rights. Here is the URL: www.hrc.org

I believe the site is currently working on raising money for the prevention of hate crimes, which I was astounded to learn, happens EVERY 6 HOURS to gays. This fact is simply flabbergasting, so please go and check out the website, and perhaps contribute to their fine campaign as well.

 

 

 

 

News: A crucial hate crime prevention bill was passed today. Please check out this site, and watch this great video.

http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=4385&autologin=true

 

 

Donors:

Myself

 Daniel Kempton

 Jean Landi

 Pam Deryck-Mahlke

Annie Flynn

James Moorhead

Sandy Deryck

THANK YOU TO ALL!

 

Note: Apparently, this page is now featured in an advertisement (sort of). On a post discussing how it is perfectly OK, for there to be male cheerleaders, on www.concretelyambiguous.com there is a link to our website under a section called Related Ways to Take Action. I'm not sure how this occurred, but it appears as if this was put there not by the person who wrote this post, but instead by some company called "Social Actions." The link to the page is

 http://concretelyambiguous.com/truth-in-words/so-your-son-wants-to-cheer/