Long Beach Gay Pride

And so we have it, this weekend is Gay Pride again in my home city of Long Beach, CA. The gayness of Long Beach was one of the things that drew me to the city. My oh so conservative brother, with whom I am very close, recommended Long Beach to me many years ago. He said there were a lot of my people there. He was right.

So every year there is the tired debate about how irrelevant, tired, and uncreative Gay Pride events are. Tomorrow, the California Supreme Court is set to release its decision on whether to legalize same-sex marriage. The way I see it, Gay Pride and the court decision are closely related. Gay Pride started as a celebration of freedom and a socio-political statement regarding the right of the LGBTQ population to be whoever the hell they wanted to be. It is also a statement about equality. You can't shut us up, we're not going away, and we demand same entitlements, protection, and voice as the rest of society.

So if Gay Pride started as a celebration of who we are and a statement that we want our share too, the Gay Pride event cannot become irrelevant until we have equal everything. As corporation continue to get low scores for the way they treat LGBTQ employees, as gay bashings continue, as same-sex marriage is continually denied, and as gay students are getting shot in the head, it is obvious to me that our work is not done.

So look past the assless chaps if you must. Look past the drag queens if you must. But don't look past what they stand for - freedom and equality.

Ban on travelers with HIV into U.S. reviewed

The United States always seems to find itself in the most elite company. The U.S., for example, is among only 13 nations in the world that prohibit HIV-positive foreign visitors and immigrants. The U.S. shares this dubioius honor with other countries such as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Qatar. There might be a war on terror being waged in the Middle East, but their isn't certainly a solidarity of ignorance.

WWW.chron.com reports that the ban on HIV-positive foreign visitors and immigrants stems back to an immigration law in the 1800's that prohibited the entry of "persons suffering from a loathsome or dangerous disease." Patient Zero of the U.S. HIV epidemic was a French-Canadian airline attendant. Of course, nothing about this guy being French-Canadian made a bit of difference. He could have just as easily been a U.S. citizen, in fact, by all accounts it was a whole lot of U.S. men that were joining the mile high club with Zero.

The point is closing the borders to people who are HIV-positive never has stopped the spread of the disease, nor will it ever. Education on how the disease is transmitted and superior research are the only ways to win this deadly battle. While I am not convinced the government created HIV, I am convinced that there is a cottage industry created over the past 28 years that is dependent upon "the search for a cure" - and limitless government funding - for their survival. This is a zero sum game where a winner will ultimately prevail and get a patent, and the other players will wither on the vine. If insurance companies are paying for cocktails and interim treatments, what incentive do researchers have to rush to the cure, particularly if there is no clear path in their mind where to look?

Perhaps I am being a little cynical here and I don't apologize for it. When we have had one President after another in this country ignore, minimize, or admonish the LGBTQ Community as a whole, it is no wonder that HIV-positive foreign visitors and immigrants still can't enter the U.S. and after 28 years there still isn't a cure.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

My brother is a sheet metal worker and has often used the saying, "Measure twice, but once." It is good advice for avoiding stupid ass mistakes. Speaking of stupid ass mistakes, I am very disappointed to hear about Whoopi Goldberg's omission from the Oscar montage of former hosts. Whoopi was incredibly gracious on the View, where the hosts brought up the issue.

Whoopi didn't rant and rave, she instead was quiet, teary eyed, and clearly saddened by what had happened. The View hosts went on to list all of Whoopi's firsts and near firsts - first black woman to host the show, second black woman to win an oscar, first oscar winner to host the show, etc. So how doesn't something this stupid happen? My answer is oversight.

It is hard to imagine that the Academy purposefully left out Whoopi. Wait, no its not. People can be very mean and intelligent, articulate women often bear the brunt of society's prejudices. So lets just say for the sake of argument that she was accidentally left out of the montage. Wait, this is the same industry where people make careers out of being congruency specialists, making sure everything on a movie set is identical from scene to scene. So how is it that a black woman that has hosted the academy awards multiple times in left out? It isn't. It was by design.

I do believe that things in Hollywood are often done like things in real life, by underlings. You get the lowest paid person to do the most work, then you have the boss sign off on it. It is a tried and true way of doing business in these United States, just look at our Supreme Court opinions. So I am quite certain that some underling at the Academy threw the montage together, but some boss decide Whoopi didn't need to be in there. S/he was either too lazy to go back and put Whoopi in thinking that no one would notice or that Whoopi didn't deserve to be in and no one would care. In either case, the boss was wrong.

Shame on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. You made a bad choice and you have not even bothered to put anything on your own website to rectify it. You measured twice, cut once, and still made a stupid ass mistake.

God Bless You, Larry King

I have been hesitant to post anything about the death of eight grader Larry King, the openly gay kid in Oxnard, CA who was shot a week ago. The reason I have hesitated it because it just hurts so damn much. I was born in Oxnard, CA. Although I feel a million miles away from there, the news of this tragedy put me right back in this farm community northwest of Los Angeles.

It seems like youth today are beyond out. It seems like they have embraced the right to identify as LGBTQ. But this veil is thin and when it is pierced, it is deadly. The veil of Larry's shooter was 14 year-old Brandon McInerney.everything is okay was pierced when Larry's classmate, 14 year-old Brandon McInerney shot Larry in the head in the middle of class. After shooting Larry, Brandon stopped and looked at the class, shot Larry again as he lay on the floor, then left the classroom. Brandon, who looks like he could live next to the Cleavers, is being charged as an adult and is being held on a million dollars bail.

In this past week there have been vigils and a large march in Oxnard in rememberance of Larry. This brave kid declared that he was gay and would come to school in heels and makeup. Good for him. Good for his parents. They are the reason that the fight for gay rights will never end. It will never end because no hate crime is tolerable and hate will always exist. I just expect hate to be shoved into the deep recesses of consciousness and if a person is weak enough to let it out, there will be consequences to pay.

Larry's bravery will live on with me. It will live on with many of us. So the next time you think of being anyone else than yourself, remember the 15 year-old who gave his life to be himself. God Bless You, Larry King.

I Did Not Have Sexual Relations with THAT Woman!

Haven't we heard this before? Now its John McCain's turn to deny the allegations of an affair eight years ago. The rumor goes that annonymous former aids to McCain "were concerned" that he may have had an inappropriate relationship with a telecommunications lobbyist some years ago. The New York Times broke this news today and the timing is more than suspect.

With Mitt Romney out of the way, McCain has been free to claim the title of frontrunner for the Republican nomination. As the frontrunner, and only horse in the race, Republican voters and politicians have no one else to be on. The response from other Republicans, predicatably, has been one of solidarity. The New York Times seems to have single-handedly executed the sudden cohesion of the Republican party and their public backing of McCain. Way to go New York Times.

The New York Times, who endorsed McCain in late January, is no doubt trying to shake its liberal persona. Good job. Any paper that would stoop so low as to run a story of this nature without more facts should not be read. Any paper that would endorse a candidate, then run this editorial when there is no more competition should not be read. With the veritable plethora of media outlets, the New York Times is speeding its own demise if they believe that readers won't see through their thinly veiled attempt to influence the Presidential race. This editorial will only weaken the public's opinion of the paper. Besides, thinking that McCain still has the ability to bring his soldier to attention may well serve to bolster McCain image as an elderly, but virile candidate!

While I am not a McCain supporter, I don't agree with the airing of a candidate's eight year old dirty laundry. Particularly when that laundry belongs to two consenting adults. If the allegations are true, the affair did not take place in an airport bathroom or in the Oval Office. That means I couldn't care less. The New York Times and this country should stick to the issues that are most important in this race such as adequate health care for working class Americans, the eradication of the HIV virus, and the impending Recession that no one wants to talk about.

Cyndi Lauper. Wow.

This past Saturday some good friends got us tix to go see Cyndi Lauper on her True Colors tour at the Greek Theater in L.A. What an awesome time. There was Erasure, Cyndi, and Rosie O'Donnell. What a talented trio. Cyndi has a humongous gay following, as evidenced by the thousands of screaming Queers at the concert. It was nothing short of Fabulous. My only complaint is that the Greek Theater is a little gestapo about their rules and regulations.

My so generous friends rented a limo for the ride from Long Beach to Los Angeles, which can be lengthy under the best conditions. There were six of us and I realized how stupid limos really are. Unless you are one of the two people sitting in the forward facing seats, you have to crawl in and out of the limo. Literally crawl. Who thought of this? Of course the sheer volume of alcohol in the limo helped to make up for the need to crawl in and out.

We arrived at the concert a little late so we missed the crowd, but not the excellent music. How these artists can make the old favorites sound new time and again is beyond me. I am appreciative of what they do for Queers in terms of recognition and acceptance and I am appreciative of what they do to music as an art form. Only Cyndi Lauper could get so many screaming fans off their asses to dance with Girls Just Want to Have Fun - a 20 year old tribute to I don't know what. But you just can't help but listen to her and say, "Wow."

Marriage Not As Queer As It Used To Be

Canadian wedding counters reported today that in 2007 there has only been one same-sex marriage, down from 107 last year. Our neighbors to the North seem to have fallen short of the anticipated demand for hooking up same gendered couple in the bonds of holy matrimony. When I heard this today, I was really quite shocked. It made me think about what the reaction in the United States would be. Would it be the same? When marriage was temporarily legalized in San Francisco and New Paltz, NY, the demand was outrageous. Lines around the block. Sleeping on sidewalks. Ponies prancing two by two. Well, you get the point. But that was when we knew that it wasn't quite legal. It was still a rebellious, edgy act to go get married. What if it was legal?

The preservation of Queer culture has always been important to me. I want to know that I am different and better because of it. I don't aspire to say that it is okay to be different. I say that it is my God given right to be different and I embrace that difference with every fiber of my being. That difference makes me who I am. One of the differences is that I cannot marry my partner of 11 years the way that a hetero couple can. How would I feel if this difference no longer existed? Would I still care as much about getting married? You bet I would.

Marriage cannot be a tool for others to dole out based on their perception of legitimacy. Yet, that is exactly how it is done. As tempted as I am, I won't go into my entire position on why marriage should be legal between same-sex couple, suffice to say I believe it should be a right for everyone. For the record, I do draw the line at marriages between animals and people. For all of this back story, the question remains, why have gay marriages declined so much in Toronto? I propose the reason for the drop in marriages is because we have the right to get married in Canada - or not get married. We could have guessed that once the initial excitement of getting married wore off that there would be a decline in the number of marriage ceremonies. Maybe not such a dramatic decline, but one nonetheless. The beauty of this is that we don't have to get married, because its our right.

I had a birthday party this last weekend and I publicly thanked my "partner" of 11 years for all of his love and support. One of my friends from worked asked why I called him my partner instead of my husband. It was a good question and I didn't have a great answer. Perhaps it is all of the years of substituting "partner" since "husband" is a legal fantasy at this point in U.S. history. I'll continue working towards gaining the right to call my "partner" my "husband" so that one day I can choose not to.