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Pope Francis: Heterosexual Parents Best for Children
Men and women’s differences bind them in marriage and help their children mature, the pope asserts.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2015/06/16/pope-francis-heterosexual-parents-best-children
South Bend Mayor: Why Coming Out Matters
This post originally appeared on the South Bend Tribune
Any day now, the Supreme Court will issue a decision on same-sex marriage that will directly affect millions of Americans. It comes at a time of growing public acceptance and support for equal rights. But no matter what the Court does, issues of equality are hardly settled across the country. Today, it remains legal in most parts of Indiana (though not South Bend) to fire someone simply for being gay, and bullying still contributes to tragically high suicide rates among LGBT teens.
Still, our country is headed in a clear overall direction, and swiftly. Today, 57 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage; just 15 years ago, the reverse was true. Experiences with friends or family members coming out have helped millions of Americans to see past stereotypes and better understand what being gay is — and is not. Being gay isn’t something you choose, but you do face choices about whether and how to discuss it. For most of our history, most Americans had no idea how many people they knew and cared about were gay.
My high school in South Bend had nearly a thousand students. Statistically, that means that several dozen were gay or lesbian. Yet, when I graduated in 2000, I had yet to encounter a single openly LGBT student there. That’s far less likely to be the case now, as more students come to feel that their families and community will support and care for them no matter what. This is a tremendously positive development: young people who feel support and acceptance will be less likely to harm themselves, and more likely to step into adulthood with mature self-knowledge.
I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am.
Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I’m not used to viewing this as anyone else’s business.
But it’s clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good. For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her. And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn’t know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we’re all in this together as a community.
To continue reading, please visit the South Bend Tribune.
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Ten Great Ways To Celebrate The Arrival Of Marriage Equality
Anyone who lives a stone’s throw from most gay bars in the country knows June is pride month. But this June we hope to have a major extra reason to celebrate — the Supreme Court will hand down its decision on same-sex marriage some time during the month, possibly overturning bans on same-sex marriage in 13 states resisting the tide of history.
But showing pride and enjoying freedom is about a lot more than donning your skimpiest outfit and traipsing about town (though it’s definitely about that, too).
We came up with these suggestions on how to celebrate the freedom to marry this June:
1. Get married!
If you happen to be one of those sickeningly cute people in a stable, committed relationship, now might be the perfect time to celebrate your new freedom by, well, exercising it. Have your day — you can even ride in on a unicorn if it suits you.
2. Put your money where your mouth is
If the right to marry the person you love (even if you don’t know him or her yet) is something that makes you a proud gay, consider all of our brothers and sisters who are still in the trenches, fighting for equality. Assuming you’ve got a little something to spare, we’re sure Amnesty International’s marriage equality organization would love to hear from you — and your bank account.
3. Delete your dating apps
Have you had a nagging feeling lately that you’re just treading life’s waters by going from one dalliance to the next? Perhaps it’s time to get off the apps, and shoot for something lasting lasting longer than an ice cream cone on a summer day. You don’t need to go out and find your future husband immediately, but what about a book club? Volley ball team? You’ll never know until you try.
4. Download dating apps
You didn’t think we’d knock online dating altogether, did you? Maybe what you need to celebrate is some physical attention, but remember that app connections are truly what you make of them. Instead of meeting at his place, you could always opt for a cafe or bar (if only to get past the ‘total stranger’ phase). Next thing you know, you might be enjoying the great outdoors together! And you should have lots to talk about with the court’s decision dominating the news cycle.
5. Get sappy with gay love
Every great romance has a great beginning. Why not curl up onto the couch with your cat as your date and hold an all-night romantic gay film fest for one? We recommend Weekend, But I’m A Cheerleader, Fire and Shelter. Have the tissues handy.
6. Have the pride you’ve always dreamed of
Have you never marched down Market Street in San Francisco or partied at the iconic Dance on the Pier in New York? This could be your year.
7. Come out to your family
If you still haven’t shared your completely honest self with your family — and maybe for good reason — this could be an excellent opportunity to ride the wave of public support and open their eyes to seeing the truth around them. The times are quickly changing, so be open to the people around you changing also. You could even bake them a cake to sweeten the deal.
8. Cut out the drama
Opponents to marriage equality will use every opportunity they can to point at us as examples of the downfalls of society. We couldn’t care less what they think, but use our hard-fought freedom to take a look at what’s important in your life. Not for them, but for you. Maybe it’s time to trim a little proverbial fat that isn’t serving you.
9. Call a friend and tell the you love them
Yes, this sounds sappy. But the freedom to marry is all about expressing our truest love, and love doesn’t always come in the form of romance and champagne. With the nation’s eyes focused on gay marriage, take all of 10 minutes to call a friend for the sole purpose of expressing your love for them. The gratitude will reverberate.
10. Keep on fighting
Assuming things go our way, this is a major hurdle for the LGBT movement. But we haven’t reached the finish line — not by a long shot. There are always local battles for LGBT protections, ex-gay therapy needs to be banned on minors, and the international community still struggles with acceptance, or worse. If these things matter to you, stay informed, inform others, and keep the conversation going.
Dan Tracer
Donald Trump Has $9 Billion to Spend on New Presidential Campaign
The entrepreneur, real estate mogul, reality TV host and perpetual almost-candidate declared he is running for the White House because U.S. leaders are ‘stupid.’
Dawn Ennis
Southern Baptist Head Vows Never To Perform Same-Sex Unions
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination is exhorting members to stand united against same-sex marriage and vows that he will never officiate a same-sex union.
Pastor Ronnie Floyd was speaking to delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. But he says his message is also for the U.S. Supreme Court – which is expected to rule soon on whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry – and for all of America.
Floyd says he has compassion for people whom he described as struggling with same-sex attraction. But Floyd says God defined marriage in the Bible as a lifetime commitment between one man and one woman.
Floyd says delegates will vote on a marriage resolution later in the meeting.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Companies Come Out in Full Colors to Celebrate Pride
As LGBT people and allies gather across the country to celebrate National LGBT Pride Month, a variety of companies have also joined in on the celebration.
HRC.org
Mayor Of South Bend, Indiana Comes Out — Hello, Mister Mayor!
Indiana has frequented the news lately, and not for their delicious Hoosier Pie recipes — Governor Mike Pence has made a name for his state as the national battle line for so-called “religious freedom” laws.
Now the mayor of South Bend, Indiana’s fourth-largest city, is making headlines for promoting a different sort of freedom — the freedom to live an authentic life.
Whereas Pence somehow managed to pen a pride month welcome letter without actually mentioning LGBT people, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend recently authored an op-ed in the South Bend Tribune titled Why Coming Out Matters.
Here’s a taste:
“I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am. Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I’m not used to viewing this as anyone else’s business. But it’s clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good. For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her. And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn’t know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we’re all in this together as a community.”
You can read the full piece here.
Dan Tracer
Popular Mayor in Indiana Is Out
The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, chose to reveal his sexuality in an op-ed published in the local newspaper.
Bil Browning
www.advocate.com/politics/2015/06/16/popular-mayor-indiana-out
The Danger of Disrobing the Judiciary
Artful advocates advise this about addressing the court: if the facts are on your side, pound the facts; if the law is on your side, pound the law; if neither is on your side, pound the table. Adding to that adage, pusillanimous politicians propose undressing the court: if you fear its decision, strip it of jurisdiction. You might even steal the court’s money, or push the judge off the bench.
The latest practitioner of such interbranch bullying is senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz of Texas. Afraid that the Supreme Court will invoke the Constitution to safeguard same-sex marriage and that other federal courts will then follow that new precedent, he has introduced in the Senate the “Protect Marriage from the Courts Act.” The act threatens to strip the jurisdiction of lower federal courts, as well as the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, over “claims pertaining to the constitutionality of State marriage laws.”
Of course, the Supreme Court is on the verge of deciding precisely such an appeal. Lest it issue its judgment before the bill becomes law, not to worry: the bill refers to the pending case and provides that no non-parties — in other words, no state judges — “shall have any obligation to comply with the decision.”
The way to protect marriage, apparently, is to declare war on the independent judiciary, a pillar of our constitutional democracy. This legislative attempt to restrain the judicial branch violates the separation-of-powers doctrine, and the invitation to state judges to ignore a Supreme Court decision makes a hash of the constitutional enshrinement of federal law as “the supreme Law of the Land.”
To justify this power (s)trip, Cruz seeks refuge in two flawed lines of reasoning. One turns on Congress’s constitutional authority to “ordain and establish” lower courts. That greater power to create courts from scratch, goes the argument, inherently includes the lesser power to withhold cases selectively from their jurisdiction. That logic is dubious; just because I don’t have to hire any employees at all does not mean that once I do I can pay them as little as I’d like. In any event, although broad, neutral limitations on lower courts’ jurisdiction have long been accepted, the notion that Congress can cherry-pick specific cases has not.
With respect (so to speak) to the Supreme Court, Cruz’s bill relies on the constitutional provision that “the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction . . . with such Exceptions . . . as the Congress shall make.” But would-be jurisdiction-strippers misinterpret that clause. In fact, so do their opponents who protest that exceptions violate the Constitution’s spirit while ruefully conceding that the letter of the law allows them. What both groups overlook is that exceptions to appellate jurisdiction do not abrogate jurisdiction altogether. Rather, as I have explained in detail elsewhere, exceptions expedite the hearing of important cases by moving them into the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction, which is otherwise quite circumscribed.
As troubling as Cruz’s attempt to divest courts of jurisdiction is in theory, in practice it is a political striptease with little chance of consummation. Perhaps even more scandalous is a judiciary appropriations bill that Sam Brownback, governor of Kansas, actually signed into law recently. Brownback knows that the state supreme court will likely soon address the constitutionality of a favored law of his from last year that seized administrative authority from that court and dispersed it to trial courts across the state. The new legislation leaves intact the state supreme court’s jurisdiction to entertain such a challenge, which is already pending in trial court. But it comes with a threat of a different order: if any court strikes down the earlier law, then the provisions funding the entire state judiciary will be “declared to be null and void.”
The judicial pen may be mightier than the sword, but ink costs money. Brownback should keep in mind that judicial review — the power of courts to invalidate actions of other branches — has been a cornerstone of the framework of separated powers, providing a crucial check on executive and legislative overreach. And as Cruz presumably laments, federal courts have been essential enforcers of the Constitution in the face of stubborn states, most notably during the Civil Rights Movement. If the political branches wield necessities like jurisdiction and budgets as weapons for browbeating courts into submission, the damage to judicial independence will in turn erode the rule of law.
Still another way politicians have found to intimidate judges has been to jeopardize their jobs. A precursor to Cruz’s same-sex marriage bill was the “We the People Act,” introduced by Texas representative Ron Paul, like Brownback a onetime presidential hopeful. Paul sought to block federal courts from hearing cases about not only sexual orientation but also reproduction or religion. Any violation of the jurisdictional bar by a judge would be, the bill warned, an “impeachable offense.”
These various threats to disrobe judges by stripping them of authority are not only unseemly but downright dangerous. If Cruz, Brownback, Paul, and other merchants of menace fear certain court decisions about facts or law, let them pound the table. But don’t let them have a pound of judicial flesh.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Rapper Comes Out as HIV-Positive
On Friday, rapper and artist Mykki Blanco came out as HIV-positive.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/rapper-comes-out-as-hiv-positive?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
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