T Town Tommy

Monday Morning Humor - A Satirical Reaction to Rep. Sally Kern's Bigotry

On the Fritz! Observations of Modern Life has posted a hilarious satire of Sally Kern's bigoted theories about her Oklahoma LGBT constituents. One of the most powerful options when in the ugly face of hate is laughter.

Enjoy!

Show Representative Sally Kern your exercising your other options and demand action on the part of your local Oklahoma state leaders to have her removed from office. Hate and bigotry is not the kind of family values we support in 21st Century Oklahoma.

Thanks to the internet and the global media the eyes and judgment of the world is now upon us as one people, Oklahomans. We will be judged as a state in how our leaders tackle the issues of hate and bigotry in light of this recent event and upcoming legislation to protect Oklahoma's LGBT citizens from hate crimes and unequality in everyday living.

At the end of the video is contact information to file your complaints or follow this link to the Oklahoma House of Representatives to find out how to contact your state leaders today. Phone calls and letters are much more powerful than an email. Let your voice be heard!

Oklahomans for Equality Speaks Out on State Reps Hate Speech

Although anti-gay speech is a depressingly common element of U.S. political discourse, rarely does one hear the pure poison recently spewed by Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern in a YouTube video now circulating on the Internet with astonishing speed.

 

Unaware that her remarks to 50 supporters were being taped, Rep. Kern offers a shocking anti-gay tirade in which she asserts that homosexuality is "the biggest threat that our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam." She adds, "No society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades."

 

While Rep. Kern rants, fellow members of the Oklahoma state legislature seem unwilling to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens. Oklahoma is one of 17 states whose hate crimes laws do not encompass sexual orientation and gender identity & expression. Despite last fall's senseless murder of Steven Domer, a 62 year-old gay man killed by Aryan supremacists in Oklahoma City, it is highly likely that the legislature will kill four bills that propose to amend the state hate crimes statute.

Let Rep. Kern and her colleagues know that hate speech is dangerous, that such words create a climate where physical assaults and killings are more likely, that it is abhorrent for a public official to use her authority to discriminate and defame law-abiding, contributing citizens.
 
Call or write your legislator (remember phone calls and handwritten letters are far more effective than email) and share your outrage at Rep. Kern's remarks. Urge them to demand that revision of Oklahoma's hate crimes law be considered by the full legislature.
To find your legislator, search here.

Contact Rep. Kern: 

Capitol Address
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 332
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Phone: (405) 557-7348

Email: sallykern@okhouse.gov 

Law Maker Caught Bashing Gay Oklahoma Citizens

A new YouTube video has been released of State Representative Sally Kern bashing Gay Oklahomans during a recent speech. Below is the video of her bigoted ignorant hate filled speech in it's entirety including the claim that gays are a bigger threat to the US than terrorism and that LGBT Oklahoma citizens are after 2 year olds. The Oklahoma City lawmaker goes on to say that gays have a shorter lifespan than the rest of Oklahomans.

Other bigoted and disgusting claims made by Rep. Kern that I care not to repeat are heard on the video and displays the horrible ignorance and a total lack of respect for basic human rights on the lawmakers part. I strongly urge everyone to contact their local lawmakers demanding the censure and removal of Rep. Sally Kern from the Oklahoma House of Representatives and make crystal clear the message that in the 21st century hate and bigotry will no longer will be tolerated from our elected Oklahoma leaders.

More on the story with KOTV tulsa

Events at the Tulsa Equality Center

For those of you not familiar with the Tulsa Equality Center a number of LGBT community events are happening weekly in downtown Tulsa. The Tulsa Equality Center offers free of charge; confidential HIV testing, support groups, video phone for the deaf and free internet Wi-Fi. Below is a listing of upcoming and current events.

"Exploring Balance": a Yoga Workshop by Stephen Saunders
Saturday, February 23, 3 - 5:30pm
Stephen Saunders leads the first-ever yoga workshop at the Equality Center, focusing on reducing tension, anxiety and stress, and replacing them with positive feelings of ease and grace.
This workshop is open to individuals with all levels of experience. Registration is $40, deadline is Monday, February 18. For more information or to register, download the flier. 

"Heroes and the Boogie Man: Celebrating Life Beyond Sexual Abuse"
Friday, April 18, University of Phoenix Tulsa Campus, 10810 East 45th Street
Heroes and the Boogie Man, is a powerful workshop designed and facilitated by Carlos Michael with one intended purpose--to demonstrate that it is possible to celebrate life beyond sexual abuse.

HOPE HIV Testing
Monday - Thursday: 6 - 8pm, Saturday: 4 - 7pm, Health Testing Center
Free, anonymous HIV testing with results in 20 minutes for MSM (men who have sex with men) and high-risk individuals. Also available by appointment.

L Word Tuesdays
Tuesdays, 7pm, Sue Welch Hall
“Excited about the new season of The L Word? So are we! Join us each Tuesday for the latest episode.”

Gender Outreach
Wednesdays, 7:30pm, Conference Room
A support and social group for transgender individuals.

Center Cinema: The Deep End
Fridays, 7pm, Sue Welch Hall
With her husband perpetually away at work, a mother raises her children virtually alone. Her teenage son is testing the waters of the adult world, and early one morning she wakes to find the dead body of his gay lover on the beach of their rural lakeside home. What would you do? What is rational and what do you do to protect your child? How far do you go and when do you stop?
 

Tulsa Unity String Orchestra Rehearsal
Thursdays, 6pm, Wellness Center
The Tulsa Unity String Orchestra, an all-volunteer ensemble,  practices in the Equality Center and performs at OkEq and area events. 

Faith in Crisis
Second and fourth Saturdays, 3 - 4:30pm, Conference Room
A support group for those experiencing religious/spiritual crises related to sexual orientation and identity, Faith in Crisis provides a safe, confidential environment for sharing questions and concerns, supporting others, learning from others' experiences, and collaboratively exploring religious/spiritual crises and ways to manage, cope, grow and heal from such experiences. For more information on the group and its facilitators, visit their website.

Game Night @ the Center
Saturdays, 6:30pm, Sue Welch Hall
New game each week. No need to RSVP, just drop in! 

Beginner's Yoga
Mondays, 6pm, Wellness Center
Center Yourself with OkEq's beginner's yoga class, instructed by certified yoga teacher Janet Parachin. Cost is $10 per session or $50 for six sessions, paid in advance. Students are advised to please bring a yoga mat.

Tulsa Pride 2008 Planning
Mondays, 7pm, Event Center
The Pride Committee meets each week to plan what promises to be the best Tulsa Pride event in history. We need your voice and energy on the Pride Committee! To volunteer your time, join the weekly planning meetings or email pride@okeq.org. For more, visit the official Pride 2008 website.

Inside Out ACA
Mondays, 7pm
The Inside Out group of ACA, Adult Children of Alcoholics, is a twelve-step, twelve tradition program of men and women who grew up in alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes.

Equality Center Gallery: Oils and fine drawings by Jessica Newman
February's exhibit spotlights young artist Jessica Newman, whose work is themed around the human body and uses pencil, watercolors, oil paints, and charcoal.

Nancy & Joe McDonald Rainbow Library
The Equality Center lending library has thousands of LGBT-related books in dozens of genres, including fiction and non-fiction, as well as many free magazines like the Advocate, Gay Parents and the Ozark Star. 

Logo Network

The Equality Center features the Logo Network, the first and only 24-hour LGBT television channel, on the big screen in Sue Welch Hall. For programming information, visit the LOGO website.

David Bohnett CyberCenter
Nine high-speed-internet-connected computers and a network printer available to the public. The Equality Center also provides free wireless internet!

Relay Videophone for the Deaf
The Equality Center is fortunate to feature a broadband video relay service for the deaf in the David Bohnett CyberCenter. The Equality Center is the only publicly-accessible videophone available after 5pm in the city of Tulsa.

For more information contact The Dennis R. Neill Equality Center at 918.743.GAYS (4297) or visit the Oklahomans for Equality Web Site.

2008 Tulsa Gay Pride Theme and Events Announced

Oklahomans for Equality has released this year's Tulsa 2008 Gay Pride logo and schedule for an expanded two weeks of events. June's Gay Pride events and activities are centered around the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, Tulsa's new 18,000 sq ft state of the art LGBT community center located in downtown Tulsa. The theme for 2008 Tulsa Gay Pride is "Equality, Love, Tulsa".

Tulsa Pride 2008 Official Site

Dennis R. Neill Equality Center

Oklahomans for Equality

Oklahoma and National LGBT News

OSU's SODA seeks LGBT Businesses for Campus Forum

Sexual Orientation Diversity Association (SODA) at Oklahoma State University (Stillwater) is seeking area LGBT businesses to speak about their companies and how they fit within the LGBT and surrounding communities, as well as how students can go about being involved with a LGBT business. If you are a LGBT business owner or know of someone who may be interested in participating in the event, contact SODA President Shane Williams at (918) 694-3280.

PFLAG National Scholarship Program

PFLAG Scholarships provide an important, positive statement to a group of young people that is coping amazingly well in an often adverse school environment. This year, PFLAG will grant three $5000, three $2500, and ten $1000 scholarships to reward the great work students are doing across the country to make schools safer. For more information, visit the PFLAG website.

Research Study for Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Men

Dawn M. Szymanski, Ph.D., University of Tennessee is a gay researcher conducting an empirical study examining attitudes, feelings, and experiences associated with being a gay, bisexual, or questioning man. She invites men 18 years or older who have experienced same-sex attraction, to participate in this study. The online survey is anonymous, and takes about 35 minutes to complete. As an incentive to participate, all participants will be given the chance to enter a participant raffle awarding $100 each to three randomly selected participants.

Fight for Your Rights

Can you imagine?

Not being able to visit your spouse in the hospital?

Living with your spouse for 25 years, and then losing everything—house, children, and benefits?

Being told you can't depend on your spouse's social security benefits, despite a lifetime of commitment?

Is it hard to imagine?

It shouldn't be – this is the reality for same-sex couples all across America. It's not fair, and it's not American. Stand up for your rights and the rights of your fellow American.

Sign the Million for Marriage Petition today.

millionformarriage.org

So far we have 872,227 online signatures; will you help break over the one million mark to help send a message to Washington?

Top 10 Gay Myths

From Edge New England

TOP 10 GAY MYTHS
by David Goulart

Sunday Jan 6, 2008

1. The myth of gay recruitment. I can and did find a spouse from the existing pool of gay people the Creator created. I am not out to convert you or your kids. Don’t want to. Don’t need to. God gave me plenty of people to choose from. I chose one already.

2. Being gay is about more than sex. My gayness is based in love, not sex. I have an emotional, intimate connection with my spouse. Sure, we have sex, but it doesn't define us as a couple, or as people. I admire him for his kindness, his honesty, his commitment to his family, his intelligence, and dedication to OUR family to name just a few.

3. Pedophiles come in all forms. There are "bad gay people" just as there are "bad straight people." We’ve got some pedophiles among our group; so do you - you actually have MORE. Can we agree to focus on fighting pedophilia? Gay, straight. Doesn't matter. Pedophiles are bad for kids.

4. The gay community is diverse. We are not all men in leather thongs with feather boas dancing on top of Gay Pride Parade floats. We’re not all male, all white, all rich or all anything else.

5. Some of us believe in God. If James Lipton of the Actor’s Studio ever has occasion to interview me, I have a ready-made answer to one of his standard questions. When I arrive at Heaven’s Pearly Gates, the first thing I hope to hear God say is: "Yes, David, you have a reservation - but I’m afraid I don’t see Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the list." The God I believe in is loving, libratory and downright radical. (and I know wishing hell on anyone isn’t exactly a demonstration of loving).

6. I already can get married in a church. Some Christian denominations allow for this. Others don’t. I’m not asking your church to bless me and my spouse. When it comes to "gay marriage," all we’re after is the civil stuff. You know, things like having the rights of a spouse when my partner’s dying in the hospital. Being able provide for my partner should I pass away and not worry about a distant relative taking the house and more. Those sorts of things.

7. Slurs go both ways (pun intended.) The gay community has names for you, too. I won't call you a "breeder," if you don't call me a "sodomite" or "faggot."

8. Rainbows belong to us. Please quit putting rainbow stickers on your cars. Please quit hanging rainbow flower leis on your rear view mirrors. Contrary to popular belief, not all of us are equipped with 100-percent accurate gaydar, and if you have rainbows all over your person or property, we may well assume you are a "member of the family."

9. We have the same problems you do. We worry about making a living, putting food on the table, paying the bills, staying healthy, getting ahead just like you do. Just because many of us walk around with a huge smile and seem to be optimistic doesn't mean we are not worried on the inside. It does not mean life is a basket of daisies, we just choose to keep our problems private.

10. We notice your inconsistencies. If you really, really don't like gay people and think gay sex is disgusting, quit buying porn with women having sex with women. (That's gay sex. In some cases, it's bisexual sex, if a real - not plastic - penis is involved.) Americans spend a billion dollars a year on porn; it's been a long time since someone produced a "straight" porn film that didn't have two women going at it. If you quit buying this stuff, maybe the porn industry would fold - something that, I think, might benefit women across all orientations.

Live Long Enough to Find Your One - World AIDS Day

Ten Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage would be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

Possible Anti-Gay Hate Crime Murder in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY — A 62-year-old Edmond man whose body was found in a McClain County ditch earlier this month may have been the victim of a hate crime, according to investigators.

Police have not named a suspect in the death of Steven Domer, who was last seen alive near several gay bars. But police have searched the home of a McClain County man who authorities have said belongs to a white supremacist gang that may be connected with the killing.

Domer was last seen leaving what an investigator called a “gay neighborhood” of northwest Oklahoma City on Oct. 26, according to an affidavit filed by Joe Lahue, an agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Rest of the Story with gay news blog

Take Part in a Study about Gay Identity Development

This just in from the monthly Oklahomans for Equality News Letter:

Benjamin Donner, a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, is researching on gay identity development across cultural groups in the United States. Donner says, "As you may know, academic studies into the developmental experiences of gay, bisexual, and questioning men are extremely scarce. It is my hope that this research project will shed greater light on those experiences that may be unique to specific cultural groups of GBQ males in the U.S. so that clinicians and organizations are ultimately better equipped to both assist and appreciate our strengths and needs." Participants must be biological males, age 18 or over, residents of the United States, and attracted to other biological males. The survey should take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. All responses will be entirely anonymous - email and IP addresses will not be requested or even identifiable - and will be kept in the strictest of confidence. To take the survey, click here. For questions, email Benjamin Donner.

The New Gay Stereotype

I think with so many supposed Neo-Con's getting outed this is starting to be true!

Hat tip to Manly Pointer

GLBT History Month and Tulsa History Month Events for October

October starts a month of GLBT activities in Tulsa and GLBT history month.

About GLBT History Month

In the 1990s, teachers and community leaders believed a month should be dedicated to the celebration and teaching of GLBT history. They selected October because public schools are in session and existing traditions, such as Coming Out Day (October 11), occur then.

GLBT History Month was endorsed by GLAAD, HRC, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and other national organizations. Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber declared October 1995 to be Lesbian and Gay History Month; and in July 1995, the National Education Association voted to support the concept. In 1996, the governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut and the mayors of Boston and Chicago also proclaimed October GLBT History Month.

In 2006, Equality Forum's Board of Directors and National Board of Governors voted unanimously to coordinate GLBT History Month, modeling it on Black History Month and Women's History Month.

GLBT History Month Official Site

During the month of October The GLBT History Month website will be showing documentaries each day about the fight for equal rights and interviews with gay and civil rights leaders. Some of which you may never have heard their stories yet or how they are changing out world, your world for the better. The Equality Forum is calling their October internet presentations "31 Days. 31 Icons".

Tulsa Events this month include:

The 2007 AIDS Walk Tulsa 15th annual AIDS Walk is 9am, October 6th, 2007 at Veteran's Park.

Out of the Closet: a T-shirt exhibit

All of October, Equality Center

Gallery opening and exhibit featuring the history of the LGBT movement through pop culture t-shirts.

Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth

Monday, October 8, 6-8:30pm, Baxter's Interurban Grille, 717 S. Houston Ave

The first openly gay man to hold a statewide office in the nation's history will speak at the October Just Progress meeting.

National Coming Out Day 

Thursday October 11th

"Through the Ages" Panel, 7-9PM, Dennis R. Neill Equality Center

Oklahomans for Equality celebrates National Coming Out Day and LGBT History Month with "Hear Our Stories: Coming Out Through the Ages". Friends of OkEq tell their stories of coming out through several generation -- some will break your heart, some will make you laugh, all will reveal the journey of coming out in Oklahoma.

Out and Proud Bar Crawl, several area bars

Thursday October 11^th

Several area gay bars will celebrate Coming Out Day with karaoke, drag shows, and drink specials. Be sure and ask for the National Coming Out Day drink special. Visit the link above for locations.

Matthew's Place Launch 

Friday, October 12, 7-8:30pm, Equality Center

On the 9th anniversary of his tragic death, the Matthew Shepard Foundation will launch an historic web-resource for LGBT youth. Through an online video stream, Judy Shepard will introduce you to Matthewsplace.com and discuss the realities facing disenfranchised and homeless LGBT Youth in America. Following the stream, Julie Trainum of Youth Services of Tulsa will lead a discussion on issues facing LGBT youth.

OK State Rep Al McAffrey: "A Living History"

Tuesday, October 16, 7pm, Equality Center

Recently recognized in The Advocate's 40th anniversary issue in "Great American Lives: The Trailblazers", Representative McAffrey will discuss campaigning as an openly gay candidate and his career in public office.

Unity String Orchestra

Thursday, October 25^th 6:00pm, Equality Center

Get involved in at least one of the above activities and visit the Oklahomans for Equality web site for more local events and dates.

The Iranian Monster in New York

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave an address at Columbia University yesterday hosted by a rightfully hostile moderator and crowd of students. Questioned about the holocaust Ahmadinejad steadfastly denied the existence of the German holocaust ever happening and supported the idea that the 9/11 attacks were not terrorist sponsored. The leader of Iran was asked repeatedly questions about gay executions in his country, which he attempted to avoid by referring to the death penalty in the United States and drug dealers, ignoring the homosexual topic of the question completely. Moderator Dean Coatsworth kept peppering him about the topic and received this answer:

"In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I do not know who has told you that we have it."

Ahmadinejad was heckled and booed by the audience. Probably in the twisted mind of the terrorist sponsor what he really meant was we are doing our best to exterminate as many homosexuals in our country as quickly as we can taking a page out of Hitler's evil history of exterminating Jews which according to Ahmadinejad never happened.

  Photo of homosexual minors being executed in Iran moments before death

Story of the execution of homosexual minors in Iran 

Earlier this year the Canadian Broadcast Company ran a lengthy article about the abuse and atrocities committed against homosexuals in Iran. The article documents their form of secret police following suspected LGBT Iranian citizens, public beatings and executions. The news article and videos show the true side of the gross human right violations under the Ahmadinejad regime.

Is Iranian President Ahmadinejad a monster; there can be no doubt; he is evil and twisted down to the core. He has been documented as playing a part of the American hostages crisis in Iran in 1979, he has been linked to supplying weapons and training of terrorist in Iraq whose sole purpose is murdering our American troops and he has been linked to trying to develop nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Should the monster be allowed to come to our country and speak? Yes, we are the home of the free and the brave; we do not fear his twisted and evil words and delusions of world historical facts. Remember this madman's words people he is the next target of our war on terror with the citizens of Iran and our troops paying the ultimate price for his wickedness.

Oklahoma Gay Dance Club Angles Closes after 25 Years

The Boom Boom Room in Laguna Beach, California is not the only historic gay club to close its doors this summer. Twenty five years ago Oklahoma City gay dance club Angles blazed a pathway in a very homophobic state for the LGBT community. This Saturday August 25^th the trendy club will be serving its last customer. Angles was voted in the top ten state wide for dance clubs 10 years in a row by the Oklahoma Gazette. The popular dance club stood the test of time and beat the odds to become the cutting edge must go to club in OKC for two generations of both gay and straight dance club patrons. Allowing both homosexual and heterosexual dance and club goers to mix in a common environment and have fun over 25 years the club impacted acceptance and the coming out of the Oklahoma gay community. Hats off to a good run!

For further reading and the story on how the club started visit GayPartyBlog.com

Oklahoma and Same Sex Couple Adoption, Down with the Oklahoma Adoption Invalidation Law

Last week the Oklahoma Department of Health decided not to appeal the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold a lower court ruling that struck down an Oklahoma constitutional amendment, the Adoption Invalidation Law. The Oklahoma law was described by legal scholars as being so severe it had the potential to make children adopted by same-sex couples in other states legal orphans once arriving in Oklahoma.

The 2004 amendment sparked a national debate. Lawmakers in Oklahoma essentially stated that no other states' court of law was capable of determining if a same sex couple is able and qualified to adopt and be joint legal guardians of a minor. In their final ruling the Court of Appeals stated, "We hold that final adoption orders by a state court of competent jurisdiction are judgments that must be given full faith and credit under the Constitution by every other state in the nation,"

In the real world far departed from the realm of The Oklahoma State Legislature and State Department of Health on this issue, according to the 2002 US Census 33 percent of female same-sex couple's households and 22 percent of male same-sex couples households report at least one child under the age of 18 living in the home.

The American Psychological Association states in its findings:

"there is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation: lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and healthy environments for their children"; and "research has shown that the adjustment, development, and psychological well-being of children is unrelated to parental sexual orientation and that the children of lesbian and gay parents are as likely as those of heterosexual parents to flourish."

Last year the Canadian Department of Justice researched children of same sex couples but refused to release its findings until citizens demanded the report under Canada's equivalent of the Freedom of Information Act called the Access to Information Act.

The Justice Department findings stated:

The strongest conclusion that can be drawn from the empirical literature is that the vast majority of studies show that children living with two mothers and children living with a mother and father have the same levels of social competence. A few studies suggest that children with two lesbian mothers may have marginally better social competence than children in traditional nuclear families, even fewer studies show the opposite, and most studies fail to find any differences. The very limited body of research on children with two gay fathers supports this same conclusion.

Many right wing leaning bloggers have tried selling the old canon of the Republican Party that gay people are not people we are only an issue.  If any group of citizens is marginalized and dehumanized down to an issue instead of flesh and blood, laws like the one written by Oklahoma legislatures see the light of day. Along with other laws still facing minorities today the very spirit of our freedom and dignity is being washed away by our own government.  The evidence strongly contradicting the right wings political pandering to our country as to the competency and morality of gay Americans is mounting against them at a more rapid rate now than at any other time in our nation's history.

The following groups specializing in all aspects of child development and care have advocated the adopting or foster care of a minor by same sex couples:

American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the American Bar Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians

The professionals representing each agencies finding and decision to support adoption by same sex couples represent a vastly greater pool of experience to draw from to make this decision in contrast to that of any conservative blogger or politician trying to appeal to the fears and bigotry that still exist in our country.

Resources for further reading:

APA Online Findings and Studies of Same Sex Couples Adoption

Wikipedia LGBT Adoption and LGBT Parenting

Gay / Lesbian Friendly Adoption Resources

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." ~ Maya Angelou

Christian Extremism Takes another Deadly Turn

Do not be lulled into thinking that extremist killing is reserved exclusively for Islamic fundamentalist in the name of Allah. We have our own madmen in the United States killing in the name of Christianity. Ignoring the most heralded guidelines in the Holy Bible, The Ten Commandments, one of which is Thou Shall Not Murder/Kill, here now is the monster Terry Mark Magnum.  Brought to us by the Houston Chronicle.

A Cypress man charged in the death of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant said Saturday that he was doing God's work when he went to a Montrose-area bar last month, hunting for a gay man to kill.

"I believe I'm Elijah, called by God to be a prophet," said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. " ... I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing."

Interviewed in the Brazoria County Jail Saturday morning, Mangum said he feels no remorse for killing 46-year-old Kenneth Cummings Jr., whom relatives described as a "loving" son who never forgot a holiday and a devoted uncle who had set up college funds for his niece and nephew. He worked at Southwest for 24 years.

Mangum, who described himself as "definitely not a homosexual," said God called on him to "carry out a code of retribution" by killing a gay man because "sexual perversion" is the "worst sin." Mangum believed Cummings to be gay. "I planned on sending him to hell," he said.

Mangum — who claimed he has studied the Bible for "thousands and thousands and thousands of hours" — said God first commanded him to kill during a "visitation," or dream, while he was in prison in 2001. He said his victim must be a man because men "carry the harvest of the sinner."

After six months' planning, Mangum said, he went to E.J.'s, a Montrose-area club, where he met Cummings. After they drank a couple of beers, he said, the two went to Cummings' home in Pearland.

Mangum said he stabbed Cummings with a "6-inch blade."

"It's not that I'm a bad dude," he said, expressing concern that people might view him as "strange." Pausing briefly, he said, "I love God."

Cummings disappeared June 4. His charred remains were found June 16, buried on a 50-acre ranch near San Antonio owned by Mangum's 90-year-old grandfather.

Let it be noted that the Holy Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. This is a horrific and barbarous case of Christian extremism spawned by the ala carte popular twisting of the Bible.

Some in Kansas City Think Tulsa is Very Gay!

Who would possibly think that there is a terrific gay life in Tulsa, Okla., right in the heart of the Bible Belt? Well, it is wonderful!
More on the Story With Kansas City "Camp"

San Fransico's Gay Pride Parade 2007 and a Lesson in Gay Civil Rights History

Castro District Gay Pride Flag 2007

Today marks 35th anniversary of San Fransisco's Gay Pride Parade. The San Francisco Sentinel Editor and Publisher Pat Murphy has compiled a history lesson that everyone who is gay or lesbian should know by heart. Take a few minutes and learn how far we have come and how very far we still must go to gain status as first class citizens in our own country.

Pride month is coming to an end, I hope those who are of open mind and fair heart have enjoyed my post this June commemorating Pride 2007. My posts have cost me quite a few link partners and I am sure ruffled a few feathers of some of my fellow bloggers. I will be going back to my normal blogging about other affairs effecting our city, state and country soon. However I will be keeping a keen eye on events happening in Oklahoma with the LGBT community.

For the uninformed, both gay and straight, who assume we use the rainbow flag to show our pride and lack of fear because we like rainbows, here is an explanation of each colors meaning.

• Red stands for courage;
• Orange offers the vision of possibilities;
• Yellow represents the challenge that GREEN has kindled;
• Green indicates a challenge to co-operators to strive for growth of membership and of understanding of the aims and values of co-operation;
• Sky blue suggests far horizons, the need to provide education and help less fortunate people and strive toward global unity.
• Dark blue suggests pessimism: a reminder that less fortunate people have needs that may be met through the benefits of cooperation.
• Violet represents warmth, beauty, and friendship.

Next time you see a pride flag remember these and its over all meaning of peace and understanding. It's a symbol worldwide of acceptance of all people, all races, all religions. It is a symbol also of the idea of the great melting pot of our land that is the strength behind the words "We the People".

My Recent Surfing

On my rss reader I came across this twist on the Gay Bomb the Pentagon proposed for a new chemical weapon to use on terrorist. My partner first brought my attention to the story emailing me a link to the YouTube video by CBS 5 detailing the project. I was first amused then shocked about the bomb itself, now theres going to be a video very loosely based on our government at work. Now I am amused enough to blog about it.

         Following the controversial political parody of Guantanamo, released to huge critical acclaim earlier this year, New Yorks most filthy-fun gay film studio Dark Alley Media today announced plans to kick the US Government while it's down.

     Gay Bomb will take us into the future and the year 2012. George the Second has refused to step down as leader of the free world, and the nations of Europe have banded together to fight the new American military dictatorship. Desperate to fend off its attackers, the US launches the experimental gay bomb,designed to make the enemy forces drop their guns and turn fag. But the winds of fate blow in a different direction, and soon America is brought to its knees.

   

Hat tip to Wired The Danger Room

An Example of Why Same Sex Partner Rights Should be Enacted

OLYMPIA, WA. — Four months ago, Lacey resident Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Pond and their children Katie, David and Danielle, ages 10 to 13, were set for a relaxing cruise from Miami to the Bahamas.

But Pond, Langbehn’s partner for nearly 18 years, was stricken in Miami with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by hospital staff compounded their shock and grief.

Langbehn, a social worker, said officials at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital did not recognize her or their jointly adopted children as part of Pond’s family. They were not allowed to be with her in the emergency room, and Langbehn’s authority to make decisions for Pond was not recognized.

“We never set out to change the world or change how others accept gay families,” Langbehn told the crowd at the Capital City Pride on Sunday. “We just wanted to be allowed to live equally and raise our children by giving them all the same opportunities their peers have.”

While Washington is one of a half-dozen states to recognize same-sex partnerships in some fashion, Florida is not.

Compelled to speak out

Langbehn said that the pain from losing Pond is still fresh, but she spoke at the gay pride event Sunday because the issue of legal recognition of homosexual families was too important to let go.

“I want people to be able to hold their partner’s hand in their moment of death,” she said.

Pond suffered the aneurysm just before the R Family Vacations cruise ship left Miami for the Bahamas in February, Langbehn said. After Pond was taken to the emergency room, Langbehn said she was informed by a social worker that they were in an “anti-gay state” and that they needed legal paperwork before Langbehn could see Pond.

Even after a friend in Olympia faxed the legal documents that showed that Pond had authorized Langbehn to make medical decisions for her, Langbehn said she wasn’t invited to be with her partner or told anything about her condition.

She said she wasn’t allowed to see Pond again until a priest arrived to give Pond the Anointing of the Sick, also commonly known as Last Rites.

“I was shocked. It never would have been on my radar that we wouldn’t be allowed to say goodbye,” Langbehn said. “When I was an emergency room social worker at Mary Bridge (Children’s Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma), if someone had said they were an aunt or a partner, I would have let them say their last goodbyes.”

Langbehn says she still has not been given Pond’s medical records from the hospital nor her death certificate directly from the county or the state, which affected their children’s Social Security benefits.

But she has received support from the local community and from former talk show host Rosie O’Donnell, who has e-mailed her to offer support and said she was angry over the way the family was treated. O’Donnell’s partner, Kelli O’Donnell, is a co-founder of R Family Vacations.

Capital City Pride co-chair Anna Schlecht said that Langbehn’s story drives home the reason why gays and lesbians continue to lobby for national legal recognition of their partnerships and families.

“When Janice told me the story over the phone, I started crying,” she said. “Death is hard enough. I can’t imagine having my children barred from me in the last moments of my life.”

Langbehn said attitudes changed when doctors in charge of organ donation recognized Langbehn and Pond as a couple. They accepted Langbehn’s signature on the consent forms, she said. They also allowed the children to visit with their mother, who was kept on life support while organ matches were found.

Pond, who was a volunteer with her church and with the Girl Scouts, as well as a foster mother, wished to donate her organs because she wanted to continue to give to people after her death, Langbehn said.

“I heard from the heart recipient last week,” she said. “Now he’s able to play with his grandkids again and he definitely would like to meet our family.”

Story by Venice Buhain
The Olympian Newspaper
Olympia, Washington

On a personal note: I have had a loving and loyal partner now for over 8 years. So far when I have been in accidents and wound up in the ER in Tulsa my partner luckily has been able to be with me. However this is not a right it is at the whim of whomever is asked at the hospital. The two of us have legal medical power of attorney papers for each other but we don't carry them in our wallets. The above story horrifies me down to the bone. The rights that you whom are married and take for granted seem so far out of reach in Oklahoma for Gay and Lesbian Americans. Please cast aside your fear and hate that was displayed when the state wide vote came up to give us equal rights. Walk a mile in our shoes. How would you feel if your wife or husband lay dying and the hospital told you that you had no right to hold his or her hand and give comfort in those last moments? This is not an isolated incident, it happens in hundreds of hospitals every day in our country.

Due to the aide and comfort that Rosie O'Donnell and her partner has given this poor woman, the millions of dollars she has raised to benefit children and her work in the gay community; I hereby remove her from my celebrity black out list and I have placed her in my blog roll of "Friends and Family".

Life Interrupted - Alaina Alexander

Keeping with a theme of June being Gay Pride month I wanted to share a powerful video from past “American Idol” contestant Alaina Alexander. This original composition from Alexander was written for the video “Life Interrupted” showing the faces and ages of victims of gay bashings and other hate crimes in the United States and abroad. It also shows the hanging of two teens in Iran who where accused of being homosexual. Remember each of their faces the next time you discuss the issues of hate crime legislation.

In Memoriam

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2007 Tulsa Gay Pride Photos Are Up!

2007 Tulsa Gay Pride Parade Two Spirit / Native America

After much delay I finally have the photos up from our 2007 Tulsa Gay Pride Parade and Festival. Go to my flickr site to see if you made it into the photos! For Parade participants higher resolution photos are available. Please email me for copies.

Tulsa’s Gay Pride 2007 - A Wrap Up

2007 Gay Pride Festival in Tulsa

Cogs of change move slowly in Tulsa in many aspects and some move at such a break neck pace you stand back in awe. Nothing can be more true or self evident than this years 2007 Gay Pride and Festival held last weekend in downtown. It has been a couple of years since I have attended our Pride Parade and Festival, part of me was loathing to attend and part of me was excited to see old friends and some not so forgettable ex boy friends. However the ex boy friends can fill a blog by itself so we wont go there now dear readers.

I had braced myself for what surely would be a freak show and embarrassment; people not placing a real face on the real gay community in Tulsa. During past events some of the more removed from reality members of our community showed up in less than nothing. There actions pushing the envelope of common decency and in the process making a mockery of others efforts to show the world that we feel the same emotions, deserve the same rights, and love our city and country just the same as all of our heterosexual neighbors, co-workers and family.

I was loaded for bear, no pun intended, to go off on anyone who pushed the envelope too far. I have always felt like Gay Pride events should be for everyone not just gay people. This is the 21st century and everyone from the same sex families with children to Grandparents and other family members of those in our gay community should feel right at home. No one should feel uncomfortable in the crowd, no one that is except for homophobes using an ala carte form of Christianity to make them feel more righteous at the expense of those who are different.

I was pleasantly surprised at what I found in the crowd! Sure there was a hand full of cross dressers that could have used a lot of fashion advice and even more body waxing. Some lumbering giant dressed like a fireman was in the crowd, one older gentleman wearing our Pride flag as a cape and a person bold enough to wear a wrestling singlet. I will admit the guy in the singlet pulled it off quite well. However the majority of the crowd looked just like someone you would run into at the mall. There where people of every skin tone, social status, economic status and a true rainbow of backgrounds that make up our diverse yet common community present this year. The few drag queens that showed to add some fun and flavor to the event even looked good. How they walk in heels in wet grass is beyond my comprehension of physics.

This year though the television media was absent for all of the events except for our local ABC affiliate KTUL. I sent emails to the managers of the news stations in Tulsa including FOX 23, KJRH of NBC and KOTV our affiliate for CBS to inquire about what appeared to be almost a total news black out on Pride 2007.

None of our local news stations responded to my inquiry save for Russell Mills with KJRH-TV. In an email he stated that those responsible for Pride 2007 sent no press releases to NBC making them aware of any of the events occurring in Tulsa. KJRH also strongly stated that no such black outs would ever occur for such events. So obviously organizers for Gay Pride 2007 severely dropped the ball in regards to PR/Media relations with local and state news organizations.

KTUL ABC, who covered the festival, did notice as I did the post-gay trend occurring in Tulsa. The commonality of the crowd, the few stand outs as well as the main stream corporate sponsorship was their main focus for the event. Overall they did a fair job covering the festival and thankfully someone did their homework to know about at least one of several events occurring all last week.

Overall I am happy to report the Pride Festival and Parade for the general public went very well. The parade was bigger and better than ever. The crowd was mature, frisky and fun. A crowd showed up that should have been on everyone’s nightly news showing all of us out and proud. We are all the people you see in your daily lives helping and contributing to the benefit of the greater Tulsa community. Contrary to supporters claims the numbers I would estimate attending where somewhere around 4-5 thousand for the Pride Festival. For Tulsa where so many still live in fear and repression the turn out was very satisfactory. The cogs of change are slowly moving in the Midwest but they are moving. The cogs of change in the post-modern Gay community in general, those are moving a bit more rapidly. Much to the dread and fear of our political leaders to quote Bob Dylan: “The times, they are a-changing”.