MATTHEW MITCHAM GRABS GOLD!

In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, gay Australian Diver Matthew Mitcham snatches the Gold Medal out of the hands of China's top diver.

Matthew, who came out to the world before the Olympics (see my Aug. 3rd Posting), was cut from the 3 meter finals earlier in the week because of a 16th place finish in the semifinals. Of course he was devastated by such a poor showing but with a steel-willed determination and a never-say-die attitude, he narrowed his focus and concentrated on the 10 meter platform competition.

Being an Olympic addict myself, my partner and I were both pretty much glued to the TV during the swimming and diving competitions. After being amazed by Michael Phelps' astonishing accomplishments, we thought we had seen the end of dramatic, mind-boggling finishes. We were wrong.

During the semifinals on Friday (our time), Matthew seesawed back and forth in the standings but after his final dive, he ended up in 2nd place. When NBC turned to cover the finals on Saturday, they picked-up the action midway through and Matthew's name wasn't even visible on the board. Peter and I looked at each other in amazement. What happened? Where is he?

When he finally did appear on the platform, the commentator explained about an earlier missed dive. He had 3 dives left and his next two propelled him back into 2nd place again. But he was trailing China’s Zhou Luxin by more than 30 points going into the last dive and even he didn't think he had a chance of overtaking him. He just wanted to do the best dive he could and hold onto the Silver.

Well - the Olympics is filled with dreams and impossible expectations. Zhou Luxin's final dive was just before Matthew's and all he had to do was make a "good" dive to cinch the gold. But after he dove, audible gasps swept through the arena. He had over rotated and just missed his entry, causing a noticeable splash. His score was low but still left him comfortably in first place. The stage was set.

The pressure Matthew had to have felt standing on the very edge of the platform would have unhinged most people. But he was rock-solid. He left the platform and executed one of the most perfect dives of the competition and slipped into the water without any splash whatsoever! The judges agreed and awarded him the highest scoring dive in the history of the Olympics. With four perfect 10's, he ended with an amazing 112.10. This gave him just enough to edge-out Zhou Luxin by 537.95 to 533.15.

Matthew's incredible achievement reminded me of Greg Louganis' last performance in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. During the preliminary rounds, while performing a reverse 2 1/2 pike he hit his head and suffered a concussion. Despite his injury, he completed the preliminaries and went on to win the gold medal. Greg was, and still is, considered the best diver in Olympic history. But his status may now have some serious competition in Matthew Mitcham. For those of you who don't know, Greg came out in 1994 and in his autobiography published in 1995 entitled Breaking the Surface (still available at Amazon.com), he revealed that he was HIV positive and he's still doing great today.

In addition to being the first openly gay male athlete to compete in the Olympics, Matthew also became Australia’s first male Olympic gold medallist in diving since 1924.

After it was all over and he had the gold medal in his hands, Matthew said, “It’s going to take a while to sink in. My cheeks hurt from smiling. My face hurts from the chlorine. My legs are sore from jumping up and down. I’m in pain and I’m tired. But I’m so happy.”

Whoever said that good guys finish last never watched the Olympics. Congratulations Matthew. We're all very, very proud of you!

Arizona Democratic Party Stands Against Proposition 102

Last week the Democratic party passed a resolution to oppose Prop. 102 at its summer state committee meeting in Flagstaff.

According to a Human Rights Campaign release, Committeewoman Mohur Sidhwa and the newly formed LGBT Caucus presented a resolution during the general session of the state committee to oppose Prop 102 which will appear on November’s ballot. Prop 102 is a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman. The state committee unanimously approved the resolution.

Here is the text of the adopted resolution:

Amended RESOLUTION
(Opposing Ballot Referendum 102)
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT DEFINING MARRIAGE

Whereas: The pursuit for equality is an enduring value of the Arizona State Democratic Party, and

Whereas: The Arizona State Democratic Party supported a similar resolution two years ago, and

Whereas: The Arizona voters voted down a similar ballot initiative just two years ago, and

Whereas: The proponents of said ballot referendum are using this as a tool to raise money and turnout in a cynical manipulation of Arizona's electoral process.

Whereas: Facing a three-billion dollar budget deficit, the Republican leadership prioritized this issue, violated legislative ethics rules, and failed to adequately address vital issues such as education.

Therefore, Be it resolved: that the Arizona State Democratic Party opposes this ballot referendum which would, if passed, place discriminatory language in our State Constitution.

Be it further resolved: that the Arizona State Democratic Party requests all voters maintain the Arizona tradition of equality by voting against this ballot initiative.

Louisiana Govenor Refuses To Renew Job Discrimination Protections

The newly elected Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, has said that he will not renew the non-discrimination order that protects gays and lesbians in the workplace.

This would effectively take away employment protections that have been in effect since ex-Governor Kathleen Blanco issued her executive order in December 2004. The order, which some church groups and Jindal have criticized over the years, is set to expire Friday.

According to a Advocate Capitol News Bureau story, Jindal said:

“We are not going to renew it and that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. The reason for allowing the order to lapse is that I don’t think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination. We are firmly and strongly committed to fair treatment of all of our people and certainly don’t condone discrimination in any form.”

How incredibly hypocritical is that? Apparently he thinks that discrimination against the GLBT community isn't really discrimination.

According to Randy Evans, a New Orleans lawyer who is co-political director of Forum for Equality, a New Orleans-based political action committee for the lesbian and gay community in Louisiana, Jindal’s decision means “it is perfectly legal to fire anyone based on their sexual orientation even if they are a perfect employee.”

What a shame for the state of Louisiana. Jindal is moving his state backwards to appease his right wing religious supporters who can now discriminate without threat of legal action when they take state money for "faith-based" programs. He is also tarnishing the state's image of "Everyone Welcome" which is the official motto that appears in all of their promotional materials and road signs.

Considering that 90% of all Fortune 500 companies now officially endorse non-discrimination policies for lesbians and gays, it is also very possible that this could cost Louisiana jobs.

This is something that several companies have said was a major part of their decision to move or open new operations here in Arizona. In fact, to take it one stop further, the anti-gay marriage amendment proposed for the November ballot here is why some companies and corporate business scouts are either delaying decisions to open shop here or are just outright deciding against it.

In 1990, Arizona voters defeated two Martin Luther King holiday propositions. It wasn't until 1992 that the holiday was finally passed after mega-star concerts and business conventions were canceled and the NFL threatened to pull the 1993 Super Bowl out of Arizona.

Now granted, this may not seem to have the same magnitude of potential reaction that the MLK holiday had. But today, more and more of the business, entertainment and general populace are recognizing that discrimination against the GLBT community is not only morally wrong but it can be costly to their interests as well.

If the national Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) isn't passed soon, I really believe that it's only a matter of time before the same of kind of reactions start happening in states around the country. People are getting tired of the same shrill, anti-gay rantings of extremists over and over again. They're beginning to know better.

To read the full story, go to: 2theadvocate.com