A Call For Immediate Action!

I just read an article on PROUD Parenting's website that is disturbing and requires an immediate response from our community.

It seems that the previously acclaimed FX program 30 DAYS is going to run a program tonight (June 24, 2008) at 10:00pm eastern & pacific times that is titled "Same Sex Parenting." Although this should be overall a positive examination of same-sex families, there is a section in the show that contains a highly inflammatory statement. According to Proud Parenting:

Regrettably, the episode also features a defamatory statement by Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, an anti-gay activist organization, who claims: "Homosexuality is associated with higher rates of sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse, and those are all reasons for us to be concerned about placing children into that kind of setting." While there is no credible scientific research that backs Sprigg’s claim - and much that disputes it - the episode presents his assertion as if it were fact and offers no credible social science experts or child health authorities to challenge Sprigg’s assertion. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, and many other child health and social services authorities who support parenting by qualified lesbian and gay parents dispute Sprigg’s claim.

Rather than take any more time adding to this, I ask that you take a minute to send a quick email to any or, better yet, ALL of the following FX executives:

Nick Grad
Executive Vice President of Original Programming
(310) 369-0949
ngrad@fxnetworks.com

Chuck Saftler
Executive Vice President of Programming
(310) 369-0949
csaftler@fxnetworks.com

Scott Seomin
Vice President of Public Relations
(310) 369-0938
scott.seomin@fxnetwork.com

The email I'm sending simply says:

"DON'T AIR PETER SPRIGG'S DEFAMATORY STATEMENT ON 30 DAYS TONIGHT! It's inflammatory and fuels hatred and possible violence towards the GLBT community. Is that something you want to be responsible for?"

Feel free to cut and paste this into your emails if you don't have time to write something yourself. Also, pass this on to as many of your friends as you can. There is still time for FX to edit this out of the program before they air it.

View Full Story At: proudparenting.com

Gay Bashing In Flagstaff Arizona

Equality Arizona, a GLBT advocacy group here in Arizona, announced in an email today that there was an apparent bias-motivated attack early Sunday morning on several lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. They were standing on a street corner in Flagstaff waiting for cabs following the Pride In The Pines festivities over the weekend.

According to Equality Arizona, "One of the injured, Michel Brown, was with Equality Arizona Public Affairs Director Sam Holdren, Public Affairs Intern Steven Tran and Generation Equality member David Encizo. Tran and Encizo were in the crowd when the attacks began, but were not physically injured. Holdren was steps away, returning to the scene to find Brown lying unconscious and bleeding."

Ironically, at the beginning of the event newly-elected Flagstaff Mayor Sara Presler-Hoefle had issued a proclamation, declaring that day to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Day in the city of Flagstaff calling "upon all city residents, employees and volunteers to participate in the spirit and activities of this day."

Equality Arizona Executive Director Barbara McCullough-Jones issued the following statement today:

"The news of this attack is deeply disturbing. On a day when all of Flagstaff should have been celebrating and embracing diversity, this brutal attack has reminded us all that there is still much work to be done to prevent anti-gay bias from escalating into violence.

"We are grateful for the immediate and efficient response of the Flagstaff Police Department and emergency responders. Along with the hospital staff, these professionals demonstrated great respect for the victims during this traumatic time.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We stand with them and the Flagstaff community in calling for justice in this case. Equality Arizona will continue to partner with city leaders to create an environment where everyone who visits, lives or works in Flagstaff is safe and free from bias and discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression."

As I said in a previous post, the more our cause advances, the more frustrated the right wing zealots become - even in the more gay-tolerant cities like Flagstaff. They're losing and they know it. Of course we aren't going to go back into the closet but we still have to be aware of our surroundings and at least have a rough idea of what we'll do if confronted. I repeat what I said earlier though, there is no reason to be paranoid about it - just sensibly cautious. The likely hood of something happening to you is still pretty small.

This Is Just Fun To Read

I was born in Chicago and my brother and his family still live there so I periodically check Chicago's local news media to keep up with what's happening there. I found this article in the Chicago Tribune. It's a parody, of sorts, of the right wing evangelical's doomsday warnings about the horrible consequences of same-sex marriages.

The article is both poignant and hilarious. I particularly like Mr. Huppke's suggestion at the end.

Have fun...

Gays wed; God yawns

By Rex W. Huppke
June 22, 2008

On the West Coast, men embraced men as husband and husband, and bouquet-clutching women swapped bands of gold and vows of marriage. In the Midwest, floodwaters rose to epic levels, the dreaded, tree-gobbling ash borer crept into Chicago and the fish in Lake Michigan began dying by the thousands, hemorrhaging from an Ebola-like virus.



The contrast was striking—joy vs. pain. It raised one simple, inescapable question: What happened to God hating gay people?



If there's one thing the country's higher-profile evangelical Christian preachers have preached to us, it's that the Almighty doesn't much care for those of the non-heterosexual persuasion. He has punished America for its acceptance of gay people by, among other things, walloping sin-ravaged New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina, allowing the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, and letting Idaho Sen. Larry Craig and his wide stance inject anxiety into the whole bathroom stall experience.



But last week was enough to make us question the infallibility of unbiased holy men such as Pat Robertson, John Hagee and the one-time-meth-using, male-prostitute-visiting-but-now-TOTALLY-non-gay pastor Ted Haggard.


So after California committed the abomination of allowing people who love each other to get married, why would God lash out at the honest, hardworking, morally upright, down-home, God-fearing folks in middle America? Why wouldn't he just shove California into the ocean and let it rot, like a big, gay Alcatraz?



Perhaps, fellow Midwesterners, there's something we've been keeping from ourselves. Perhaps the rains and floods and tornadoes, the tree-eating bugs and the diseased fish and Mayor Daley's decision to relocate the Children's Museum to Grant Park are all punishment.



Perhaps we're all gay, a closeted bunch of flaming farmers and factory workers, lesbian lawyers and landscapers and man-loving butchers and bondsmen. Maybe we're gay, and the people that were already gay are even gayer!



Maybe this weekend's Crosstown Classic is just an elaborate ruse, a supposed baseball game that will turn into a stadium-size gay wedding extravaganza at Wrigley Field.



This madness must be stopped.



Quick, does anyone have the number for Robertson's 700 Club hot line? If so, let yourself be heard.



Just shout out: "I do."



Rex W. Huppke is a Tribune reporter 

rhuppke@tribune.com

If you would like to see the piece as it appeared in the paper go to: Chicago Tribune