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]]>I've never heard of an openly Gay NFL team, there is a Gay Rugby World Cup, the Bingham Cup after Mark Bingham, who died on Flight 93 on Sept 11. It is in Minneapolis in June next year so they should have just enough time to import enough beer.
And for Dancing Bear if you need another sport to support you have a local team the Navshville Grizzles
]]>The McFreed's Greatest Hits. This post has always been one I have been proud of because it shares the inside pride I have for me. Originally posted September 7, 2007, I decided to re-post and re-visit it again. Hope you enjoy!
Sean says...
"What is it to be a man?" This is the question that former Australian pro-rugby player, now actor Ian Roberts has tattooed on his right arm. Why? Roberts has this question tattooed on his arm to continually query himself about what it is to be a man because he is gay.
His tattooed question, for some reason, is stuck in my own mind since I read the cover story about Roberts in The Advocate a few weeks ago. What is it to be a man? Is it really about being sexually attracted to women, the carriage of the body, the facial expressions, a certain annunciation of words, the basic interests in sports, the movies you like, or even the job you pursue sometimes. Is being a man mean masculinity, testosterone, and the typical "normal jock guy" stereotype?
To me I always doubted my own categorization as a "real man" like I am sure every gay man has done now and again. Another Vox poster spoke about how every time you meet a new person, move to a new place, or start a new job you are continually coming out as you move through life after announcing to the world and yourself, for that matter, that you are a gay man. And that is where my own doubt comes in. I joke a lot with my friends about taking away their "gay card" when one of us does something that fits the "normal" gay stereotypical activities or likes. Do we do this because we feel like lesser men? Are we lesser men for being gay because we have a little swish in our hips, a higher voice, use words like "darling" now and again in jest, wear a certain style of clothing, or enjoy Valley of The Dolls?
Then I see men like Roberts, who meets the straight "real man" stereotype but has embraced his true self, and feel better.
That emotion of feeling better though is not just self-medication, it opens up the thought that being a man is just based on physicality and the rest is just what you make it. I am the man that I created. I am gay. I enjoy watching baseball, football and tennis. I can recite every line of Steel Magnolias. I enjoy the stereotypical gay delivery of sarcasm upon occasion. I love cuddling with my partner, another man, in the early morning when the day is new. I get excited about buying shoes. I live for seeing new places, hiking new trails, and seeing animals in the wild. I like saying a naughty word now and again followed by my own laughter. I enjoy hanging out with straight men and talking about sports and politics. I don't fear or dislike Log Cabin Republicans, I am not afraid to speak my mind and be stern when I want to be. I am not a fan of pride parades. I beleive in God and go to church. I am not neat. I love cooking and eating good food. I prefer a cocktail to beer. And that is just some parts of the man I am.
I love me...something I have not always done in my life. But now I do love me for being the man I have become, gay and all. I think that is why Roberts had this tattooed this on his arm...and this is my opinion...he did it to remind himself that you are the man you make yourself to be. And that is where the true comfort of my own sense of being becomes truly satisfied.
]]>Society's attitudes on LGBT equality have changed, and it is time for the law to catch up. The legal profession must resolve to kill the gay panic legal strategy once and for all.
At its core, the gay panic tactic defines unwanted sexual advances or
statements of one's identity from LGBT people as somehow more severe, or
"provocative," than similar overtures between straight people. In our culture,
most women, even before reaching adulthood, learn how to react to unwanted male
attention: We simply say, "No." Our legal system offers no leniency to a woman
who reacts violently to a pass from a man, no matter how undesirable she may
find the offer.
Furthermore, any similar defense would be inconceivable in relation to other minority populations. Our legal system would not, for example, accept "race panic," as a legal strategy to someone accused of violence against people of color. In fact, the opposite is true. We often administer harsher punishments for violent acts that are directed specifically against other minority groups.
Yet in an LGBT-specific context, and only in this context, a sexual solicitation or a statement of one's gender is equivalent to an attack. Using this maneuver in court means that defense attorneys believe the victim's assertion of his or her orientation or identity is an actual threat. This is the very definition of discrimination.
]]>Is it a coincidence that the Ft. Worth police chose the anniversary of the Stonewall riots to raid a gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge and arrest 7 people (hospitalizing one, who may have bleeding on the brain, according to the Dallas Voice) for public intoxication? Did you even know it’s a crime to be drunk in a bar?
Update: Instead of apologizing, the Ft. Worth police department has now issued a press release stating that two patrons made "sexually explicit movements" while a third grabbed the groin of one of the officers. This "gay panic" defense has been refuted by every witness in the bar, including Todd Camp, a former reporter for the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. One of the people arrested remains hospitalized with a critical brain injury.
Update: Over a hundred protesters rallied on the steps of the county courthouse to demand an investigation into the conduct of the officers involved in the Rainbow Lounge raid. Afterwards, many marched up and down Main Street carrying signs. Another protest is scheduled for next Sunday.
Update: Dan Savage is all over this now. Not only is his synopsis of the events outstanding, but his readers have drummed up names, phone numbers, emails and mailing addresses for almost everyone involved in any way. This is also where I learned the Rainbow Lounge Raid has its own Facebook page.
Update: There's so much happening on this front now, I may have to make this be the last update, or I'll never stop writing stuff here. But Chief Halstead has suspended operations between his department and the TABC until his investigation into the Rainbow Lounge raid is completed.
Unlike the last attempt to knock down Prop. 8, this one looks promising--and since it's happening at the federal level, the results could be massive. Basically, the defense will need to prove that there is a real and substantial reason to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. This will most likely include an attempt to show concrete damage to the foundation of male-female weddings, coupled with arguments that a child is best raised by one man and one woman. If this can't be done, and done solidly and conclusively, then the judges will announce that the law exists only as a tool for one group of people to discriminate against another group, and is therefore unconstitutional and thus invalid.
Attorney for the defense Brian Raum has already gone on record as saying he doesn't see the need for a trial, as Prop. 8 doesn't prohibit gays and lesbians from marrying--provided that they marry someone of the opposite sex. Yeah, things are looking up.
"J Richards" suggested that Mark 7:14-16 shows that Jesus approves of homosexual acts. The critical phrase reads: "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him..." Richards suggests that Jesus gave great emphasis to this teaching, directing it to everyone. Richards suggests that the sentence refers to dietary laws and also extends to "blood transfusions, medication, organ transplants, and artificial insemination" and to homosexual acts as well.
]]>For clarification, I am posting this because it is ridiculous. I monitor WorldNetDaily's news feed because I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on what your enemies are saying about you, and because sometimes they actually turn up a meritous story that slips past more mainstream gay news sources. Remember, peeps--in with anger, out with love.
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