Deep Something

Maybe, finally gay people have decided that enough is enough when it comes to having second-class citizenship foisted upon us by krazy kristian kooks. Across the country Saturday were a series of rallies decrying the enactment of three marriage amendments on election day which enshrine discrimination in the Constitutions of Florida, Arizona and California. As angry as we may all be, we should not be surprised at the outcome. There is no leadership within the gay community, and practically no community left anyways. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has become a parody, and while I respect the work done by Equality Florida, they too have been totally ineffective. So let’s take a look at what happened, and think about what comes next.

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“What most Catholics hear about being gay or lesbian at their parish church is–silence. A numbing silence, which slowly and insidiously tells them, “You don’t belong here, this is not for you, and you are not welcome.” It is not the crude overt vulgarity of some churches. But rather, it is the coldness of a maitre d’ who simply won’t seat you, or the club which has put you on a waiting list with no intention of allowing you to join. And simply asks you to wait in polite almost, apologetic tones.”

Once in a rare while, in the political discourse of this country, there is a flash of courage and clarity of thinking. One such flash has happened in California. Father Geoffrey Farrow of the Saint Paul Newman Center on the campus of the University of California (Fresno) is courageous cleric. Here is a man who has spoken truth to power, and perhaps ended his career. Below is the entirity of his Homily from this past Sunday.

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Well, it’s the day after the first full day that gay marriage was legal in California, and gosh darn it, the sun came up, birds still sang, children were born, people died, there were even some heterosexual marriages, and I still had to go to work. In other words, if God is mad about it, he sure missed that wrath thing by taking it out on the mid-west. This raises a lot of questions, such as what happens next in California, what does this mean to Florida’s Amendment 2 initiative (and see a possible connection), and what does it mean for gay people around the country.

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I don’t get a ton of traffic on this site, and have always been disappointed with the lack of comments. I get a few, but I know I have opinionated friends, and would expect a little more from them. I suspect one of the reasons is that this blog is so far ranging in the topics I write about. I’ve read some good articles lately on blogging, and most say to narrow the focus of your blog. The people writing these articles do have very widely read blogs, so one must give them their props.

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Certainly there is a reason to celebrate the ruling by the California Supreme Court on Gay Marriage. Apparently four of the seven justices recognized that gender and sexual orientation, just like race, can not be grounds to deny rights to individuals.

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A while back John Stemberger, leader of the Anti-Gay Amendment 2 group here in Florida, was quoted in an Orlando Sentinal article discussing those opposed to Amendment 2 saying, “We’re going to confront deception and we’re going to expose them wherever they are.” Strong words, until one has to eat them.

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This is the final in the series analyzing the debate between John Stemberger and Nadine Smith at the Orlando Tiger Bay club luncheon. This debate was held on March 27, 2008. This will analyze the Question and Answer section, and the closing comments by Smith and Stemberger.

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In this post, we’ll review the moderated part of the debate between Nadine Smith of Fairness for All Families and John Stemberger of the Krazy Kristian Kooks or Florida. They were debating the Florida Constitutional Amendment 2 at the Tiger Bay Club of Orlando. This is part of series on Florida’s Amendment 2.

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Nadine Smith is a long time LBGT activist here in Florida. She’s part of a coalition of nearly 200 organizations that have banded to oppose Amendment 2 as the Fairness for All Families Coalition. This is the second installment in my review of a recent debate between her and John Stemberger at the Orlando Tiger Bay Club.

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At the end of March, Nadine Smith, Co-Chair of Fairness for All Families, took on John Stemberger of Florida Family Council at the Orlando Tiger Bay Club for debate on the Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. Basically, he got his ass handed to him by Ms. Smith, but I don’t think she was aggressive enough. The event was videotaped, and posted on Youtube in four parts. This is the first in a series about each of the four segments of the debate.

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This will be the first in what I expect will evolve into a series of articles related to the upcoming election and the vote on Constitutional Amendment #2. This is the krazy kristian kooks attempt to have a large conservative turnout in Florida, so instead of fielding a worthy candidate, they go for the devisive issue. Amendment #2 is, of course, a “marriage protection” amendment for the Florida Constitution.

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