When "Traditional Values" Are No Longer Tradtional

I was reading a story this morning about a British couple who was told by a review panel that they could not be foster parents because of their anti-gay views. According to the story at Pink News, the couple are Pentecostal Christians who also oppose pre-marital sex and don't recognize the validity of civil unions, the closest thing to marriage the UK offers to same-sex couples.

Like most of Western Europe, the UK has moved way ahead of the US when it comes to LGBT rights. For several years now, countries applying for membership in the European Union, an economic coalition of European nations sharing the Euro as a common currency, have had to meet a laundry list of criteria in order to be approved for membership. One of the most important factors in membership consideration is the issue of Human Rights, including how that country treats its LGBT citizens.

Great Britain has been a founding member of the EU since 1993 (but continues to use the British Pound as its currency). What this means for British queers is that they enjoy a greater degree of civil protection and more legal rights than we do here in the good old USA. This story got me thinking about the meaning of the term "traditional values" and wondering,  at what point do traditional values become outdated values?

Seventeen years is a long time. Most marriages don't even last that seventeen years. LGBT people living in member states of the EU have had more legal rights than US queers for so long, that homophobic attitudes are now considered outdated. Having "traditional values" is no longer a defense for being a bigot, even when your church tells you otherwise. We have much to learn from our European cousins.

One of the major differences between the US and Europe is that Europeans really get the concept of separation of church and state. Once upon a time, the church was all powerful throughout Europe. Kings and Queens were bound by church law under threat of excommunication. That was the primary reason King Henry VIII left the Catholic Church and founded the Church of England, now called the Anglican Church or Episcopal Church here in the states. Europeans know from first hand experience that when the church is involved in government, civil rights are the first thing to go.

We have seen a tremendous amount of progress here in the US for the LGBT rights movement and god knows we've got a long way to go, but it seems to me that defending religious-based bigotry by claiming to have traditional values is no defense. Standing up for the rights of the oppressed, fighting to overturn discriminatory laws that restrict the rights of citizens and fighting bigotry in all its forms is a traditional American value.

Using your religious beliefs as a justification for your bigotry is no longer a traditional value. It is cowardice. The word "homophobia" means an irrational fear of homosexuals or homosexuality. Many anti-gay activists claim they're not homophobes, they're just afraid of the homosexual agenda. They're afraid of what will happen to they're kids in a society that recognizes the inherent, god-given rights of all its people. They're afraid of what will happen if the "homosexual lifestyle" (whatever that is) becomes accepted as normal. Fear is what drives our opponents and, as Stephen Colbert illustrated at Saturday's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, they want you to be afraid too.

This country has a long, solid tradition of liberalism that we, as liberals, should not be hiding from. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, health insurance, a free press and a free public education, equal pay for women and the end of slavery were all radical liberal ideas that we now take for granted. Remember this when you go into the voting booth tomorrow. Do you want to backslide into the George W. Bush era of "traditional values", or do you want to embrace traditional American values?  The choice is clear.  

Related articles

• Again, the South shall lead us (bilerico.com)
• European Union a Tangle for Same-Sex Couples (gayrights.change.org)
• Activists: Mormon beliefs factor in LGBT struggles (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Christian couple in fostering fight (mirror.co.uk)

Two Charged with Hate Crime for Stonewall Inn Attack

Image via WikipediaTwo men who assaulted a patron in the men's room at New York's historic Stonewall Inn during an attempted robbery over the weekend have been charged with a hate crime. The attack at the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement prompted a protest rally Wednesday night in front of the landmark bar.

According reports, the victim was standing at a urinal in the mens room when he was approached by 21-year-old Matthew Francis and 17-year-old Christopher Orlando. Francis asked the victim if he was gay. Why would you ask such a question in the most famous gay bar on the planet, unless you wanted to attack someone and use the "gay panic" defense?

CNN reports, “When the victim responded yes [the defendant] allegedly yelled, ‘Get away from me, faggot. I don’t like gay people.’ He then asked for money saying, ‘Give me a dollar. Give me a 20.’

“The victim refused and Francis allegedly pushed him to ground and punched him several times in the face and chest. The other defendant Christopher Orlando, 17, stood in front of the exit preventing him from leaving."

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• Stonewall Inn Hate Crime Attack: Gay Man Assaulted In New York (nowpublic.com)
• Rally for unity, safety outside famed Stonewall Inn (nydailynews.com)
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Happy Birthday, Judy! (video)

Today, the late, great Judy Garland would have been 88 years old. The singer died of an accidental drug overdose June 29, 1969. Her death set the tone for the Stonewall Riots that sparked the modern LGBT rights movement. 

Here is a rare performance by the mother of all divas from the 1943 radio show Command Performance, hosted by Bob Hope.

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Washington Blade to Resume Publishing This Week

The Washington Post reports that  DC's weekly LGBT newspaper The Washington Blade, which closed it's doors in November after 40 years in business, will resume publishing this Friday under new ownership. Former staffers from the Blade, who founded the online news magazine dcAgenda within four days of losing their jobs, purchased the Blade's name, copyright, archives, computers and office furniture at a bankruptcy auction in late February for just $15,000.

The Washington Post article says, "The 40-year-old newspaper -- founded as a one-sheet newsletter in October 1969 just months after the Stonewall riots in New York incited the modern gay rights movement -- has published weekly editions under the name D.C. Agenda since Nov. 20, four days after parent company Window Media declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations. Working with half the staff of the Blade (which last year had 24 full-timers) and an array of freelancers, D.C. Agenda also relied on the generosity of lawyers, accountants, advertisers and readers from around the world, many of whom contributed pro bono or financial support, according to editor Kevin Naff."
 
Naff told the Post, "A lot of people really have an emotional connection to the Blade, and the outpouring since it closed was overwhelming and was really what led us to carry on. We'll be a leaner publication and we'll grow as we can afford to grow, but Friday's issue, as of now, is 56 pages, which is remarkable considering Agenda launched with eight pages."

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Barney Frank: "Passing ENDA, repealing DADT could happen this year."

Openly gay congressman Barney Frank says in in interview with the Windy City Times that he is optimistic about the future of the LGBT rights movement. "When we first started this [ fight for equality ] , we didn't know how hated we were. But the progress has been good, and it's mainly by coming out. Part of it is, you can't hide and win the fight at the same time," said Frank, who has represented Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District since 1981.


Frank told the Chicago LGBT newspaper, "The fact that the American people now know who we are, and that we are relatives and friends, customers and teammates, students and teachers, barbers, lawyers and policemen, etc. Coming out has helped us, so [ non-LGBT ] people realize we are them, too. In less than 20 years, I think [ LGBT issues ] will be substantially over; that is, we will have full legal equality. It may even be less if we make the same rate of progress," that we have in recent years. 

Read the full story here.

Rising From the Ashes of the Washington Blade: DC Agenda

Last week's unexpected closing of the LGBT institution the Washington Blade took everyone by surprise, especially its staff, many of whom have been with the Blade for most, if not all, of the paper's 40-year history. Undaunted, they have rallied and regrouped as DC Agenda.

DC Agenda editor, Ken Naff, posted this message on their new website on Wednesday:

"Don’t judge us too harshly — the edition of DC Agenda you’re holding is a modest, early iteration of what we  hope to achieve in the wake of Washington Blade’s sudden closing this week.

The news that parent company Window Media was shuttering and liquidating its newspapers came as a shock to the staff, some of whom devoted their careers to the paper that became an institution. We were ushered out the doors of our offices with no severance, canceled paychecks and more questions than answers about why this was allowed to happen.

The former staff of the Washington Blade remains united and DC Agenda represents our effort at continuing the important mission and work of the Blade. It will grow and evolve to include a much larger and more diverse group of voices. But the core of the Washington Blade’s work remains unchanged. We will cover Congress, the White House, the LGBT rights movement, the D.C. marriage fight, local hate crimes and other political issues important to the LGBT residents of the city.

It’s been a tough week for us, but we are buoyed by the outpouring of support from people all over the city and beyond. We welcome and need your help and will respond to each offer as soon as possible. Thank you to all who have pledged to stick with us, especially our advertisers. Please visit savetheblade.com for updated information on DC Agenda or to make a gift to support the new venture.
The strength of the Washington Blade did not lie in its brand name — it came from the spirit of those who worked passionately to serve and inform our community. Those people are still here. Our work continues."