Doin mighty fine hon. Susie has been having some health issues , but hopefully well on the way to recovery. How have you been?

(((((((((((((Merle)))))))))))))

I know, wish we could go, but I am moving that weekend. Getting out of this crackhouse and moving up to a trailer, lol.

Hell Yeah!

OK, who's in charge here???

Anyone been to a good Pride fest? We went to the one in Springfield, Mo. It was small but nice. Felt good to be open about who I am for awhile.

Hello to all! I've been neglectful of my friends I've made here. Sorry, but I'm on a computer all day at work, and getting on at home is not as fun as it used to be. Hope everyone is doing well. Feel free to e-mail me and let me know what is going on. Fairy and I are doing well. I love and miss my chicas!

God grant me serenity...

done

Iowa Becomes First Midwestern State to Recognize Marriage Equality for Gay and Lesbian Couples


4/3/2009

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, applauded the Iowa state Supreme Court’s unanimous 7-0 decision today ruling that the equal protection provision of Iowa Constitution guarantees gay and lesbian couples the same right to marry as heterosexual couples. As a result of the court’s decision in Varnum v. Brien, Iowa becomes the first state in the Midwest and the third in the nation to now recognize marriages for gay and lesbian couples.

“This is a truly historic day for Iowa and a proud day for every American who believes in the promise of equal rights and fairness for all,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “The Iowa Supreme Court did its job by recognizing that gay and lesbian couples who form committed relationships and loving families deserve the same level of respect afforded to heterosexual couples. The unanimous court made forcefully clear that the state constitution guarantees the same rights and protections for all Iowans. This decision strengthens Iowa families and makes a strong statement for equality all across the nation.”

“We congratulate and commend Lambda Legal, the numerous organizations and individuals who briefed the Supreme Court, and, of course, the courageous plaintiff couples and their families who looked to the courts to vindicate their rights,” said Solmonese. “We also thank One Iowa for their hard work across the state to ensure that gay and lesbian couples and their families receive the recognition that they rightfully deserve.”

The ruling is similar to past Supreme Court decisions in Massachusetts, Connecticut and California that also found state constitutional violations where gay and lesbian couples were denied the right to marry. (The California decision was affected by Proposition 8, a change to the state constitution approved by voters last November. A legal challenge to Proposition 8 is pending.)

Speaking for the unanimous court, Justice Mark S. Cady wrote that “[w]e are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective.” The court rejected the possibility that civil unions—or any institution other than civil marriage—could satisfy the guarantees of the state constitution.

The Varnum case began in December 2005, when Lambda Legal filed suit in Iowa District Court on behalf of six gay and lesbian couples (later amended to include three of their children). In August 2007, the Iowa District Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. The District Court granted a stay of the decision pending appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.

A growing number of states across the country are providing relationship recognition to gay and lesbian couples. Two states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, already permit gay and lesbian couples to marry under state law. New York recognizes marriages by gay and lesbian couples legally entered into outside of the state. In recent weeks state legislatures in New Hampshire and Vermont have passed bills that would recognize marriages by gay and lesbian couples, which could make them the first states to enact marriage equality legislatively. (The Vermont House of Representatives voted yesterday in support of marriage equality after the state Senate approved the bill last month.)

In addition to the three states that now provide for marriage equality under state law, eight states plus Washington, D.C. have laws providing at least some form of state-level relationship recognition, short of marriage, for gay and lesbian couples. Five of these states—California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont—plus Washington, D.C. provide gay and lesbian couples with access to the state level benefits and responsibilities of marriage, through either civil unions or domestic partnerships.


http://www.hrc.org/12434.htm

Check out the site: www.survivinginfidelity.com

Gay West Point grads target ban on serving openly

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer David Crary, Ap National Writer – Sun Apr 12, 1:22 pm ET

NEW YORK – As a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, Dan Choi faced an ethical dilemma.

The academy's honor code was clear, beginning "A cadet will not lie." Yet as a gay man, Choi felt bound by the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy to be untruthful about who he was.

Last month, six years after his graduation and two years after serving in Iraq, Choi came out — even though he remains an infantry officer in the Army National Guard.

His announcement in mid-March was part of the launch of Knights Out, the first association representing gay and lesbian alumni of West Point. Already, it has at least 50 members who've publicly identified themselves on the group's Web site.

Its stated mission is to advocate for repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" so that gays can serve openly in the military, and to help prepare the West Point community to be effective leaders after that policy change occurs.

Under the policy, which President Barack Obama says he wants to repeal after consultation with the Pentagon, the military does not ask recruits about their sexual orientation, while service members are banned from saying they are gay or engaging in homosexual activity.

"Forcing people to lie — it's absolutely a morally bankrupt idea," Choi said in a telephone interview from his home in Orange County, California.

The chair of Knights Out's board, Becky Kanis, has bitter memories of being investigated while at West Point on suspicion that she was a lesbian. She graduated in 1991 and served contentedly for nine years in the Signal Corps, but said she eventually grew tired of the need to deceive.

"I started to feel immature — I was too grown up to be lying about where I spent the weekend," she said.

Kanis now lives in New York City, working for an institute that combats homelessness.

She believes the end of "don't ask, don't tell" is imminent, and hopes Knights Out will be well positioned to serve after repeal as a resource on how the military can deal with gay/lesbian issues.

"We're uniquely in a position to bridge the knowledge gap," she said. "We're optimistic that we'll be able to work with the academy once the ban is lifted."

For now, Knights Out has no formal relationship with the academy or the West Point Association of Graduates, the main alumni association. The association's spokeswoman, Kim McDermott, says it cannot partner with an alumni group advocating for policy change.

Francis DeMaro, West Point's public affairs officer, said Knights Out members are welcome on the campus as individuals, but added that the academy doesn't affiliate with any alumni group except the Association of Graduates.

For now, Knights Out doesn't want to antagonize the graduate association or the academy with confrontational tactics.

"We've let them know we're out there," said Sue Fulton, Knights Out's communications director. "We've expressed that we want to open a dialogue."

Earlier this month, Kanis and Fulton attended a diversity conference at the academy. They did not seek to make an official presentation, but spoke informally to numerous participants and said they received positive feedback.

"Our group doesn't want to close any doors with West Point," said Fulton. "And West Point is very cognizant there's a fine line they walk with respect to the existing law, which makes any official interaction dicey."

Fulton said Knights Out is starting to prepare initiatives that could be implemented only when "don't ask, don't tell" is repealed — for example, helping to form a gay/straight alliance at the academy or dispatching some of its members to talk with commanding officers about their experiences.

Fulton, 50, graduated from the academy in 1980, part of the first class that included women. She served in the Signal Corps and left the service in 1986, after wearying — like Kanis — of being targeted with suspicion and threatened investigations.

"I was very discreet — I wasn't seeing anybody," Fulton said. "But I left because I wanted to be in a relationship and I realized that wasn't going to be possible in the military."

She now lives with her partner of 14 years in North Plainfield, N.J., and works for a pharmaceutical company.

Among Knights Out's "out" members, Choi is the only one still serving in the military — as an infantry platoon leader with New York State's Army National Guard.

After he came out in mid-March, and discussed that decision on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," he was unsure how things would go at his guard unit's next training session.

"No one talked about it for three or four days, and I thought 'No one knows,'" Choi said. "But at the end, a lot of the soldiers said they knew and they support me 100 percent. ... No one was uncomfortable."

Choi said he hopes to continue as platoon leader and thus far has received no warnings from any superiors for his decision to speak out about being gay.

At home, however, there are challenges.

"My dad is a Baptist minister — he's not had an easy time with this." Choi said.

Gay/lesbian alumni from the Naval Academy formed as association in 2003 called USNA Out, and a comparable Air Force Academy alumni group, Blue Alliance, was formed in 2007, but Knights Out has carved out a more focused political role for itself by depicting repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" as its central mission.

"President Obama has made it clear he intends to review and overturn DADT and end the wasteful policy which the country has been burdened with," said Paul Morris, a 1980 West Point graduate who co-founded Knights Out. "Now is the time for the Army and its oldest military academy to plan for this mission, and Knights Out stands ready to assist."

_http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090412/ap_on_re_us/west_point_gays__

On the Net:

Knights Out: http://knightsout.org/

HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO ME AND MY ((((Fairy))))).
We met here in Deb's thread!!!

Happy 1 year anniversary my sweet (((Fairy)))

Happy 1 year Anniversary Susie!!!!

Howdy strangers

Too many coffee houses. I never know where to hang out and find my friends anymore.

Michigan Television Station Pulls Misleading AFA Program Following Announcement of National Action Alert By Human Rights Campaign

Station manager releases statement: "The Offer is now off the table."

2/11/2009

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today issued a national action alert against the American Family Association's (AFA) one-hour television special called "Speechless: Silencing Christians," which is promoted to "reveal the truth about the radical homosexual agenda and its impact on the family, the nation and religious freedom." Within an hour of that action alert announcement, the Grand Rapids, MI station which had planned to air the deceptive programming rescinded that offer.

WOOD-TV General Manager Diane Kniowski posted the following announcement just before 4 p.m. saying it would not run the AFA paid 60-minute program on Saturday as planned:

"We made a gesture of the 2-3 p.m. Saturday time period. It's been 24 hours and we had no response," Kniowski said. "Our station is being bombarded with calls and messages, and we find ourselves in the middle of someone else's fight. Ours was a fair offer and we are removing ourselves from this matter."

The HRC alert urged members to contact the station and ask that they pull the scheduled program and instead air a fair discussion or debate on both the issues and pending legislation.

"I am so proud of our members who answered the lies and distortions of the AFA and stopped this campaign of hate and deception," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "Our community stood up and would not let those lies stand."

"This should be our wake up call. We are poised to make real progress, for the first time, for millions of LGBT Americans. We know it and so do our opponents," added Solmonese. "We must stand guard and not allow them to stop these overdue, basic protections by rolling out the same, tired script albeit in new packaging. Today's action proves we have the voices and the power to demand a fair fight and a fair debate."

The AFA program which is still viewable online and may run in other markets, is hosted by controversial talk show host Janet Parshall, who in 2006, suggested Matthew Shepard's lifestyle was responsible for his murder and called gay adoption "state-sanctioned child abuse." (CNN's Larry King Live, Jan. 17, 2006) In the new AFA program, the AFA and its allies purposely promote lies and distortions, including the following:

1. Lie: If hate crimes laws are passed, pastors will be prosecuted for preaching what the Bible says about homosexuality.

Truth: Pastors will not be held liable for hate crimes based on preaching anti-gay sermons. The First Amendment protects a preacher from being charged as an accessory to a hate crime simply because of their speech. The Matthew Shepard Act only punishes violent crimes, not a person's speech, beliefs or thoughts. In fact, the legislation contains language specifically protecting free speech.

2. Lie: Legislation that will provide employment protection based on sexual orientation or gender identity will force churches to hire homosexuals.

Truth: The federal legislation contains language exempting the vast majority of religious corporations, associations and educational institutions, and permits all religious organizations to condition employment on compliance with its significant tenets, including ones barring LGBT employees.

3. Lie: Homosexual acts have a key role to play in the spread of all STDs and HIV/AIDS.

Truth: HIV and STDs don't distinguish by gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic. Statements such as those made by the AFA in this video hamper efforts to prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases by spreading ignorance and misinformation.

4. Lie: Allowing the government to redefine marriage hurts children because studies show children need a mother and father to do well in life.

Truth: All scientifically reputable studies on the subject of same-sex parenting show that the sexual orientation of a child's parent does not affect a child. Furthermore, all leading children's welfare and rights organizations conclude that there is no measurable difference between children raised by loving lesbian and gay families and those raised by different-sex couples.



The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.


http://www.hrc.org/12122.htm

Doin dandy (((((Ms. Feral))))
How r u?