One year and one day ago...

January 3, 2008: The day the world (or, at least these United States of America) refused to stand still any longer...

A Little Queer Trivia

What is the largest city in the United States with an openly gay mayor?

Before yesterday, the answer would have been Providence, Rhode Island , with a population of just over 175,000. David Cicilline has been mayor of Providence since 2003.

As of 12:01 am, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009, however, the correct answer is: Portland, Oregon, with a population of over half a million. Sam Adams, former Portland , Oregon City Commissioner, was sworn in as Portland’s mayor by Oregon Supreme Court Justice Virginia Linder on New Year’s Day.

Interestingly enough, Providence Mayor Cicilline, is still the only openly gay mayor of a state capitol in the U.S. (Oregon’s state capitol is Salem).

439 Days

I've always wondered where people my age belonged in the generational hierarchy. To my knowledge, we've never had a societal nickname, like the ubiquitous Baby Boomers or the "cool kids" of Generation X, and I guess no one gave us much thought, til one of our own (Barack Obama) was elected to Highest Office In The Land. Now we are semi-quasi-officially called Cuspers (a.k.a. Generation Jones or Generation Obama).

So, just like everyone else, we get a label, too (A label??? Wait. Why I am happy about this again???)!!

In defense of the "labelists", though, the link to the CNN article referenced above, in elaborating on the phenom known as Cuspers, contains at least two paragraphs that describe me pretty accurately:

Whether we call them cuspers, Generation Jones or Generation Obama, there are enigmas and paradoxes within this generation and its fans. They respond to Biblical imagery, but they're not dogmatic in their faith.

They value traditional notions of family but see men and women as equals in parenting. They go back to older American values -- civility, community, responsibility -- yet keenly embrace technology and use the Internet naturally.

As an aside, being that Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 and I was born October 17, 1962, our next Prez is exactly 439 days (which is 1 year, 2 months & 13 days) older than I am.

Finally, there IS a name for what I am...well, at least a name for ONE of the things I am, anyway.

Traditional Marriage???

Next time someone tells you how important “traditional marriage” is & how important it is to protect it from people like me, remind them of the history of their sacred institution. Found this on a website called On The Journey.

And I say to myself, "What A Wonderful World..."

The colors of the rainbow,
so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands,
sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying, "I love you"
"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong

The New York Times reports that for the first time in United Nations history, a declaration in support of gay rights was introduced in the U.N.’s General Assembly.

According to the Times article, the resolution, which condemned human rights violations based on homophobia, saying such measures run counter to the universal declaration of human rights, had the support of 66 of the member nations, including much of Europe and Latin America.

Such a “radical” statement, right??

Can you guess who opposed this non-binding resolution?

Well, if you guessed, the Roman Catholic Church’s UN representative, Russia, China, and the Islamic Conference, you’d be almost-completely correct. Of course, you can’t forget the George Bush’s version of the Good Ol’ U.S. of A.

According to the Times report:

The official American position was based on highly technical legal grounds. The text, by using terminology like “without distinction of any kind,” was too broad because it might be interpreted as an attempt by the federal government to override states’ rights on issues like gay marriage, American diplomats and legal experts said.

So, states’ rights are vitally important when a non-binding statement of basic human rights is the issue, but if we’re talking about an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that outright appropriates those self-same states’ rights (i.e., the so-called "Federal Marriage Amendment") for the all-powerful Big Brother, then those rights--like those of GLBTQI people--are quite expendable.

Hypocrisy much??

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

One of the newer sites on the World Wide Web is Change.gov, which is being used at the official website of the "Office of the President Elect". On this website, our next President solicits ideas from everyday folks like you & me. On the site's first page, they encourage each of us to tell our own stories & make suggestions on how our government can be more user-friendly:

Your stories and your ideas can help change the future of the the country. When we come together around a common purpose, great things are possible.

Of course, being me, I was just curious if the new administration was going to not only acknowledge the existence of the GLBT community, but speak to the issues that matter to us & other equality-minder people, and, I was pleasantly not surprised!

In the Civil Rights part of the website, President-Elect Obama mentions issues several time that directly involve GLBT people...like he wasn't afraid to acknowledge we're here & that, as citizens of the U.S. of A. we, too, are yearning to breathe free!

So, check out The Obama/Biden Civil Rights Agenda

Combat Employment Discrimination: Obama and Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as president.

Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Barack Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

A Breath of "Fresh Air"

On The Advocate's website, it is being reported a prominent member of the National Association of Evangelicals, Rev. Richard Cizik, has resigned from the organization after announcing his support of civil unions for same-sex couples.

It's worth noting that in it's May 12, 2008 issue, Time magazine called Cizik one of The World’s Most Influential People .