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my life away from my atheist blog

Posts tagged lgbt

82 notes &

nonplussedbyreligion: Unfortunately there are those who don’t believe women have the right to have an abortion.  There are also those who believe that homosexuals are bound for an afterlife of misery and suffering.  But what of their time on earth?  Why must so many fight to make the one life they will ever have, one of shame, secrecy, judgment, exclusion, and a fight to love the person of their choosing?  Not all theists are homphobes, but the loudest homophobes are all theists.  Yes I said all and you know how I feel about generalizations.  Every vocal and public organization fighting to prohibit equality that I’ve researched, has a religious base. 

nonplussedbyreligion:

Unfortunately there are those who don’t believe women have the right to have an abortion.  There are also those who believe that homosexuals are bound for an afterlife of misery and suffering.  But what of their time on earth?  Why must so many fight to make the one life they will ever have, one of shame, secrecy, judgment, exclusion, and a fight to love the person of their choosing?  Not all theists are homphobes, but the loudest homophobes are all theists.  Yes I said all and you know how I feel about generalizations.  Every vocal and public organization fighting to prohibit equality that I’ve researched, has a religious base. 

Filed under atheists atheism homosexuality homophobia gay lesbian lgbt lgbtq lgbtqa queue

39 notes &

nonplussedbyreligion:

Those who oppose marriage equality like to say that same sex marriages will ruin the sanctity of marriage, or that those who support it are trying to destroy traditional marriage.  When backed into a corner and pushed to explain this line of reasoning, the inevitable, “The Bible defines marriage as one man and woman” argument gets thrown out.  The will to please an unseen and unproven deity takes priority over the happiness and rights of living breathing human beings.  It is an appalling stance and completely inexcusable.  

How dare anyone stand in judgment of the relationships of others?  I’ve shared before that I’m not fond of memes that show some failed celebrity marriage then compares it with a gay couple who can’t get married.  I get the point they’re supposed to make, but I think no one’s marriage, be it for profit, convenience, or love should be the business of anyone else if they’ve entered into it of their own free will.  Everyone should be allowed to marry the person of their choosing, for their own reasons, regardless of what others think.   Ultimately it’s their relationship, gay or straight.  When we start thinking of it as marriage, not gay or straight marriage, we may be able to stop supporting laws that leads to the kind of pain in this video.

I will never take for granted the fact that I’m able to marry freely.  I’ll also never forget that many of my LGBT friends who are married, would be shut out of their loved ones life if they experienced a tragedy because their state does not legally recognize their union.  This makes me unspeakably sad as some of these relationships have outlived many heterosexual marriages.  

I did find my good news today; Obama supports gay marriage.  However that’s not really all that comforting to me as states will continue to do what they want. 

(Source: elledeau)

Filed under marriage love equality LGBT equal rights same sex marriage

15 notes &

Amendment One, North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban, Passes Vote

nonplussedbyreligion:

Amendment One North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, becoming the latest state to effectively slam the door shut on same-sex marriages.

With most of the precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 61 percent of the vote to 39 percent against. North Carolina is the 30th state to adopt such a ban on gay marriage.

Tami Fitzgerald, who heads the pro-amendment group Vote FOR Marriage NC, said she believes the initiative awoke a silent majority of more active voters in the future.

“I think it sends a message to the rest of the country that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Fitzgerald said at a celebration Tuesday night. “The whole point is simply that you don’t rewrite the nature of God’s design based on the demands of a group of adults.”

In the final days before the vote, members of President Barack Obama’s cabinet expressed support for gay marriage and former President Bill Clinton recorded phone messages urging voters to oppose the amendment.

Supporters of the amendment responded with marches, television ads and speeches. Church leaders urged Sunday congregations to vote for the amendment. The Rev. Billy Graham was featured in full-page newspaper ads backing the amendment.

North Carolina law already bans gay marriage, but an amendment effectively seals the door on same-sex marriages.

The amendment also goes beyond state law by voiding other types of domestic unions from carrying legal status, which opponents warn could disrupt protection orders for unmarried couples.

The campaign manager for the group that opposed the amendment said the nation watched North Carolina on Tuesday night, wondering how the anti-forces came through.

“I am happy to say that we are stronger for it; we are better for it; our voices are louder now,” said Jeremy Kennedy of Protect All NC Families. “We have courage like we never had before, and we have strength to continue on.”

Both sides spent a combined $3 million on their campaigns.

Six states – all in the Northeast except Iowa – and the District of Columbia allow same sex marriages. In addition, two other states have laws that are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums

The North Carolina amendment was placed on the ballot after Republicans took over control of the state Legislature after the 2010 elections, a role the GOP hadn’t enjoyed for 140 years.

Joe Easterling, who described himself as a devout Christian, voted for the amendment at a polling place in Wake Forest.

“I know that some people may argue that the Bible may not necessarily be applicable, or it should not be applicable, on such policy matters. But even looking at nature itself, procreation is impossible without a man and a woman. And because of those things, I think it is important that the state of North Carolina’s laws are compatible with the laws of nature but, more importantly, with the laws of God.”

Linda Toanone, who voted against the amendment, said people are born gay and it is not their choice.

“We think everybody should have the same rights as everyone else. If you’re gay, lesbian, straight – whatever,” she said.

North Carolina is the latest presidential swing state to weigh in on gay marriage. Florida, Virginia and Ohio all have constitutional amendments against gay marriage, and Obama’s election-year vagueness on gay marriage has come under fresh scrutiny.

Obama, who supports most gay rights, has stopped short of backing gay marriage. Without clarification, he’s said for the past year and a half that his personal views on the matter are “evolving.”

Later Tuesday, Obama’s campaign said he was “disappointed” with the amendment. Obama campaign spokesman Cameron French said in a Tuesday statement that the ban on same-sex unions is “divisive and discriminatory.” Same-sex couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples, French said.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated on Monday his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage, a day after Vice President Joe Biden said he is “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex married couples getting the same rights at heterosexual married couples.

One fault line that could determine the result is generational. Older voters, who tend to be more reliable voters, were expected to back the amendment.

State House Speaker Thom Tillis, a Republican from a Charlotte suburb, said earlier in the day that even if the amendment passed, it would be reversed as today’s young adults age – within 20 years. “It’s a generational issue,” Tillis told a student group at North Carolina State University in March about the amendment he supports.

“Also, that amendment is against women, I believe, because also underneath the amendment, other laws are saying that people who aren’t married at all, they can’t file for domestic abuse cases, if they’re living with their significant other. Which is wrong,” Toanone said.

In North Carolina, more than 500,000 voters had cast their ballot before Tuesday, which was more than the 2008 primary when Obama and Hillary Clinton were fighting for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both sides said that bodes well for them.

(Source: The Huffington Post)

Filed under north carolina amendment one marriage equality marriage equality gay lesbian lgbt lgbtq lgbtqa

6 notes &

holygoddamnshit: WHEN MITT ROMNEY FIRED A GAY STAFFER, 2004 EDITION by Tim Murphy, MotherJones, May 04, 2012 Richard Grenell, Mitt Romney’s newly christened foreign policy spokesman, stepped downfrom the campaign on Tuesday. Grenell, who is gay, had come under fire from social conservative activists who viewed his hiring as a slap in the face.Although a Romney spokesman claimed the campaign had wanted Grenell to stay on, Romney staffers had already begun to shut him out before his resignation, counseling the gay foreign policy spokesman to stay silent during a recent campaign press call on foreign policy.  The episode is reminiscent of a controversy that occurred when Romney was governor of Massachusetts: The 2004 dismissal of Ardith Wieworka, longtime head of the state’s Office of Child Care Services, who alleged that she had been terminated because of her decision to marry her partner. In May of that year, the same month same-sex marriage was legalized in the Bay State, the Northeastern University press office published a story announcing that Wieworka intended to marry her longtime partner, Carol Lyons, who worked at the school as the dean of career services. The next month, Romney traveled to Washington, DC, to testify in support of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. “Marriage is…a fundamental and universal social institution that bears a real and substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of all the people of Massachusetts,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Two weeks later, the Boston Globe reported that Ronald Preston, Romney’s state health and human services commissioner, asked Wieworka to resign. A veteran of three previous Republican administrations, Wieworka was at a loss about why she was fired. (She declined to comment for this story.) She told the Boston Globe later that month that, absent any clear motive, she suspected her ouster may have been a result of marriage: Earlier this week, Wieworka strongly suggested that her firing was connected to her recent marriage to her lesbian partner. She said yesterday that she was not saying that was the reason, but that she wanted to raise the question in the absence of other credible explanations. “When you accuse someone of something, you’ve reached a conclusion,” Wieworka said yesterday. “I want to look into the motivation.” Wieworka noted that Preston’s explanation for the move changed considerably over time. He initially said it was due to restructuring, but later suggested that Wieworka had also been uncooperative. He never offered a clear, specific reason for the termination. Romney and Preston vehemently denied Wieworka’s firing had anything to do with her marriage, however. The governor told the Globe that Wieworka’s sexual orientation was something he only learned about after she had been fired. Preston called the idea that Wieworka was fired for her marriage “an outrageous allegation with no foundation whatsoever.” (Preston now teaches medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.) Whatever the explanation, the move was divisive. “[T]hose who have worked with Wieworka express shock and dismay at her departure,” Boston Magazine reported. The Boston Globeeditorial board—making no mention of Wieworka’s charge of discrimination—panned the firing, writing ”It is unfortunate that Preston could not work out a way to make use of Wieworka’s considerable experience and talent.” In the eyes of Massachusetts’s LGBT community, the firing had a certain resonance. The state’s LGBT monthly, Bay Windows, noted the firing in a January 2012 piece detailing Romney’s record on gay issues as governor. Whether or not Wieworka’s marriage played a part in her termination, the timing of her departure was fitting: The episode came as Romney was in the midst of his political evolution from a gay-friendly, pro-choice moderate into someone culture warriors could believe in—an evolution, as Grenell’s resignation shows, that is far from finished.

holygoddamnshit:

WHEN MITT ROMNEY FIRED A GAY STAFFER, 2004 EDITION

by Tim Murphy, MotherJones, May 04, 2012

Richard Grenell, Mitt Romney’s newly christened foreign policy spokesman, stepped downfrom the campaign on Tuesday. Grenell, who is gay, had come under fire from social conservative activists who viewed his hiring as a slap in the face.Although a Romney spokesman claimed the campaign had wanted Grenell to stay on, Romney staffers had already begun to shut him out before his resignation, counseling the gay foreign policy spokesman to stay silent during a recent campaign press call on foreign policy. 

The episode is reminiscent of a controversy that occurred when Romney was governor of Massachusetts: The 2004 dismissal of Ardith Wieworka, longtime head of the state’s Office of Child Care Services, who alleged that she had been terminated because of her decision to marry her partner.

In May of that year, the same month same-sex marriage was legalized in the Bay State, the Northeastern University press office published a story announcing that Wieworka intended to marry her longtime partner, Carol Lyons, who worked at the school as the dean of career services.

The next month, Romney traveled to Washington, DC, to testify in support of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. “Marriage is…a fundamental and universal social institution that bears a real and substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of all the people of Massachusetts,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Two weeks later, the Boston Globe reported that Ronald Preston, Romney’s state health and human services commissioner, asked Wieworka to resign.

A veteran of three previous Republican administrations, Wieworka was at a loss about why she was fired. (She declined to comment for this story.) She told the Boston Globe later that month that, absent any clear motive, she suspected her ouster may have been a result of marriage:

Earlier this week, Wieworka strongly suggested that her firing was connected to her recent marriage to her lesbian partner. She said yesterday that she was not saying that was the reason, but that she wanted to raise the question in the absence of other credible explanations.

“When you accuse someone of something, you’ve reached a conclusion,” Wieworka said yesterday. “I want to look into the motivation.”

Wieworka noted that Preston’s explanation for the move changed considerably over time. He initially said it was due to restructuring, but later suggested that Wieworka had also been uncooperative. He never offered a clear, specific reason for the termination. Romney and Preston vehemently denied Wieworka’s firing had anything to do with her marriage, however. The governor told the Globe that Wieworka’s sexual orientation was something he only learned about after she had been fired. Preston called the idea that Wieworka was fired for her marriage “an outrageous allegation with no foundation whatsoever.” (Preston now teaches medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.)

Whatever the explanation, the move was divisive. “[T]hose who have worked with Wieworka express shock and dismay at her departure,” Boston Magazine reported. The Boston Globeeditorial board—making no mention of Wieworka’s charge of discrimination—panned the firing, writing ”It is unfortunate that Preston could not work out a way to make use of Wieworka’s considerable experience and talent.”

In the eyes of Massachusetts’s LGBT community, the firing had a certain resonance. The state’s LGBT monthly, Bay Windows, noted the firing in a January 2012 piece detailing Romney’s record on gay issues as governor. Whether or not Wieworka’s marriage played a part in her termination, the timing of her departure was fitting: The episode came as Romney was in the midst of his political evolution from a gay-friendly, pro-choice moderate into someone culture warriors could believe in—an evolution, as Grenell’s resignation shows, that is far from finished.

(via nonplussedbyreligion)

Filed under politics mitt romney 2012 election lgbt lgbtq lgbtqa homophobia

11 notes &

nonplussedbyreligion: North Carolina’s Amendment One is up for vote on May 8th.  It’s a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the recognition of any legal domestic union/marriage that was not between one man and one woman.  If you live in North Carolina, please vote.  Do not let the Billy Grahams of the state win.   Regardless of your feelings about homosexuality, you cannot deny a group of tax-paying citizens the same right as their heterosexual counterparts because the Bible is opposed to it.  There is no acceptable excuse for people like Graham, who benefits from the tax dollars of those they stands in opposition of.  These hypocrites are sickening to me. 

nonplussedbyreligion:

North Carolina’s Amendment One is up for vote on May 8th.  It’s a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the recognition of any legal domestic union/marriage that was not between one man and one woman.  If you live in North Carolina, please vote.  Do not let the Billy Grahams of the state win.  

Regardless of your feelings about homosexuality, you cannot deny a group of tax-paying citizens the same right as their heterosexual counterparts because the Bible is opposed to it.  There is no acceptable excuse for people like Graham, who benefits from the tax dollars of those they stands in opposition of.  These hypocrites are sickening to me. 

Filed under north carolina amendment one billy graham homophobia hate marriage marriage equality lgbt lgbtq lgbtqa queue

11 notes &

nonplussedbyreligion: holygoddamnshit: FOX ‘NEWS’ ANTI-GAY TODD STARNES MISINFORMS ABOUT KANSAS NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE by Carlos Maza, April 25, 2012, Equality Matters On Monday, Fox News’ resident anti-gay mouthpiece Todd Starnes posted an article about a proposed city ordinance in Hutchinson, Kansas which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Rather than focus on the specifics of the ordinance, or Kansas’ history of supporting anti-LGBT discrimination, Starnes chose to depict the measure as an assault on churches: In typical Starnes fashion, the article was little more than an excuse to promote the talking points of anti-gay activists – including Liberty Counsel’s Matthew Staver – who warned that churches would be forced to host gay weddings and “drag parties”: “It is a collision course between religious freedom and the LGBT agenda,” Staver said. “This proposed legislation will ultimately override the religious freedom that is protected under the First Amendment.” He argued that churches cannot be forced by the government to set aside their religious convictions and their mission. And, he warned, some churches could even be forced to rent their buildings for drag parties. [emphasis added] In reality, the ordinance includes specific exemptions for religious organizations that don’t offer their services to the general public. According to an official Hutchinson Human Relations Commission (HRC) FAQ Sheet (which Starnes even links to in his article): Religious based groups, non-profit institutions controlled by religious associations or societies and non-profit private clubs that are not open to the public are exempt from the requirements of Chapter 3 now and would continue to be exempt should the proposed amendment become law. There is an exception to this exemption, if any of these groups open their services to the general public. For example, if a church has a parish hall that they rent out to the general public, they could not discriminate against a gay couple who want to rent the building for a party. If the church only rents the building to their parishioners, they can continue to do so. [emphasis added] Starnes also falsely claimed that the ordinance would “have a major impact” on business owners who would be “required to provide special bathrooms” for transgender people – an assertion that’s also debunked in the HRC FAQ Sheet. Despite being riddled with inaccuracies, Starnes’ article has been picked up and touted by organizations like the Family Research Council (FRC), National Organization for Marriage (NOM), and Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). Previously: Meet Todd Starnes, Fox’s Mouthpiece For Anti-Gay Hate Groups Fox’s Starnes Peddles FRC Talking Points Over Kentucky T-Shirt Controversy Fox’s Starnes Turns Gay Pride At Military Academy Into An Attack On DADT Repeal Well this is coming out of Faux Fox News and supported by hate groups FRC, NOM, and AFTAH so you know it has to be valid.  Never mind little important things like FACTS!

nonplussedbyreligion:

holygoddamnshit:

FOX ‘NEWS’ ANTI-GAY TODD STARNES MISINFORMS ABOUT KANSAS NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE

by Carlos Maza, April 25, 2012, Equality Matters

On Monday, Fox News’ resident anti-gay mouthpiece Todd Starnes posted an article about a proposed city ordinance in Hutchinson, Kansas which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, and public accommodations.

Rather than focus on the specifics of the ordinance, or Kansas’ history of supporting anti-LGBT discrimination, Starnes chose to depict the measure as an assault on churches:

In typical Starnes fashion, the article was little more than an excuse to promote the talking points of anti-gay activists – including Liberty Counsel’s Matthew Staver – who warned that churches would be forced to host gay weddings and “drag parties”:

“It is a collision course between religious freedom and the LGBT agenda,” Staver said. “This proposed legislation will ultimately override the religious freedom that is protected under the First Amendment.”

He argued that churches cannot be forced by the government to set aside their religious convictions and their mission. And, he warned, some churches could even be forced to rent their buildings for drag parties. [emphasis added]

In reality, the ordinance includes specific exemptions for religious organizations that don’t offer their services to the general public. According to an official Hutchinson Human Relations Commission (HRC) FAQ Sheet (which Starnes even links to in his article):

Religious based groups, non-profit institutions controlled by religious associations or societies and non-profit private clubs that are not open to the public are exempt from the requirements of Chapter 3 now and would continue to be exempt should the proposed amendment become law. There is an exception to this exemption, if any of these groups open their services to the general public.

For example, if a church has a parish hall that they rent out to the general public, they could not discriminate against a gay couple who want to rent the building for a party. If the church only rents the building to their parishioners, they can continue to do so. [emphasis added]

Starnes also falsely claimed that the ordinance would “have a major impact” on business owners who would be “required to provide special bathrooms” for transgender people – an assertion that’s also debunked in the HRC FAQ Sheet.

Despite being riddled with inaccuracies, Starnes’ article has been picked up and touted by organizations like the Family Research Council (FRC), National Organization for Marriage (NOM), and Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH).

Previously:

Meet Todd Starnes, Fox’s Mouthpiece For Anti-Gay Hate Groups

Fox’s Starnes Peddles FRC Talking Points Over Kentucky T-Shirt Controversy

Fox’s Starnes Turns Gay Pride At Military Academy Into An Attack On DADT Repeal

Well this is coming out of Faux Fox News and supported by hate groups FRC, NOM, and AFTAH so you know it has to be valid.  Never mind little important things like FACTS!

Filed under kansas fox news marriage equality gay lesbian lgbt lgbtq lgbtqa liars

21 notes &

holygoddamnshit: HOW AN IOWA BULLIED GAY TEEN USED SECRET IDENTITY TO FIGHT BACK Marion resident and Linn-Mar High School student Matt Shankles has made tremendous efforts to address bullying in his school. by Scott Raynor, May 01, 2012, MarionPatch Matt Shankles lost friends and self-esteem and his depression grew when his eighth-grade classmates learned he was gay. They bullied him relentlessly. He one day locked himself in his bathroom and jammed the door shut with a drawer, intending to end his life with of a box of X-Acto blades. “I hated myself more than I hate war,” said Shankles, 16, now a Linn-Mar High School sophomore. “More than I hate famine, more than I hate hate.” Thankfully, Shankles didn’t die that day. Rather than give in to his suffering, as do too many other bullying victims, he has devoted his high school career to fighting bullying. He has been reaching out and reassuring victims, advocating for anti-bullying legislation in our nation’s capitol and telling his painful story in front of the very classmates that still ridicule him. Shankles’ story provides optimism to bullied children, and their parents, everywhere. And, it offers some hope in the battle against bullying and cyber-bullying less than a month after a gay Iowa teen took his own life. Kenneth Weishuhn Jr., 14, committed suicide after being teased and bullied by classmates at South O’Brien High School in western Iowa. “I hated myself more than I hate war.” The suffering was so great that his adolescent mind rationalized his escape from his burdensome depression like this: people that surpass suffering become angels. “I feel like regardless of whether I am an actual angel or not, I feel like I can help people become angels themselves,” he said. His advocacy has taken many forms. In addition to more routine support of bullying victims, Shankles has spoken at the Safe Schools Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. and served as co-president of a gay-straight alliance club called Spectrum.  Shankles’ mother Tracy Bradley said was unaware of the bullying after he came out or that he contemplated suicide, until recently. She said she feels terrible that he went through so much of this suffering alone, but she said she is incredibly proud of the maturity, character and generosity that he has shown since the bullying began. “Nobody is please when their child is bullied,” Bradley said. “At the same time I am proud. He is going to be a better human being — 10 times the person that a lot of bullies who never grow out of being bullies will be.” Twitter Power Shankles is most known around school for a Twitter account he started last fall. Shankles said a Linn-Mar student started a Twitter account specifically to harass students, divulge unflattering secrets and spread false rumors. So, Shankles decided to create a rival Twitter account to tweet kind words to ridiculed students. The handle is linn_mar_love. But he knew he couldn’t take ownership of the account. Despite his advocacy work, Shankles is still bullied. He said he can’t walk home from school alone without having derogatory words shouted at him from cars. So he remained anonymous to keep his credibility. “You can pull through this! Stay strong! Don’t let him get to you ever,” he Tweeted to a student ridiculed by the bullying Twitter handle, which has since gone offline. Last week he officially revealed himself to be the author of the Twitter feed linn_mar_love and said he was approached by many students that were bullied. He said the trust they have shown him and has been amazing. “Within the past three days I have felt very empowered,” he said. “I have the power to make so much more.” Proud Mom Shankles isn’t the only one in the family to experience bullying. Bradley said she experienced bullying so extreme in her youth that it had a profound effect on her. That’s why Tracy Bradley is so proud of her son for getting past his depression and devoting himself to the well being of his classmates. “If I have done only one thing right in this life, it’s raising this kid,” she said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the path he has taken. It is not an easy one, and it takes more courage than I have, but he handles it with grace.”

holygoddamnshit:

HOW AN IOWA BULLIED GAY TEEN USED SECRET IDENTITY TO FIGHT BACK

Marion resident and Linn-Mar High School student Matt Shankles has made tremendous efforts to address bullying in his school.

by Scott Raynor, May 01, 2012, MarionPatch

Matt Shankles lost friends and self-esteem and his depression grew when his eighth-grade classmates learned he was gay. They bullied him relentlessly.

He one day locked himself in his bathroom and jammed the door shut with a drawer, intending to end his life with of a box of X-Acto blades.

“I hated myself more than I hate war,” said Shankles, 16, now a Linn-Mar High School sophomore. “More than I hate famine, more than I hate hate.”

Thankfully, Shankles didn’t die that day.

Rather than give in to his suffering, as do too many other bullying victims, he has devoted his high school career to fighting bullying. He has been reaching out and reassuring victims, advocating for anti-bullying legislation in our nation’s capitol and telling his painful story in front of the very classmates that still ridicule him.

Shankles’ story provides optimism to bullied children, and their parents, everywhere. And, it offers some hope in the battle against bullying and cyber-bullying less than a month after a gay Iowa teen took his own life. Kenneth Weishuhn Jr., 14, committed suicide after being teased and bullied by classmates at South O’Brien High School in western Iowa.

“I hated myself more than I hate war.”

The suffering was so great that his adolescent mind rationalized his escape from his burdensome depression like this: people that surpass suffering become angels.

“I feel like regardless of whether I am an actual angel or not, I feel like I can help people become angels themselves,” he said.

His advocacy has taken many forms. In addition to more routine support of bullying victims, Shankles has spoken at the Safe Schools Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. and served as co-president of a gay-straight alliance club called Spectrum. 

Shankles’ mother Tracy Bradley said was unaware of the bullying after he came out or that he contemplated suicide, until recently. She said she feels terrible that he went through so much of this suffering alone, but she said she is incredibly proud of the maturity, character and generosity that he has shown since the bullying began.

“Nobody is please when their child is bullied,” Bradley said. “At the same time I am proud. He is going to be a better human being — 10 times the person that a lot of bullies who never grow out of being bullies will be.”

Twitter Power

Shankles is most known around school for a Twitter account he started last fall.

Shankles said a Linn-Mar student started a Twitter account specifically to harass students, divulge unflattering secrets and spread false rumors.

So, Shankles decided to create a rival Twitter account to tweet kind words to ridiculed students. The handle is linn_mar_love.

But he knew he couldn’t take ownership of the account. Despite his advocacy work, Shankles is still bullied. He said he can’t walk home from school alone without having derogatory words shouted at him from cars. So he remained anonymous to keep his credibility.

“You can pull through this! Stay strong! Don’t let him get to you ever,” he Tweeted to a student ridiculed by the bullying Twitter handle, which has since gone offline.

Last week he officially revealed himself to be the author of the Twitter feed linn_mar_love and said he was approached by many students that were bullied. He said the trust they have shown him and has been amazing.

“Within the past three days I have felt very empowered,” he said. “I have the power to make so much more.”

Proud Mom

Shankles isn’t the only one in the family to experience bullying. Bradley said she experienced bullying so extreme in her youth that it had a profound effect on her.

That’s why Tracy Bradley is so proud of her son for getting past his depression and devoting himself to the well being of his classmates.

“If I have done only one thing right in this life, it’s raising this kid,” she said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the path he has taken. It is not an easy one, and it takes more courage than I have, but he handles it with grace.”

(via nonplussedbyreligion)

Filed under bullying teenager gay lesbian lgbt lgbtq lgbtqa

16 notes &

Fox’s O’Reilly, Carlson Warn That Glee Makes Kids Experiment With Homosexuality, Identify As Transgender

nonplussedbyreligion:

holygoddamnshit:

April 20, 2012 11:19 am ET by Carlos Maza

During the April 19 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly hosted a segment attacking this week’s episode of Glee for featuring a storyline about a transgender teenager struggling with her gender identity. O’Reilly was joined by Fox & Friends’ Gretchen Carlson and Judge Jeanine Pirro.

Throughout the segment, O’Reilly and Carlson criticized Glee for encouraging “dopey kids” to experiment with homosexuality and possibly identify as transgender, comparing LGBT youth to smokers and “drug-fueled” celebrities:

O’REILLY: Here’s the problem with a show like this, though. If you make the behavior of these people … if children hear it, unsupervised children, okay who don’t have parents watching their — they might go out and experiment with this stuff.

PIRRO: Do you really think that this is the kind of thing that’s contagious?

O’REILLY: I don’t know.

PIRRO: That if kids see this, that they’re going to say ‘gee, I want to be a girl even though I’m not going to wear my mom’s high heels tonight.’

[…]

O’REILLY: When I was a teenager and I saw James Dean smoking, it made me want to smoke.

[…]

CARLSON: I don’t think that watching Glee is going to suddenly make kids want to be transgender or suddenly make them wake up one morning and say that they’re going to be –

OREILLY: Experimentation. Experimentation.

CARLSON: But experimentation. I’m with you on this Bill because I wholeheartedly believe, in today’s society, that kids are experimenting with homosexuality. We see it in celebrities who maybe just do it on the side, and it may be drug-fueled.

[…]

O’REILLY: If you make it glamorous in a program like Glee, which is undeniably a good program… a lot of these dopey kids are confused about who they are. They’re confused.

PIRRO: Yeah, but you know what Bill, that’s one of the things you can’t change about yourself because you think it’s interesting or it’s new.

O’REILLY: But do you want to encourage experimentation in these areas?

[…]

CARLSON: Why do we have rules for anything then Bill?

PIRRO: We all parent our kids but you can’t parent their sexuality. You’re saying they have a choice in it.

CARLSON: No I’m not saying this is suddenly going to turn somebody gay, but I totally agree with Bill that this causes kids to experiment. And if we didn’t– why do we have any rules in society then if we don’t try and set some parameters for our children to live their lives? I just think that this is way over the top. [emphasis added]

O’Reilly and Carlson’s fear-mongering is reminiscent of last years Fox News meltdown over Chaz Bono’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars. Back then, medical professionals widely condemned the idea that transgender people on television could cause kids to identify as transgender.

John Oldham, president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), stated that there was “no evidence” that television shows could induce Gender Identity Disorder in young people. Dr. John Grohol, editor-in-chief of PsychCentral, agreed, writing that there isn’t a “shred of scientific evidence to support such a ridiculous premise.”

Previously:

Fox Hosts Tony Perkins To Condemn ICE For Providing “Cross-Dressing As Healthcare”

Fox’s Tantaros: We Just Found Out About Obama’s “Tranny Nanny”

Fox & Friends Criticizes “Topsy-Turvy” Sex Education Program For Including LGBT Issues

http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201204200002

Why is Bill O’Reilly still allowed to speak in public?  He’s such a despicable person. 

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