Why Punish Only the Mormon Church? Let's Get Them All

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Monday November 10, 2008 · 8:29 PM PST

2008/11/10 · 20:29

(This was originally posted on the Bilerico Project, America's best LGBT blog, by best-selling author Patricia Nell Warren.)

A movement is afoot to punish the Mormon Church by getting the IRS to strip them of their tax-exempt status. I agree 110 percent. But why stop at the Mormon Church? Let's see to it that all the "yes on 8" contributors are punished. A friend just sent me the complete list. See below, after the jump. The list is long, and astounding for its diversity -- Mormons, Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Protestant evangelicals and Pentecostals, you name it. Both churches and nonprofits are on the list. Every single one of these names should be stripped of their tax-exempt status by the IRS. Ditto the contributors in Arizona and Florida, where similar marriage bans were passed.

I've also seen mention of a boycott-Utah movement aimed at punishing the Mormon Church. The organizers want to target the state's tourist business and Sundance Film Festival. But here too, only a small part of the problem is being attacked.

The Bilerico Project

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Tuesday October 14, 2008 · 11:28 PM PDT

2008/10/14 · 23:28

(Originally posted on the Bilerico Project, America's best LGBT blog, by Alberta-based transactivist Mercedes Allen.)

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since July 19th, 2005, following a chain of events that began in a Court of Appeal in Ontario in 2003. It was the third country in the world to legalize it, after the Netherlands (2000) and Belgium (2003), and happened in a few Provinces before being recognized nationwide. In the end, the issue still came to a vote in the House of Commons (instead of, as many in the religious right will tell you, legislating done by judges) and it passed with 158 MPs for it (versus 133 against).

When the Conservatives came to power, they attempted to reopen the debate, and this motion was defeated by a vote of 175 to 123 on December 7th, 2006. By that time, people were used to over a full year of same-sex marriage existing, and typically called it a "non-issue."

And somehow, the country failed to implode.

The Bilerico Project

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Monday October 13, 2008 · 12:20 PM PDT

2008/10/13 · 12:20

(This was originally posted on the Bilerico Project, America's best LGBT blog, by transgender workplace issues consultant and law professor Dr. Jillian T. Weiss.)

It was a beautiful fall day as my partner and I drove upstate from New York City to enjoy the change of seasons in Northeast U.S.A. this past weekend. We enjoyed looking at the glorious colors of the foliage in my car, proudly emblazoned with an "Obama '08" sticker on the rear bumper of my Jeep.

Suddenly, from hundreds of feet behind, a red SUV accelerated madly, blowing the horn continuously as it careened within inches of our bumper. We were traveling at about 60 miles per hour, and just entering a sharp exit curve that required slowing to a speed limit of 40 mph. This is a dangerous situation for any vehicle, but especially to roll-over prone vehicles like my boxy, high and narrow Jeep. My heart pounded and my knuckles whitened as I wrestled the steering wheel into the curve.

The Bilerico Project

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Friday September 12, 2008 · 7:03 AM PDT

2008/09/12 · 07:03

Log Cabins simply hate being labeled as traitors to the LGBT community, and perhaps their complaints would be more credible if it weren't for statements like this:

Gay Democrats have confused Democrat party rhetoric with LGBT accomplishment.

As far as LCR Greater Cleveland is concerned, the political field is even.

American energy exploration and development, pro-growth prosperity, choice and competition in education, secure US borders, peace and security for the people in Iraq and Afghanistan, and national security will be the centerpieces of this presidential election. Log Cabin Republicans believe in these American ideals. Gay Democrats do not.

John McCain and Sarah Palin are the best team for the White House in 2009.

I think this statement mocks itself.

The Bilerico Project

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Tuesday September 09, 2008 · 10:26 AM PDT

2008/09/09 · 10:26

Funding for and against Proposition 8 in California, the amendment to ban same-sex marriage (9/5 numbers, in millions of dollars):

	For	Against	Total
California	$8.8	$5.3	$14.1
Out-of-state	$4.0	$5.0	$9.0
Total	$12.0	$10.2	$22.2

The Bilerico Project

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Sunday September 07, 2008 · 6:15 AM PDT

2008/09/07 · 06:15

Courtesy of Bil Browning:

Each of the big speakers at the Republican convention spoke in front of a giant screen with giant photos to help out make their point.

Rudy Giuliani spoke in front of the NYC skyline to highlight the fact that he'll use 9/11 for whatever purpose pops into his head.

Sarah Palin spoke in front of Mount Rushmore to highlight the fact that she has more executive experience than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln combined.

And John McCain stood in front of a middle school that has the same name of what he wanted to stand in front of, because his campaign's incompetent.

The Bilerico Project

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Tuesday August 26, 2008 · 5:17 PM PDT

2008/08/26 · 17:17

As we were walking around downtown Denver yesterday, we ran into a couple of protests that were worth sharing.

First was the group of Hillary Supporters walking around with huge pro-Hillary banners and chanting, "Elected not selected." The crowd wasn't that large, but they were attracting quite a bit of attention.

More on the Hillary protest and the anti-gay protest below the fold.

The Bilerico Project

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Friday August 22, 2008 · 6:02 AM PDT

2008/08/22 · 06:02

Going back to Rick Warren's presidential forum earlier, this week, I think it's important to point out this little bit of anti-gay dog-whistling going on:

Neither candidate shied away from a question about which current Supreme Court justice they would not have nominated.

Obama's reply: Clarence Thomas.

"I don't think he was a strong enough jurist or a legal thinker at the time for that. I profoundly disagree with his interpretation" of the Constitution, he said.

McCain said he would have never nominated Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, David Souter and John Paul Stevens.

"This nomination should be based on the criteria on a proven record of strictly adhering to the Constitution and not legislating from the bench," McCain added.

Those are the exact people sitting on the bench, minus Kennedy, who voted in favor of the Lawrence v. Texas decision that banned sodomy laws. He pretty much said that he wants to recriminalize homosexuality.

The Bilerico Project

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Monday August 04, 2008 · 8:31 AM PDT

2008/08/04 · 08:31

I'm going to put my neck out on the line by making a prediction. Barack Obama will announce his vice-presidential choice Wednesday morning. It will be Indiana Senator Evan Bayh.

While Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza has positioned Bayh at the top of the heap for a few weeks now, after getting tips to Bilerico-Indianaand making some logical conclusions the choice is obvious. Why?

Multiple reasons after the jump - including an inside scoop from an Obama staffer on an upcoming event.

The Bilerico Project

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Thursday July 24, 2008 · 9:53 AM PDT

2008/07/24 · 09:53

I am an authentic American Negro. I'm descended from freemen and slaves, slave bosses and slave owners, and the Native people who gave them sanctuary, family and hope. I say all this to offer my credentials, my Certificate of Authenticity, so you know I'm qualified to speak for at least one Black person: me. Now, so you don't get confused, that doesn't mean I'm suggesting that I am authorized to speak for all the Negroes of the Great Diaspora (settle!), but as a wise, old white guy (Carnegie, Zigler, Bozo? I'm not sure and don't care to look) said: "I've lived this life and I have the right to talk about it." The current debate over the use of the "n-Word" (that's "nigger," in case you're confused) has become so nettlesome that it has set the flower of fecund, white womanhood tearfully a-twitter.

Pay close attention, people. This is terribly important and very few of my ilk will say this, even in sotto voce.

The "n-word?" Use it. You have my express permission. Let me break this down.

The Bilerico Project

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Wednesday July 23, 2008 · 5:12 AM PDT

2008/07/23 · 05:12

Above is a letter sent from the RNC treasurer to a Republican and fundamentalist activist in Indiana. The text version is after the jump.

The letter reads like it's begging Kristen to come back to into the party's arms.

Notice how quickly Tim Morgan asks if Kristen's "given up." It's the first thing that comes to his mind, apparently, and then he accuses her of deserting the party. I knew the GOP base was depressed, but I didn't know that it was actually sad.

The Bilerico Project

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Tuesday July 22, 2008 · 5:01 PM PDT

2008/07/22 · 17:01

This guest diary came to us at The Bilerico Project from Minnesota Congressional candidate Ashwin Madia. He wanted to share with us his experiences fighting against discrimination in the military and ask for the blogosphere's help in his competitive race to take a Republican's seat. More info below the fold.

I am a Marine Corps veteran, an Iraq war veteran and the Democratic candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Third District, so I hear a lot about patriotism these days. But real patriotism sometimes means taking on the system if you know what you're doing is the right thing. As a Marine Corps lawyer, I was one of the first attorneys to successfully defend a gay Marine from discrimination by the military.

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Why Punish Only the Mormon Church? Let's Get Them All

Three years of same-sex marriage in Canada and the sky hasn't fallen

When McCain supporters attack

Gay Republicans call gay Democrats traitors

Please help fight the marriage amendments in CA, AZ, and FL

John McCain in one photo

Anti-gay protest and pro-Hillary protest in Denver, with photo and video

John McCain promises to re-criminalize homosexuality

Obama will name Bayh his VP choice on Wednesday

The N-Word? Please, Use It Any Way You Can

Sad, sad RNC donation letter

Ashwin Madia: Beating Discrimination, One Battle at a Time