If you haven’t heard, Terry Bean, co-founder of HRC and democratic party mucky-muck, has been arrested.

Note the headlines:

From Willamette Week:

Terry Bean Arrested on Charges of Sex Abuse of a Minor

Bean will be charged with two counts of sodomy in the third degree, a felony, and sex abuse in the third degree, a misdemeanor

Oregon recently legalized same sex marriage.  Sodomy is probably the most likely way to consummate that marriage.  Why is Oregon still pressing charges for it?

Why is it a FELONY?

Terry Bean is being charged with both sodomy as well as sexual abuse with a minor.  I think most people can see the harm that can come from sexual abuse with a minor and any sane analysis would correctly attribute that kind of offense as the more serious of the two.

Yet despite this, the sodomy charges are FELONIES while the sexual abuse with a minor are only MISDEMEANORS.  What harm does sodomy cause?

Our legal system and criminal code still has work to do to catch up with the public’s approval of same sex relationships.

This is just an example of how discrimination is still embedded in the system.

Last week, after Campaign Tech West, I joined Karen Jagoda, President of the E-Voting institute and host of Digital Politics Radio (Podcast) for a interview. If you tend to be more oral and aural, this is better than a blog post

We discussed many of the cultural and engineering challenges campaigns and non-profits face when applying technical assets and resources to their goals. In the interview, you’ll hear me run my mouth about:

• What does “Tech” mean? What’s the difference between Digital and Tech?
• What is the current tech, or engineering talent landscape look like?
• As technical resources and assets have rapidly shifted from ancillary to strategic, what challenges exist within campaigns and their internal departments that limit us and what an approach to overcoming them can look like.
• What engineering and integration problems are limiting us and what is an approach to overcoming them?
• What’s the history and cause of the formation of the Open Supporter Data Interface (OSDI)?
•  The cleanliness state of multiple siloed datasets in organizations.

More necessary theater to get where we need to go.

I just came back from the SOTU speech after the 2014 mid terms in the time machine:

“During my childhood and upbringing I had accepted the common societal social morals including the view that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. However, over the past few years I have been exposed to the lives of a great many people. As President, I have met more people over a wider spectrum of the population and as a result gained a more informed and deeper understanding of the perspective of those people.

Over the last few years, I have learned a great deal about the lives of Gay and Lesbian Americans. From meeting these wonderful people and getting to know their families, children and friends, I have seen for myself the true love and deep commitment that gay and lesbian couples share in their relationships. I have found that the children in these families share the ups and downs, pleasures and disappointments, and loving care from their parents and are blessed to have such great families.

I am grateful to these Americans for sharing this knowledge with me which has taught me many lessons. The fundamental truth that cannot be denied is that these couples and families deserve the same recognition and those of a man and a woman. Through the heartfelt conversations I have had with new friends, staffers, my own family, and especially my wife Michelle, who has helped me see my own sense of compassion and the parallels to previous civil rights issues, I have evolved my view of this issue to a higher level.

Based on these experiences, I can no longer view marriage as solely the union of one man and one woman. Gay and Lesbian couples and families deserve the same recognition, rights, and benefits as any other. I support the recognition of same sex couples across the nation and the repeal of DOMA.

I implore our elected representatives to look deep inside themselves and explore the issue as I have, and to move forward to take the appropriate steps to see that these relationships are recognized equally, to those of a man and a woman.

Here’s a little humor to get the new year started…

In 2009, Washington State voters faced Referendum 71, an attempt to repeal the state’s Domestic Partnership Equality law.  The attempt ultimately failed as the Approve71.org campaign, under the brilliant stewardship of campaign manager Josh Friedes with his assistant, Anne, won the day.   In Washington State, wherever the state law says “spouse”, “domestic partner” is legally equivalent.

In order to get Referendum 71’s on the ballot, its supporters needed to gather the required number of signatures on petitions.  To combat this, a “decline to sign” campaign was in place.  Regrettably, the referendum did qualify for the ballot, though the repeal attempt ultimately failed.   One of the challenges in this campaign was the fact that prior to being on the ballot, our position was in the negative “decline to sign” petitions while once on the ballot our position was in the affirmative “Approve 71.”

Our goal was to have people decline to sign the petitions so that Ref71 would not make the ballot.  Had it not made the ballot, the Domestic Partnership rights would have remained in effect without the need for a popular vote.

This ad was recently found on the cutting room floor.  Unfortunately Dan Savage couldn’t get the message right.  Despite being off-message, one must wonder if the decline2sign71 campaign might have been successful had it been released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3WJr7K10U0

… and thank you to the activists, legislators and lobbyists who took action to make this happen. 

I recently moved to Manhattan in the Chelsea neighborhood.  Tonight I went out to a coffee shop to do some work.  The repeat of DADT has lifted my spirits in the struggle.  However,  I can’t help but overhear the conversation going on at the next table and it’s making my blood boil.  Two gay guys are discussing why they don’t go to rallies or other activist events.  They are explaining to each other why they don’t. 

“I don’t go because I just don’t run into discrimination or other problems.  I don’t get kicked out of places or called names…”

The two of them went on about it and how some of their friends go, but they don’t.  I couldn’t stand it. 

“You don’t run into it because you live in Chelsea, a gay Mecca situated in a very gay friendly metro area!” I thought to myself.

“I’ve even been to Georgetown DC, and I don’t even run into trouble there…”

“Georgetown DC?  That’s your example of a conservative place?  Try going to Provo UT and holding a guy’s hand.  See what kind of looks you get there, dickhead.”  I rambled to myself.

I just could. not. stand. it. 

I stood up and went over to their table.  I told this guy that the reason he doesn’t run into these issues is because he lives in a gay mecca, but more importantly because others who came before you stood up and marched so your life could be better. You need to start doing the same! 

This so infuriates me how many gay people aren’t taking action to help the cause.  They aren’t working hard to make sure that the future generation of gay folk will have it better than we do.  It’s like parents and the refrain of “Making a better world for our children”

Why aren’t we paying them back by doing so?

Well, I’ll tell you someone who is.  It’s that “Do Nothing Obama.”  The repeal of DADT was not singlehandedly won by him.  There were other legislators and many many tireless activists who helped make this happen.

However, President Obama stood up, addressed the country and the government and put a stake in the ground, pushing them to repeal DADT.  It happened.  It happened sooner than I thought it would.  This is HUGE.

There are many people with power, money and influence who did NOT want to see this happen.  Obama stood up to them.  He stood up to those who say:

“[The House of Representatives approval of a “hate crimes” provision within the defense authorization bill] also sets us on a slippery slope toward serious infringements of the freedom of speech and freedom of religion. ‘Hate crime’ legislation will lay the legal foundation and framework for investigating, prosecuting and persecuting pastors, business owners, and anyone else whose actions reflect their faith.”
~Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council

• “[F]reedoms are being lost.”
~Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in La Mesa, California

• “As has proved to be true in both Europe and Canada, this Orwellian piece of legislation is the direct precursor to freedom killing and speech chilling ‘hate speech’ laws.

“It represents a thinly veiled effort to ultimately silence – under penalty of law – morally, medically and biblically based opposition to the homosexual lifestyle.”
~Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel

• “This new federal law promotes two Orwellian concepts. It creates a special class of persons who are ‘more equal than others’ based on nothing more than deviant, sexual behavior. And it creates ‘thought crimes’ by criminalizing certain ideas, beliefs, and opinions, and the involvement of such ideas, beliefs, and opinions in a crime will make it deserving of federal prosecution.  

“Consequently, government officials are claiming the power to decide which thoughts are criminal under federal law and which are not.”
~Robert Muise, Senior Trial Counsel for the Thomas More Law Center

• “There are no ‘love crimes’ when it comes to violence. The reality is that so-called ‘hate crime’ laws are designed to punish people for what they think, feel, or believe.

“Violent crimes should be punished regardless of the characteristics of the victim. ‘Hate crime’ laws are an effort to enforce the orthodoxy of political correctness and to curtail freedom of speech.”
~Glen Lavy, Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund

• “But ‘hate crime’ laws are unnecessary. Criminal acts are already illegal. What’s more, ‘hate crime’ laws violate the constitutional right to equal protection, create the un-American offense of “thought crime,” and abridge the freedoms of speech, religion and association.”
~Robert Knight and Lindsey Douthit for the Concerned Women For America

There are lots of people who agree with these crazy statements.  Obama has made himself a target of these people.  I sure hope we have his back when he runs for reelection.

Furthermore, as far as the implementation of DADT Repeal, let’s not jump all over the administration for working out training and readiness schedules.  There are plenty of serving men and women who agree with Col. Bill Spencer and his wacky worries about repeal. 

Let’s not forget that there are more than a handful of homophobes running around with guns, grenades and other weapons.  I want to make sure that those people are identified, educated, or weeded out.  I want to make sure that our own people are educated on how to deal with homophobia in a way that does not escalate into a gunfight.  I don’t want to see LGBT men and women coming home in body bags due to homophobic fragging incidents.

There is a difference between “serving among gay people” as they have been and serving around out and proud gay people who will not be shy about who they are (and good for them!).  If there wasn’t then why was repeal so important?

Everyone needs to continue to do their part on our various battles.  This shit doesn’t happen by itself.  It happens because people like activists, legislators and presidents stand up and lead; they take action not just for themselves but for others.

Obama has kept his word.  Surely he has earned some trust on this issue, no?  I suggest we have some patience and let him continue to lead rather than jumping all over him because the law doesn’t go into effect when he signs the law.

Read up on the desegregation timeline and the fiction of “stroke of a pen”…

Check out the recent Family Guy episode "Quagmire’s Dad". You can watch the episode here:

http://www.fox.com/fod/play.php?sh=familyguy

In it, Quagmire’s dad, who’s a decorated war hero, get’s a sex change.

I was expecting the usual funny episode:  a bunch of funny moments that push the limit, followed by an ending which teaches the right lesson.  The setup of Quagmire’s dad, of all people was great.   I watched this episode and was surprised.  I’m a fan of family guy.  I am usually pretty flexible in appreciating their humor even when some of the jokes (if taken by themselves) are homophobic, racist or otherwise discriminatory.  Often they are funny representations of how people react in the real world to these situations.  However, what was different about this episode is that it was missing the usual part where they come around on the issue and show those responses to be unenlightened.  Instead the episode ends on a negative note, with Brian frantically washing himself in the shower to "wipe off" his experience of having sex with the transgendered person (Quagmire’s dad is now Ida).  The closing scene is him getting his ass kicked by Quagmire. 

Brian is usually the character most likely to see through phobia and see people and accept them for who they are.  That he didn’t makes me wonder where the heads of the creators of Family Guy.  I had to rewind and re-watch the end to check that there was no finale that I missed or at least a "to be continued".

The Other Side of the Rainbow writes:

I am making a complaint and setting up a facebook page to boycott Family Guy. The series used to be ok but over the last year or so has been getting more and more intolerant of all marginalized people.

The creators of Family Guy should be called on the carpet to be address this.  The boycott is our natural response to these kinds of offenses.  However, I hope that we can add some demands that can turn this into a positive experience.  Perhaps have the petition demand that the creators do something that helps the community.  Pulling the episode is one option.  Making a follow up episode where Brian comes around is another.  At the least, they should publicly help educate people in transgender issues, assuming they are teachable.