On June 20, 2011, I ran the in the Philadelphia leg of the officially unofficial Do Life Tour.

This is a picture of me, a complete sweaty mess, at the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps, just after completing all 3.1 miles in 31 minutes.

I’ve decided to move away from using my own child theme of Hybrid, in favor of TwentyTen Five, an HTML5-ified variant of the WordPress default theme. I’m slowly customizing the theme to include a Mighty Life List, an updated portfolio section and a few other features I have in mind. Suffice to say, things may be a bit weird around here until I get reorganized.

I’ve never really viewed the Advocate as even remotely relevant, but it was refreshing to see a mainstream publication—whose last cover featured Bruno in full leather garb—call out everyo ne one of us that has grown complacent enough to think that the mere mention of the word “gay” in a public address equals progressive action. I understand that President Obama began his term under unprecedented circumstances and that there is no man alive that could have lived up to all of the expectations in these first seven months, but I do think that many of us (myself included) have used patience as cover for laziness and I agree whole-heartedly with the writer that it is time to hold the president and his administration to our timeline and not wait for when it is politically advisable to make a move toward civil equality.

I’ve been engaged for a little less than three weeks, and I plan on being married this time next year. Is it reasonable to expect the government to recognize my marriage by the time my wedding takes place? I’m not going to hold my breath, but I still find it amazing that this is something I need to worry about in 2009. I am appalled that we are not leading the world in progressive civil rights and I’m glad that this article gave me a quick slap in the face.

At the beginning of this election season, Prop 8 seemed like a very small threat, it was lagging in the poled by nearly 20%. However, the Yes On 8 campaign received a huge infusion of cash that they were able to use to create a massive “Protect our children from the homosexual agenda” campaign. This infusion of cash came from many religious and conservative organizations but one in particular fronted the majority of the money. The Mormon Church is responsible for nearly 20 million dollars in OUT OF STATE contributions. This not only violates national law, it violates the Mormon Churches own Doctrine which states:

We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members, as citizens, denied.

Theelection is over, Proposition 8 was passed and the issuing of same sex marriage licenses has been suspended in California. The No On 8 campaign is continuing to fight; three suits have been filed against the proposition and there is a campaign under way to invalidate the proposition, as well as a campaign to educate the population of California and other affected states on gay issues. In the mean time, one possible option for recourse is to file a complaint with the IRS concerning the Mormon Church’s violation of the terms of their tax exempt status by attempting to influence legislation.

Below is a link to a website that explains how to file such a complaint, including a pre-completed form that just need to have your contact information added and can be snail mailed or e-mailed as a pdf attachment, directly to the IRS.

http://lds501c3.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/how-to-file-an-irs-501c3-complaint/

Also, this is a link to the Invalidate Prop 8 website.

http://www.invalidateprop8.org/

Any donation of $5 or more will be used to fund the legal battle that must ensue, and a postcard will be mailed to the president of the Mormon Church to inform him that a donation has been made in his name to fund organizations that seek to further the cause of human civil rights. Please take the time to visit these sites and if you have a few minutes to fill out a form or an extra five dollars to help a cause and send a message to the powers that hope to write bigotry into our legal documents, please do not hesitate.
Thanks so much.
Brad

As of 11pm last night, Barack Odama is our President Elect. It is impossible to communicate the importance of this victory. Obama comes at a time when the country needs hope, needs unity, and, more than anything, needs a new direction. In this election, we have had record voter turn out and, most importantly, the highest turn out of voters aged 18-30, in history. As a nation, we are moving beyond the hatred and fear of the past eight years, and choosing a leader who promises bipartisanship, equality and diplomacy. It is now up to each and every one of us to make damn sure that he follows through, and to do our best to keep the energy alive. The republican party, the religious fundamentalists, took a hit last night but, they are still a powerful force in our national politics and we need to keep up momentum if we are truly going to affect change in this country.

If you doubt this, just take a look at the result of anti-gay state ballots across the nation. Religious fundamentalism and social conservatism won out in Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and persumable California. Across the nation, while we are rejoicing in this milestone against racism, American voters are denying their fellow citizens basic rights.

This is the part where I usually get tripped up because, I have so much to say on the issue and no idea how to begin the discussion.

I don’t know where the blame lies. I’m angry at the Mormon church for igniting a holy war and providing funds for a campaign of lies and fear tactics. I hope you enjoy stripping individuals of their right to live and love freely as much as we are going to love overturning this hateful legislations. Also, I’d like to thank the factions within the LDS and other Religious organizations that opposed these actions. Nothing is more truly American than dissent.

More than my anger, actually, more than the hurt I feel over the seemingly nationwide hatred of LGBTQ Americans, I am apalled by the lack of support for the struggle for equality from within the LGBTQ community. Very recently, at this year’s pride, I had a conversation with a gay man from my home town that is opposed to gay marriage. Now, I understand opposition to marriage as an institution. I understand the wish to destroy an institution which has played such a vital role in the subordination of women, the embracing of strict gender binaries and the commodification of the mythic nuclear family; However, We can not impact the instution from an outsider’s position. It does not count as rejecting the status quo when we are denied entry to it.

Most of all, what I don’t understand is the self hatred that I see lurking beneath the surface of so many gay (face it, LGBTQ is fucking cumbersome) people, the internalized homophobia that stops so many people from standing up and asking for what they deserve.

Scratch that, I get it. I get the internalized homophobia. I understand that most of us grow up lying to everyone about what we want. I get that after being out to my friends and family for over 3 years, I am still kind of uncomfortable saying that a movie star is hot. I am completely aware of the fact that I catch myself before making those statements and then am angered that I just sensored myself, then blurt out the comment a little too late for it not to be awkward and let it linger, painfully aware that I just tossed out a token gay comment so as not to feel like I slipped back into the closet.

Please excuse this horrible digression, but as previously stated, this is usually where I get tripped up. Too many forests, too many trees.

The point it is, I understand the internal struggle that sometimes tends to  contaminate our authenticity. But just because I understand it does not mean that I am willing to allow it to continue. I will not tolerate gay on gay bigotry. We are not going to see progress until we love ourselves more than they hate us. Peopl are not going to stand up for us until all of us are standing up for ourselves and telling them this is what I want, and by voting with the fundies, by ignoring hate crimes, by asking us to stay closeted, you are commiting aggression towards me, as an individual, as an open, authentic person that wants my own damn slice of the pie.
So, I’m going to do my part and be the gayest, queeriest, bleeding heart, faggoty Pride Fest that I can be. And for the record: I want to get married. I want to hold hands in public, regardless of the neighborhood. I want to be able to say “my boyfriend”, without having to watch people physically digest the phrase.

Any actions you take to prevent these things from happening, I see as a direct act of aggression towards me, my family, and my right to happiness. But, bring it. Because I’m pretty sure I want them more than you want to take them away from me.

On a happier note. Congratulations America! We’ve elected the first black president, who also happens to be an inspiring figure and a capable leader. Today, we’re fucking awesome and we should party till it hurts. But, tomorrow there’s still going to be a lot of things to fix and I hope I see a lot of angry, motivated queers rolling up their sleeves.