Jellynail’s Blog

Time for "gay panic" to end

nobody@vox.com(Jellynail) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:09:12 -0400

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticle...

Angie Zapata's killer claims that he simply "snapped" when he learned the woman he had begun to date was transgender. Thirty-six hours after the revelation, Zapata was dead, the victim of a brutal blunt-force beating with a fire extinguisher. She was 18 years old. The killer never disputed his culpability in the murder itself. The wealth of DNA and other evidence made an innocent plea impossible. Instead, his defense attorneys requested a reduced sentence on the ground that Zapata's gender was, in itself, a "provocation." This legal strategy, often referred to as "gay panic" or, in the case of Angie Zapata, "trans panic," is still depressingly common in American courtrooms. One part temporary insanity and two parts institutionalized bigotry, its very existence precludes the family members, friends and loved ones of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) murder victims the legal remedies others take for granted.

Society's attitudes on LGBT equality have changed, and it is time for the law to catch up. The legal profession must resolve to kill the gay panic legal strategy once and for all.

At its core, the gay panic tactic defines unwanted sexual advances or statements of one's identity from LGBT people as somehow more severe, or "provocative," than similar overtures between straight people. In our culture, most women, even before reaching adulthood, learn how to react to unwanted male attention: We simply say, "No." Our legal system offers no leniency to a woman who reacts violently to a pass from a man, no matter how undesirable she may find the offer.

Furthermore, any similar defense would be inconceivable in relation to other minority populations. Our legal system would not, for example, accept "race panic," as a legal strategy to someone accused of violence against people of color. In fact, the opposite is true. We often administer harsher punishments for violent acts that are directed specifically against other minority groups.

Yet in an LGBT-specific context, and only in this context, a sexual solicitation or a statement of one's gender is equivalent to an attack. Using this maneuver in court means that defense attorneys believe the victim's assertion of his or her orientation or identity is an actual threat. This is the very definition of discrimination.

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Federal judge taking long look at Prop. 8

nobody@vox.com(Jellynail) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:21:49 -0400

Federal judge taking long look at Prop. 8

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...

(06-30) 19:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge said Tuesday he's inclined to leave California's ban on same-sex marriage in effect for now, but wants an early trial to determine whether the voter-approved prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equality.

Unlike the last attempt to knock down Prop. 8, this one looks promising--and since it's happening at the federal level, the results could be massive. Basically, the defense will need to prove that there is a real and substantial reason to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. This will most likely include an attempt to show concrete damage to the foundation of male-female weddings, coupled with arguments that a child is best raised by one man and one woman. If this can't be done, and done solidly and conclusively, then the judges will announce that the law exists only as a tool for one group of people to discriminate against another group, and is therefore unconstitutional and thus invalid.

Attorney for the defense Brian Raum has already gone on record as saying he doesn't see the need for a trial, as Prop. 8 doesn't prohibit gays and lesbians from marrying--provided that they marry someone of the opposite sex. Yeah, things are looking up.

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Police celebrate Stonewall anniversary by raiding gay bar

nobody@vox.com(Jellynail) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:49:19 -0400

Police celebrate Stonewall anniversary by raiding gay bar

http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/ft...

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and Nancy Goldstein has a good piece up explaining how far gays and lesbians have come since then, and how far they have to go. She cites bans on gay marriage, higher poverty rates, lack of health care, and DADT as examples. Sadly, 40 years after the Stonewall raid that led to riots from gays who were completely fed up with the way the cops targeted gay clubs for harassment, gays and lesbians still have to face police raids of bars based on flimsy excuses that result in police brutality.

Is it a coincidence that the Ft. Worth police chose the anniversary of the Stonewall riots to raid a gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge and arrest 7 people (hospitalizing one, who may have bleeding on the brain, according to the Dallas Voice) for public intoxication? Did you even know it’s a crime to be drunk in a bar?

Update: Instead of apologizing, the Ft. Worth police department has now issued a press release stating that two patrons made "sexually explicit movements" while a third grabbed the groin of one of the officers. This "gay panic" defense has been refuted by every witness in the bar, including Todd Camp, a former reporter for the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. One of the people arrested remains hospitalized with a critical brain injury.

Update: Over a hundred protesters rallied on the steps of the county courthouse to demand an investigation into the conduct of the officers involved in the Rainbow Lounge raid. Afterwards, many marched up and down Main Street carrying signs. Another protest is scheduled for next Sunday.

Update: Dan Savage is all over this now. Not only is his synopsis of the events outstanding, but his readers have drummed up names, phone numbers, emails and mailing addresses for almost everyone involved in any way. This is also where I learned the Rainbow Lounge Raid has its own Facebook page.

Update: There's so much happening on this front now, I may have to make this be the last update, or I'll never stop writing stuff here. But Chief Halstead has suspended operations between his department and the TABC until his investigation into the Rainbow Lounge raid is completed.

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The argument for gay Jesus

nobody@vox.com(Jellynail) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:36:12 -0400

The argument for gay Jesus

http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr...

Judging by the anger among many Christians toward the Da Vinci Code book and movie, some find it difficult to wrap their minds around the concept of Jesus having been sexually active. The thoughts that he might have been gay are even more difficult to handle.

"J Richards" suggested that Mark 7:14-16 shows that Jesus approves of homosexual acts. The critical phrase reads: "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him..." Richards suggests that Jesus gave great emphasis to this teaching, directing it to everyone. Richards suggests that the sentence refers to dietary laws and also extends to "blood transfusions, medication, organ transplants, and artificial insemination" and to homosexual acts as well.

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12chan is back up again... no, really!

nobody@vox.com(Jellynail) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:27:09 -0400

12chan is back up again... no, really!

http://img.12chan.org/mjbcw/

The boys you want to give huggles to have returned once again! Better yet, the admins claim to be paying their fees quarterly now, so hopefully that means it'll stay up at least for the rest of summer. Not only that, but there are some hot new subdirectories, and apparently they've hired a developer to upgrade their software. Link takes you to the popular "Male Jailbait Camwhore" subdirectory; you should be able to navigate around the site from there. Please abide by the rules, and happy surfing!

Why is this important? Much like XY magazine, 12chan is one of the few media outlets willing to acknowledge the existence of GLBT people below the age of 18, and furthermore to give them voice in a way that isn't heavy-handed, moralistic and "politically correct." Despite its reputation, moderators actually work quickly to purge illegal content when troublemakers post it to the imageboards, and the posts are always being monitored. Each subdirectory has its own rules listed clearly at the top of the webpage, and when judicial developments alter the legal definitions of acceptable and unacceptable content, mods are quick to update the rules to reflect these decisions. Those who choose to violate the rules are quickly smote with the banhammer.

Update: And it's down again a day later, lol. There were rumors circulating about a DDoS attack by 4chan's /b/ board, and other rumors that someone was trying to start a chanwar. I have no idea, but I'll post here again if I see the feeds come back up.
Update: Up again after eight hours, not bad. Better than 7chan's doing, at any rate. Was down from about 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM on 6/20/09.
Update: Backup mirror site 12chan.crabdance.com is also up and running again.
Update: Both sites down 3PM 6/23/2009.
Update: Both sites up 4:30AM 6/24/09 (I'm on Central time).

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Read about the prom from 'sexual hell!'

nobody@vox.com(Jellynail) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:50:00 -0400

Read about the prom from 'sexual hell!'

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE....

Family advocates are outraged by a prom held at Boston City Hall that was open to children apparently as young as 12 featuring crossdressers, homosexual heavy petting, suspected drug use and a leather-clad doorman who teaches sexual bondage classes.

For clarification, I am posting this because it is ridiculous. I monitor WorldNetDaily's news feed because I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on what your enemies are saying about you, and because sometimes they actually turn up a meritous story that slips past more mainstream gay news sources. Remember, peeps--in with anger, out with love.

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