All I have to say is finally. It appears as if gay marriage will once more be legal and valid in California. Sure it’s only one state, but then there is what I like to call “California Syndrome”. It seems like when big events like this are passed in California, many other states follow suite soon after. I hope this trend will continue with the overruling of Prop 8.

Barring anything catastrophic, the way will be cleared for same-sex marriages on August 18. Personally, I just don’t see this getting overturned as an article I read said:

Legal standing, Ms. Cooper explains, dictates “you have to be directly affected by the outcome.” According to Walker, the backers of Prop 8 – the “proponents” – have not demonstrated that.

“If anyone is going to be ordered to implement Prop 8, that would have to be the state of California, and the governor and attorney general have made it clear that they have no interest in enforcing Prop 8,” says Cooper.

Essentially it comes back to one of my favorite rebuttals against those who oppose equal rights. If you don’t like gay marriages, nobody is forcing you to have one. Honestly, I fail to see how two women getting married would destroy somebody else’s marriage.

According to a press release sent to me by the American Atheists, an atheist advocacy group has encouraged gay priests to “resign from the church and reject the Vatican’s repressive teachings on homosexuality”. I have to say I agree.

The report also claims that as many as 60% of Catholic priests are gay.

This comes following an expose by the Italian weekly news magazine Panorama titled “Good Nights Out For Gay Priests.” Investigative journalist Carmelo Abbate who spent time undercover filming and interviewing gay clerics who often flaunted their lifestyle, and even hired male escorts for private parties. Panorama’s expose seems to confirm a 2000 study by Father Donald Cozzens whose book, The Changing Face of the Priesthood suggested that as many as 60% of American Catholic priests were gay.

The president of American Atheists, Ed Buckner agrees.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said, “In an institution where men and women are treated as equals–as human beings!–double lives (hypocrisy) aren’t necessary. These men should choose integrity, honest lives, not continuing support for unsupportable, irrational dogma that misleads millions and expands human suffering rather than easing it.”

That makes sense. I understand many priests are proud to be spreading the word of God and all, but they don’t need the Vatican to spout their nonsense. I’m not suggesting that they should leave their religion all together, but at least should distance themselves from this horrible organization.

I thought this was worth sharing:
I actually think Obama is going to make good on his LGBT promises. It’s about time too. It doesn’t matter who you love, in the end you should have the right to be happy. It sure is nice to have a level-headed and open-minded leader in charge.

Well Pastor Jeff Owens is a real class act. Here is a real loving set of things he recently uttered:

We need to stop burning flags and start burning fags. We need hunt-a-homo week. We need to take ‘em all out and shoot ‘em with a scatter shotgun

Are you fucking serious? Really? How could anybody say something like that? More importantly, how has any member of the lgbt community ever caused harm upon him? I highly doubt they have. If you don’t like the idea of a gay marriage(or abortion) simply elect to not have one. Your bigoted bullshit should not be allowed to control the choices available to other citizens of this country. If you are a Christian and he does not represent your beliefs, speak up! If you don’t this asshole is speaking for you. His congregation sure does seem to agree, and I’d embed the YouTube video but it appears to have been pulled.
Update:
Here’s the video

Like many things, this is an issue that pisses me off. I am talking about the ban on homosexual blood donation. It is absolutely senseless and detrimental to society. It isn’t a secret that there is not enough blood to go around. Everyday there are deaths from people who couldn’t obtain a transfusion, especially those who have a rare blood type.

This all started in 80s when everybody was going batshit over AIDS. Many people blamed gay people. So the FDA passed a provision to make things ‘safer’ for the recipients of blood transfusions. Any man who has had a sexual relationship with another man since 1977 is barred from giving blood. This is essentially a lifetime ban. The other groups who get this pleasant restriction are intravenous drug users and those involved in prostitution. Really it is based on homophobia and bigots assuming that a gay man is more likely to have AIDS. That is a moot point though, we have highly accurate tests for detecting HIV/AIDS and today gay people have a similar risk as straight people do.

In a situation where only 3 people per 100 donates blood, we should readily accept any healthy blood that is available. A person’s sexual orientation doesn’t affect it at all. It wouldn’t be so bad if this was just an old law that nobody really followed anymore, but sadly that isn’t true. The FDA has stood behind this provision.

In March 2006, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB and America’s Blood Centers proposed replacing the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact. New and improved tests, which can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection, make the lifetime ban unnecessary, the blood groups told the FDA.In a document posted Wednesday, the FDA said it would change its policy if given data that show doing so wouldn’t pose a “significant and preventable” risk to blood recipients.

…Critics of the exclusionary policy said it bars potential healthy donors, despite the increasing need for donated blood, and discriminates against gays. The FDA recognized the policy defers many healthy donors but rejected the suggestion it’s discriminatory.

No, it’s discriminatory.Please show me the difference between two clean blood samples, one from a straight man and one from a gay man. There isn’t a difference. Blood is blood.

Recently John Kerry has been campaigning to get this repealed.

In an op-ed published Wednesday in Bay Windows newspaper, Kerry called the ban a “cruel reality that I thought warranted a close examination of the justifications.

“The three largest blood donation organizations in our country — the American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers, and AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks) — all agree calling the ban ‘medically and scientifically unwarranted,’” wrote Kerry.

Gay rights group have also decried the practice both in the United Kingdom and the United States. The Gay Men’s Health Center reported last month that the ban was created at a time when the transmission of HIV was unknown and creates a stigma that is inconsistent because straight people who have sex with “commercial sex workers” only have to wait a year before donating blood.

Have I missed soemthing here? Anybody have a credible reason to continue banning gay people from donating blood? With such a lower amount of donors, shouldn’t we be looking to expand instead of decrease?

I reject the Pledge of Allegiance for two primary reasons: the stereotypical atheist’s “under god” and the line about “with liberty and justice for all”. Both these statements amount to nothing more than bullshit.

Let’s start with the under god part. It wasn’t even originally there. I’ll even quote the original incarnation of it:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

No reference to God. I mean the United States isn’t even founded on religious principals. Other than that issue, this form of the pledge is almost okay. Almost. Except for that one inaccuracy. Liberty and justice for all? When did that happen? It clearly is not in effect in America. We still have race issues, sexism, and bigotry. The greatest example of this in justice is the ban on gay marriage. How is that encompassing everybody’s right to liberty and justice? It isn’t. So I choose not to say the Pledge.

Some people say that my refusal to recite what is loosely a public prayer is anti-american. That simply is not true. I am proud of my country (generally) and I always stand up. Those who refuse to even stand when the Pledge is being recited are being disrespectful and rude. Instead I just stand there in silence whenever the oppurtunity occurs. Maybe one day we will have a society that not only promotes, but has liberty, justice and equality for all its citizens. On that day, I’ll be happy to say the Pledge. Minus the Under God of course.

I’m sure many of you heard about Uganda’s plan to kill homosexuals who have aids. Well Rwanda is taking a page from their book.

The change would have article 217 of their code say this:

Any person who practices, encourages or sensitizes people of the same sex, to sexual relation or any sexual practice, shall be liable for a term of imprisonment ranging from five (5) to ten (10) years and fine ranging from Two Hundred thousand Rwanda Francs (200.000 RwF) to one million (1,000,000)Rwanda francs.”

Nice. Notice the part I bolded. Especially the encourages part. So basically just standing up for somebody in the LGBT community can get you in trouble with the law. This is a major setback in human rights and free speech. Take action and spread this news to everbody you know.

I thought today would be the day that New York would become the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. I mean the movement practically started there right? Sadly it did not happen.

The New York measure needed 32 votes to pass and failed by a wider-than-expected margin, falling eight votes short in a 24-38 decision by the state Senate. The Assembly had earlier approved the bill, and Gov. David Paterson, perhaps the bill’s strongest advocate, had pledged to sign it.

This is getting ridiculous. Just because you hold the Bible as YOUR moral code, does not mean you can judge everybody with the same set of beliefs.Senator Eric Adams said it best:

But Sen. Eric Adams, D-Brooklyn, challenged lawmakers to set aside their religious beliefs and vote for the bill. He asked them to remember that once even slavery was legal.

“When I walk through these doors, my Bible stays out,” Adams said.

That is how it should be. Basically ALL the Republicans voted against the bill. Why? Why don’t other people have the right to be happy? Even more interesting, this verdict does NOT represent the majority of the population.

A Marist College poll released Wednesday showed 51 percent of those who live in New York state support same-sex marriage, while 42 percent oppose it.

This situation cries out with shocking similarity to the whole Maine debacle. Hopefully the bill will be presented again, or put up for a public vote.

I saw this over at Pharyngula today. The FUCK Uganda? Here is what is being proposed:

According to Clause 2 of the Bill, a person who is convicted of gay sex is liable to life imprisonment. But if that person is also HIV positive the penalty — under the heading “aggravated homosexuality” — is death.

The Bill has not been endorsed by the Ugandan government but it has allowed it to proceed, and some top officials are said to have praised it.

Yes you read that correctly. As if life imprisonment for being who you are is not totally batshit crazy enough, you put them to DEATH if they have HIV? There is already suggestions that AIDS is on the decline. The bill also spits in the face of free speech as well. More insanity follows:

The Bill proposes a three-year prison sentence for anyone who is aware of evidence of homosexuality and fails to report it to the police within 24 hours. And it would impose a sentence of up to seven years for anyone who defends the rights of gays and lesbians.

Basically this blog post would constitute a seven year jail sentance for me. Just for defending my fellow humans. I’m sure some of you are writing this off because Uganda is still a developing country and all that shit. Let us look at the origins of the bill. A group of AMERICANS known as “The Family“. Hell I’m sure I could walk to the corner of Main Street and Wall Street and sell this idea to plenty of my eager countryfolk. Spread the word about this, it is absolutely fucking nuts.