Will Always Be at Your Side

It has been four months since I've been covering stories about gay issues in America. Even though I am neither gay nor American, I found myself deeply interested and moved by the struggle and spirit of American gay community. Most importantly, I meant every words I wrote. This is sadly my last posting.

American gays have gone through a lot. They were overjoyed on their success when Massachusetts declared the possibility of same-sex marriage.

Four more years of Bush was a major blow. There was hurt, bewilderment, trauma, and betrayal. I was deeply disappointed, stunned and mad as hell when I found out that there were still a huge number of gays who voted for one of biggest enemies of gays in America, George W. Bush. We all know where he stands, he always intends to hurt gays. I was even more angry when eleven states voted strongly to ban gay marriage, and that more states will try to make this nationwide.

Conservative Americans, being hypocrites as they always are, will never compromise. They can't help intruding into other people's business. The problem is the religion, but you cannot impose your religion on others.

Sex has always been an issue. And being different doesn't always help.

We all deserve the freedom to marry. Gays, sadly, have to fight for their rights to marry their loved ones and to adopt children. Community needs to understand that the reason they want marriage equality is the same reason everyone else does, to protect and provide security for their relationship and their children.

And what is a 'Civil Union'? If gays want to make sure that they are not second class citizens, they shouldn't accept such a discriminatory term. The union of a couple is always called a 'marriage' and let it be the term for now and forever.

It is a long and a winding road, and there is a longer and tougher battle ahead. I have faith in them.

After all, not everyone out there is a hater.

Four More Years of Discrimination

On Tuesday, six months after gay and lesbian couples won the right to marry in Massachusetts, 11 states approved constitutional amendments codifying marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution.

Voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah all approved anti-same-sex marriage amendments.

Eight of the 11 states also intended to ban civil unions, thereby throwing up yet another roadblock to any kind of equality under the law. Opponents of gay and lesbian marriage are also pushing a federal constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage nationwide.

Supporters of legal ban on gay marriage were overjoyed that their stance had been so heavily endorsed across the country.

Gay activists were angry but not surprised at the development and vowed that the fight for legal equality for homosexual was far from over.

Gays have lost the battle, but process of winning the war has just resumed.
But did gays actually try to stop Bush?
No, they didn't.

Amazingly enough, despite Bush's vocal support for the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment, and Republicans' successful passage of anti-gay marriage ballot amendments in 11 states, Bush received 21% and 23% of the GLBT vote. It was about the same percentage he received in the 2000 election, according to a data from CNN and The Washington Post.

Kerry's camp on the other side clearly failed to win over any significant number of gay and lesbian voters who had previously supported Bush.

We all know that gay Americans will not be better off under the second Bush term.
So, why didn't they stop him?
Because they don't want it enough.

If gays are to preserve their success in Massachusetts, they need to devote their time and resources to convince the court and countrymen that lesbians and gays have fundamental right to marry.

It is an uphill task. But they should prove they are not second-class citizens.

Stand Up, STOP BUSH!!!

The election is just around the corner. Gays have to make sure that George W. Bush the “big bully” will not run for office for four more years of divisive policies.

The whole gay community is against Bush and determined to prevent him by going to the ballots on Nov. 2.

America has an estimated 28 million homosexuals. The figure should be enough to stop Bush from winning the upcoming election.

American gays should be more active than they have ever been in opposing Bush.

Gay community leaders said the community felt insulted by the stance of the Republican administration and party, which at its national convention in September adopted a conservative platform strongly rejecting calls for gay marriage and abortion rights.

Seven states have scheduled votes on constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Efforts are under way to qualify initiatives in six more. George W. Bush used his Saturday radio address to urge support for the amendment. Worse, in the U.S. Senate, a preliminary vote is scheduled on an amendment that would ban same-sex marriages nationally.

Will you let this happen?

The damage that exclusion from marriage has done to gay lives and gay culture comes not just from being unable to marry right now and right here but from knowing that law forbids them to marry at all.

Gays know they deserve the same legal protections as heterosexuals. Anything less than nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage seems both unjust and impractical. That's why, they have to make sure noone is discriminated against.

So, what are you waiting for? Can you not feel the danger? Get on your feet now, cast your vote for Kerry. He has been one of the strongest supporters of gays in Congress, and he will offer Americans a fresh start of a hopeful future.

Love is What Makes A Family

“Is it better that a child remains in a dysfunctional, violent or homeless situation rather than be with people who are prepared to provide love, a home and education?”

Since when does the ability to love and nurture a child depend on gender? If people out there were to be honest with themselves, they would admit that a man and a woman does not make a family, love does.

Same-sex couples choose to have children. With other couples having a child that is sometime a “surprise” or a “mistake”, isn't it better to be a child that is placed into a home where it is wanted?

I believe that children need a loving, caring, and safe environment to grow up. Nothing else matters. They need to know and feel that they are loved. Anyone, no matter what sexual orientation or marriage status, that can provide this to a child should have the chance to fulfill those needs.

There are plenty of non-heterosexual couples who do a great job with this particular hard job. Gay adoption is not a gay rights issue. It's about the rights of the children to be loved and to have parents.

These days, there is a serious shortage of couples of any kind willing to adopt children.

It's time for the society to accept same-sex relationship and gay adoption. People with religious views might get upset with this idea. Well, “Screw them!” It's not like they will take care of those abandoned children and provide them with better care. Not only these people are very pessimistic about the human race, they are also prejudiced and ignorant.

There is not a shred of evidence suggesting any harm from a parent's sexual orientation. Research finding says that children of same-sex parents are as psychologically and emotionally healthy as those of heterosexual parents.

George W. Bush, gay adoption should be legal. Anything less is illegal and immoral.

If I Were Gay, I Would Not Vote For Bush

There are many reasons why gays shouldn't vote for President George W. Bush. To begin with, the Bush's administration repeatedly uses gay rights as a political tool to divide the nation What a shameful thing to do!

President Bush stated that he called upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife only. He said he wants to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever; therefore, he must enact a constitutional amendment to protect the “sanctity of marriage” between men and women in America.

In addition, President Bush took a hard line against gay adoption during the 2000 campaign and has maintained it.

To make things worse, according to The Advocate, “George W. Bush has privately told friends that his fondest hope is to find a way to ban adoptions by gays.”

Senator John Kerry, on the other hand, believes that every American should have the opportunity to succeed and to live the American dream. Discrimination has no place in a nation founded on the principles of freedom.

Kerry will use the power of the White House to support equal rights for all Americans, including gay Americans. Kerry said that there is no need for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. He will find a way to provide all American families with full and equal rights.

One of Kerry’s first acts as a U.S. Senator was to introduce a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He supports passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and has adopted a nondiscrimination policy for his Congressional offices based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Kerry believes that same-sex couples should be granted rights, including access to pensions, health insurance, family medical leave, bereavement leave, hospital visitation, survivor benefits, and other basic legal protections that all families and children need.

So, now you know who you will vote for. Not Bush.

A Material “Selfish Hedonist”

“I think the American people deserve to know he is willing to sell out his daughter for votes. It says something about his characters”

Mary Cheney, 35, is one of the two Vice President Dick Cheney's daughters. An open lesbian, Mary is a slightly awkward reality for a family identified with conservatives family values.

Republican candidate for an Illinois seat in the U.S. Senate, Alan Keyes, described homosexuality as “selfish hedonism” and confirmed Mary Cheney as a “selfish hedonist” by definition during an interview with a radio station.

Mary held a public role as her father's assistant in the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign.

After her father became a veep, Mary joined the gay-friendly Republican Unity Coalition and gave speeches encouraging the Grand Old Party, US Republican political party, to reach out to women, minorities and gays.

“We can make sexual orientation a nonissue for the Republican Party, and we can help achieve equality for all gay and lesbian Americans”, she said in an April 2002 statement.

Mary also helped the GOP recruit gay voters during the 2002 midterm elections.

DearMary.com is a news web site targeting Mary to pressure her to use her influence inside the Bush administration. The site calls Mary out for being “silent since her father endorsed anti gay constitutional amendments making her and millions of Americans second class citizens”.

Within an hour of its launch on Feb. 13, the site attracted 100 emotional letters pleading with her to weigh in against a constitutional amendment. In the letters on the site, gays have a lot of hope that Mary would stand by them. The community believes that Mary, as an open lesbian who has worked for years as a public advocate for gay civil rights, has a unique position to defend herself and her gay community.

But when Mary joined the 2004 campaign last year as director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, she quit the coalition and seemed to fade into her own undisclosed location.

Mary Cheney has answered the call by running anti gay dad's re-election campaign in exchange for 100,000/year.

The Angry and Frustrated Gay Republicans

“Marriage between a man and a woman isn't something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend.”

Gay Republicans are furious at the President George W. Bush's backing of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

"It is impossible to overstate the depth of anger and disappointment caused by the president's support for an antifamily constitutional amendment. This amendment would not only ban gay marriage, it would also jeopardize civil unions and domestic partnerships," said Chris Barron, political director of Log Cabin Republicans, a gay and lesbian Republican organization.

Gay Republicans said they want President Bush at least express support for issues like legal benefits for gay couples. They see their expectations as moderate and reasonable, yet they get little sympathy from their own party.

Gay republicans are still licking their wounds from Bush's bid earlier this year to amend the Constitutions to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples.

There were one million gay and lesbian voters who cast their ballots for President George W. Bush four years ago, according to a 2000 exit poll data.

The national board of Log Cabin Republicans called Bush "disloyal" to the 1 million gay men and lesbian women who supported his candidacy four years ago.

Today, gay Republicans who support gay rights warned President Bush that they will desert him in November if he doesn’t change course on gay rights.

Some of gay Republicans said they will drop their fund-raising efforts and no longer plan to vote for Bush. Others even said they won't vote for Bush at all.

Now the disappointed gay Republicans said they intend to fight the amendment on the platform committee and work against a second Bush term.

This will cost Bush not only the estimated 1 million gay voters—a quarter of the gay vote—who supported him in 2000, but like-minded swing voters too.