Monday, March 8, 2010


Movies and TV shows with gay characters could be ineligible for a "family-friendly" tax credit in Florida under a little-noticed provision tucked into a $75 million incentive package that Republican House leaders hope will attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.

The bill would prohibit productions with "nontraditional family values" from receiving a so-called family-friendly tax credit. But it doesn't define what "nontraditional family values" are, something the bill's sponsor had a hard time doing, too.

"Think of it as like Mayberry," state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, said, referring to The Andy Griffith Show. "That's when I grew up — the '60s. That's what life was like. I want Florida to be known for making those kinds of movies: Disney movies for kids and all that stuff. Like it used to be, you know?"

[For the full article, see here.]

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: “It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including ’sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ ‘gender expression,’ or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly,” he wrote. Colleges that have included such language in their policies — which include all of Virginia’s leading schools — have done so “without proper authority” and should “take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the law and public policy of Virginia." (See here.]

In fact: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's campaign to make sure that every LGBT person can be fired for being gay is expanding to his state's public universities. (See here.)

And, of course, there is the Obama Justice Department aggressively affirming DOMA in federal court, even linking its need with the specter of incest and pedophilia should it be overturned; the Obama administration dragging its heels on rescinding DADT; Obama not signing a stop/loss executive order so that Gay military personnel wouldn't be discharged for being admittedly Gay; allowing same-sex marriage, or any civil right, to be put to a vote of the electorate; the continuous defaming and lies perpetrated by assorted professing "Christians" and politicians regarding Gay people; the erroneous appeal to selected verses of the Bible to erroneously and irrationally seek to justify hateful rhetoric that bears false witness and discrimination against Gay people.

It seems to me that the humiliation, indignities, and patent inequality visited upon LGBT people is about to reach a critical mass that demands (and will result in) expressed outrage in the form of meaningful, coordinated grassroots and organizational activism!

Frivolity; reveling in second-class sexual outlaw status and subcultures; demeaning and defaming oneself by use of pejorative and hateful words as self-identifiers; making nice with strident homophobes by trying to reason with them; allowing clergy and politicians to gain power, prestige, and wealth on the backs of LGBT people; in any way sticking a finger in the eye of potential Straight allies; giving credibility and money to homophobic churches by attending them; giving money to LGBT rights organizations and many professional "activists" that merely content themselves with being in proximity to influential politicians and drink the Kool Aid of feel-good rhetoric devoid of substantive civil rights gains, all the while frequently making a handsome living by so doing; allowing civil rights to be put to popular vote rather than having them adjudicated by the courts where they rightfully belong; settling for crumbs of incrementalism, such as Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions, and the like; denying the fundamental importance of the institution of marriage for same-sex couples; settling for anything less than the very same civil and sacramental rights that heterosexuals enjoy, are both retarding the cause of full and equal civil rights and also giving tacit permission for ignorant and/or mendacious clergy and politicians to externalize the hate in their hearts by using LGBT people as their targets for that hate.

Regardless of rhetoric or seeming "gains," separate is not equal!

Unless and until LGBT people and allies demand full equality for LGBT people, and do so in a coordinated and sophisticated fashion as occurred in the African American Civil Rights movement, increasing indignities, and even rescinding of some civil rights, will occur, as the strident homophobes will become increasingly emboldened in direct proportion to the psychological, social, and political lethargy of those whose very humanity and civil rights are on the line!
Share |


genevieve said...

There were non traditional families in the bible. There have always been non-tranditional families. What the GOP fails to realize is ethat not everybody has designs on the 'white picket fence' aura.

Jerry Maneker said...

Many people have a nostalgia for a life that never was, genevieve. That "white picket fence" ideal never really existed, save for some middle class White people. Best wishes, Jerry.

SaraChicaD said...

thanks for writing this blog jerry! i love it! you go boy! (this is sara ines, btw)

Jerry Maneker said...

Thanks so much, Sara. Best wishes, Jerry.

Leonard said...

Hi Jerry,

Nice piece...thanks, you have the power to keep my blood pressure perking along! (as if it wasn´t already).


Leonardo Ricardo

Jerry Maneker said...

Thanks so much, Leonardo. It's not by accident that I have to take two blood pressure medications. :)) Take care, Jerry.


Florida and Virginia are among the first states which should be targeted with a Gay Tea Party movement. Their anti-Gay laws are worth a few thousand dollars in tax rebates for Gay citizens. We've got to get serious about defunding legalized heterosexism!
BTW, Jerry, I take THREE blood pressure medications.

Jerry Maneker said...

That's a great idea, Don Charles. I just wish that the HRC had courage to meaningfully confront such obscenities, rather than content themselves with listening to pretty words from Obama and being in proximity to politicians who don't seem to give a damn about equal rights for LGBT people.

Also, I may be on the way to matching you, in that my blood pressure has risen again, so I might have to take three medicines for it. Getting older, and not being able to meaningfully relax, is not for wimps! Best wishes, Jerry.

Doctor Dolor said...

I just discovered this blog. And I love it. I shall continue to check and would love to contribute.

As far as what we can do, I totally agree that there is a huge amount of organization that needs to occur now. We need to stop letting politicians and religious leaders get away with their hate speech and hold them accountable for their actions and decisions.

Jerry Maneker said...

Thank you so much, Doctor Dolor. Unless the HRC becomes more activist and effective, it should be replaced by an LGBT rights organization that is activist and effective! With such an organization, it would be far easier to coordinate grassroots activism akin to that of the African American civil rights movement.

It may be, however, that grassroots activism will force the HRC to become more meaningfully activist, and taking it to the courts and to the streets will hasten the reality of equality for LGBT people. Best wishes, Jerry.

Unknown said...

I wonder about this same question all the time...