GLBT Sensitivity Creeping Into the Sports World

Ozzie Guillen, the manager of baseball's Chicago White Sox, got himself into some hot water this week. Guillen, who led the White Sox to the World Series championship last season, has proven to be a goldmine for reporters looking for quotes because he'll say just about anything regarding just about any topic. It was a comment he made to one of those sportswriters that has caused Guillen to get into trouble.

In a fit of anger last Tuesday night, he called Jay Mariotti, long-time sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, a "fag." I find it interesting that the reaction has been swift and fairly harsh toward Guillen. He has been fined by baseball Commisioner Bud Selig and ordered to take sensitivity training. Guillen was also suspended for one game. According to 365gay.com, this was not Guillen's first time throwing around that particular "f" word

In a statement, Selig said, "Ozzie Guillen used language that is offensive and completely unacceptable. Baseball is a social institution with responsibility to set appropriate tone and example. Conduct or language that reflects otherwise will not be tolerated. The use of slurs embarrasses the individual, the club and the game." Good stuff from a "leader" who often can't get out of his own way.

Later comments from Guillen show his resistance toward taking any sensitivity training, blaming the outrage on the allegedly different meaning of the word fag in his native Venezuela (coward instead of homosexual). He also gives a laughable explanation of why he does not hate gays, stating that goes to WNBA games, has attended a Madona concert, and plans on attending the upcoming Gay Games in Chicago.

Whatever. I know most of the readers here don't give a rat's tushie about Ozzie Guillen or the Chicago White Sox. I tell this story, however, to point out that mindsets are changing toward acceptence of GLBT people, even in the testosterone-laden world of professional sports. There's a long, long way to go, but the needle is slowly moving in the right direction.

Do You Want Your Lesiglator to Preach?

Think about that question. How comfortable would you be if someone representing you in either your local or the federal legislature stood up at the microphone and started preaching the Gospel of Jesus? What if he wrote a devotional in his newsletter originating from the state or U. S. Capitol? Even if you agree with what was said, I suspect most of you would share the same type of discomfort I would feel.

Let's flip that scenario around. Why is it then okay for church officials to push for specific legislation from the pulpit and/or in their church's newsletters? I don't think it is okay, yet the most recent example of that is occurring right now in Colorado.

According to this report on 365gay.com, Roman Catholic churches throughout Colorado will be working to collect signiatures for two ballot measures, one that would restrict the rights of same-sex couples, the other that would amend the state Constitution and ban same-sex marriage.

My point here is not to adress the speficic initiatives, but rather condemn the Catholic Church in that area for stooping to the level of a political operative. I understand their position on these measures are consistent with the teachings of the church. I respect their right to share that view from the pulpit in the same way that they would preach about various sins that we can all agree about, such as violence and adultery. Adressing the fact that there are almost certainly some closeted gay priests doing the church's bidding here is another issue.

I don't want to see any political initiative debated from the pulpit of my church, even if it is one that would favor the GLBT population that largely makes up our congregation.

Let the politicians and political organizations stick to lobbying for political issues (and hopefully staying away from preaching). I want pastors, priests, and anyone else standing behind a pulpit claiming to represent Jesus Christ's church would stick to that and not try to run a political campaign.

I attend church to worship God, not take sides on political issues. I wish everyone else took the same approach.

Don't Waste Time With Stereotypes

It’s easy for people to pick up a few characteristics about someone and categorize them into a stereotype.

For example, allow me to describe some traits and qualities of a man I know:

Likes romantic comedies
Enjoys snuggling
Has written poetry
Has platonic women friends
Cries openly, both out of sadness and joy
Doesn’t like working on cars or using tools
Is comfortable being a passenger in a car with a woman driving
Expresses his feelings without a gun pointed at his head or other threats
Has a gay brother and gay friends
Enjoys musicals
Enjoys decorating his home

Here are characteristics of another man I know:

Loves sports
Enjoys sex with his wife
Takes out the trash every weekend
Does work around the home that requires heavy lifting
Is an assertive leader
Sneaks a peek at other women when his wife isn’t looking
Doesn’t get the iconic status of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
Enjoys science fiction and super hero movies
Has been “the provider” for most of his adult life
Did I mention he really enjoys sex with his wife?

Now let’s slot these into stereotypes. The first person is gay and the second is clearly a flaming heterosexual, right? Yes and no.

If the first person was gay, my wife would have some issues to deal with because I was describing myself. I’d also have to change the name of this blog, wouldn’t I?

I don’t have to worry about that however, because the second group of personality traits also describes me. My new friend Dennis, who recently began attending our church, says he believes everyone has some parts of being both straight and gay as part of their nature. If we limit our perspective to those classifications, I believe he is absolutely right and I put myself out there as an example of the truth in that.

Why have we fallen into the trap of trying to fit everyone into a slot? If we go back to the example of Jesus, we can see that he clearly did not do that. He ministered to sinners, Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, man or woman. He still does. Paul also shared some inspired wisdom in Galatians 3:26-29:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

That’s the only category we need to worry about fitting into.

Pentagon: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, They're Nuts

That's only a slight exaggeration according to this AP report. Astonishingly, a Pentagon document has been uncovered that classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder. This is contrary to the findings of a group that is probably better qualified to make that judgement, the American Psychiatric Association. That organization dropped homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973. In fact, they issued a press relase today asking the Pentagon to update this instruction.

Along with their "don't ask, don't tell" policy, it is painfully obvious the Pentagon don't get it.

Happy Birthday to This Blog

One year ago today, I made my first entry in this blog. I had no idea if anyone would read it or, if they did, care about what I wrote. All I knew was that I had something to say. A year later, Straight Not Narrow has been visited over 13,000 times, almost 7,500 of them within the last three months. People from 84 different nations have found this tiny corner of the blogosphere, and over 100 sites are linked to this blog.

Most importantly, many of the visitors here have contributed to the discussion of important issues or spiritual topics. I frequently think that the comments are better that what I write, and that’s fine with me. I’ve learned a lot over the past year…..

I’ve learned that there are many people in the GLBT community that are deeply, deeply wounded. Sadly, much of that pain has been administered by their families, both biological and within the church, often in the name of love.

I’ve learned there are a lot of people with a lot of money that will do or say ANYTHING to influence people to hate homosexuals as much as they do.

I’ve seen the Holy Spirit manifest in gay and lesbian women. I know for a fact that anyone who says that is not possible is wrong.

I have been reminded that there are few politicians who have the courage to take a stand that might not be to their direct political benefit.

I have learned that there are no limits to how much Jesus loves ALL his people and wants to bless us. If we don’t feel that in our lives, we are the one limiting Him.

I have seen things said and done in the name of God that I cannot imagine he is remotely connected with.

I have experienced a great enrichment in my life by getting to know and love gay and lesbian leaders and members of my church. I also treasure their love for me.

I have seen the power of people with different gifts and different perspectives getting together to work for a cause they all believe in.

I have learned that I still have a lot to learn about the GLBT community, but that it’s worth the effort.

I hope you will help me, or allow me to help you, work for GLBT equality in the political arena and Christ’s church in the next year and beyond.

Comparing Notes

I've signed to receive e-mail notices from a number of organizations, some on the political left, others on the political right. It's interesting to compare notes when more than one of them send a release on the same news item.

That heppened this week regarding comments made by a Washington DC Metro Board Member Robert J. Smith. Metro is the transportation system, including subway and buses, that serves DC, Virginia, and Maryland. The three juristrictions share the cost and governing of the system, and Smith was appointed to the board by the governor of Maryland, Robert Ehrlich.

For reasons that escape me, Smith was on a Montgomery County (Maryland) cable show and said, "Homosexual behavior, in my opinion, is deviant. I'm a Roman Catholic."

Frankly, I don't really care what a transportation official believes about homosexuality, but a public official making this kind of remarks on television, even local cable, is newsworthy.

On Friday, Governor Ehrlich responded to the situation by removing Smith from the board.

That action prompted two press releases I received in my e-mail.

The first, from Equality Maryland, said:

“All fair-minded Marylanders should appreciate the action taken by Governor Ehrlich in swiftly and seriously addressing these repugnant comments by his appointee. It is good that he recognized that such hostile and hateful comments about any group of people makes him inappropriate for public service,” said Dan Furmansky, Executive Director of Equality Maryland.
According to a statement released by Governor Ehlrich, “Robert Smith’s comments were highly inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. They are in direct conflict to my administration’s commitment to inclusion, tolerance and opportunity."

Later, the American Family Association sent out a press release titled, "'Tolerant' Governor fires 'Intolerant' Christian.

"Gov. Ehrlich said he is intolerant to any view that opposes the full social acceptance of homosexual behavior and its promotion in government. He said Smith's comments were "highly inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. They are in direct conflict to my administration's commitment to...tolerance." Gov. Ehrlich contradicted his own statement! He is promoting tolerance toward homosexual practice while being intolerant to Smith's Christian beliefs and the teaching of his church. "

The AFA release continued, "Smith was fired not because he wasn't doing a good job. He was fired not because of his practice, but because of his thinking! He was fired because he held different beliefs. So much for tolerance! If this firing stands, it means that any Christian who states publicly that homosexual practice is morally wrong does so at the risk of being fired. "

The AFA loves for people to send e-mail to people the organization think has done something wrong, so they were nice enough to include the governor's e-mail address.

My position is to agree with Equality Maryland. Even if someone is just responsible for running the trains and buses, he should not be on the public record condemning any part of the general population.

The AFA used a common tactic of the religious right by making their side look like the victim. It's okay to condemn people publicly, in their slanted view, but wrong to hold them accountable.

Then again, the religious right isn't good at holding themselves accountable, just others.

Pruning Dead Branches

In my latest column for Gay Christian Outreach, I examine the concept of Jesus being the vine of life, and we are the branches that grom from Him. In that context, I examine the branches that grow from our lives that take us away from the path God wants us to follow and how we need to resolve that.

A Report From Inside the "Love Won Out" Conference

I've written about the scene and views expressed outside last Saturday's Love Won Out conference in Maryland, and thanks to the folks at Ex-Gay Watch here is a report from inside the conference itself.

The writer, Eve Tushnet, adds further observations on her blog. According to Ex-Gay Watch, Tushnet is a conservative Roman Catholic who is not considered a friend of GLBT equality issues. Despite that viewpoint, she is quite sceptical about many of the claims made in the conference.

It doesn't take much objective thought to understand that there is not therapy in existence that will turn a homosexual straight. The most they can generally accomplish is teach someone how not to act on their same-sex attractions, not how to quit having them.

In his outstanding book "Anything But Straight," Wayne Besen chronicles what happens to some of these folks after they leave ex-gay therapy. They often wind up back in gay bars, which seems like a lot to go through for nothing. The most frequent result according to Ex-Gay Watch, Besen, and others is continued or even intensified self-loathing and self-destructive behavior of people who have it drilled into their heads that they are filthy sinners if they act in the way God made them (they don't tell them that last part though, it might hurt business).

I'll be interviewing Wayne Besen in the near future about his book and his new organization, Truth Wins Out.

God and Gays: Churchgoers Divided

This issue got the national treatment from USA Today. Here are some excerpts I found particularly interesting:

Barbara Brown Taylor, 55, left the Episcopal priesthood, observing that "human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God."

Surveys have shown that most of the growing denominations and non-denominational community "Bible churches" are theologically conservative, with no openly gay clergy or no same-sex unions blessed.

Once, black people, women and homosexuals were viewed the same way by the leading theologians of the times: "They were all cursed by God in Scripture, inferior in moral character and willfully sinful and deserving punishment," says the Rev. Jack Rogers, former head of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and author of a new book, Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality.
Eventually, most churches found a biblical basis for changing their stance on race and gender but not on homosexuality.

"Young adults today can't understand what the fuss is all about. Their lives are colorblind. They have gay friends and straight friends. They have good values, but they don't stay with the church," he says. "The gay-rights battle isn't the main reason, but it's one of them. They don't see in their church a lens to see the world." And people of all ages "are really tired of all this" fighting. "Most people just want to get on with thinking about Jesus."

Overall, this was a well balanced piece that's worth taking time to read thoroughly.

Naming Names

The Boston Globe has a story about the work of a website called KnowThyNeighbor.org. They put together a serchable database containing names of people who signed the petition for a Massachusetts constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage. The group is now working on a similar data base in Florida.

I like it!

Why shouldn't people be accountable for their actions. The activists who are working very hard to promote GLBT equality are putting their names out there for the cause. I could write this blog anonymously, but I choose not to because I'm perfectly willing to stand behind what I write and be accountable for it.

It's easy to hide behind the shroud of anonymity and discriminate against someone else's rights, but it might not be quite so easy when your name gets attached to it.

Be Transgendered At Your Own Risk

The Yahoo group "Teach The Facts" posts a lot of interesting articles that I wind up linking to, and this one regarding transgendered people especially moved me.

According to this story, the murder rate of transgendered persons is 17 times the national average, the highest rate of any minority group.

"It's ignorance, more than anything else, that creates fear," said Vicky Ortega, who founded LOTUS and also works as a health education specialist at the Gay and Lesbian Center of Los Angeles. LOTUS is the League of Trans-Unified Sisters, a support group of transgender people working to change society's attitudes toward them. I was not able to find a website for them, but if anyone knows of one, I would be happy to post it here.

I'm not going to pretend to have any more than the most cursory understanding of transgender issues, but I do know that they are people too and deserve every right that I enjoy and should be treated with no less respect than anyone else. The problems here are a lot worse that name-calling and discrimination and need to be taken very seriously.

Media coverage of "Love Won Out" Conference & Protest-Updated

The Washington Times ran this story about yesterday's event. From a paper known for a strong right-wing slant, this piece was reasonably well balanced.

The Washington Post did not run anything (at least not that I could find online) but they did have a story about today's Gay Pride festival in downtown DC. Perhaps they have a quota of one gay story per day.

Bruce Garret, whom I also met yesterday, has a brief writeup and photos from yesterday's protest up on his blog. Fortunately for you readers, I'm not in any of the pictures.

As Bruce mentions in his post, Steve Boese attended the conference and has the first in a series of posts up where he will share his impressions of the event. Boese is apparently open to the ex-gay concept and shares this about the rules regarding the conference:

"I was aware that conference organizers do a bag search as attendees enter the premises, and folks found to be carrying gay-affirming pamphlets, cards, or tracts may either have them confiscated or be asked to leave. Registration requires attendees to agree that LWO organizers reserve the right to remove anyone from the event without cause, and that any behavior perceived to be disruptive (including offering a gay-affirming pamphlet to a fellow attendee) would trigger removal."

There was only one point of view offered to people inside the church, which made what went on outside the church even more important.

Demonstrating Against "Love Won Out" Conference

As I was driving toward today’s vigil to protest the “Love Won Out” anti-gay conference being held in Silver Spring, Maryland, I wondered what kind of turnout I would find. After all, it was not quite 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning, a great time to sleep in and recover from the week just ended.

I was thrilled to see dozens of colorful signs lining both sides of the road in front of Immanuel’s Church as I pulled up. Some of them said:

“Another Marylander Against Demonizing Gay Americans”
“Love Welcomes All”
“Reparative Therapy is Neither”
“Homosexuality Is Not a Disorder”
“Focus on Fairness”
“Straight, But Not Narrow” (obviously a personal favorite)

By the time the press conference began around 9:30 AM, well over 100 people had gathered to support fairness and equality and condemn the practice of trying to “change” homosexuals promoted by the conference ready to begin only a few yards away.

Dan Furmansky, the director of Equality Maryland, opened with a few comments and introduced each speaker. At one point, he said “James Dobson, (the conference was sponsored by his Focus on the Family organization) you are not welcome in Maryland! Go back to Colorado!” I would agree with that except I don’t have anything against the GLBT population of Colorado.

One of the speakers was Harry Knox, the Director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program. Knox is a former pastor of a United Methodist Church in Georgia. He was also the Executive Director of Equality Georgia and program director of Freedom to Marry. Knox told the crowd and cameras (two local television stations shot footage), “God made me gay and called me good.”

A representative of National Black Justice Coalition (I did not catch her name) added that the group across the street was representative of a “cult of the annihilation of the authentic self.”

Maryland State Delegate Gareth Murray, who represents the district where the conference was being held, pointed out “Today it’s the gay community. What community are we going after next?” Murray sharply condemned the purpose of the conference, speaking from his background as a minister and a mental health professional.

Dr. Stephen Eckstrand, a member of the local PFLAG chapter, spoke about his two children; a lesbian daughter and a left-handed son. He pointed out that, “until the latter half of the twentieth century, people considered left handed individuals to be unlucky, clumsy, and even abnormal.” Fortunately society has moved beyond that, and Dr. Eckstrand expressed his hope that society would also grow past its failure to love and accept gays and lesbians.

I also had the pleasure of meeting writer and activist Wayne Besen, author of the book “Anything But Straight.” Besen just this past week announced the formation of the organization “Truth Wins Out and was there to support the vigil. Like his book, Truth Wins Out is dedicated to refuting the lies groups like Focus on the Family propagate to wrongly influence people. Besen wrote a piece earlier this week about the conference where he said, “Unfortunately, it will be a bastion of misinformation that flies in the face of modern psychology and presents a distorted picture of gay life filled with stereotypes in the guise of science.”

The final word is this post goes to Dr. Lise Van Susteren, whom I also ran into at Equality Maryland’s Lobby Day back in February at the state capitol in Annapolis. Dr. Van Susteren, a forensic psychiatrist, offered this profound thought, “Religion must not be used as the fig leaf to hide prejudice.”

How about it, Dr. Dobson?

"Christians Must Do More to Combat AIDS, Comfort Victims

That's the title of an essay written by Kay Warren for CNN. She is the wife of Rick Warren, author of the wildly popular "The Purpose Driven Life." Kay Warren is executive director of their home church's HIV/AIDS initiative where she has learned quite a bit about dealing with the disease and the attitudes of her fellow Christians.

She writes, "Twenty-five years into the AIDS pandemic, being HIV-positive still carries stigma and shame. But God cares for the sick and so must we. It's not a sin to be sick. The Bible tells us Jesus was repeatedly "filled with compassion" as he encountered broken bodies and broken minds. While polite society vigorously avoided contact with those they considered diseased outcasts, Jesus responded in a radical way: He cared, he touched, he healed."

Here we go again with Jesus and all that compassion stuff.

I just hope it catches on more in His church.

FMA Defeated.....For Now

Today the U. S. Senate voted 49-48 on a motion to end debate on the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, 11 votes short of the 60 needed to bring it to a vote on the floor of the senate.

This was an important victory for those who are fighting to avoid making discrimination a part of the U. S. Constitution, but it's merely a battle won. The war will continue and perhaps intensify.

Think I'm exaggerating? Check out these quotes:

"We're going to continue to press this issue," Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard said. "If it's up to me, we'll have a vote on this issue every year."

"We're making progress, and we're not going to stop until marriage between a man and a woman is protected," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas.

Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said failure to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage would be "a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions for children" in a Monday radio broadcast.

President Bush, in a 10-minute speech on Monday, said "An amendment to the Constitution is necessary because activist courts have left our nation with no other choice."

Of course, the right-wing defines "activist courts" or "activist judges" as ones who don't support their views.

Regarding the Senate vote: "It is true what this vote will do will be to help the voters identify who is and is not supportive of the family," said Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. "And I think those that are not are going to have to answer for it."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), "Marriage ranks as one of our most important social institutions," he writes. "Americans have made it clear that they want to protect it against activist judges like those who sit on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts."

Folks, these people are not going away just because they lost a vote. Some of them truly believe they have the moral high ground and that they are charged with protecting their version of God's will from being violated. Others are seizing this issue as their ticket to power and wealth. Either way, they're not going to quit.

It is critical that those 47 senators who voted against bringing the amendment to a vote know that their constituents have their backs, and their vote.

It is also cricital that people understand that the attidute of treating homosexuals as second-class (if that high) citizens is NOT reflective of all Christians. There are people who love God with all their hearts and feel the leading of the Holy Spirit to strive for equality for ALL his people. We need to continue to raise up our voices and speak to God's love, not this spirit of exclusion the religious right wants people to think he is all about.

"Ex-Gay" Leaders Invited to White House

When President Bush announced his support for the constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage yesterday, he did it with in the company of Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas from Exodus International. Exodus is an organization at the forefront of claiming to "lead people out of homosexuality."

In this outstanding column by Michelle Goldbert of The Huffington Post, the writer offers this thought:

"If, as virtually all mainstream experts believe, Exodus is wrong, then Bush's attempt to rally support against gay families is simply gratuitously cruel. But mainstream experts carry little weight with this administration. Once again, Bush is using his position to symbolically subvert science in favor of a faith-based parallel reality. Gay people will suffer the most from what he is doing, but truth itself is also a casualty. "

Wide-Ranging Takes on Same-Sex Marriage Ban

If you're even an occassional visitor to this blog, you know where I stand on the issue of same-sex marriage and the proposed Constitutional amendment currently under consideration in the U. S. Senate that would ban it across the nation.

Courtesy of the political blog "The Moderate Voice," I found one of the best aggregations of opinions that I've come across regarding this issue, so I'm linking it here for your perusal.

Will Bush's Push for Gay Marriage Ban Backfire?

There are even some conservatives that are seeing through this as nothing more but a shallow political ploy, and there is some thought that even this won't galvanize the Religious Right to support the President or the Republicans?

Where else can they go? How far away could we be from a new political party with them as the base?

"Ex-Gay" Conference Coming to My Area

I am very disappointed to report that one of Focus on the Family's "Love Won Out" conferences is being held on Saturday, June 10 only a few miles from my home. It is being hosted by one of the larger independent churches in the area, Immanuel's Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. For those of you who haven't heard of them, this is where homosexuals can go to get "cured" of their same-sex desires. At least that's what Dr. Dobson and his folks want everyone to believe.

I am pleased, though, that there will be an organized opposition vigil in front of the church both before and after the day-long conference. It is being put together by Equality Maryland, the DC chapter of PFLAG, Teach the Facts, a group promoting education about homosexuality in Montgomery County Schools, and Christ Congregational Church, a UCC member.

I'll be participating in what is promised to be a silent and respectful vigil. I believe it is important for GLBT people and their allies to demonstrate their opposition to these farcical exercises whenever they come to town. Anyone in the DC area that is interested in participating in the June 10 vigil can contact Rev. Sandy Dodson at sandy@christ-ucc.org.

For more information on "Love Won Out," click here.

It's About Protecting Votes, Not Marriage

There is an excellent column on EthicsDaily.com about next week's Senate vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment that would restrict marriage to one man and one woman in all 50 states.

I've linked to columns by this writer, Jim Evans, who is a pastor in Alabama, and he again nails it with this one:

"The Marriage Protection Act is not about protecting marriage. It's about getting out the vote.
Never mind that it demonizes a segment of our population in a legislative effort no one believes will really happen. It works, and that's what matters, apparently."

I have yet to see any pundits on either side of the isle who think this Amendment will come close to receiving the 60% vote it needs to pass. Even if it did, 35 states would need to ratify it before it became a part of the Constitution.

It is painfully obvious that conservative Republicans are pandering to their dissatisfied religious right constituency. Could those voters actually be so shallow and narrowly focused to fall for that ploy? Anyone who is gullable enough to be influenced by this maneuver should have their right to vote taken away until they get a clue.

One God, One Body, In Service to Christ

In my latest column for Gay Christian Outreach, I share my thoughts about the divisions in the church caused by divergent views on homosexuality, and what each side can do to bridge the gap and move closer to God's will for our lives.