Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010

A wild start to 2010

If we thought the start of 2009 had been exciting, so far 2010 has been a whirlwind. We ushered in the New Year with the first real hope for national marriage equality - at least the beginning of a real hope that the wheels of the judicial system had started to turn. Our stories were finally being heard and it seems that it is only a matter of time now before those same stories fill the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Like many of you, I had to follow along via online for recounts and daily trial coverage. National columnist Jennifer Vanasco said "If there was one thing we learned during the Proposition 8 trial . . . it was this: (Prop 8) people have no good argument against gay marriage." In her coverage of the trial Vanasco points out that for the first time, proponents of gay marriage couldn't use their old antics - no name-calling of gay people, no comparing us to immoral pedophiles or perverts, not even a hint of someone saying that gay marriage would lead to polygamy.

Why? The big argument was that the anti-same-sex marriage battle was discriminatory. In order to fight this, defendants actually had to argue that we were just like everyone else -that people actually like us. They had to try and scrounge up other things for denying marriage to us, like tradition and procreation, which really don't hold up when looking at someone's civil rights. If only the trial could have actually been televised for the world to see -how much America might have learned. The trial came to a close late last week and we likely won't hear anything until early spring, when the judge is expected to call both sides back for final arguments.

Then came the big moment we were all waiting for -President Obama's first State of the Union Address. After one year in office, Obama's popularity among LGBT constituents has fallen dramatically. There's even a call to end all financial support to the Democratic Party -the very leaders whom we have seen as our knights in shining armor in the past. These beacons of light in the dark world of anti-gay rhetoric have become too concerned about their political careers and seem to fear following through on any LGBT legislation that may hurt their poll ratings.

Just last week Hawaii state legislators tabled indefinitely a bill that would have allowed for civil unions and equal rights for same-sex couples in the state. Many are arguing that the House simply didn't want a vote that would expose their individual opinions on the issue during an election year. Obama addressed this same issue when speaking to our national legislators.

However, Obama seems to be lacking when it comes to following through with promises. I personally feel that he has done an incredible job during his first year in office. I'm not so naive to think that he would simply wave a magic wand and all of our inequalities would disappear, but at the same time, I understand others' frustrations. We've waited a long time for equal rights. We've stood on the sidelines, edging closer and closer to having some political power in this country and in the process we've seen peoples' rights trampled, their heads beaten in and their love deemed unnatural and not deserving of the same recognition as straights. In return, Obama mentioned the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Actually, in the roughly 69-minute speech, we got about 37 seconds (yes, I timed it).

I do believe there was some more hidden language in there regarding marriage equality, but the problem was it was too discreet for Middle America to catch or for that matter care about. While LGBT groups have praised him for mentioning DADT in the speech and as of press time, I'm waiting to hear an expected "special announcement" on his policy this week, many, including myself, wanted and needed more. Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, told the Los Angeles Times, "The next time the president speaks about our community, we expect him to provide a concrete blueprint."

And finally, on the South Carolina home front, our legislators never seem to disappoint when providing humor and disgrace to this beautiful home of Southern hospitality and heritage. I won't even touch on Lt. Governor Andre Bauer and his need for verbal restraint. While Colorado democrat and openly gay Congressman Jared Polis introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2010 in the House of Representatives last week, S.C. lawmakers have seen it necessary to once again add language to a bill meant to protect teens in our schools that will overtly discriminate against those who are gay and lesbian. On the national level, the bill introduced by Polis would protect public school students from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. "Hatred has no place in the classroom," Polis said in a news release on his Web site.

But S.C. senators say the hell with that -they want to encourage discrimination against gay and lesbian teens. The Teen Dating Violence Bill, introduced by Sen. Phil Leventis (D- Lee/Sumter), originally included an inclusive statement, "Dating partner means a person, regardless of gender, involved in an intimate relationship with another primarily characterized by the expectation of affectionate involvement whether casual, serious or long term," according to a recent statement by S.C. Equality. The bill was originally introduced in the S.C. House last year when Rep. Greg Delleney (R-Chester) stated "I don't want to teach children . . . about (same-sex) relationships," when offering up an amendment to exclude gay and lesbian students. After a huge backlash from S.C. Equality and others, the bill was tabled.

Now it's back in the Senate and includes the following: "'Dating partner' means a person involved in a heterosexual dating relationship with another." S.C. Equality, whose mission is to advance civil and human rights for LGBT South Carolinians, is now fighting this.

So here's to 2010. If the next eleven months follow suit, there's one thing for sure -I'm going to be ready for that champagne on Dec. 31. So let's go ahead and say "cheers" to a hopeful future and a brighter year in which our legislators will start doing what's right, when our president will continue to stand up for civil rights more and more each day and where we may all be able to dream of fairy tale weddings no matter where we lay our heads at the end of the day.

OUT & ABOUT

Friday, Feb. 5 - The First Friday Happy Hour group will meet from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Friday at Martin's Restaurant, 7300 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach. For more information, e-mail FirstFriday@GambleLivingston.com.

Friday, Feb. 5 - If you haven't caught the Miss Honest T show at Rainbow House, Friday may be your best chance. The newest addition to the drag show circuit hits the stage at 10:30 p.m. and will feature an appearance by Mr. Gay U.S. of A. FMI 1994-2002, Stephen Matthews. Rainbow House Bar & Grill is at 815 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach. For more information visit rainbowhousemyrtlebeach.com.

Feb. 5 - 7 - Have the recent cooler temps put you in the mood for skiing, snowball fights and hot cocoa? If so, then head off to the North Carolina mountains this weekend for N.C. Gay Ski Weekend in Boone. From cocktails and receptions to dance parties like Snowball 2010, hosted by Just Twirl, and oh yeah . . . some skiing. For more information on ski packages pricing, events schedule and accommodations visit ncgayskiweekend.com.

Have a thought, comment or Out & About event? Send Chris Rudisill an e-mail to SouthernGayWriter@gmail.com. You can also follow along on Facebook.com@SouthernGayWriter for more news and events.