The Gaytheist Agenda

More than once I’ve had the question posed, “Why do LGBT people find it so hard to ‘come out’?”. I’ve explained to such individuals the dangers faced by LGBT people when coming out, such as potentially losing their friends, family,homes, jobs, and even their lives. The problems are magnified for teenagers, who are under the authority of their parents. This story illustrates all to clearly the dangers some individuals face when coming out.

Violence broke out Sunday in Anderson (S.C.) when an 18-year-old man returned home from a gay pride parade and was assaulted by his father.

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During the assault, the teen’s 49-year-old father yelled, cursed, swung a baseball bat, prayed and tried to “cast the demon of homosexuality out of him,” according to the teen’s version of events to Deputy S.C. Weymouth, the incident report states.

About 2 p.m. Wednesday, the teen said his father punched him when he returned to the house for clothes that he left on Sunday, the report states.

The teen told deputies that his father “has a problem with him being gay and that is why he hit him with the baseball bat Sunday,” Weymouth said in his report.

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Deputies, who have not been able to make immediate contact with the teen’s father, report that both incidents are under investigation.

As noted in my Press Release Roundup last week, as many as 40% of runaway and homeless youth are LGBT. So the above story is far from unique, and all too tragic.

Now people might just have an idea why it’s so hard to come out, and just what is at stake.

 

Seitan has gone through the mail bag again. As always he enjoys reading everybody’s comments and has asked for readers to keep sending them in. The first message is from Ezekiel regarding Holocaust Remembrance Day:

I was shocked to learn recently from the play: “The Re-Education of George W. Bush” (by Peterson Toscano) that when U.S. troops liberated many of the camps, when they found out what the pink triangles (and presumably black patches, though I don’t know on that count) meant, they actually put many of the gay survivors back into prison, believing this to be an instance where the Nazis seemed to be on the right track.
Chilling, from a country that seems to have an obsession with having been “the good guys” in this and every other war.

I’d like to say that surprises me but it doesn’t. There are people who would do that even today if they could get away with it. Where they get the idea that imprisoning, threatening, or torturing LGBT people is going to change anything I don’t know. It hasn’t changed anything since the beginning of time so why would it work now? Gay people exist, and all of the efforts to repress us simply hasn’t changed anything. Sadly some notions refuse to die and I can’t help but wonder if people centuries from now will be having the same arguments as we are now thanks to personal bigotries and an ancient book known as The Bible.

Next up is this from VickiLynne who commented about Specialist Jeremy Hall:

What ashame a soldier goes to fight for freedom which includes religious freedom for others but doesn’t have any of their own.

It is indeed sad. Unfortunately the breed of people who believe religious freedom extends only to their religion have taken over the military as well as much of the government and it’s going to take some real effort to set things right. Fortunately the tide seems to be turning and the RRRW appears to be losing ground, though I’m not yet ready to throw my victory party.

Also regarding Spc. Hall, this comes from Ebon:

I’ve been hearing about Spc. Hall and similar situations for some time now, including at least one body devoted to converting the military.

For anyone who has some knowledge of history, the idea of the USA’s collosal military might presided over by religious fanatics (of any religion) is, frankly, positively terrifying.

Agreed. Anybody who believes that they must impose their way on everyone else–one way or another–very much disturbs me.

This last piece comes from Joe G. regarding Gay Panic Defense for Lawrence King’s Killer.

You’re right! The killer was unable to see any other way? What, he didn’t know about counselors or administrators or social workers at 14 years of age? Give me a break. I know kids half his age that could have made a better choice than this 14 year old did. The lawyer needs to work on getting this kid help (at the very least) and not getting him free of any responsibility for purposely killing another human being.

Any rational person knows that, as you and I do. But the assumption behind the “gay panic defense” is that it is normal for a person to flip out when a person of the same gender shows an interest in them, thus perpetuating the notion that gay people are dangerous predators. What ever happened to simply saying “I’m not interested” or “No thank you”?

Quest maintains that “this was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped”. I agree with that, though not with his assessment of how. Homophobia is the problem, and the cures are education and tolerance.

The mailbag is empty again and Seitan has gone off for a nap. Until later, dear readers!

I really couldn’t be more disgusted by the way the lawyer is simultaneously blaming the school, which was doing nothing more than upholding the rights of the victim, and the dead boy, for the actions of his client. But this is nothing new really, so I’m not surprised. I just can’t believe people still try to get away with this nonsense.

The lawyer of Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old boy who killed gay teenager Lawrence King at a high school in Oxnard, CA, in February, claims school officials’ gay positive attitude is to blame for King’s murder.
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By allowing King to come to school wearing feminine makeup and accessories, school officials were so intent on nurturing King as he explored his sexuality that they downplayed the turmoil his behavior was causing on campus, Quest said.

Quest claimed McInerney shot King in the back of the head with a handgun as first-period classes were beginning because he was unable to see another way to solve his problem.

“Brandon is not some crazed lunatic,” Quest said. “This was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped. If there is partial blame in other places, let’s not throw away Brandon for the rest of his life.”
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School Supt. Jerry Dannenberg strongly disagreed with such allegations. “School officials definitely were aware of what was going on, and they were dealing with it appropriately,” Dannenberg said Wednesday. King was constitutionally entitled to wear makeup, earrings and high-heeled boots under long-established case law, Dannenberg said.

Shooting a person in the back of the head is a perfectly rational response to them flirting with you? What parallel universe is this lawyer from?

I hope the judge sees this outrageous defense as the garbage that it is. Quest needs to be thoroughly chastised for having the audacity to even propose it.

 

Off the fence with regard to Brandon McInerney, who I’ve finally decided should be tried as an adult. I’ve discovered that his lawyer is trying to peddle a version of the gay panic defense to deflect blame from McInerney and place it on the victim and the school.

It’s a tragedy, McInerney’s defense attorney said in an interview, but one he believes might have been avoided if someone had stepped in to help beforehand. Senior Deputy Public Defender William Quest said E.O. Green’s administration knew about tension on the middle school campus and allowed the situation to fester — allegations the school district says are untrue.
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Issues between McInerney and King seemed to start after students and teachers returned from winter break.

They had both been at E.O. Green and even had a class together previously, but Quest said he’s not aware of any problems until they came back from vacation.

It was then that King began dressing differently, becoming a focus of conversations on campus, Quest said.

Students have said they witnessed confrontations between King and McInerney in the weeks or days before the shooting, including King’s teasing McInerney and telling him that he liked him.

McInerney perceived King’s treatment as harassment, Quest said. Quest, however, declined to discuss any specific confrontations or issues between the boys. He also declined to say if McInerney ever sought help from an adult to deal with the issue.

Quest said he believes school administrators supported one student expressing himself and his sexuality — King — and ignored how it affected other kids, despite complaints. Cross-dressing isn’t a normal thing in adult environments, he said, yet 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds were expected to just accept it and go on.
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Sorry, you don’t get to shoot somebody in the head twice–with premeditation–because you don’t like the way they dress or because they say they like you, or even if they tease you. It’s simply not acceptable, ever.

Imagine if, instead of dressing in high-heels, wearing makeup and expressing a romantic interest in another boy Lawrence King had been wearing a crucifix and asking Brandon McInerney to learn about the Gospel of Jesus. Would anybody even think of claiming that the way Lawrence dressed, or what he said and did led to Brandon McInerney’s reaction? No. We’d be hearing cries of “Christian Persecution” from every state in the nation and people would be screaming for McInerney’s head on a stake.

It is far past time that the Gay Panic Defense in all its forms be laid to rest forever.

It’s time for another edition of the Gaytheist Agenda Mailbag. My first submission comes from stebbytubbysenior who wrote regarding my good friend Sally Kern

this particular woman is a wart on the anus of the satan she so fervently believes in and that we atheists actually don’t….. mock her, fire her, shame her. Maybe then she’ll have the time to get to read and understand the constitution…..

I wouldn’t describe her as colorfully as you have, but Sally Kern is indeed a nasty character. She believes that certain people and beliefs are superior to others, and of course she and her beliefs belong in that superior category. Then she thinks it’s fine to relegate people she deems inferior to second (or lower) class status and provide them fewer rights and privileges based on her arbitrary notions of what is right and wrong. She claims it’s God’s Word, but like most of her ilk she’s not applying the Bible equally but rather cherry-picking. I wonder how many shellfish and pork dinners she’s eaten lately, how many blended fabrics and how much gold/pearl jewelry she wears, and why she thinks she has the right to teach males. (And that’s only the beginning, mind you.) Indeed, she thinks the Constitution only applies to people she deigns to allow it to apply to. I seem to recall it saying We the people, not We the fundamentalist Christians.

 
The next entry comes from Ebon regarding Rights Groups Ask that Teen Be Tried in Juvenile Court.

I could go either way on this. On the one hand, I’m ethically opposed to the whole concept of seeking “trial as an adult”. It seems to be something used not according to the individual maturity of the offender in question but as a symbol of especially emphatic disapproval which eliminates the whole point. If we’re going to say that people committing X crime should be judged in the same way regardless of age, then let’s just say that, not go through this charade of seeking special permission.

On the other hand, would McInerney be being tried as an adult if he had shot a straight kid?

I’m still conflicted on the matter myself. Part of me still wants to have him tried as a juvenile because he’s 14, and because he’ll have a greater chance to have rehabilitation rather than mere warehousing and punishment. The other part of me feels that despite him only being 14 he took a gun to school, with premeditation, and shot a boy in the head twice–in front of the whole class–because the boy was gay, so he should take his chances being tried as an adult.

Would McInerney be tried as an adult if he’d shot a straight kid? I really think he would considering he used a firearm ( in a classroom full of students no less). That’s a very serious offense which, if he’s actually tried as an adult, can add up to 25 years to his sentence. The hate-crime penalty only adds 1-3 years by contrast.

 
Entry #3 comes from yousuck at your.a.jew@***.com. I have no idea what s/he was commenting on but here’s what my new best friend had to say:

****ing christian

No, I am not a Christian (nor am I Jewish as your probably phony e-mail address seems to suggest). Though I was Christian for about 20 years I reverted back to my former state of atheism in my late 20s when I lost my faith. Of course I should think that would be obvious given that the name of this blog is The Gaytheist Agenda, and many of the posts focus on atheism. By the way, I sense a great deal of hostility in you. Have you ever considered volunteer work or meditation? They can work wonders.

That wraps up this edition of the Mailbag. Stay tuned until next time.

 

This young man asks a very powerful question in this video he posted on YouTube.

Now that’s food for thought.

 

A coalition of groups that advocate for LGBT rights have asked that Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed 15-year-old Lawrence King, be tried as a juvenile. This would ensure that should he be found guilty he would go to a juvenile facility and receive a shorter sentence. In particular he would not be subject to the hate-crime penalty which could add an additional 1-3 years and the up to 25 years for use of a firearm.

The coalition of lesbian, gay and other organizations, including Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center, announced Monday they have asked District Attorney Greg Totten to try McInerney as a juvenile.

“We are saddened and outraged by the murder of junior high school student Lawrence King,” the groups’ statement read. “At the same time, we call on prosecutors not to compound this tragedy with another wrong. We call on them to treat the suspect as a juvenile, not as an adult.”

The groups’ statement called for the suspect to “be held accountable for his actions. But we support the principles underlying our juvenile justice system that treat children differently than adults and provide greater hope and opportunity for rehabilitation.”

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Other groups that signed the statement include the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Equality California, Gay Straight Alliance Network, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

I have mulled this over in my head since reading the stories and have not been able to decide where I stand on this matter. Therefore I’m posting this as is, without commentary.

 

That’s the simple yet critical lesson of this video . Please be warned that this piece contains some adult language and brief violence.