Touchdown! Kluwe

Chris Kluwe (Photo credit: rburtzel)

It’s not often that a kicker scores a touchdown, but yesterday it happened.

Chris Kluwe, the outspoken (and well-spoken) punter for the Minnesota Vikings, famous for his letter of response to an anti-gay legislator, responded to Minnesota’s Archbishop (and the Pope) on the topics of being gay, being Christian and the separation of church and state in his blog at TwinCities.com.

And he gets to the heart of the matter very quickly:

How can we reconcile our version of the Catholic Church as salvation to the sick, the needy, the poor, when we must also bear witness to the Catholic Church as oppressor, tormentor, and executioner? Where, in all of Jesus’ teachings, did he ever say to deny the humanity of other human beings; where did the Son of God proclaim that mortal Man knew God’s will; where, pray tell, did Jesus ever say to harden your heart against those who may not be exactly the same as you?

I say to you – nowhere. Nowhere does Jesus preach hate, or intolerance, or loathing. Nowhere does Jesus say, “You shall deny the humanity of gay people because it makes you feel uncomfortable”. Nowhere does Jesus say, “And the mortal men of the Church shall be the sole conduits of the Word of God, for they are perfect and infallible.” Nowhere, in all of the recorded teachings of Jesus, does it say anything about discrimination or prejudice.

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Millions of children grow up raised in the Catholic faith. Some of these children will be gay, through no choice of their own, but because of how God created them. What does it say to those children when the head of their religion in this state, a man who claims to “explain and defend the teaching of the Church because I have been ordained to do so and I believe those teachings with all my heart”, a man acting under the direct auspices of the Pope himself, tells them that they can’t be as worthy as everyone else, even though they believe in the teachings of Jesus? What will these children think, as they suffer the barbed insults of their classmates and teachers; I ask you, sir, what will these children think as they are belittled and tormented due to teachings you espouse? What judgment will be passed on your soul when yet another poor child reaches for the knife or the noose to end his or her earthly torment due to your example? (emphasis mine)

Exactly.

Bravo, Chris Kluwe! Bravo and thank you. You speak for many of us.

Read the whole thing here.

And, in related news, Theologian Hans Kung is calling for a “Revolution From Below” to an authoritarian Catholic Church. Well worth a read:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/05/catholic-revolution-nazi-dictatorship-pope

Related articles:

Chris Kluwe Is His Own Gay Mafia (kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com)
Shirtless Chris Kluwe on the cover of Out magazine (outsports.com)
Why the NFL’s Chris Kluwe will always be @ChrisWarcraft on Twitter (wow.joystiq.com)
Quote Of The Day – Chris Kluwe (joemygod.blogspot.com)
NFL Player Matt Birk Makes Anti-Gay Ad for Catholic Church and Equality Advocate Chris Kluwe Responds: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
Minnesota Vikings Punter Chris Kluwe, Defender of Marriage Equality, Appears on ‘The Ed Show’: VIDEO (towleroad.com)

Rehberg’s Anti-LGBT Record

Sep14 by D Gregory Smith

…is spelled out by ThinkProgress:

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT)

In June, Montana Republicans nominated Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) to challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D). Unlike Tester, a fairly reliable supporter of LGBT equality, Rehberg has opposed the LGBT community at every opportunity.

Over his time as Lt. Governor of Montana, his unsuccessful 1996 Senate campaign, his 12 years in the House of Representatives, and this Senate campaign:

1. Rehberg proudly pranked a fellow Congressman with a gay-mocking “Idaho Travel Package.” In 2008, after Idaho’s Sen. Larry Craig (R) plead guilty to lewd conduct involving a male police officer in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom, Rehberg decided to leave a care-package for Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID). On a congressional trip to the Middle East, Rehberg reportedlyleft “a stuffed sheep with gloves attached to it, a Village People CD, books on cross-dressing and sign language and a T-shirt that reads, ‘My senator may not be gay, but my governor is Butch.’” The governor of Idaho’s name is C.L. “Butch” Otter. A spokesman claimed “no offense was intended,” Rehberg boasted that he was proud of the travel package and “spent a bit of time putting the things together.”

2. Rehberg has consistently fought against marriage equality and even domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. In his Senate campaign kickoff, he told supporters: “I will never, ever, ever be ashamed to stand for the life of the unborn child and the sanctity of traditional marriage.” He has indeed shown no shame, voting twice for a federal constitutional amendment requiring “marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” He also voted for a 2011 amendment reaffirming the unconstitutionalDefense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 2007 amendment restricting the District of Columbia government from using any federal funding to provide domestic partnership benefits, and a 2004 bill of questionable constitutionality to strip federal courts of the right to review whether DOMA is unconstitutional. In May, he reiterated his support also for his state’s same-sex marriage ban, saying “Montana’s state constitution says ‘Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state,’ and I agree.”

3. Rehberg railed against hate crimes protections for LGBT Americans, calling them “extremist.”….

There’s much more. AND a video.

If you’ve needed some clearly spelled out reasons to deny this man the Senate seat the Tea Party is so desperately seeking to claim, click the link below.

Rehberg’s anti-LGBT Record.

Better Know An Anti-LGBT Senate Candidate: Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) (thinkprogress.org)
Rehberg criticizes GOP leadership over farm bill (billingsgazette.com)
Rehberg vs. Tester: Montana Senate race hinges on undecided voters (missoulian.com)
About 1 in 7 Rehberg donors not disclosing occupation in fundraising reports (billingsgazette.com)

Participate! Study about LGB persons In the Workplace

Sep11 by D Gregory Smith

Received today:

My name is Paul Battle, I am a doctoral student at Oakland University working on my dissertation. I am currently compiling research on the work experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. I hope that learning more about the work experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals will help improve work experiences and counseling education.

Participants should be over the age of 18 and currently be employed. To participate in the study please click on this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Workplaceidentity

Study: Phrase ‘That’s So Gay’ Causes Lasting Harm (detroit.cbslocal.com)
Gay Chicago TV Tackles Bisexuality, Biphobia, & Bi Erasure (bilerico.com)
New CE Course on Culturally-Competent Healthcare with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals Added to HealthForumOnline’s Resource Library (prweb.com)

Raging Against The Hate Machine

Aug29 by D Gregory Smith

In light of this:

“the Republican platform included language rejecting not just same-sex marriage but also the watered-down alternative that many elected officials find more palatable: civil unions. The GOP platform committee also defeated a proposed amendment that said all Americans should be treated “equally under the law” as long as they’re not hurting anyone else.”

I present this:

GOP Adds 3 More Anti-sexuality Planks To Platform (Bilerico)
McDonnell Touts Anti-Gay, Anti-Abortion Planks at RNC (Talking Points Memo)
Paul Ryan blasted by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello (ctvnews.ca)

Bible and Homosexuality: Does it Matter?

Aug26 by D Gregory Smith

From Queering The Church:

August 26, 2012

By Terence Weldon

For Christians, the Bible is obviously important, but on homosexuality, responses differ. For traditionalists, it is a given that scripture “obviously” condemns all forms of same – sex activities, and that sodomy is “the sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance”. For an expanding pool of revisionist biblical scholars, this is a false reading of scripture, based on mistranslations or mistranslations of the original texts, and distorted by a heteronormative interpretive bias. Canon Derrek Sherwen Bailey first questioned the traditional readings back in the 1950′s, have challenged the traditional interpretations of the clobber texts, even labelling them as textual abuse, and more recently begun to promote affirmative, LGBT inclusive passages as an alternative.

But there’s another view, that even if it is true that the Bible really does condemn homosexuality, it could be simply wrong – just it has been wrong on slavery.

The argument is neatly put by Dan Savage, in his widely reported debate with Brian Brown, of the NOM:

The Atlantic reports it so:

The Bible, if it got something as easy and obvious as slavery wrong, what are the odds that it got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong? I put those odds at about 100 percent. Pat Robertson was recently asked about this. He was asked, “If America was founded as a Christian nation why did we allow slavery?” And his answer was, “Like it or not, if you read the Bible, in the Old Testament slavery is permitted.” That’s a half-truth. In both testaments slavery is permitted and sanctioned. But then Robertson said something uncharacteristically profound: “We have moved in our conception of human beings until we realized that slavery was terribly wrong.” And so what he’s saying there is not just that we realized slavery is terribly wrong. Also, we realized the bible was wrong about slavery. I don’t think LGBT Americans are asking American Christians to do anything that you haven’t already done.

Move in your conception of the value of human beings.

Here’s the full debate, courtesy of YouTube:

Pat Robertson: The Bible Is “Terribly Wrong” (slog.thestranger.com)
Bible and Homosexuality: Does it Matter? (queeringthechurch.com)
A faith-based explanation about why Christians could be wrong about God and gay marriage (thesunnews.typepad.com)

Romney And Ryan: Gay Facts

Aug25 by D Gregory Smith

(Click pics for full articles by The Human Rights Campaign)

Compassion For The Boy Who Cried “Wolf!”

Aug7 by D Gregory Smith

So, I want to take a moment to respond to the faux gay-bashing incident that swept me (and the gay media) by storm yesterday.

Yeah, I’m angry.

I think this may have set things back a bit as far as people taking the threat to LGBTQ people seriously in the state of Montana. When someone needs the help of the police because they have been a victim of gay assault, will it be met with deep suspicion and possibly a sneer?

I’m also really worried about the kid who reported the whole thing.

I’m worried that this will ruin his life. I’m worried that this decision to report- however it was made- was possibly made under the influence. Bad decisions are made every day under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Montana is populated with an extraordinary amount of repeat DUI offenders. Our stats are not pretty. When Montana police respond to fights, domestic violence or robbery, they’re mostly alcohol related. Ask any cop. In a 2010 survey of Montana State Prison inmates, 93% had alcohol related to their crime. 93 percent. So I’m worried that an all-too-common clouded decision-making process will become a reason for retribution.

Yeah, I’m worried that the community that so quickly rallied around him will turn just as quickly against him.

I want to argue for some understanding. We don’t know the circumstances. We don’t know the reasons. We don’t know the situation. We don’t know anything- except what the police reports and press releases have told us.

I think that the concern we all had for him can be turned in a new direction- toward trying to understand- and trying to forgive. Youthful indiscretion aside, mistakes are made- and so are apologies.

When his is made, I’m going to do my damnedest to accept it.

Because I’ve made mistakes of my own.

I also know that we’re going to need to remember the response that galvanized a bunch of people around the country into action. Because, someday, we’re going to need to rally around a victim of hate, a victim of injustice, a victim of violence- and I don’t want to have suspicion be the first voice that enters my head. I want compassion to be the first voice.

And I don’t want the memory of this or any incident to overcome compassion’s voice in my heart.

Ever.

That’s my prayer.

Update: Homophobic Attack In Missoula (dgsmith.org)

Let’s Talk About Sex

Jul28 by D Gregory Smith

“Sex Is the Question,” is an engaging and important survey regarding the sexual practices of gay and bisexual men. This entirely confidential survey is sponsored by the Center for Disease Control, and will be used by state and local health departments to better understand the HIV epidemic among gay and bisexual men and potentially create new techniques to reverse the trend. “Sex Is the Question” is the largest survey ever attempted by a US federal agency for gay and bisexual men, and it will only take you a few minutes to complete. Do you want another great reason to take the survey? For every completed survey, “Sex Is the Question” will make a monetary donation to the It Gets Better Project.

How can you take the survey? Just click on this link. After you complete the survey, you will also have the opportunity to invite your friends to participate, and a donation will be made to the It Gets Better Project for each of your friends who completes the survey too. In addition, “Sex is the Question” is not just a survey. It is the first study of its kind to provide immediate feedback to its participants by incorporating videos and other interactive tools. At the end of the survey, you will be presented with personalized insight and comparisons based on your answers. Thank you for your consideration! With you support, we can help put an end to HIV once and for all, and in doing so, support a terrific organization.

HIV Rising in Gay Men in Urban US (abcnews.go.com)
Biology Leaves Gay Men Highly Vulnerable to HIV: Study (thegreatone22.wordpress.com)
Gay, bisexual black men at high risk for HIV (thechart.blogs.cnn.com)
Gay Men Are Flunking The Test (dgsmith.org)

Gay Men Are Flunking The Test

Jul24 by D Gregory Smith

Also published on Bilerico.com

Yesterday, I posted an article about a press release by the Journal Of The American Medical Association:

“…all adult patients, regardless of CD4 cell count, should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to an article in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS. Other new recommendations include changes in therapeutic options and modifications in the timing and choice of ART for patients with an opportunistic illness such as tuberculosis.”

This follows the “treatment as prevention” model, based on the scientific research that people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy- with an undetectable viral load- are 96% less likely to pass on the virus.
This seems to be very good news. If you have HIV, you should find out early, get on meds and you’ll have a better chance of living a longer healthier life.

So what’s the problem? The problem is twofold:

People at risk aren’t being tested: 20-25% of all HIV-infected people don’t know they have it.
People at risk are still not being tested: Gay and Bisexual men of all races are the most severely affected by HIV

That’s not a typo- they’re basically the same reason, but there’s a difference. Any guesses?

Hint: It’s probably why most gay men won’t even read this article.

20-25% of all people with HIV don’t know they have it. Why not?

Here’s my take: Denial is one of the strongest mechanisms in the human psyche. It is fed by lack of information, by avoidance and by a strong desire for an alternative reality. If you’ve had unprotected sex, you’ve probably engaged in the process of denial. You’ve probably downplayed the risk, probably lied to yourself a little. You may have even gone over and over it in your mind, seizing every opportunity to deny the possibility of trouble.

“He looked okay”; “He didn’t seem sick”; “He pulled out”; “He would have told me if he had HIV”, etc, etc, and etc.

Well, we all know where that goes…. As individuals, we’re not facing facts. If we were, we’d be getting tested.

Gay and Bi men of all races are the most severely affected by HIV. Of course. We know that. Don’t we?

Again, denial applies. Gay and Bi men aren’t talking about HIV anymore. Our friends aren’t dying, so there’s no reason to be concerned. People with HIV aren’t out- aren’t well-known in our communities. Why? I was once told “You don’t need to harp about HIV all the time- it’s not that big of a deal.” Except that it is.

HIV has complicated my life in ways many people can’t believe. I am on catastrophic health insurance through the state- almost three times as expensive as my partner’s insurance. I get assistance for my meds- which cost about $25,000 a year- but (crazily), I can’t make more than $30,300 and still qualify for the program. I have joint pain, sleep issues, battles with depression, fatigue and a body that is aging at several times the normal rate– most probably due to inflammation- the hallmark of HIV disease. And yet, if I talk about this to friends or family, I’m seen as a whiner or someone trying unnecessarily to worry people I care about. It’s the “shut up- at least you’re not dying” defense. I know several HIV+ people who haven’t told anyone of their status, mostly because it’s “uncomfortable”.

No shit.

As a community, we’re not facing facts. If we were, we’d be talking to our friends about the importance of maintaining our health. We’d be talking about the hard reality of HIV.

But we’re not. Denial still holds sway, both individually and as a community. We’re lying to ourselves- we’re lying to each other- and infection rates stay the same.

We have a chance to change this trend. But only if everyone with HIV starts treatment, gets into care. This recommendation of the AMA may help with that. But it’s not up to doctors, nurses and social workers, it’s up to us.

We’re being tested, both as individuals and as a community. The problem is, we’re flunking.

Because we’re not showing up.

(Images source)