Brody's Scribbles... Being Aware & Vigilant In This New Year

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) JAN 2 | As we enter into this new year with a renewed sense of determination coupled with a sense of urgency after passage of the repeal of Don't Ask-Don't Tell- given that the Defence of Marriage Act is still Federal law and that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act has yet to even make it to the floor of the House for a vote, we need to regroup and reconsider the basis for many of our collective issues as LGBTQ persons.

The opposition has not gone silent, in fact, if indications are judging from media statements made in these past couple of weeks, those opposed to our achieving equality will be stepping up their efforts to stop any measure from becoming law that affords any LGBTQ person protection and equal rights.

For example, yesterday evening, the New York Times ran a marvelous story on its front page centre, about the efforts by the Utah Pride group to establish Gay-Straight Alliances in high schools statewide.  NY Times writer Erick Eckholm featured the very conservative city of St. George, Utah, which has a significant Mormon presence.

The new alliances in St. George were part of a drastic rise this fall in the number of clubs statewide, reflecting new activism by gay and lesbian students, an organizing drive by a gay rights group and the intervention of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has threatened to sue districts that put up arbitrary hurdles. Last January, only 9 high schools in Utah had active Gay-Straight Alliances; by last month, the number had reached 32.

The alliances must still work around a 2007 state law that was expressly intended to stifle them by requiring parental permission to join and barring any discussions of sexuality or contraception, even to prevent diseases. 

In his article, he also pointed out that Gayle Ruzicka, president of the Utah Eagle Forum, a conservative family group, who promoted the law said

“I just don’t think these clubs are appropriate in schools,” Ms. Ruzicka said. “You can talk about providing support, but you’re also creating a gay recruiting tool.”

A Gay recruiting tool? Forgive me folks, but while I've seen numerous U. S. Armed Services Recruiting Stations spread out across the country, and I've seen the adverts pitching membership recruiting for say fitness centres and political groups or Tupperware parties, I'll be damned if I have ever laid eyes on a "recruiting" office for homosexuality replete with the pride flag flying above it.

By the way, Eric Ethington, Director of Pride In Utah in his op-ed on this topic said:

"Students aren't looking for a place to discuss sexuality, they’re looking for safe havens from the far-too-often constant teasing, bullying and harassment which can take place both in school and at home.

The nation has finally been alerted to the high number of LGBT teen suicides in the past year, with at least 4 of them taking place in Utah. The more clubs like this we see, the faster that rate falls as kids have a place they can be free, without having to hide who they truly are."

Here's an interesting aspect, consider that some schools in Utah and elsewhere in the United States are "still imposing legally shaky barriers, like requiring the unanimous approval of student officers or prohibiting activities that violate “community morals.”  This was from Darcy Goddard, legal director of the ACLU of Utah. Again from the NY Times:

As she did in St. George last year, Ms. Goddard has warned officials that such policies may violate the federal Equal Access Act— a law passed by Congress in the 1980s, mainly to protect Bible study groups in schools, that has become a prime tool for protecting Gay-Straight Alliances from arbitrary hurdles.

The opposition for whatever reason has decided that its their moral imperative to interfere in the private sexual affairs of their fellow citizens even though there is absolutely no basis in fact or religious groundings for such nonsense and tyranny. For example, using the Christian bible as a model- IF, homosexuality was that big of a deal I'm fairly certain that when Moses strolled back down Mt. Sinai with the tablets upon which was written God's top ten list, you'd think that 'Thou Shalt Not Have Same Sex Intercourse/relations' would have been listed. Of course, it wasn't. Ah and then of course theres's the fact that the carpenter from Galilee upon which that religion was founded never said anything at all on the subject. He did mention love thy neighbor as thy self or something similar, but of course we all know that's strictly for the so-called moralists interpretation as to which neighbors are worthy of such  love eh?

No, the fight is far from over and as this year commences, we need to be more vigilant. It's silly, it's a waste of time and money- seriously, think about this for a moment, all of the money spent campaigning to prevent GSA's in Utah schools probably would have funded quite a few textbooks, or musical instruments, or field trips to further student's education.
All this effort is spent to demonise an inherent characteristic variance of the human species. What amazes me is that we keep repeating history, the persecution of human variants seems to be encoded in the DNA.
Examples you ask? Well, hmm, colour of one's skin? Religious beliefs? Oh, obesity? Those who are Mental Health challenged? The list is long actually.

One thing though, the time has arrived that the LGBTQ community needs to be proactive to counter those who marginalise by using religious beliefs as the standard and moral imperative to establish their authority. They are wrong and we collectively need to ensure that they are exposed as mere bigots and ignorant of the larger family of man and its variants. There's no excuse nor justification and they need to be told that and frequently.