Brody's Journal... Public Sex Is Fine- Just Clean Up After Yourselves

Photo via The Bilerico Project

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) APR 30 | Alex Blaze, Deputy Managing Editor of The Bilerico Project tells us:

The Copenhagen Post has a story on gay cruising that shows how no one cares about sex in a public park. An unknown person left signs telling people to clean up after themselves:

Visitors to Ørstedsparken, just next to Nørreport Station, were last week greeted by signs asking people to be considerate of others if they intended to have sex in the park.
Sex is allowed in the park, but the sign asked people to clean up after themselves and not to have loud intercourse between 9am and 4pm.

The city council says it's bothered that the signs used the city's logo, but they're not going to take action against the sign-maker or the people having sex in the park.

Read the rest of Alex's article here: [ Link ]

Brody's Notes... Europride Roma Kissing Gladiators Ad Upsets Conservatives

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) APR 30 | Towleroad Executive Editor Andy Towle reports that an animated video spot for 2011 Europride Roma, which features two gladiators locked in a romantic embrace is, of course, upsetting conservatives in Italy.

Stefano Bolognini, a spokesman for Europride Roma, says right wing Italian politicians have declared the ad unconstitutional.

Bolognini at Europride Roma writes that the idea was inspired by archeological graffito found many years ago in the Ludus Mugnus (The school of roman gladiators).

EuroPride Roma 2011 takes place on June 11.

Brody's Notes... Catholic Diocese Urges Rhode Island Lawmakers To Reject Civil Unions Bill

Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, RI

By Editors LGBTQNation (Chandler, Arizona) APR 30 | After working to defeat a marriage equality bill, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence has also urged Rhode Island lawmakers to reject the compromise of a civil unions bill.

In an editorial appearing in the Rhode Island Catholic, the church said efforts to aimed at “appeasing homosexual activists” by legalizing civil unions is ultimately a “stepping stone to the legal recognition of same-sex relationships as marriage.”

“Government sanctioned civil unions cannot be supported by those who truly understand the unique nature and status afforded a man and a woman in marriage. We call upon the members of the Rhode Island House and Senate to cast aside such compromises and rather work to strengthen marriage in our state by passing a Defense of Marriage Bill that clearly defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

“Only then will the attempts by radical activists to redefine marriage and undermine family life in Rhode Island finally be stopped. Civil Unions are not the answer,” the editorial said.

Earlier this week, openly gay House Speaker Gordon Fox (D-Providence), a leading supporter of the gay marriage bill, said there was lack of support in the state Senate to pass the marriage equality bill during this legislative session, and that he would instead support a civil unions bill.

A House spokesman said Thursday that lawmakers are reviewing civil union laws in other states to help them craft the proposal, which could be introduced as early as Tuesday.

RELATED: Rhode Island Same-Sex Marriage Legislation Dead, Civil Unions Bill Possible Consolation

Brody's Notes... Virginia Attorney General Cuccinelli Drops King & Spaulding

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli
Photo via The Associated Press

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) APR 30 | The Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Kenneth Cuccinelli, has fired the Atlanta-based law firm King & Spalding for backing out of the DOMA cases. Cuccinelli who has previously publicly stated his opposition to "special rights for homosexuals" had written in a letter to Joseph Lynch in the firm's Washington, D.C. office earlier this past week:

"King & Spalding's willingness to drop a client, the U.S. House of Representatives, in connection with the lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was such an obsequious act of weakness that I feel compelled to end your legal association with Virginia so that there is no chance that one of my legal clients will be put in the embarrassing and difficult situation like the client you walked away from, the House of Representatives." 

He added that "Virginia seeks firms of committment, courage, strength and toughness, and unfortunately, what the world has learned of King & Spalding, is that your firm utterly lacks such qualities."

Cuccinelli told reporters he acted because;

"Virginia does not shy away from hiring outside counsel because they may have ongoing professional relationships with people or entities, or on behalf of causes that I, or my office, or Virginia as a whole may not support. But it is crucial for us to be able to trust and rely on the fact that our outside counsel will not desert Virginia due to pressure by an outside group or groups."

Chuck Anziulewicz, an LGBTQ Activist, a part-time commentator for West Virginia Public Radio, and an AIDS Education specialist with the West Virginia Department of Health, after learning of Cuccinelli's letter, said:

"Perhaps the law firm of King & Spalding simply came to the realization that there was no point in defending something as transparently unconstitutional as the Defense of Marriage Act. WHY is DOMA unconstitutional? 

A Straight couple legally married in Iowa is automatically entitled to 1,138 legal benefits, protections, and responsibilities according to the Government Accounting Office (GAO). Many of those benefits have to do with tax law, Social Security, inheritance rights, child custody, and so on. But because of DOMA, a Gay couple that is legally married in Iowa is still unrecognized by the federal government for those benefits. 

Consider, also, the "Full Faith & Credit" clause of the Constitution. Because of this, any Straight couple can fly off to Las Vegas for drunken weekend, get married by an Elvis impersonator, and that marriage is automatically honored in all 50 states, and at all levels of government. But thanks to DOMA, a Gay couple that is legally married in Iowa becomes UN-married if they relocate south to Missouri.  

The ONLY real difference between a married Gay couple and a married Straight couple is the gender of the two people who have made the commitment. It has nothing to do with procreation, since couples do not need a marriage license to make babies, nor is the ability or even desire to make babies a prerequisite for obtaining a marriage license. So there is really no constitutional justification for denying law-abiding, taxpaying Gay couples the same legal benefits, protections, and responsibilities that married Straight couples have always taken for granted.  

This cannot be accomplished in a piecemeal, state-by-state fashion; it is the FEDERAL government which, through its own actions, has made this a federal issue."

Brody's Notes... Tennessee Lawmaker: Homosexuality Is A ‘Learned Behavior’

By Editors LGBTQNation (Chandler, Arizona) APR 29 | Tennessee lawmaker Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), sponsor of the “don’t say gay” bill that would prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms, said Thursday that homosexuality is a learned behavior.
Appearing on the David Pakman show, Campfield said, “Well, so far I haven’t seen anything that’s proven there’s a gay gene, that has not been proven to me. [...] I just haven’t seen anything that proves it’s anything but a learned behavior.”
"Don't Say Gay" Bill Sponsor Stacey Campfield Interview:

Related: TN Senate committee advances ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill

Pakman also asked Campfield is he was concerned that the bill would create a hostile environment for LGBT youth, or lead to an increase in anti-gay bullying or teen suicide.

“Well, I think it could do just the opposite, actually. If a teacher’s advocating against the lifestyle, it’s saying what that is is dirty, it’s filthy, it’s wrong, it’s an abomination … I think my bill would stop that.”

The measure, SB49, was approved last week by a Senate committee.

BN&S... Congratulations To The Duke & Duchess Of Cambridge, William & Catherine

Brody's Scribbles...Racism & Bigotry in America Today, Do We Even Recognize The Racism That Exists?

Dan Kirk is a political activist from Sacramento California. He lives with his domestic partner, Robert. Together they are raising his niece and nephew – just another gay family in a world that is slowly coming to terms with things that are different.

Tea Party Protester In Washington DC
Photo via Getty Images

By Dan Kirk (Sacramento, California) APR 28 | Yesterday's events in the political sphere have brought the issues of racism and bigotry in our country back into my thoughts. When President Obama acquiessed to the repeated demands that he 'show his papers', our country reverted to how it was over a hundred years ago and up to our more recent history of the twentieth century where anyone who wasn't white or christian would often find themselves second-class citizens, or even worse. Yet, people will act shocked to the core when confronted with their own racism and declare "I am not a racist!" or "That's not racism!". About fifteen years ago, I had a conversation with my own grandmother that was just like that.

"I'm not a racist." She told me when I confronted her about refusing to let my cousin and her newborn child into her home. "This is my home. I choose who I let in and who I don't, and I don't want any of them in my home. Let them go live where they want, work where they want. We can't stop them thanks to the courts, but that's their business. I still can refuse to let them in my home, and that girl got herself pregnant by a negro and I don't have to let her child in this house."

Yes, she was still upset about the Supreme Court overtuning the California Ballot Proposition that established the right of homeowners to refuse people of different color or religion from living in their neighborhoods. It wasn't just black people, either. She didn't want hispanics, asians, or non-christians around her either. We didn't talk for about three years after that discussion, largely because I was so angered by her racism and her refusal to even admit it was racism. To her, racists were those folks in white sheets that strung the negros up or drug them behind their trucks. Good, ordinary folk were the ones who didn't want negros going to the same schools or being able to buy homes in the same neighborhood as good white folk. There was no problem with stopping people in the neighborhood just because of their skin color, or their religion.

In the mid-nineties she had people move in next door who had really dark skin color, and all hell broke loose. Any time one of them even looked at her, she was on the phone calling the police. Her house was locked tight every night and she must have spent most of those early nights shivering in fear in her bed, unable to go to sleep. She ended up in the hospital after a few months of this, and was put on some anxiety medication until she was finally able to accept that she had people living next door that weren't white.

Then the muslims moved into that house down the street, and she was convinced that they were going to blow up the entire street. If you think that's bad, when the Mexicans moved in across from her, she became convinced they were going to kidnap her and sell her into white slavery.

Thankfully she died several years before Barack Obama ran for President, because I don't think I could have withstood her reactions to a black man running for President. I know she would have been convinced there was no legitimate way he could be President. Most likely she would never accept him as President and would grab onto any straw that would point to him being illegitimate.

Oh yes, she would definitely had been a Birther, demanding he show his papers, his long-form birth certificate. Never mind that the long-form birth certificate has NO LEGAL VALUE. In fact, unlike the short-form that Obama provided in 2008, the long form CANNOT be used as identfication or to prove citizenship. Hawaii certifies only the short-form certificate as LEGAL proof of brith, and he showed that in 2008. The form people have clamored for over the past three years is not the legal document. They've had the legal document, but they don't want to accept it, because accepting it is to accept the legitimacy of his Presidency.

As soon as President Obama provided this long-form document that has no legal merit, the 'controversy' was not ended. Instead of having their doubts answered, the doubts immediately shifted onto his college transcripts. The demand of "SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS!" continued, but now on a new topic that no white President would be forced to provide. Hell, I didn't like George W. Bush, and I don't think he was properly elected in 2000, but even I had to admit he was the legitimate President of the United States and his taking the office of President was legal. But to those who don't want to admit we have a black President, no document will ever suffice. If President Obama showed all of his transcripts today, it would be something else they would demand to prove he wasn't illegitimate. It's kind of like a black man walking down a public street in 1899 America.

It reminds me of a new arrival in my division back when I was in the Navy. This guy had no problem with a black member of our division, who was the same rank as him. He did have a problem with the black guy who was in charge of our division. One night, after quite a few drinks in a bar overseas, he finally admitted to me the core of his problem. "I ain't got a problem with them blacks working with us. I get it that's the way things are now, but none of them should be able to tell ME what to do." It isn't a stretch to imagine this guy is one of those currently demanding that President Obama show his papers.

Nor is it hard to imagine that MOST (not all) of the clamor is from people who have a discomfort with the idea of a non-white person being in charge of them and their country. They might feel it's fine for 'those people' to live here, work here, and even hold positions of authority. Yet, put one of 'those people' in charge, and there are problems. Most likely they will never admit the problem is the color of their skin, or their religion, so they will focus on ANYTHING that will deligitimize their status as a leader. When you take away that current focus, the focus will shift to something else, and so on and so forth.

That is how you can tell if racism or bigotry is behind something. Prove the fallacy of their argument, and it will shift to something else. That is because the bottom line is not that they don't think Barack Obama was really born in the U.S., it's because he's black and deep down, so deep they can rarely admit it to themselves, they can't believe a black man can be THEIR President. It's sad, but instead of getting rid of racism completely, I think we have merely shoved the racism down so deep that people won't even admit it in themselves. 

As a country we have come a long way in how we treat people who are different from us. Yet, as this birther controversy has shown, we have a great deal further to go before we are able to put the stamp of "deceased" over the demand to "Show me your papers!."

RELATED: The Huffington Post- April 27, 2011: A Day of National Shame

'You Are No Longer My Child' - LGBTQ Youth & Living In The Shadows

By Brody Levesque | Washington DC-- While a principal focus of many western LGBTQ activists is battling the theocratic political ideology of conservative societies in nations, which by and large are of a majority Christian nature regarding workplace and marriage equality issues, there is another grouping of queer persons demonised by religious doctrine- queer youth, who reside in these same societies and are often overlooked or just ignored.

In the United States, particularly after a rash of adolescent suicides in late 2010 by queer youth, a heightened sense of public awareness was created resulting in the onslaught of publicity and news coverage of those deaths.

Seattle based columnist Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" campaign, designed to combat those deaths with preventive messages of hope and inspiration, garnered the attention of Americans from all walks of life and sexual orientation to include the President of the United States, Barack Obama, who contributed his own video taped message telling LGBTQ youth that it does indeed get better.

Unfortunately, even with such proactive campaigns to assist and empower queer youth, there remains a vacuum in the American culture that allows thousands of queer youth to be kicked out of their homes and families simply because of religious based bigotry.

Carl Siciliano, the executive Director of the Ali Forney Centre in New York City, which provides temporary housing, food, educational programmes and counseling wrote last December:

"In New York City, there are 3,800 youths who sleep on the streets every night. Over 1,000 of these youths admit to being LGBT. There are only about 250 shelter beds for homeless youth in NYC, so the great majority are left stranded on the streets. LGBT kids from all over the country flock to our drop-in centers for the food, showers, medical care, mental health treatment and other forms of support we provide.

Our case managers work valiantly to help find shelter for these kids, but the reality is there are so few safe options for LGBT youth that we are often forced to advise them on how to survive while sleeping in places like subway trains, parks, abandoned buildings and construction sites as they wait for one of our beds to open up. 

Yesterday one of our case managers described spending the afternoon trying to find shelter for a girl who had just come to us. When his efforts were exhausted and he had to tell her that she would be out on the street for the night, she sat in his office and cried.I hate what I see our kids going through. 

So many thousands of vulnerable kids being cast out of their homes for being gay, deprived of all family support, and forced to fend for themselves without the resources to survive. I hate the way they suffer violence and degradation on the streets, the way they get gay bashed in mainstream shelters, the way so many have to survive through prostitution.I hate seeing youth be so deeply traumatized. 

This phenomenon of thousands of LGBT youth being thrown out to the streets by parents who will not accept them is the most terrible face of homophobia in our time. Is there is a greater wrong being perpetrated against our community? 

I do not understand why protecting our terribly violated and abandoned youth is not the top priority of the LGBT movement. I do not understand why our advocacy organizations are not fighting to make certain that our tax dollars are allocated to supporting these abandoned kids. It is a nightmare that there are so few resources to protect these kids."

Queer youth advocates angrily complain that what they derisively refer to as "Gay Inc.," the large well funded organisations fighting for queer equality rights, oft times deliberately overlook LGBTQ youth, instead channeling all of their combined funding and publicity efforts into orchestrating workplace and marriage equality legislative victories.

Raising awareness is difficult as photojournalist Samantha Box noted in her critically acclaimed photo-essay: Invisible: The crisis of LGBT Youth Homelessness. Box writes:

"By being homeless in a society that discriminates against LGBT people, these young people have been rejected twice: first by their homes, families and communities, and then by the services and systems that are supposed to help and protect them. Caught in the intersection of race, poverty, gender expression and sexuality, these young adults fight to find their way through a society that chooses not to see or help them."

Published statistical data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the number of homeless and runaway youth in America ranges from 575,000 to 1.6 million per year. It is conservatively estimated that between 20 and 40 percent of those youths identify themselves as LGBTQ. 

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School’s Center for Adolescent Health in Baltimore, Maryland, have found that it is nearly impossible to facilitate the needs of these queer homeless youth because they are for the most part off the radar of government and relief agencies.

Americans rarely will acknowledge the thousands of homeless youth hiding in the shadows of society, struggling to survive in today's competitive economic system. These youth often lack skills necessary to support themselves and are disconnected with adults willing to make a long-term commitment to their protection. Independent homeless adolescents are left to fend for themselves on the rough streets—finding their own food, seeking protection from harsh weather, and dealing with their own psychological and personal issues.

One youth activist lamented that the greater community of queer adult's political interest seems to narrow to highly visible marriage and workplace related issues without regard to the future generations that are living on the streets currently and may not survive to reap the benefits of that advocacy. Providing for queer youth is also coming to the forefront of political actions by advocacy groups that are focused on assisting queer youth as budgetary cutbacks and scaling down of government funding threatens much needed services.

In western European nations, invisibility becomes a greater problem for young queer adults particularly effected by religious based bigotry by the Islamic faith.

For example, in France, the charity organisation Le Refuge is a lifesaver -- literally. Since 2003, the organization has helped hundreds of desperate LGBTQ youths, most of them from Muslim families, who have been rejected by their families and forced onto the streets. But the charity is overwhelmed by the number of people seeking assistance.

In a recent March 2011 article in the online edition of the German publication Der Spiegel, writer Annika Sartor tells the story of a young 23 year old Gay muslim, Amine. (Not his real name.)

Amine had told his parents that he was Gay and now cannot forget the last words he heard from his father. Six words that destroyed his life. "You are no longer my son."
That night, the 23-year-old couldn't sleep. At dawn, as his family slept, he slipped out of the house. He didn't say goodbye to anyone -- not to his mother, or to his sisters. At 7 a.m. he stood with a packed suitcase at the train station, waiting for the train to Paris.
Amine's father had rejected him because he is gay. There was no way back.
Newly arrived in Paris, Amine wandered through the street, not sure where to go. On the Internet, someone finally offered him a place to stay. But it was dirty and stank. And as Amine went to sleep one night, the stranger forced himself into his bed.
Three days later, Amine moved out, and was on the street again. Exhausted, he spent the night on a park bench. When he woke up the next morning, he realized someone had stolen everything from him: his wallet, cell phone, passport and money.

Le Refuge's founder, Nicolas Noguier, says that the organisation has cared for about 400 young people, including 80 in the last year alone. According to Noguier, about 70 percent of the people living there are young men. Most come from Muslim families.

Le Refuge, is France's only shelter for gay and transgender youth who are abandoned by their families. With its main office in Montpellier, the organization also operates in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.

With the help of psychologists and volunteers, Le Refuge works to reestablish stability and structure in the lives of fallen youth, as well as to resolve conflicts within families. Unfortunately, however, the headquarters is currently under the threat of closure, reports Spiegel. At the end of 2010, the organization had a budget shortfall of €70,000 ($97,000).

Experts state that unless more immediate attention is paid to directly addressing the collateral damages caused by religious bigotry coupled with a pervasive attitude of indifference among adult LGBT persons and community leaders, there will continue to be high rates of suicides and drug abuse leading to death or health issues for queer youth.

Brody's Notes... U. S. District Court Sets June Hearing In Prop 8 Judicial Disqualification Motion

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) APR 27 | The Chief Judge of the U. S. District Court for Northern California has issued a "fast-track" order, scheduling a June 13th hearing date for the motion to have his predecessor's, retired federal judge Vaughn Walker, decision in the Prop 8 case thrown out because Walker is in a same-sex relationship.

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times reported:

In a court filing, the sponsors of the ban on gay marriage, ProtectMarriage, asked the chief judge of the federal court in San Francisco to nullify last August’s ruling by former U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who retired earlier this year.
ProtectMarriage said Walker should have disclosed his involvement with his male partner before presiding over the marriage trial because it constituted a conflict of interest.
“Judge Walker’s 10-year-long same-sex relationship creates the unavoidable impression that he was not the impartial judge the law requires,” ProtectMarriage argued in the legal filing.

Judge Walker disclosed earlier this month after he had retired from the federal bench that he was Gay. Walker has said that he never had considered removing himself from the case as he felt that there was no conflict of interest.
Court and legal analysts have said that it is highly unlikely that ProtectMarriage's bid to have Judge Walker's ruling vacated will succeed.

Brody's Notes... Rhode Island Same-Sex Marriage Legislation Dead, Civil Unions Bill Possible Consolation

Gordon Fox, (D-RI)
Official Portrait

By Editors LGBTQNation (Chandler, Arizona) APR 27| Rhode Island’s openly gay House speaker said Wednesday that legislation to legalize same-sex marriage is dead for the year, because it’s clear the bill won’t overcome opposition in the state Senate.

House Speaker Gordon Fox (D-Providence), a leading supporter of the gay marriage bill, said in an email that he “will recommend that the House not move forward with a vote on the marriage equality bill during this legislative session,” and that he will instead support a civil unions bill.

“I have had conversations with Senate leadership and, unlike the marriage equality bill, I am optimistic that a civil unions’ bill can gain passage in both chambers during this legislative session,” Fox wrote.

“The new civil union bill is currently being drafted and will soon be ready for introduction and public inspection. I will be one of the sponsors.

“Because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed by Congress in 1996, the federal government does not recognize same sex marriages and therefore federal rights are not granted to same sex couples who get married in states that allow it.”

Reaction to Fox’s announcement has been swift and critical.

“Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox has made a serious miscalculation,” said Freedom to Marry’s National Campaign Director, Marc Solomon, in a statement.

“With support for the freedom to marry topping 60 percent — higher than in any other state in the country — and with a strongly supportive governor, the Rhode Island House should send a marriage bill — and nothing less — to the Senate now,” Solomon said.

“Nothing short of marriage is equality for Rhode Island’s gay and lesbian citizens and their children,” said Karen Loewy, an attorney for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, in a statement.

“By citing DOMA, Speaker Fox lets the federal government set the standard for discrimination and sells out the gay community for the sake of political expediency. DOMA’s days are numbered as it comes under increasing legal and political attack,” Loewy said.

Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed’s opposition to the marriage equality bill was seen as a key obstacle to its passage. In a statement to reporters, she said she supports civil union legislation and is confident it will pass.

Brody's Notes... British Tribunal Rules Catholic Charity Cannot Discriminate Against Gay Couples Wanting to Adopt

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) APR 26 | A British tribunal commission has ruled against the Leeds-based Catholic Care in the charity's quest to be exempted from the UK's equality laws which make it illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples who wish to adopt.

Officials with the Catholic agency warned that the organisation will be forced to end their work finding homes for children if they are forced to comply with the new equality regulations, which the charity claimed runs contrary its religious nature and beliefs. The PinkNews UK reported:

The case went to the High Court last year before being referred to the Charity Commission, who would not back Catholic Care’s position. And the Charity Commission’s stance was upheld today by a first-tier tribunal which dismissed the appeal.

Although the tribunal acknowledged that the potential loss of any children’s charity was a negative thing, the threatened closure from Catholic Care – which is not certain – had to be balanced against “the detriment to same-sex couples and the detriment to society generally of permitting the discrimination proposed.”

Responding to the news that the Charity Tribunal has unanimously ruled that Catholic Care cannot discriminate against potential same-sex adopters and continue to operate as a charity, Laura Doughty, Stonewall’s Deputy Chief Executive said:

"Stonewall applauds the decision of the Charity Tribunal to dismiss Catholic Care’s appeal. It’s clearly in the best interests of children in care to encourage as wide a pool of potential adopters as possible. There should be no question of anyone engaged in delivering any kind of public or publicly-funded service being allowed to pick and choose their service users on the basis of individual prejudice. This ruling makes the law in this area crystal clear."

Brody's Notes... Anti-Gay Arson Hate Attack Kills Gay Equestrian's Horses

Anti-Gay Graffiti at Arson Location
Photo Via WHIZ-TV News 

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) APR 26 | A southeastern Ohio Gay man's barn was burned in what the State Fire Marshal is classifying as an arson fire. Seven adult horses and one foal died as a result of being trapped in the barn located on West Richards Road in McConnelsville, Ohio, just after 11:30 pm last Sunday.

In an interview with local NBC News affiliate WHIZ television, the property's owner, Brent Whitehouse, said he awakened to discover the barn engulfed in flames and immediately called 911, but it was too late:

 "I couldn't get the door open I could still hear the horses kicking and I tried as hard as I could to get them out and I just couldn't get them out in time," he said. 

According to media reports, neighbors who know Whitehouse are convinced that the fire was a hate crime, explicit words relating to his sexuality- The words "Fags are freaks" were found on the side of the barn, spray painted in large white letters before the fire was started. 

Whitehouse's close friend Bobbie Nelson told a reporter for WHIZ:

"They obviously don't know him very well, because he's a sweet-hearted person and how he lives his lifestyle is nobody's business but his own."

Another close friend of the victim, Yvette Yeadon, said:

"Whatever his sexual orientation was it had nothing to do with him as a person and to take it out on these innocent horses was beyond any fathom of what anybody should ever do to anybody."

Yeadon worked closely with many of the animals on a weekly basis. She said the foal was only a-week-old and one of the other horses was expected to give birth any day now.

"They were just in the beginning stages of life and they should've had the chance to live a wonderful life, and they didn't," she said.

Shane Cartmill with the Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office told reporters that a Blue Ribbon Arson Reward of up to $5,000 is being offered to anyone with information leading to the identification of the person or persons responsible. Cartmill also announced that investigators with both the Fire Marshal's office and the Morgan County Ohio Sheriff's Department are asking anyone who may have seen something out of the ordinary at or around the time of the fire to come forward.

Brody's Notes... Texas Legislative Efforts Working On Killing Off College Campus LGBTQ Centres

Rep. Wayne Christian (R-District 9)
Photo via Texas Insider.org

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) APR 26 | Conservative lawmakers in the Texas state Texas House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would require Texas universities and colleges to provide equal funding for promoting "family and traditional values." 

Representative Wayne Christian, (R-District 9) sponsored an amendment in a budget provision that passed the House in a 110-24 vote earlier this month. If passed by the senate and signed into law by the governor, the legislation would require any college with an LGBTQ centre to offer the same financial support to establish and fund a "traditional values" center. Currently, nearly all Texas public universities and colleges have campus LGBTQ centres serving queer students. The student run LGBTQ centres sponsor programming, do referrals for those students who need counseling or support groups, and serve as advocates for LGBTQ students on campus.

During the debate over the budget provision, which contained the wording that the amendment would apply to any public colleges with a center "for students focused on gay, lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, transsexual, transgender, gender questioning, or other gender identity issues," according to the Dallas Morning News, lawmakers "cracked jokes and guffawed" with one representative asking Christian what "pansexual" means. Christian then urged that lawmaker to visit the centres at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University to find out.

The Young Conservatives of Texas, a conservative GOP oriented group which focuses on Texas college students, worked with Rep. Christian for passage of the budget amendment. The group's senior vice chairman, Tony McDonald, via press release stated:

“When I brought these ideas to Representative Christian and his staff, he immediately recognized the importance of these measures. I would like to thank Representative Christian and his staff for authoring and sponsoring the amendments. We hope that the equal-funding-for-traditional-values amendment will remain a part of the budget as House Bill 1 navigates the Senate and conference committee process”

“It is clear that our public universities are funding centers which promote a radical political and social agenda in favor of normalizing homosexuality and expanding homosexual rights,” added Mr. McDonald. “We thank Representative Christian for exposing these centers and demanding that universities either stop funding them, or equally fund the promotion of traditional values.”

In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, McDonald remarked that students "who want to promote a homosexual lifestyle" can do so "on their own time and with their own money."

"The Texas House of Representatives has passed a budget bill that would require any public college with a student center on "alternative" sexuality to provide equal funding to create new centers to promote "traditional values." He also said that requiring the creation of traditional values centers would "give the left a taste of its own medicine," he said. He charged that these centers "are encouraging folks who consider themselves homosexuals to go on considering themselves as such. That's the point of the centers, and that's not something Texas taxpayers should spend their money on."

Political observers around the capitol in Austin have noted that although the state's Senate has yet to adopt its version of the budget bill, the inclusion of the house measure in the overall budget bill added to the factor of the dominance of social conservatives in Texas politics means that the measure will probably be enacted. Lawmakers supporting the bill have said that they favor only equal time for all kinds of sexuality.

Inside Higher Ed writer Scott Jaschik interviewed supporters of the LGBTQ centres:

While centers in Texas await the outcome of the budget bill, the debate has already accelerated at Texas A&M University, where the leadership of the Student Senate is pushing the university to go on record by saying that it would not increase student fees to create traditional values centers, but would cut the existing Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center in half to finance a new center. In debate over the issue, advocates for traditional values centers said that straight students who may be questioning their sexuality need a center just as much as gay students do. Students said it was important to create "an equal playing field" for those who may disagree with the gay center. Lowell Kane, program coordinator for the gay center at Texas A&M, said that he could not comment on the state legislation. But he said it was hard for him to accept the idea that gay students somehow have it better than their straight counterparts because of the center at Texas A&M or elsewhere. He noted that in various surveys of gay students about how welcoming the university is, Texas A&M does not do well.

"I'm sure there are instances where an individual heterosexual person might feel oppressed," he said, and that's wrong. But it's also not the norm, he added. "What we are talking about is the difference between an individual instance and societal homophobia.""If you walk into any campus classroom or student health services, most of what you find is geared toward a heterosexual population and not a GLBT population," Kane said. Noting the suicide last year of Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University, Kane said, "I have never heard of any student who took their life because their college roommate outed them as being a heterosexual student."And turning to comments from students at Texas A&M, he added, "I have never had a student come up and complain that someone comes up and out of the blue calls them a 'hetero' and slapped them, but that happens to my students, who are called 'dyke' and 'fag.' "

Brody's Notes... Fox News: California's LGBT Education Bill Is A Disservice To State's Students

Should sexual orientation be the central theme of proposed curriculum in the state of California? Hear why Fox News contributor Tucker Carlson says that dwelling on the sex lives of prominent historical figures might only be doing students a disservice:

Brody's Notes... Prop 8 Backers Ask Court To Void Ruling- Alleging Gay Judge Was Biased

Vaughn R. Walker
Former Official Photo

By Editors LGBTQNation (Chandler, Arizona) APR 26 | Supporters of California’s Proposition 8 — the voter approved ban on gay marriage, that was later declared unconstitutional — are seeking to have the ruling voided because the federal judge that presided over the case is gay and was in a long-term relationship.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

In a court filing, the sponsors of the ban on gay marriage, ProtectMarriage, asked the chief judge of the federal court in San Francisco to nullify last August’s ruling by former U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who retired earlier this year.

ProtectMarriage said Walker should have disclosed his involvement with his male partner before presiding over the marriage trial because it constituted a conflict of interest.

“Judge Walker’s 10-year-long same-sex relationship creates the unavoidable impression that he was not the impartial judge the law requires,” ProtectMarriage argued in the legal filing.

On Aug. 4, 2010, Walker struck down the measure as unconstitutional, ruling that “moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians.”

Earlier this month, Walker — now retired — confirmed for the first time publicly that his is gay, although it was widely known before the trial began.

Walker said he never considered his own homosexuality a reason to recuse himself from the case.

“If you thought a judge’s sexuality, ethnicity, national origin (or) gender would prevent the judge from handling a case, that’s a very slippery slope,” Walker said.

Jon Davidson from Lambda Legal reacts:

"To say that Judge Walker's should have disclosed his ten-year relationship with another man or that it made him unfit to rule on Proposition 8 is like saying that a married heterosexual judge deciding an issue in a divorce proceeding has to disclose if he or she is having marital problems and might someday be affected by legal rulings in the case. Or that any judge who professes any religious faith is unable to rule on any question of religious liberty or, at a minimum, must disclose what his faith teaches. Much like a suggestion that a female judge could not preside over a case involving sexual harassment or an African American judge could not preside over a case involving race discrimination, Proposition 8's supporters improperly are suggesting that a judge will rule in favor of any litigant with whom he shares a personal characteristic."

Brody's Notes... Baltimore Police Charge 18-year-old In Attack On Transgender Woman

Teonna Monae Brown
Baltimore County PD
Booking Photo

By Editors LGBTQNation (Chandler, Arizona) APR 26 | Baltimore County police have charged an 18-year-old woman in the brutal attack on a transgender woman at a local McDonald’s restaurant on April 18.

The Baltimore Sun reports:

Teonna Monae Brown of the 2000 block of Kelbourne Road in Rosedale was charged in the attack on Chrissy Lee Polis. The incident was videotaped and went viral online late last week, with hundreds of thousands of views on various websites.

The video shows Polis, 22, being kicked and punched in the head by two people until she appears to have a seizure. While one employee and a patron try to intervene, others can be seen standing and watching, and some are laughing.

Brown has been charged with one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault. She was arrested Friday and is currently in custody at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $150,000 bond.

Polis was attacked on when she got into a confrontation with two female patrons over use of the women’s restroom. The second suspect, a 14-year-old, girl has also been charged in the attack, but her name has not been released because charges were filed in juvenile court.

According to police, Brown was arrested last July for allegedly attacking a mother after a dispute inside the same McDonald’s.

Maryland State Prosecutors have not yet determined whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the attack as a hate crime.

Brody's Notes... IT GETS BETTER from NBCUniversal

Employees of NBCUniversal share their personal & empowering messages for the It Gets Better Project.



If you're considering suicide, or need help, call the Trevor Project:

866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386)

Brody's Notes... DC Law Firm Backs Out Of Defending DOMA

By Mark Singer (Washington DC) APR 23 | In a tersely worded statement released this morning, Robert D. Hays, Jr., chairman of the Washington D. C. law firm King & Spalding, announced that it will not continue to represent the U.S. House of Representatives in efending the Defense of Marriage Act. 

"Today the firm filed a motion to withdraw from its engagement to represent the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives on the constitutional issues regarding Section III of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act," Hays said. "Last week we worked diligently through the process required for withdrawal."

“In reviewing this assignment further, I determined that the process used for vetting this engagement was inadequate," he continued. "Ultimately I am responsible for any mistakes that occurred and apologize for the challenges this may have created."

The King & Spalding firm came under intense fire from LGBT rights advocates after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced last week that former Bush Administration Solicitor General Paul Clement, a senior partner, would be representing the House in court defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
LGBTQNation reports that today’s announcement by King & Spalding to withdraw from representing the U.S. House prompted Clement’s resignation:

“I resign out of the firmly held belief that a representation should not be abandoned because the client’s legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters. Defending unpopular clients is what lawyers do,” Clement wrote to King & Spalding chairman Robert Hays.
“I recognized from the outset that this statute implicates very sensitive issues that prompt strong views on both sides. But having undertaken the representation, I believe there is no honorable course for me but to complete it.”

RELATED ON LGBTQNation: LGBT legal groups consider breaking ties with DC law firm over DOMA defense

Brody's Scribbles... Couples Torn Apart by the Government

By Matt Baume (San Francisco, California) APR 25 | There's going to be marriage than ever before, with another survey showing majority support for the freedom to marry. So why are Republicans spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend a law that could tear apart legally married couples like Henry and Josh? There's promising signs for marriage in New York and Scotland, but a legal setback in Montana is likely to postpone weddings for years. And the internet's most popular weekly LGBT marriage news video show gets a brand new logo.

Brody's Scribbles... Welcome to McDonald’s, Where Violence & Homophobia Are More Popular Than The Big Mac!

Terry 'Angel' Mason

By Terry Mason (Los Angeles, California) APR 25 | McDonald’s has finally reached the ultimate pinnacle in their quest to provide the perfect family dining experience. They now offer you dinner theatre with their mouthwatering Big Macs, delicious fries, Filet Fish sandwiches, Value Meals and Fruit Smoothies. Now, customers can watch murderous homophobic female thugs, as they attempt to kill members of the LGBT community, while Management and crew members cheer them on and video tape horrific violent assaults to later post on YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK and other HIP HOP Social networks.

Sound unbelievable??? Well, that is exactly what happened on a chilling Baltimore evening at around 8 p.m., inside a McDonald's restaurant in the 6300 block of Kenwood Avenue. What fueled the incident was when a Transgendered woman made her way toward the women’s restroom to use the facility. The victim first asked one of the McDonald crew members if she could use the restroom and was told that she had to purchase some food in order to use the facility. She responded by saying that she really had to go right away and could not wait. According to the woman, while walking toward the restroom an unidentified man apparently approached her, possibly one of the girl’s boyfriends, in an attempt to flirt with her, but the woman declined his offer and immediately went into the restroom. When she came out two African-American females, 14 and 18 spat in her face and began arguing with her, expressing their objection to the woman using the bathroom and one of the women accused her of flirting with her boyfriend. The argument escalated into what has become one of the most violent attacks ever viewed on the internet. As a matter of fact, immediately after the video was uploaded to several popular social networks, it went viral!

When I first learned of this incident, I was warned that the video is extremely violent and graphically disturbing, but never in my wildest dreams, could I have ever imagined just how horrific and disgusting it would be to watch! All through the video, I was overwhelmed by a variety of emotions. All the while, cringing in disbelief and thinking to myself, “This cannot be happening and why isn’t anyone making any real attempt to stop this violent attack, phone the police; and my God, where is the manager?” And then out of nowhere, after several minutes which seemed like hours of brutal beating, an elderly woman dressed in white like an angelic emissary appears on the scene to rescue the woman in distress. Even though, it is clear that she is no match for the two younger women attacking the victim, she literally places her life in jeopardy, in a courageous attempt to defuse the situation and ward off the attackers. While her efforts were not completely successful (because the assailants later returned to beat the woman even more viciously), still her intervention delayed the attackers and may possibly have saved the woman’s life.

Now, you are probably wondering, like me, where was the staff and where was the manager? That’s an easy question to answer; the manager is making a half- hearted attempt to stop the fight while others can be heard in the background, peering through video phone camera lenses, boasting about how they are going to put the video on YOUTUBE and other social networks. The Manager on duty made an insincere attempt to intervene only after the badly beaten victim was viciously dragged by the hair to the front door by the young female thugs who seemed intent upon murder. After a sustained barrage of brutal kicks to the head, the victim began convulsing; bleeding from the mouth, all of which was followed by a violent seizure.

Moreover, while this occurred, the crew was gleefully cheering the thugs on while videotaping it, never making a genuine attempt to defuse the attack and/or phone the police. Instead of the manager locking the door and retaining the two women who had attacked the victim until the police could arrive, the employees encouraged them to flee for their own protection and the manager walked over the victim’s body lying in the doorway (as he can be seen doing throughout the video) like she was a piece of trash that was totally unworthy of any type of assistance.

When Baltimore County officers finally arrived, they found a 22-year-old woman convulsing and having seizures. She was still lying in the doorway of the restaurant. After the woman had recovered to some degree, the officers questioned the woman and apparently ran a make on the woman to determine if she had a criminal history. Their inquiry revealed that the victim had a lengthy rap sheet, which of course had nothing at all to do with the incident or the fact that she had been undeservedly almost beaten to death by vicious attackers. The victim’s criminal history and even home address were made public after the unmerciful beating, further jeopardizing the woman’s safety and adding to the emotional duress, physical and mental trauma caused by her assailants.

The owner of that particular McDonald's announced on Saturday afternoon, April 23, 2011 that one employee who taped the violent beating and put it on YOUTUBE and other social networks for all the wrong reasons had been fired (quite justifiably so). He also responded by expressing his dismay about the entire incident:

"My first and foremost concern is with the victim," franchise owner Mitchell McPherson said in a statement, adding that action might be taken against other restaurant workers as well. "I'm as shocked and disturbed by this assault as anyone would be. The behavior displayed in the video is unfathomable and reprehensible."

I am inclined to agree wholeheartedly with Mr. McPherson, however; if I were in his position, I would fire every employee! Starting with the manager and every crew member who stood idly by and witnessed the incident and did nothing to stop it or even intervene by calling the police.

Some people have stated that the transgender woman should not have attempted to use the women’s restroom and expressed their vehement disapproval. I realize that most people don’t fully understand anything about transgender people, but since we are having a “TEACHABLE MOMENT,” it should be noted that most transgender people don’t think of themselves as being gay, but see their gender assignment at birth as a false or as an incomplete description of themselves. Therefore, it is only natural for them to dress, act, and yes, even use public lavatories that are appropriate for them as a transgender woman or man. Needless to say, it was probably extremely wise and appropriate for the transgender woman to use the women’s restroom, because if the truth be told, had she entered the men’s restroom (in some minority communities) she could have placed herself in even greater jeopardy!

Not long ago, Baltimore, Maryland was besieged by Evangelical ministers who had fled the DC area after being expelled from the region. They were horribly defeated by the LGBT community and affirming Congregations during the implementation of (Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 Bill 18-482), granting the right to same sex couples to marry. Of course, since Baltimore, Maryland is in close proximity to Washington, DC, it was only natural for the LGBT community to seek the same constitutional rights and provision to marry as well. However, religious leaders banned together enraging the African-American community and pitting them against the gay community once again, killing the bill. It is no secret that the Black Church has tremendous influence over the African-American community and influences the minds of the countless thousands within its ranks. Furthermore, it is no secret that sometimes this vehement disapproval mutates within the Black community and manifests itself in the form of overt bigotry and hatred toward same-gender-loving people, even outside of the church. I don’t blame the ministers for these acts of violence completely, but I do blame them for not telling their parishioners that whatever their doctrinal beliefs are about same-gender-loving people, those beliefs never gives any individual the right to discriminate or beat anyone unmercifully or to murder them!
RELATED: { via Joe.My.God } MARYLAND: Hate Crimes Vigil To Be Held Tonight At Baltimore McDonald's
Via Metro Weekly:

A candlelight vigil is scheduled to take place at the McDonald's at 6315 Kenwood Ave. in Rosedale, Baltimore, at 7 p.m. on Monday night where on April 18 a transgender woman was physically attacked, before appearing to have a seizure, in an incident recorded on a portable phone by a McDonald's employee.

The victim says she plans to sue McDonald's. Hate crime charges have not yet been filed against her attackers.

Des Downunder On Sundays

By Des Rutherford, Adelaide, Australia- The Atheist's Easter

Like it or not atheists and agnostics are subjected to the Easter story and the carrying-ons of its promoters, in particular those who adhere to the notion that their nation was founded on Christian notations.

For my secular sermon this Easter Sunday, I ask you to indulge my attempts to examine the enigma of the existence of Jesus Christ, and the overwhelming lack of evidence for the Christ story outside of Biblical texts. Did he actually exist? Where is the proof?

Far be it for me to disparage anyone's religion, since I support freedom of religion, opinion and expression, but just maybe it is time for we, the atheists, the agnostics, and the people of sceptical reason to enlighten our lives with a little humour, satire if you like. If you find such things a little too biting, or the irony escapes you, you might be better advised to stop reading now, and go make a nice cup of tea. Otherwise, let's break out those messy chocolate Easter eggs to munch on while we investigate our hopefully liberal mirthful musings.

There do not seem to be any astronomical grounds to show that a star, a comet or a UFO moved across the sky and stopped over a stable whilst shepherds watched their flocks by night. This may mean that the three kings had camels fitted with some kind of GPS which zeroed in on newly born Messiahs.

A census for tax purposes, reports of which are inconsistent, is said to have caused the Holiday Inns of the day to be so full, that pregnant women had to give birth to their babes in barns. Why not go to the local hospital, didn't they have health insurance? Did the midwife arrive in time to help? Did Joseph boil water?

Where is the record of Herod's decree to kill first born male children? Missing in action, is it?

What happened to the travel papers for Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, crossing the borders between Egypt, Bethlehem and Nazareth. Were they stopped by border guards as suspicious illegal immigrants? Were their passports confiscated? Did they forget to renew their visas? Did they get the pat down or a full body search?

Where are Jesus' apprenticeship papers and his licence to be a carpenter? Did he have a green card? Did unions object to him having a second job? What were his rates? Is it true that his long service vacation leave was forty days and forty nights, during which he had a devil of a time?

Why aren't there any reports of Jesus being investigated for practising healing without a medical licence, or for using unorthodox treatments on pre-existing illnesses?

Where is the record of a permit for Jesus to feed thousands of people with a fish, a loaf of bread, and then ply them with wine. Are there any records of him calling a camel service to get the drunken sods home? Was no one arrested for being drunk and disorderly? That might qualify as something of a miracle.

Who catered for the Last Supper? Where is the receipt? Who paid the tip? Is it true a full bodied wine was served?

And why is there no record of the arrest warrant for Jesus Christ? It is said that Judas identified Jesus to the arresting soldiers by kissing him. If it was an accepted custom to kiss a man in a public garden back then, even a man claiming to be God, why today can't gays kiss in public, those willing men whom they think are gods?

Why are there no court records of Jesus Christ's trials under Herod, or Pontius Pilate. The Romans left plenty of documents about Kings called Herod, and there were lots of Herods. Strange there is no mention of a Jesus being called out as a challenger to the King (another Herod) by the Pharisees, and then crucified by the Romans.

Why no record of a death panel pardoning a prisoner called Barabbas rather than freeing Jesus?

There do not seem to be any papers, stone tablets, or scrolls which transferred the ownership of a tomb from a rich merchant to a recently crucified man. Sounds like an illegal land deal to me.

Why is there no evidence of the veil being torn in the Jewish temple. Was it one of the veils that Salome used in her dance routine for Herod so she could get John to lose his head? Did Salome actually perform a dance with seven veils, or did Oscar Wilde invent it to delight 19th Century audiences? Was John a southern Baptist, or did he come from the middle east?

What we do have is the Bible, which clearly sets up the Pauline scheme (St. Paul) for building a mega-church organisation to make huge amounts of money by ripping off the poor and gaining power over the ignorant through intimidation and fear.

This is a proven method for making lots of money, tax free.

But the really big question, that just has to be asked, leading up to Easter, is where is Jesus Christ's birth certificate?

Could it be in Hawaii?

I guess not, but I bet it would show that Jesus wasn't born in the USA, so we can forget about Him qualifying for being elected President.

Of course there is always the possibility that the birth certificate has been hidden because it reveals that Jesus had two fathers. However, the early years of Jesus' life seem to have been lost behind a wall built up around them, requiring a focus on family research and counselling to reveal what kind of notional organisation of marriage the dads, and Mary, had...if any of them even existed. (The marriage certificate must have been interesting; hmm, one god, one man, and one woman. Sounds like such a marriage might be an entertaining diversion, although it's probably more satisfying to settle down with one disciple devoted to diversity.)

At Easter there is also the whole question of Jesus being born again. Does that mean we should be looking for a second birth certificate? We haven't even found the first one.

I'd ask about his death certificate, but it seems rather irrelevant if we can't find his birth certificates.

Did the Easter Bunny conceal it in an as yet undiscovered Easter egg?

Anyway, Happy Athe ister, and don't worry about a little chocolate on your face; it can be a wonderful reason for someone to kiss you and so resurrect your humanity.

Brody's Notes... Transgender Beating Victim Speaks To The Baltimore Sun Newspaper

By Mark Singer (Baltimore, Maryland) The victim of the vicious beating at a suburban Baltimore County, Maryland McDonald's last Monday evening spoke with reporters Justin Fenton and Kevin Richardson of the Baltimore Sun Newspaper.

According to the victim, 22 year old Essex, Maryland resident Chrissy Lee Polis, the attack was initiated because she wanted to use the women's restroom in the restaurant. Polis told the Sun:

"They said, 'That's a dude, that's a dude and she's in the female bathroom,' " said Chrissy Lee Polis, 22, who said she stopped at the Rosedale restaurant to use the restroom. "They spit in my face."

Ms. Polis said she had a sex-change operation to become a woman, and that this isn’t the first time she’s been picked on physically because of her gender identity, reported the paper.

The attack which was filmed by a now fired worker of the restaurant shows two females — one of them a 14-year-old girl — repeatedly kicking and punching Polis in the head as an employee and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men are seen standing idly by.

Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victim's head, and Polis appears to have a seizure. A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming.

"I knew they were taping me; I told the guy to stop," said Polis, a resident of Baltimore. "They didn't help me. They didn't do nothing for me." 

 RELATED: Video of the Interview:

 

 RELATED: More Coverage of this unfolding story here:  LGBTQNation