Equality Roundup: Priests & Poultry
It’s awards season — San Diego’s Equality Awards are coming August 25. We’ll be honoring Rev. Canon Albert Ogle, an Episcopal priest who created the first comprehensive AIDS plan for California, and Superintendent Bill Kowba and the San Diego Unified Public School District for their work implementing the anti-bullying Seth’s Law.
Who else are we honoring? That’s up to YOU! Our Good Neighbor Award’s nominations are still open until August 1, and if your nominee is chosen, you get free tickets to the event.
You can contrast the excellent work Rev. Ogle has done — from supporting the freedom to marry, to his excellent work combining lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality with development aid in emerging nations — to the work of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, recently of the San Francisco Archdiocese. He’s often credited as the “father of Prop. 8,” an ugly baby to be sure, and is the one who approached the so-called National Organization for Marriage about taking away the freedom to marry here in California. He’s further to the right than most Catholics — the laity support the freedom to marry by over 50 percent — and has characterized the love and commitment of LGBT Californians as a “plot by ‘the evil one’ to destroy morality in the modern world.” Eeesh.
Speaking of eesh, that whole Chik-Fil-A thing? Teens in Laguna are voicing their discontent, and Chik-Fil-A is even catching flak behind the Orange Curtain. Diane Brady for Bloomberg points out that Marriott hotels could teach Chik-Fil-A plenty about being social conservatives without being exclusionary.
If you’ve still gotta eat moar chiken, Hilah Cooking has a Chick-Fil-Gay that should tide you over.
It seems like just yesterday that Rahm Emanuel was still against the freedom to marry — now he thinks it’s unconscionable to hold his former position. And who would have thought that Democrats would unanimously endorse the freedom to marry in their national platform? Heck, even Vietnam is looking at normalizing marriage for everyone.
The Boy Scouts decision continues to reverberate — an Amador County camp worker and Eagle Scout was fired for being gay, but ten of his fellow staff resigned in protest with him. The damning Tumblr Eagle Scouts Returning Our Badges documents the nationwide reaction.
Our buddies in Maine have finalized their petition language. Make sure to watch their compelling ad featuring a WWII veteran and his family. This Maine op-ed calls on Catholics to support every family.
In Washington, it’s Republican State Senator Cheryl Pflug whose ad is making the rounds.
And speaking of families, the independent journal review of that odious LGBT “parenting” study concluded it was, “Bullshit.” The accompanying paper? “A lowbrow meta-analysis of studies.” Mark Regnerus, the author of the controversial “study,” is still under institutional review at the University of Texas at Austin.
To end on an upbeat note: Too often, reporting on trans folks focuses on the disproportionate obstacles they face. That’s totally legit, but we love We Happy Trans, about positive experiences of trans people. Highlights include: Jen and Noah, the site’s founders, and celeb trans kid Stephen.
