PR 12 Ep 3: At The Corner Of Yoplait and Boardwalk

I don’t know what was funnier: Heidi Klum skulking around the Refinery Hotel at 5:30 AM, or that when she yelled Wakie, wakie! in Ken’s room, his facial mask slid off his face. Okay, it was the facial mask. But, also funny was that even though Heidi woke up the designtestants and told them they’d be headed to Coney Island, she didn’t go with them. I mean, Klum is now just a messenger? Has the production budget dwindled on the PR? So many questions, and still more to come.

Like: Yogurt? I mean this was a wack-a-doo challenge start if there ever was one. The designtestants meet Tim Gunn and Dave Smetter, VP of Marketing Communications for Yoplait Frozen Yogurt, on the Coney Island Boardwalk where they are told they will be teamed in pairs of two — and we get Kate panicking because she needs to be all about Kate — and then the designers are told to offer samples of the yogurt, get some one-word feedback, and then go to Luna Park  with their Go cards and spend $100 on carnival games and whatever prizes they win will be the construction materials for this challenge which will be based on Three Words that describe Yoplait.

My Three Words were: What The F**k? What any of this had to do with Yoplait I will never understand. But the twisted mess of a challenge start turned into a twisted mess of egos and crying and shouting and unicorns and f-bombs. Let’s rip…….

THE SAFES

BRADON & KAREN

I think Bradon stumbled with this one, and I’ll blame Karen; mainly because I have no idea who she is, and when I saw her wander through the workroom with her hair down I had no idea who she was.

JEREMNY & KEN

The two gays couldn’t come up with something fun? Their outfit was cool — the pants were amazing — but the rest of the look seemed like a disconnect.

SANDRO & SUE

Hot mess. Both the look and the way Sandro and Sue worked—or didn’t work—together to make that exploding pool liner? Oy.

THE BOTTOM

ALEXANDER & JUSTIN

So, yeah, Alexander still looks like Suede, only with red hair; I’m thinking of Tweeting Heidi and asking for a DNA test. That said, Alexander and Justin worked well together, although there was some weird shift in the episode. We saw Alexander with a giant stuffed animal, and he talked about using the eyes and the fur, but the runway look was entirely made from blow-up dolls — and not the fun kind, if you get my meaning.

When Tim Gunn sees the outfit, Alexander drops the Parson School equivalent of a curse word: junior!!! Pardon my French! Tim suggests they add something to it to make it not ju …. I can’t say it … but don’t make it silly.

That last part may have fallen on deaf ears—and not just Justin’s because Alexander wasn’t listening either. Their look, to me, was algae couture and not in a good way. They told the judges that their Three Words were: summertime, smooth, and playful. I saw none of that. 

The Adorable Zac Posen™ said it was too much; there was kelp and dorsal fins and seaweed spewing from the model’s bum; it was Sea Punk Skipper, a hot mess. Guest Judge Kelly Osbourne said they should have let the bold colors talk, and maybe not thrown everything at the outfit to see what stuck.

Heidi called it ‘over bedazzled' and told the boys they should have stepped back … further … further … further …Now get in the subway, go to the airport and go home. Further. Further. Nina said in an unconventional challenge the choice is to go chic or fun, and Alexander and Justin chose neither. The Adorable Zac Posen™ suggests the vest come off, and then Kelly asks that the fluffy pink testicles balls be removed, and suddenly it’s much better.

Not good, mind you, but better.

UP CLOSE

Heidi said it looked like a kid made it and that kid should be punished. Then she touches it and a piece comes off in her hands.

Still, Alexander and Justin are safe.

MIRANDA & TIMOTHY

Though these two are from Wisconsin, and one would think that would make them allies, Miranda loathes Timothy and he’s too busy talking to cartoon squirrels to notice. She’s slammed him from week one, but he’s too busy counting butterflies to care. 

However, he does care about the look, and several times during the episode we hear him call it his look, his dress so I imagine Miranda was right about him having a huge ego. And quite the passive/aggressive victim complex, too.

These two just do not get along. He designs, she designs; they hate what the other has done. He creates a textile — and tells us in a voice that sounds like no one on earth has ever done so — and she makes a sad dress.

Tim Gunn calls it a hospital gown … a Disney hospital gown. Miranda hears him and wants to change things but apparently all Timothy hears when Tim Gunn speaks are rainbows and lollipops and unicorns dancing. Although .... he does get a new and then, without a word to Miranda,  he wants to scrap the dress and make pants. I guess they don’t speak Team Challenge in Timothy Town.

Sidenote: Timothy took great care to tell us that unicorns are not horses with horns. I took great care to shriek at the TV, Unicorns don’t exist!

In the sewing room, Miranda rants and rages about Timothy — “he's no good...he sucks...he's a nightmare." — even after he comes into the room. And then we get him in the interview, shrieking, "If you know me so well, HOW DARE YOU?" like a cheap-ass Joan Crawford wannabe.

Miranda is a raging b-i-t-c-h and Timothy is a crying mess, grabbing his stuffed unicorn and heading to the top of the stairs to read a note that his model-muse gave him; he cries, and cries, and cries, and tells us that No one in the history of Project Runway has ever gotten a card from a model. This may be true, because the model would have to find someone to write it for her. BAM! Still, the card renews Timothy, though he continues to play the the victim, and won’t take Miranda’s apology because Actions speak louder than words.

Oy, the tsouris they’re giving me.

On the runway their look is just boring, a sentiment echoed by Heidi, who adds that Timothy’s bolero — the thing of which he is most proud — is just wrong. The Adorable Zac Posen™ calls it a deflated pool toy — noting that there is a piece of jewelry on the models arm with the blow-hole on it — and called the vest ineffective. Nina thought it looked like a biohazard bag, never a good look, while Kelly could only say it was a bad color.

Timothy plays his Victim Card again, and mutters something about the Titanic and lifeboats and how he wanted to make a lifeboat for the Titanic and saying that if he’d worked with a stronger designer it would have been better because it’s all Miranda’s fault because she’s a mean girl and he felt abandoned and alone and …

Stop! My heart won’t go on!

UP CLOSE

The Adorable Zac Posen™ called it sad, while Kelly says you can see a tutorial of how to make that vest on YouTube. Nina just shakes her head and says there’s nothing good about the look.

In the end Timothy is Auf’d. He was last spotted canoodling with a stuffed unicorn in Central Park and singing songs to rainbows and kittens.

Good.Riddance.

THE TOP

ALEXANDRIA & DOM

We didn’t get to see a lot of these two during the show, because mostly is The Sandro & Sue & Miranda & Timothy Hour. I did, however, love seeing Dom wearing the plastic bag to keep all the stuffed animal stuffing off of her.

And right off the bat they decided to go literal and use the stuffed animals to create a riff on Japanese anime culture with a monster dress. I got a this-is-going-to-be-bad vibe about it, especially seeing it in the workroom, but once it hit the runway, I was sold. It was fun and cute—but not cute in the junior sense—again, pardon my French. A sort of monster costume inspired by Japanese street style.

Their Three Words were playful, energetic and texture, which they totally captured them. I’d like to say they were the only designtestants to capture their words, but we really get too much in the way of the Three Words from anyone else.

Kelly Osbourne called it fun, and loved the styling; she said it was current, and fit in with a revival of rave fashion. Sidenote: I missed the memo that rave fashion is back, but I’ll be checking my steamers trunks for my old wardrobes.

Heidi also agreed, saying she wanted it, even though it wasn’t a Salute to Boobies. The Adorable Zac Posen™ called it inventive and fun and casual, while Nina said it was adorable and happy and the model was perfectly styled; it had the spirit of Coney Island and was "an Instagram moment" — whatever that means.

UP CLOSE

The Adorable Zac Posen™ noted the inside of the pocket was done in red like a monster’s tongue, and Heidi loved the sense of humor. Kelly, again, asked if she could have it.

Alexandria and Dom are safe.

HELEN & KATE

This pairing had the mark of failure and infighting written all over it. Helen—could someone get her some hair product STAT—called Kate a bitch before they’d even met. And, well, she’s right. And, man oh man, Kate, the Princess, with Helen, of the Tattooed Shears Through the Neck spells d-i-saster.

And yet it wasn’t. These two worked like a couple of deigning Chip and Dale chipmunks: You’re good. No you’re good. No, you are. No, you are. Kate said their pairing must be what a sorority is like; you know, without the unwanted pregnancies and STDs and stuff.

But, I give them major props for not going stuffed animals or blowup toys and having the good sense to get a bunch of red sombreros. With Kate’s corseting abilities, and Helen’s kind of wack-a-doodie artist’s eye, they took what could have been a hat-tastrophe and turned it into a work of art.

And without one cross word.

Helen suggested flattening the sombrero and that created all kinds of rosettes on the dress which just made it cool. Add in to that the fact that it was red in a sea of pool toy blues and greens and it was destined to stand out. Heidi was very impressed by their sculpture dress and Nina called it real high fashion but still whimsical and fun and tailored and refined. Kelly loved the fact that it was different—I believe she muttered to Tim, It’s f**king brilliant—and said she could see it on a red carpet. The Adorable Zac Posen™ called it Sombrero Saturn Chic and said the brims recalled the Coney Island Cyclone.

UP CLOSE

The Adorable Zac Posen™ called it fantastic, while Heidi dubbed it beautiful and Kelly said it was well-made. Nina, I think, had gone out for coffee.

When asked who should win, Kate said that it should be Helen for being so arty while she, Kate, is more construction. I wonder if she’d have been so gracious if she knew what Helen called her on Day One.

Still, Helen gets and ego boost, a win, and immunity.

MY TAKE

Tim Gunn. I just love him. ‘Heavens! I’ve never seen so much flotsam and jetsam in my entire life.” He is Pia Z’adorable to the core.

Sandro saying, "When woman listens to a man, it's so cool" was just disgusting; and Sue taking it and saying she’d be his assistant was equally disappointing. Sandro is a pig. And then, Sandro telling Miranda how to work with Timothy’s ‘attitude'. How to say in Russian, Pot.Kettle,Black.

Timothy gone. Yip-freaking-ee! I was so over his cartoonesque personality and his sustainable POV which wasn’t real because he was using all sorts of electricity this episode without a word. And, when he said, of Tim’s critique, ‘Just because we get a negative critique doesn’t mean our project is bad’ I shrieked, again, at the TV, Um, yeah, it does. You moron.

And, is it just me, or does Miranda look a little like Timothy. Perhaps another DNA test to see if there wasn’t some Wisconsin Wife Swapping back in the day.

Ken? A turban? Really. No, honey, no.

Next week we get Sandro’s meltdown and his attack on a cameraman, but ….

What did YOU think?

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Good News Friday: Life After The Death Of DOMA

Well, it’s been just over a month since the Supreme Court kicked parts of the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] to the curb and told Prop H8 to take a hike, so where do we stand now?

To start with, we have judges in Ohio, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Missouri who, this week alone, have acted to advance marriage equality by drawing on the decision in Windsor v. United States as part of their reasoning.

• In Ohio, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black drew on the precedent set in the Windsor ruling as part of his reasoning affording a temporary order requiring Ohio to recognize the marriage of James Obergefell and John Arthur: “While the holding in Windsor is ostensibly limited to a finding that the federal government refuse to recognize state laws authorizing same-sex marriage, the issue whether States can refuse to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages is now surely headed to the fore. Indeed, just as Justice Scalia predicted in his animated dissent, by virtue of the present lawsuit, ‘the state law-shoe’ has now dropped in Ohio.”
• In Missouri, the State Supreme Court has asked attorneys involved in a gay death benefits case for an additional briefing in light of the Supreme Court’s decision against DOMA. Kelly Glossip was denied the benefits of her partner, Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Dennis Engelhard, who died in the line of duty in 2009.
• In Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County, citing the Windsor again, the County Commission has directed clerks to distribute marriage licenses to gay couples.
• In New Mexico, Attorney General Gary King also cited the Windsor decision in his opinion in which he announces he won’t defend a state law in a lawsuit seeking marriage equality; he cites, along with Windsor, the Massachusetts case, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health and Iowa’s Varnum v. Brien.

And it isn’t happening solely at the state level; the Windsor ruling is affecting federal rulings as well. This week, the Federal Election Commission will vote on allowing married same-sex couples to make joint political donations from an individual bank account. Previously, married same-sex couples were ineligible to make such contributions under DOMA, but with Section 3 of that law deemed unconstitutional, the commission says it will now revisit the issue.

In addition to the DOMA ruling, Suzanne Goldberg, co-director of Columbia University’s Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, also attributed the advancement of marriage equality to previously anti-equality elected officials wanting to catch up to other politicians who have endorsed same-sex marriage. And let’s not forget We The People, who have been telling the world in poll after poll that it’s time to make marriage equality the law of the land.

The march goes on, people, and its gathering momentum.

via The Washington Blade

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I Didn't Say It ....

Harvey Fierstein, on Orson Scott Card, writer of Ender's Game:

"The quotes that got me about him weren’t against gay marriage -- he wanted homosexuality criminalized in the United States. That's what he called for. You want me to be tolerant of you wanting to criminalize homosexuality? F--k you on your grave, you piece of s--t."

I loathe the so-called Christians who want me to tolerate their faith while they use their faith to have me declared a criminal for my sexual orientation.

The fact is that Orson Scott Card and his ilk chose their faith; I was born this way.

Johnny Weir, on the suggested boycott of the Winter Olympics in Russia because of their anti-LGBT stance:

"To have a boycott would not only negate the career of some athletes who have only one chance at competing at the Games, but also the over-time shifts an exhausted father takes to make ends meet, or the social acclimatization of a brother who can’t go on spring break because his brother needed another costume, or the mother who works part-time at a job far beneath her, just so she can afford to watch her first born perform for the world. The Olympics are not a political statement, they are a place to let the world shine in peace and let them marvel at their youthful talents. ... I respect the LGBT community full heartedly, but I implore the world not to boycott the Olympic Games because of Russia’s stance on LGBT rights or lack thereof. I beg the gay athletes not to forget their missions and fight for a chance to dazzle the world."

I’m on Team Johnny here.

I want our LGBT athletes, and LGBT ally athletes to go to the games and stand up for the LGBT community and against Putin’s homophobic, intolerant, and even deadly, policies.

Desmond Tutu, Anglican Archbishop and social rights activist, on refusing entrance to Heaven if God is a homophobe: 

"I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place. I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this."

So many folks got their robes in a snit over this quote, but to me, what Tutu is saying is that God isn’t homophobia, and if she was, Tutu might choose a different after-life.

Blake Skjellerup, out speed skater, on the suggested boycott of the Winter Olympics in Russia because of their anti-LGBT stance: 

“For me it’s less about taking a stand and more about just being myself...I have no interest in going back into the closet in Sochi...This is not about defiance. This is me standing up for what I believe in.”

And, as I said, standing up against Putin’s Russia.

John Barrowman, on the vicious hostility he experienced after the announcement of his wedding:

"I don't get it. Some of the comments were outrageously vile. Quoting lines from the Bible. I won't tolerate it. People like that are banned on my Twitter account. I tell them to f**k off...People have a right to their beliefs but it doesn't mean they have to be nasty and deny other people their human rights. The world is not going to change and fall apart because a gay couple got married."

It’s love, people.

It’s a man who found the person with whom he chooses to be married and if you can’t be happy for people in love then you just can’t ever be happy.

Harvey Fierstein, on the suggested boycott of the Winter Olympics in Russia because of their anti-LGBT stance:

"You can’t get them through a U.N. sanction: 'Oh boy, the U.S. is mad at me. I’m shaking all the f--k over.' There’s only one way and that's in the pocketbook. You hurt them in the pocketbook, they shut the f--k up and back the f--k down. ... And Olympic athletes, I understand: You’ve worked your asses off for this for years, but there are still bigger things than you hanging something around your neck. There are bigger things in this world."

I usually agree with Harvey, but I think if we stay away, it’ll just be like the time we boycotted the Moscow Olympics because of something Russia did.

Remember that? Not many folks do; and about the only thing that came of that boycott was that Russia boycotted the LA Olympics in America after that.

Go. Stand tall. Stand proud. Stand out.

Sharon Osbourne, on Justin Bieber:

“I feel really bad for him. There’s this little kid with a huge dream, he’s cute, girls love him, and he wants to be a mean boy, and he’s about as mean as a fuckin’ kitten, and he’s trying to act out. It’s like pissing in a bucket. It’s like, “Oh, we’re the bad boys!” Fuck off! You don’t know what bad is. And I think that he’s lost, I really do. And, at the point he’s at in his career, it’s so dangerous because we’ve seen it all before a million times. Where do you go when you’re a child entertainer and then you want to transition to be a man? Very few make it.”

Sing it, Sharon.

Christian Vincent, out gay Danish actor, on why the struggle for LGBT rights in Russia and around the world matters: 
"I am privileged enough to be able to say [that I'm gay] openly, even publicly without any consequences. This is not something I need to do or something I have to do but I have the right to do it. The value of this right is not to be underestimated. The value of this right is not to be taken for granted. The absence of this right is lethal. If you are one of those who are, as myself, lucky enough to have this right, I merely ask of you to use it. Our brothers and sisters in Russia among many other places need our voice and our support now more than ever...Awareness has started and awareness is hope. And hope is never silent. So I ask of you once again, tell the world it's not okay."

Word.
I hope Russia gets the message.

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Random Musings

That’s Consuelo Roca-Jones, our Homo, er, Home Office ManagerCat. Caught loafing on the job again.

PS That's Tuxedo, on the floor, sleeping through his appointment, apparently.

This is a problem?

Due to their innovative waste-to-energy, AKA recycling, program Sweden is facing a new crisis: they are running out of garbage. Sweden’s waste management and recycling programs are second to none as only 4% of the nation’s waste ends up in landfills. In the US, nearly 50% of our crap goes back into the ground.

Since the Swedish manage waste so effectively and then use what remains to partly power their country, they are now living an environmentalist’s dream: a shortage of garbage.

Speaking of garbage … Anthony Weiner. How’s that for a segue, huh?

Well, actually, I want to discuss one Sydney Leathers—also garbage—who is just one of the women with whom Anthony Weiner engaged in explicit exchanges online. Looking for her fifteen minutes of fame as an online sexting addict, Leathers is now saying she feels “manipulated” by the Weiner.

And that’s her exact problem; that and the fact that she is no better than Carlos Danger because she engages in the same behavior as he does and then plays the Poor Me card.

STFU Syd, you’re an idiot.

Louis Rispoli, a gay rights activist and well-known fixture in the Woodside neighborhood where he lived for 32 years, was murdered nine months ago and his killers are still on the loose. But this week in his honor, the street where Lou lived, 51st St. and 43rd Avenue, was named in his memory: it’s called Louis Rispoli Way.

“This is a bittersweet day, with his killers till out there.” Danyal Lawson, Louis’ widow.

Last October, Rispoli went out to for milk just after two in the morning and he was beaten to death by three men in their 20s who got away in a white sports car. Police released a sketch of the suspects but they would never found.

The renaming of a street doesn’t help Danyal Lawson, but it is a reminder that Hate Crimes against LGBT citizens are on the rise.

RIP Louis.

I’m a huge fan of BBC America’s Copper. Sure, it’s your typical New York City police procedural, but this one takes place in Five Points in 1865 so it tells some of the same stories in a different way.

Of course, being shallow, and loving some Man Candy, it doesn’t hurt that one of the good-guys-turned-bad-guy-turned-maybe-good guy, Francis Maguire, is played by hottie Kevin Ryan.

OVERHEARD AT WORK

Straight Female Co-worker: I don't really have a gag reflex.

Bob: Did you add that to your Match.com profile?

Straight Female Co-worker: Shut up! You can't get married.

Bob: Actually, I am getting married.

Straight Female Co-worker: Well, you can't get married in South Carolina...

Bob: Apparently, neither can you...

I love this one ….

Cumulus Media, the nation's second-largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations, has not renewed the contracts of rightwingnut zealots Rush ‘Drug Addict’ Limbaugh and Sean ‘Tea Party Lapdog’ Hannity.

The decision comes after a breakdown of negotiations between Cumulus and Clear Channel "over the cost of the distribution rights," and supposedly has nothing to do with any comment made by either of the hosts.

Still, they’re gone from that company’s stations and I think the airwaves smell a little sweeter, and far more intelligent, now.

Last Monday, Pope Francis responded to a question about gay Catholic clergy by promising not to “judge” homosexual priests:

“Who am I to judge if they’re seeking the Lord in good faith? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem … they’re our brothers.”

And the world went nuts because the Pope loves The Gays except ….

He doesn’t. He just doesn’t judge, he still doesn’t want gay priests or same-sex marriage, he’s just passing the judgment buck to the man in the sky.

So, put away your I Love Pope Frankie t-shirts, nothing’s changed.

Oh, and speaking of marriage equality, congratulations Minnesota and Rhode Island, celebrating their first same-sex marriages.

The march goes on….

Nick Jonas is the latest celebri-moron to post a selfie on the interwebz, following in the tradition of, yes, Carlos Danger, Grampa Geraldo Rivera, and even my own beloved Huge Ackman.

Note to those self-obsessed selfie photographers: you look desperate.

Back to The Biggest Weiner ….

The bad news out of the Weiner campaign never ends. 

It seems that earlier this week the campaign staff awoke to see their former intern, Olivia Nuzzi, on the front cover of the Daily News telling a rather unflattering tale of her experience working on Anthony Weiner’s mayoral bid.

So now, Team Weiner is firing back; or at least his communications director Barbara Morgan is firing back with a barrel full of curses:. During her rant about Nuzzi, Morgan called the woman a fame hungry “bitch” who “sucked” at her job. She also Nuzzi a “slutbag,” “twat,” and “cunt” while threatening to sue her:

“I’m dealing with like stupid fucking interns who make it on to the cover of the Daily News even though they signed NDAs and/or they proceeded to trash me. And by the way, I tried to fire her, but she begged to come back and I gave her a second chance. Fucking slutbag. Nice fucking glamour shot on the cover of the Daily News. Man, see if you ever get a job in this town again.”

Naturally, as the Weiner camp is apt to do, time and again, Morgan apologized:

"In a moment of frustration, I used inappropriate language in what I thought was an off the record conversation. It was wrong and I am very sorry, which is what I said tonight when I called and emailed Olivia to apologize."

Off the record conversation with a news site? Hardly.

And don't get me started on those two 'reality' show whores and their latest court dates....

I loves me some Kristin Chenoweth. I loves me some Wicked. And I loves me some parody.

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Ken Bencomo Wasn't Fired For Being Gay, He Was Fired For Being Married

Ken Bencomo and Christopher Persky

Out in San Bernardino, California, Ken Bencomo was a high school teacher at St. Lucy’s Priory High School, an all-girl Catholic school.

I say ‘was’ because Bencomo was fired this week for getting married; to a man.

Ken Bencomo and Christopher Persky were one of the first same-sex couples to get married in San Bernardino after the fall of Prop H8, and the local paper published their marriage announcement. But, less than two weeks later, Bencomo says he was fired.

Patrick McGarrigle, Bencomo’s attorney, said the school didn’t fire Bencomo for being gay, they fired him for getting ‘gay’ married: “Their reasoning was that he had gotten married and it was in the papers. The school’s position was that it violated its teachings.”

School administrators declined to discuss the firing, but, of course, issued a statement that read, in part: 

“We respect and protect privacy interests and, to be respectful of those involved, the school does not comment on confidential matters. St. Lucy’s wishes to reassure all in our community that upholding its mission to educate students in the tradition of the Catholic faith is of paramount importance.”

Respect the privacy of others, unless you get ‘gay’ married.

Ken Bencomo had been teaching at St. Lucy’s for 17 years; he was head of the English department and coached the dance squad. He was openly gay, and the school knew that--in fact, school officials had met Bencomo's partner Christopher several times--and had no problem renewing Bencomo’s contract every year for seventeen years until Bencomo got married; something he’s legally entitled to do.

Ken Bencomo hopes to resolve the situation without going to court; all he wants to do is keep doing the job he’s been doing for seventeen years, a job the ALLEGED good folks at St. Lucy’s felt he’s always done until he got ‘gay’ married.

Sidenote, Part One: I know, I know, he broke one of the tenets of the Catholic Church which, as Pope Frankie says, should not judge The Gays for being gay, but can judge The Gays for marrying one another. If only Ken Bencomo had not fallen in love, had not struggled to have the same kind of life as everyone else, had not been legally allowed the right of marriage.

He’d still have his job.

Sidenote, Part Two: I, personally, loathe the term ‘gay marriage’ but used it here as a point of sarcasm, because Ken Bencomo didn’t get ‘gay’ married, he simply got married.

Go HERE to sign a petition asking that Ken Bencomo get his job back.

via CBS Los Angeles

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Keep Your Religion Out Of My Civil Rights

The other day, as I was cruising the interwebz, I stopped in at Maybe It’s Just Me...–if you aren’t reading it, well, why aren’t you reading it?—and I came across this quote from Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"People have labeled me homophobic. If I was homophobic, I wouldn't have friends who are gay and lesbian, so that can't be true. But because I have a certain belief system, I am now the enemy. And I'm not the enemy. I have love for everybody, period.

I don't think it's my role and responsibility to take on a platform unless God calls me to do it. That's not something I feel called to do. When my mother was living they tried to pit us against each other. I love my mother and she loved me. They couldn't divide true love. We had good conversations concerning this whole issue. But I think we have to be careful in our nation that we don't demonize everyone who doesn't agree with us.

…

I value marriage between a man and woman. Spiritually I value that. Psychologically I value that. I know that the absence of my father in my life had its cost."

Being kind of a Regular Joe Homo, I got to thinking about The Religious Folks and The Gays and how we fit, or don’t fit very well, and I thought I would dissect what Bernice said, in her own words.

She uttered one of the lines that I hate most of all: I have friend who are fill in the blank. I mean, surely, being the daughter of Dr, King she heard time and again people say they couldn’t be racist because they had black friends; and surely she doesn’t believe that simply because she’s knows some of The Gays means she can’t be a homophobe. She can; I don’t know for sure if she is homophobic, but she certainly can be.

But she isn’t a homophobe because of her faith, and this is where I take issue with The Religious Folks and their stance against same-sex marriage. This isn’t a religious issue, as I have said so often my throat hurts. It’s a civil issue, and a legal issue, but marriage, the way it stands today, after being changed and changed and changed and changed, is no longer a religious institution. I want to say to people like Bernice King that there is not one legal marriage in this country that has only been performed by a religious official; marriages are not valid until sanctioned by the government, so let’s keep your religion out of my marriage.

I say to people like Bernice King, you can believe in your heart of hearts that marriage is a one-man-one-woman thing, but we all know it hasn’t always been the case; just yesterday i posted about church sanctioned same-sex marriages from 100 AD--see HERE. And I want to remind Bernice King, and others in the African American community who insist only on so-called traditional marriage, that as little as 45 years ago a black man or woman could not legally marry a white woman or man; marriage has changed, and will continue to change, as society changes.

Lastly, I say to Bernice King, don’t use your father to try and spin your argument. You didn’t grow up without a father because your mother was in a same-sex relationship, and you didn’t grow up without a father because he ran off and left you; you grew up fatherless because your father was murdered, and you lived your life knowing that, if not for that one day in 1968, you might have always had a father. Growing up without your father because he died has no place in a debate about same-sex couples, and father-less homes.

See, Bernice, I have no problem with your religion, your faith, or your spirituality; I have no problem with your beliefs. My problem lies in the fact that you want to use your religion, faith, spirituality in the political arena. You want to deny me the right to marry my partner because your religion tells you it’s wrong, but what about the other religions that have no issue with same-sex marriage? What about those who don’t believe in God? They don’t get a voice in the discussion.

You can have your faith, but you cannot use your faith to deny me my constitutional rights. And that’s the only place where you and I have an issue. I don't think you're a homophobe because your religious beliefs tell you that same-sex marriage is wrong, but I do think you are homophobic in using your religion as a weapon in my fight for my Civil Rights.

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