Order your "Be Happy, not some cunt ass idiots like Heidi Zamecnik and Alexander Nuxoll" NOW!

The Day of Silence is an annual event where LGBTQ students and supporters stay silent for an entire school day to protest anti-gay bullying, harassment, and disrimination in school. The day is sometimes promoted by the school, but often just tolerated as an exercise in Free Speech (an exercise in free speech that will get them bad press and may result in lawsuits if they don't comply). Last April, one day after her Naperville school's Day of Silence, Heidi Zamecnik decided to exercise her First Amendment rights by wearing a shirt that said "Be Happy, Not Gay". In a decision that could only be described as half-assed and unsatisfactory to all parties involved, a counselor was ordered to cross out the words "not gay" with a permanent marker, so that Heidi spent the day walking around in an ugly shirt that said "Be Happy". Heidi has since formally requested to wear a similar shirt after this year's Day of Silence. Heidi is suing the school for denying the request, violating her civil rights to free expression and equal protection and, presumably, for ruining her shirt. While most of the press has focused on Heidi, another student, Freshman Alexander Nuxoll, has been named in the case as well.

Just three days before the story came out, the ACLU urged the Supreme Court to uphold their 1969 decisicion, stating that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Their statement came in support of Joseph Frederick, who is suing a school for suspending him five years ago, for wearing a shirt that said "Bong Hits 4 Jesus". The difference in the cases, of course, is that one shirt is discriminatory and one is just tacky (possibly offensive to Christians and Straight Edgers, but not really discriminatory). They have yet to release a comment on the Naperville case. The Zamecnik's and Nuxoll's suit is being handled by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization dedicated to "defending religious liberty" (meaning that when "Freedom of Speech" goes up against "The Separation of Church and State", they choose freedom of speech, which would be fairly noble except for the fact that the only religion they'll defend is Christianity).

One of the ADF's founders is James C. Dobson, famous for his many TV appearances as head of the ultraconservative group Focus on th Family. Since 2005, The ADF has tried to establish the day after The Day of Silence as The Day of Truth, kind of a counterpoint. The ADF also claims on their website, some victories regarding Free Speech cases of students barred from holding an event called The Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity, but after extensive googling, I can't say for sure whether this day actually exists. I could find a website and a MySpace site, but no articles by credible news organizations (there were many articles but each one of them was on a blog or website with a stated Conservative focus). Similarly, I found no court transcripts or decisions, no Wikipedia entry and no one speaking out against it, which is especially damning considering that there is someone speaking out against everything on the internet.

I would just like to exercise my free speech right here to say that Heidi and Alexander should get to wear their shirts. I would also like to say that they are spoiled brats who think that life is really hard for rich, straight, White people. I think she should get to wear the shirt, but I also think that her classmates should have the same right to wear shirts that say "Be Happy, not some cunt ass idiots like Heidi Zamecnik and Alexander Nuxoll".

Tribune take


247 gay take



Christian take (with picture of the shirt)


Legal precedent to ban the shirt


Chicagoist take, with other t-shirt banning examples


ACLU to Supreme Court


Day of Silence


ADFDay of Truth



-E.L.R.

Colt's Coach Hates Homos

According to this excellent reporting from the Indianapolis Star, Superbowl winning coach Tony Dungy accepted an invitation to speak at an Indiana Family Institute (an affiliate of Focus on the Family) fundraiser. Not only did Dungy's appearce spur record ticket sales raising nearly $50,000, but Colts-donated footballs, helmets and other mementos signed by Dungy yielded an additional $20,000. Some highlights from the article:

"IFI is saying what the Lord says," Dungy said. "You can take that and make your decision on which way you want to be. I'm on the Lord's side."

The coach said his comments shouldn't be taken as gay bashing, but rather his views on the matter as he sees them from a perspective of faith.

"We're not anti- anything else. We're not trying to downgrade anyone else. But we're trying to promote the family -- family values the Lord's way," Dungy said.

Don't you love family values?

Image courtesy sportsillustrated.cnn.com

- JNM

Mexico City: Catholic, and still more progressive than us

According to this article on gay.com,

An economist and a journalist became the first couple united under Mexico City's new gay civil union law, kissing while a string orchestra played "Besame Mucho" and police cordoned off streets around a white wedding tent filled with guests.

The new law, which took effect on Friday, grants same-sex couples inheritance rights and social benefits similar to those enjoyed by married heterosexual couples.

Coahuila state lawmakers from the conservative party of President Felipe Calderon have filed a court challenge claiming that gay unions violate constitutional provisions protecting the family.

The Catholic Church in Mexico also has spoken out forcefully against the law.

Image courtesy of realacapulco.com

- JNM

"Why Do Straights Hate Gays"

Larry Kramer, a 72-year-old gay man, founder of the protest group ACT UP, and the author of "The Tragedy of Today's Gays" opinion piece for the LA Times isn't so much an analysis of the reasons why, as an imploring cry for modern gay men to do more to change the situation. Some powerful quotes from his piece:

Gays are hated. Prove me wrong. Your top general just called us immoral. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is in charge of an estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian troops, some fighting for our country in Iraq. A right-wing political commentator, Ann Coulter, gets away with calling a straight presidential candidate a faggot. Even Garrison Keillor, of all people, is making really tacky jokes about gay parents in his column. This, I guess, does not qualify as hate except that it is so distasteful and dumb, often a first step on the way to hate. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama tried to duck the questions that Pace's bigotry raised, confirming what gay people know: that there is not one candidate running for public office anywhere who dares to come right out, unequivocally, and say decent, supportive things about us.

[note - Dennis Kucinich does unequivocally support GLBT causes]

What do we do to you that is so awful? Why do you feel compelled to come after us with such frightful energy? Does this somehow make you feel safer and legitimate? What possible harm comes to you if we marry, or are taxed just like you, or are protected from assault by laws that say it is morally wrong to assault people out of hatred? The reasons always offered are religious ones, but certainly they are not based on the love all religions proclaim.

You may say you don't hate us, but the people you vote for do, so what's the difference? Our own country's democratic process declares us to be unequal. Which means, in a democracy, that our enemy is you. You treat us like crumbs. You hate us. And sadly, we let you.

Image courtesy J. Mikula

- JNM

Elton John will turn you gay

At least, that's what church leaders in the Carribbean nation of Tobago think, according to the Australian paper the Herald-Sun. Sir Elton John is due to play at the Plymouth Jazz Festival there next month. The article said:

The Archdeacon of Trinidad and Tobago, Philip Isaac, said Sir Elton's lifestyle failed to conform to Biblical teaching.

"The artist is one of God's children and while his lifestyle is questionable he needs to be ministered unto," he said.

"His visit to the island can open the country to be tempted towards pursuing his lifestyle."

Homosexuals can be barred from entering the country, but it is believed no one has ever been turned away at immigration because of their sexuality.

Image courtesy www.elton-john.net

- JNM

McCain "Not Sure" if Condoms Prevent HIV

According to The Caucus Blog, McCain stumbled when asked by a reporter on his "Straight Talk Express" bus if taxpayer money should be used to pay for contraceptives in places ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. What follows is a transcript from the interview:

Mr. McCain: “I haven’t thought about it. Before I give you an answer, let me think about. Let me think about it a little bit because I never got a question about it before. I don’t know if I would use taxpayers’ money for it.”

Reporter: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”

Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”

Reporter: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”

Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was.”

Reporter: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”

Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver [McCain's senior adviser] to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”

So... McCain... isn't sure if contraceptives stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, and, despite his lack of knowledge, supports President Bush's abstince-only approach to controlling the HIV/AIDS pandemic abroad and sex education at home? Brilliant.

- JNM

Genetically Altered Not Gay Son of a Preacher Man

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler recently said that if a genetic cause of homosexuality is found, Christians should jump on board the genetic cure train. Though this completely contradicts his church's philosophy on stem cell research, Mohler is confident that a gay gene will not be found.

In other words, Mohler thinks that there might be something too this whole thing called genetics, but for Christ's sake, Jesus ain't messing around with cells. Confused? Read the Bible. There's a lot in it about the difference between stem cells for curing cancer and stem cells for 'curing' homosexuality.

-B.W.

Image courtesy of gaybabydiaperhangout.com

This is so gay

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-B.W.