The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
(I second everything Joe has said here! - promoted by Lurleen)
In an e-mail to supporters, Dr. Shilpen Patel, Co-chair of the Board of Directors for Equal Rights Washington announced that Josh Friedes will be the new Executive Director of Equal Rights Washington.
Full disclosure, Josh is a friend of mine. We worked closely together on the Washington Families Standing Together to Approve Referendum 71 campaign that brought the historic expansion of LGBT rights to Washington families last November.
Josh was the Campaign Director. I've never seen anyone work so hard for our community. He almost never slept. He was constantly planning, and it was clear he felt the gravity of the responsibility on his shoulders. Over 5000 families depended on his leadership to mobilize the community to vote to approve the expansion of rights for LGBT families for the first time in United States History.
And mobilize the community he did. The campaign built one of the largest (if not the largest) coalitions in state history. With the partnership of Campaign Chair Anne Levinson, he built a team, with some of the state's best political minds and strategists. This coordinating committee, which I was humbled to be a part of, worked together better than any team I've ever been a member of. Josh and Anne deserve the credit for setting the tone early on that allowed us to function so well together.
I can only imagine how our opponents must feel knowing Josh is not going anywhere any time soon. If my joy and optimism for our future is any indication, they are probably wondering how they will ever compete against us again.
Josh is the first to admit that we are not quite ready for marriage equality in this state. We need to continue to have positive conversations with our friends, families, neighbors, and co-workers about equal rights. We need to invite our straight allies to come out in support of us. As Josh has pointed out, we need to do this before we are in campaign mode.
Once we have our friends lined up, I'm confident that Josh will lead us to victory once more. In fact, if our opponents are smart, they will stay out of the way. Progress is inevitable. Equality is inevitable. With Josh guiding us through our political landscape, that inevitability will be as soon as possible.
Congratulations Josh! I'm proud to have you as a friend, and I'm even prouder to work with you to bring our future closer to a reality. Let's make history once more.
Thursday the Washington State Senate passed HB 2801, An act relating to anti-harassment strategies in public schools. The vote was 48-0 in the State Senate and 97-0 in the State House. Impressive.
Although an anti-bullying law was passed in Washington State in 2002, a report released in 2008 showed that bullying hadn't abated. Further legislation was needed. Joshua Friedes, the new Executive Director for Equal Rights Washington (woot!) explains:
Background
In 2002 the Washington State legislature passed an anti-bullying law. At the time the bill that was meant to protect ALL students from bullying was controversial because it included sexual orientation. The anti-bullying law required schools to adopt an anti-bullying policy that covered, at a minimum, all the classes contained in Washington State's hate crimes law and this included sexual orientation. In 2009 the definition of sexual orientation was amended to include gender identity and expression.
In 2007 the scope of the anti-bullying law was expanded to include electronic acts, and the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) was directed to develop a model policy and sample materials prohibiting acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying conducted via electronic means by a student while on school grounds and during the school day.
Meanwhile, the legislature commissioned a report to study the effectiveness of the State's anti-bullying law. The Report was released in late 2008 and found that bullying in Washington Schools had not diminished. New legislation was needed.
Equal Right Washington Education Fund has launched the new community education ad "Am I Protected?".
Every day, LGBT people face inequalities that just don't make sense, from small acts of discrimination to ones with tragic consequences. The hard reality is that we find out what rights we don't have when we need them the most. For many of us, that means that we have to ask ourselves, am I protected?
Unfortunately too many of us avoid that question and lapse into inaction, maybe hoping someone will act for us. And we're all well aware that too many of our straight friends and neighbors don't even know the question exists. These two groups, I presume, are the audience for this ad.
The answer to the question is "no", and the solution to the problem is taking personal action in making change for ourselves. Sometimes all it takes is having an informative chat with a friend to bring them up to speed. Believe it or not, a friend of mine just found that his hair stylist in Seattle did not know about Referendum 71. If this is not proof that we need to take every opportunity we have between now and Nov. 3rd to talk to everyone we know until they mark "approved" on R-71 and mail in that ballot, I don't know what is.
Charlene Strong lost her partner Kate Fleming after a tragic flooding incident in Seattle in late 2006, and was nearly barred from seeing Fleming in her last moments of life. Strong's heart-wrenching testimony about the hospital ordeal helped prompt Washington State to pass domestic partnership protections for same-sex couples. The award-winning feature documentary for my wife chronicles Strong's journey through tragedy to activism.
According to ERWEF director Connie Watts via the SLOG, the ad is airing "though the end of the week in Seattle, Walla Walla, Yakima, Tri Cities, Vancouver, and Bellingham." After that, "we are giving opportunities on our website for people to buy more airtime anywhere they would like to." Looks like you can buy a spot in Yakima for only $17!
UPDATE: Gary Randall's daily blog post tells us all we need to know. More at end of diary.There is a new entry on Protect Marriage Washington's endorsement list: "Pastor Tim Robinson, CityGate Church of Puyallup". Take a look at the awesome resources at this pastor's disposal. The church has no website and isn't even listed in several area church directories. However, there was one mention of Pastor Robinson last year in the Tacoma News Tribune. The title speaks for itself: "40 Days For Life: Vigil or Harassment?"
PMW can't even assemble a convincing religious veneer for their hate-mongering money grab. This does not bode well for the success of their petition drive or for their acceptance by the general public.
For the second time this year, Washington's Governor Chris Gregoire has had the honor of advancing civil rights with her mighty pen. Governor Gregoire has been a steadfast ally. Here is what she said when the House passed SB 5688, the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill of 2009:
"I want to thank the legislators who worked tirelessly to get this bill passed in the House. This legislation will expand basic benefits, provide better financial security and ensure equal treatment for domestic partners living in Washington state. Our state is one that thrives on diversity. We have to respect and protect all families that make up our communities."
The question remains when the bill will take effect. Because Oregonian Gary Randall and & his bumbling Washington operative Larry Stickney are proceeding with their cash cow fools errand of a ReferenDUMB, the law will remain in limbo until they fail to return enough valid signatures by the deadline of July 25th.
The media support for the DP bill is significant, and must be really demoralizing to the anti-equality sector if it's making me so happy. However, the press has yet to examine the frequent claim that domestic partnerships are "everything but marriage". Larry Stickney, who filed the referendum paperwork on behalf of Oregonian Gary Randall, frequently makes statements like this:
"It is everything but marriage without the word, but it elevates the homosexual relationship to the same level as marriage," he said. "There's no legal difference. All it is is the name."
Washington's hate-crime law makes it a felony to threaten, damage the property of, or physically injure someone because of ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation. The law Gov. Gregoire just signed will expand the definition of sexual orientation to include "gender expression or identity" so that our hate crimes statutes protect transgender people too.
Washington is arguably one of the best states in the country for transgender people to live. Just look at this phenomenal track record.
In 2006 the legislature passed the inclusive non-discrimination bill that protects LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace, housing and public accommodation. Gov. Gregoire signed that bill into law.
In 2008, King County voters overwhelmingly (71%) approved amending the county charter to add disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression to the prohibited grounds for discrimination in county employment and county contracting.
In 2007, 2008 & 2009 the legislature created and then fully expanded domestic partnerships. The governor will sign the ultimate bill this week.
Kudos to Equal Rights Washington** for making this bill a top priority during the Equality Day of lobbying, and for helping identify the best people to testify at legislative hearings. ERW is fully committed to transgender equality, as is apparent by the list of successes above.
But SUPER KUDOS go the Washington Student Lobby, and David Iseminger in particular, who made passage of this bill a priority.
Hate crimes make campus feel less safe for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, [David] Iseminger said. Iseminger represents the WSL and graduate students at UW.
"Safety isn't a privilege; it is a right," said Iseminger. "You can't excel in an academic environment if you're worried about your own safety."...
"After hearing firsthand the stories of the attacks at Washington State University, I knew I had to do everything I could to pass this bill" said Iseminger.
If you ask me, the future of LGBT civil rights looks better than ever because David's generation is entering the fray.
If you live in Washington, please take a moment and sign Equal Rights Washington's Marriage Equality Petition. Ask your friends and family in Washington to do the same. If you like to text 'n tweet, here's a tinyURL (http://tiny.cc/6jnGr) to make it easier to pass the link along.
Who knew that the executive session of a House committee could be so riveting? I only tuned in for the satisfaction of hearing SB 5688, the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill of 2009, get the stamp of approval from the House Judiciary Committee. That happened, but not before the committee debated and voted on fourteen (14!) amendments** to the bill.
Reading the summaries of these amendments, I had to ask why in the world would their authors embarrass themselves by wasting valuable committee time debating what were redundant, out of scope, mean spirited and sometimes unconstitutional amendments? Well, the answer came, at least in part, in some emails today (see below flip).
**The amendments, WHICH ALL FAILED, did things like restate the state's DOMA law; make legal loopholes for religious people who discriminate; establish a 1 year residency req't for marrying or DPing here; establish a 1913 law; parental consent on any curriculum particle any parent may disapprove of; place a referendum clause in the bill.
Dominic Holden over at The Stranger's SLOG has it right. He's calling today's anti-equality rally in Olympia a Last Gasp. The rally was organized specifically to show opposition to the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill of 2009. The bill has already passed in the Senate, and has enough co-sponsors in the House to all but assure passage. And the governor is eager to sign.
Holden quotes Senator Ed Murray, co-author of the bill
I think the rally is probably more of an attempt by certain organizations to find a reason for being, to fill their own coffers and keep their own organization going. They are down in polls and down in the legislature. It is not a happy time for them.
"What they are trying to say is if you vote for this bill we will try to get you in November and look how strong we are," says Friedes. "I don't think they have that kind of strength to affect candidate election outcomes." But, he notes, anti-gay-marriage sentiment may be strong enough to pass an initiative or referendum banning gay marriage.
UPDATE: Josh, who I've known for many years back from his days at the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts and MassEquality, e-mailed me to elaborate on his statements, saying:
The public is not yet fully comfortable with the idea of marriage equality but the conversation around the domestic partnership bill has helped voters and legislators understand why anything less than marriage is less than equal. The good news is that public polls done by the University of Washington show that there is very strong public support for the contents of the domestic partnership bill and growing support for marriage equality. So we need time to build public support for marriage equality in Washington state. We will move a marriage equality bill when we can win a referendum. While we do this important work, LGBT families in Washington will have the protections afforded by the the domestic partnership law.
Some personal observations of the day after the flip. But first, please, DONATE a few bucks to Equal Rights Washington. They are the organization standing between us and The Washington Hate Coalition. Like most non-profits, they have had to lay off an employee due to major budget cuts. We need them. Please give.
Thursday was Equality Lobby Day 2009, organized by the talented people at Equal Rights Washington. Equality supporters from all over the state came together and
thanked our senators for voting for the DP Expansion Bill and adding gender identity and expression to the hate crimes law.
UPDATE: According to the SLOG, we'd better got off our butts NOW if we want this legislation to pass. The ads are working, and legislators in swing districts are being flooded with personal letters from haters. CALL ON YOUR FRIENDS IN SWING DISTRICTS to contact their legislators TODAY. The next crucial vote will happen this week, before Equality Lobby Day happens.
"We have gotten maybe 250 emails in opposition that are very personal in the last two weeks," says one swing-district legislator who asked to not be named. He describes the arguments against the bill as "quite Biblical" and "heated." At a senate hearing on the bill in February, senator Darlene Fairley (D-32) noted that "a ton of people" signed up to speak. The crowd of about 250 was stacked five-to-one against the bill, [bill author Senator] Murray says.
The Washington Values Alliance has released ads containing the usual scare tactics and exhorting viewers to contact specific state legislators. The lies and ooga boogas include:
But there's a catch. Numerous sections of the bill that involve retirement benefits for civil servants, taxes and other items won't go into effect until January, 2012 or August 2012. (See the last page of the bill for the list of sections of concern, and cross reference with this website to understand to which statutes they refer.)
According to the Seattle PI, the delay in the effective date of these sections is in response to the bad economic situation in the State of Washington. But doesn't encoding a delay set a bad precedent that it's ok to continue to withhold civil rights from minorities if the state is hard up? Presumably, any heterosexual couple getting married today or on the day the DP legislation is signed would be eligible for these benefits immediately. And there are a lot more married heteros than there ever will be DP'd LGBTs burdening the system.
So, I ask again. Is this delay fair or wise? I haven't yet had a chance to call my reps or senator to ask their thoughts.
Washington state introduced Registered Domestic Partnerships in July of 2007. Initially, DPs were minimal in scope. They were expanded somewhat in 2008.
Today, two bills were filed in Olympia, the Domestic Partnership Expansion Bill of 2009 (SB 5688, HB 1727) and a Marriage Equality Bill (SB 5674). According to the Seattle Times the DP bill will make DPs equal to civil marriage in all but name. Signs are positive that the bill will pass.
UPDATE: According to the Seattle PI (long may it thrive), parts of the legislation wouldn't go into effect for several years. What do you think about this? I'm afraid it sets a really bad precedent that it's ok to keep discriminating against same-gender couples if the state is in bad financial times. And adoption should be the FIRST measure adopted, not one of the last.
Owing to the state's fiscal crisis, two major aspects of the bill would be delayed until 2012 because of their major fiscal impact. They would include state employee pension and survivor benefits, estate taxes and the uniform parenting plan, which deals with children of either straight or gay couples who have adopted a child.
Equal Rights Washington has launched an exciting video project. The One Minute For Marriage Equality video testimony project is collecting online testimonies in favor of full marriage equality. As a community we need to move both hearts and minds to strengthen support for full marriage equality. Video testimonies have proven to be a vital campaign tool, connecting state legislators to their district supporters and encouraging a diverse audience to express their wish for marriage equality.
ERW invites all our friends and allies to join us. In your own words, tell us why marriage equality is important to you and why it is crucial to pass a full marriage equality bill.
Although the project focuses on Washington residents, submissions from friends and allies everywhere are welcome. After all, marriage knows no boundary and equality is a universal human right.
In an e-mail to supporters, Dr. Shilpen Patel, Co-chair of the Board of Directors for Equal Rights Washington announced that Josh Friedes will be the new Executive Director of Equal Rights Washington.
The question remains when the bill will take effect. Because 
However, the press has yet to examine the frequent claim that domestic partnerships are "everything but marriage". 
Dominic Holden over at The Stranger's SLOG 
