By Zamná Ávila
As discussion heat up across the country revolving the right of gays and lesbians, some businesses are staking out their profit share through new technology.
Gay-centric entertainment site publisher MoxieQ, which formats its content for mobile phones and personal computers, recently launched an application that allows users to voice their opinion on local legislation that impacts LGBT people.
The “Give ‘Em Hell” application uses a click-to-call method to contact lawmakers through a cell phone on http://m.moxieq.com/site/act/.
Some activists, such as Inclusive ENDA, also are using social networking sites as an outlet for users to become more involved. Inclusive ENDA has established a spreadsheet, http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://bit.ly/lmPFk, which provides information about representatives. The group also established http://www.facebook.com/l/;http:votesmart.org to help voters find who their representatives are.
I guess, the phone book, like newspapers are a thing of the past.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Zombie
Perhaps you’re not dead
Every remote connection to you
to us
brings you back to life
Perhaps you’re not dead
Because with every memory I feel pain
What could have been.
What actually happened.
What I could have done to avoid it.
Perhaps you’re not dead
And, you’re not
Although you should be dead in my heart
Because the us no longer exists
And the us will no longer be
It’s just a recording in my mind
A wish without fruition
Perhaps you’re not dead
Yet, ceased your breath, your heartbeat
Every remote connection to you
to us
brings you back to life
Perhaps you’re not dead
Because with every memory I feel pain
What could have been.
What actually happened.
What I could have done to avoid it.
Perhaps you’re not dead
And, you’re not
Although you should be dead in my heart
Because the us no longer exists
And the us will no longer be
It’s just a recording in my mind
A wish without fruition
Perhaps you’re not dead
Yet, ceased your breath, your heartbeat
Bodies in motion stay in motion
There is no question that change cannot roll into action through inertia. Inertia has, indeed slowed down progress. And, as long as the LGBT community continues to accept second class citizenship, they will continue to be separate but equal in the eyes of the law.
Last week, The San Francisco Chronicle Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that it's only a matter of time before gay marriage is recognized in California.
Schwarzenegger, who did not directly say he supported same sex marriage, may have a point. But how much time is needed before couples are eligible to have the benefits and responsibilities of a legal marriage is dependent on the people who seek these rights.
Demanding our rights as taxpayers takes more than walking on the streets and chanting in anger after the fact. Lobbying, educating, advocating and stepping out of one’s comfort zone, will only bring about change.
Same-sex marriage is only one issue that the LGBT community faces.
Recently, I reported on the perils people living with HIV-AIDS encounter if the governor’s budget proposals are accepted. Again, the people have an opportunity to weigh in on their concerns with lawmakers. Are we doing it?
Activists and lobbyist also are seeking to introduce an inclusive Employment nondiscrimination act that provides protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity. Call the U.S. Capitol at (202) 224-3121. Ask for your representative, express your concerns, and take action.
Last week, The San Francisco Chronicle Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that it's only a matter of time before gay marriage is recognized in California.
Schwarzenegger, who did not directly say he supported same sex marriage, may have a point. But how much time is needed before couples are eligible to have the benefits and responsibilities of a legal marriage is dependent on the people who seek these rights.
Demanding our rights as taxpayers takes more than walking on the streets and chanting in anger after the fact. Lobbying, educating, advocating and stepping out of one’s comfort zone, will only bring about change.
Same-sex marriage is only one issue that the LGBT community faces.
Recently, I reported on the perils people living with HIV-AIDS encounter if the governor’s budget proposals are accepted. Again, the people have an opportunity to weigh in on their concerns with lawmakers. Are we doing it?
Activists and lobbyist also are seeking to introduce an inclusive Employment nondiscrimination act that provides protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity. Call the U.S. Capitol at (202) 224-3121. Ask for your representative, express your concerns, and take action.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Grace under fire
When Mari Moreno moved to the West Coast from the South more than 12 years ago she hoped to find a place where she could continue to nourish her religious development. Magnetically, she was pulled to its door steps as she drove through St. Matthew’s Parish in Long Beach.
“I said, ‘That’s the church I need to go to,’” said Moreno, a local middle school teacher. “I don’t even know how I found the church. I think the church found me.”
Rev. Gerald Meisel, who advised her to join Comunidad (Community in Spanish), confirmed her notion. Comunidad is a Catholic outreach that ministers to gays and lesbians.
“(Comunidad) seemed to go with my spiritual growth,” Moreno said.
St. Matthew’s is one of seven of the 283 parishes in the Los Angeles diocese that have agreed to host similar ministries. About 30 to 50 people show up the first Tuesday of every month to share their experiences, announcements, receive guidance from guest speakers and participate in church-related activities such as the reenactment of the apparitions of the Lady of Guadalupe celebrated Dec. 12, a Mexican icon believed to be the Virgin Mary.
Comunidad co-chair Ray Ramirez says the ministry reflects his heritage.
“It is the faith of my parents, grandparents and sisters,” Ramirez, 57, said. “I feel at home with my Roman Catholic faith tradition.”
Comunidad was born in 1986, when the archdiocese decided not to allow the use church property and exclusive mass for DignityUSA, an organization of LGBT Catholics that publicly condoned sexual relations of homosexuals. The then Archbishop Roger Mahony (now cardinal) asked parishes if they would host an outreach ministry for the gay and lesbian community. St. Matthew’s was one of the first to accept the invitation.
“The good news is for all human beings regardless of color, sex or race,” said Rev. Guillermo Rodriguez, the parish pastor. “No church can refuse a homosexual for being a homosexual.”
Admittedly, controversy also looms on the parish, which is about 70 percent Hispanic. The some congregants oppose the presence of Comunidad. Rodriguez attributes that rejection to the clash of male chauvinism prevalent in Hispanic cultures and church tradition.
As the pastor of the parish, his role on the issue can be complicated, he said. On one hand, he understands that the gays and lesbians need acceptance and compassion, and on the other, he is charged with upholding Catholic tradition, which views homosexual sex as premarital sex and recognizes only marriage between opposite sex couples.
“You can have the feelings but you can’t practice it,” Rodriguez said. “Mi responsibility is to make clear the principles and values in which we believe. Individuals, in their conscience, have the last word.”
Recently, gay and lesbian parishioners expressed their discontent toward the pastor for printing statements from the Catholic Bishops of California on St. Matthew’s newsletter. The statements were titled, “Traditional Marriage is the Foundation of Society,” “Marriage Pre-exists Church and Government,” and “Marriage and the Well Being of Children.” Some threatened to stop participating in church activities and request that others follow in economically boycotting the parish.
But you don’t change minds and hearts by being separate, said Steven Nadolny, former co-chairman of Comunidad and former Dignity member. Yet, he admits that although his faith has never wavered, Roman Catholic policies are challenging
“My relationship with God was never an issue,” said Naldony, 47. “(But) it is difficult to want to remain in a church that is basically spending megabucks to say that my love isn’t as good as theirs.”
Why do many of Catholics maintain their religion? Historically the Catholic Church tends to change from the ground up versus from the pope down, Naldony said.
Ramirez likens his participation to his American citizenship.
“I have every right to participate because of my baptismal right,” Ramirez said. “I may not agree with everything that happens in Washington (D.C.) but I’m not going to give up my American citizenship.”
Moreover, there is more to being a Catholic than what happens behind the closed doors, Moreno said.
“My sexuality is not something I can choose,” she said. “It is a gift; a very small gift of the great gifts we are given as human beings. If we limit ourselves in focusing on the one gift of a person then we forget to see all their beauty.”
Comunidad meets the first Tuesday of each month at St. Matthew’s Parish, 672 Temple Ave. in Long Beach.
Details: visit www.comunidadlb.org
For information about Dignity visit: www.dignityusa.org
“I said, ‘That’s the church I need to go to,’” said Moreno, a local middle school teacher. “I don’t even know how I found the church. I think the church found me.”
Rev. Gerald Meisel, who advised her to join Comunidad (Community in Spanish), confirmed her notion. Comunidad is a Catholic outreach that ministers to gays and lesbians.
“(Comunidad) seemed to go with my spiritual growth,” Moreno said.
St. Matthew’s is one of seven of the 283 parishes in the Los Angeles diocese that have agreed to host similar ministries. About 30 to 50 people show up the first Tuesday of every month to share their experiences, announcements, receive guidance from guest speakers and participate in church-related activities such as the reenactment of the apparitions of the Lady of Guadalupe celebrated Dec. 12, a Mexican icon believed to be the Virgin Mary.
Comunidad co-chair Ray Ramirez says the ministry reflects his heritage.
“It is the faith of my parents, grandparents and sisters,” Ramirez, 57, said. “I feel at home with my Roman Catholic faith tradition.”
Comunidad was born in 1986, when the archdiocese decided not to allow the use church property and exclusive mass for DignityUSA, an organization of LGBT Catholics that publicly condoned sexual relations of homosexuals. The then Archbishop Roger Mahony (now cardinal) asked parishes if they would host an outreach ministry for the gay and lesbian community. St. Matthew’s was one of the first to accept the invitation.
“The good news is for all human beings regardless of color, sex or race,” said Rev. Guillermo Rodriguez, the parish pastor. “No church can refuse a homosexual for being a homosexual.”
Admittedly, controversy also looms on the parish, which is about 70 percent Hispanic. The some congregants oppose the presence of Comunidad. Rodriguez attributes that rejection to the clash of male chauvinism prevalent in Hispanic cultures and church tradition.
As the pastor of the parish, his role on the issue can be complicated, he said. On one hand, he understands that the gays and lesbians need acceptance and compassion, and on the other, he is charged with upholding Catholic tradition, which views homosexual sex as premarital sex and recognizes only marriage between opposite sex couples.
“You can have the feelings but you can’t practice it,” Rodriguez said. “Mi responsibility is to make clear the principles and values in which we believe. Individuals, in their conscience, have the last word.”
Recently, gay and lesbian parishioners expressed their discontent toward the pastor for printing statements from the Catholic Bishops of California on St. Matthew’s newsletter. The statements were titled, “Traditional Marriage is the Foundation of Society,” “Marriage Pre-exists Church and Government,” and “Marriage and the Well Being of Children.” Some threatened to stop participating in church activities and request that others follow in economically boycotting the parish.
But you don’t change minds and hearts by being separate, said Steven Nadolny, former co-chairman of Comunidad and former Dignity member. Yet, he admits that although his faith has never wavered, Roman Catholic policies are challenging
“My relationship with God was never an issue,” said Naldony, 47. “(But) it is difficult to want to remain in a church that is basically spending megabucks to say that my love isn’t as good as theirs.”
Why do many of Catholics maintain their religion? Historically the Catholic Church tends to change from the ground up versus from the pope down, Naldony said.
Ramirez likens his participation to his American citizenship.
“I have every right to participate because of my baptismal right,” Ramirez said. “I may not agree with everything that happens in Washington (D.C.) but I’m not going to give up my American citizenship.”
Moreover, there is more to being a Catholic than what happens behind the closed doors, Moreno said.
“My sexuality is not something I can choose,” she said. “It is a gift; a very small gift of the great gifts we are given as human beings. If we limit ourselves in focusing on the one gift of a person then we forget to see all their beauty.”
Comunidad meets the first Tuesday of each month at St. Matthew’s Parish, 672 Temple Ave. in Long Beach.
Details: visit www.comunidadlb.org
For information about Dignity visit: www.dignityusa.org
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Firecracking Independence Day
Two days after the country observed 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and less than a week before the Fourth of July President Obama spoke to an LGBT group during a cocktail reception at East Room of the White House.
According to the Associated Press, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to champion equal rights for gays and lesbians.
“I will not only be your friend, I will be your ally … a president who fights with you and for you,” Obama said.
This, in response to criticism that his administration has not followed through with his campaign promises to further the causes and alleviate the struggles of LGBT people in the country, among them, eliminating the on gays in the military.
He said he is working to pass an employee nondiscrimination bill and a hate crime bill that protects gays and lesbian, and he plans to help end the ban on entry of people living with HIV to the United States.
The president recently issued a memorandum expanding some federal benefits to same-sex partners, excluding health benefits and pension guarantees.
Although he has asked Congress to repeal the Defense on Marriage Act, which limits the recognition of life partners and their benefits at local, state and federal levels. The president made his stance early on in his campaign: He believes in a civil union contract for everyone across the board but marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine; point taken. You can’t build a city in one day or seven months. The one problem I see is that, probably because of whatever religious brainwashing he shares with most of the country, he doesn’t understand that marriage is a civil union contract.
The importance of the word marriage has less to do with the “man” and “woman” definition then the recognition and validity in a state or country. The error starts with us allowing the distribution of legal marriage documents to clergy. If they want to call their ceremonies marriage, great, call it religious marriage. But a legal marriage, a contractual document that provides every age-of-consent human being with rights, benefits and responsibilities should be handled only by governmental bodies. Finito.
Independence Day, a day when the founders of the country, thought ahead to separate church and state seems to be a mockery.
Here we are 2009, 233 years later, and we still have segregation. A group of people still are considered second class citizens and we are offered separate but equal status.
So, as the fire crackers go off, the LGBT community should formulate a plan to stop paying taxes, as they did with the Boston Tea Party, pick and choose who we allow in our establishments and who choose to serve.
Maybe then, our president and all these “conservative” lawmakers having affairs while preaching family values, would appreciate what life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness truly means.
According to the Associated Press, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to champion equal rights for gays and lesbians.
“I will not only be your friend, I will be your ally … a president who fights with you and for you,” Obama said.
This, in response to criticism that his administration has not followed through with his campaign promises to further the causes and alleviate the struggles of LGBT people in the country, among them, eliminating the on gays in the military.
He said he is working to pass an employee nondiscrimination bill and a hate crime bill that protects gays and lesbian, and he plans to help end the ban on entry of people living with HIV to the United States.
The president recently issued a memorandum expanding some federal benefits to same-sex partners, excluding health benefits and pension guarantees.
Although he has asked Congress to repeal the Defense on Marriage Act, which limits the recognition of life partners and their benefits at local, state and federal levels. The president made his stance early on in his campaign: He believes in a civil union contract for everyone across the board but marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine; point taken. You can’t build a city in one day or seven months. The one problem I see is that, probably because of whatever religious brainwashing he shares with most of the country, he doesn’t understand that marriage is a civil union contract.
The importance of the word marriage has less to do with the “man” and “woman” definition then the recognition and validity in a state or country. The error starts with us allowing the distribution of legal marriage documents to clergy. If they want to call their ceremonies marriage, great, call it religious marriage. But a legal marriage, a contractual document that provides every age-of-consent human being with rights, benefits and responsibilities should be handled only by governmental bodies. Finito.
Independence Day, a day when the founders of the country, thought ahead to separate church and state seems to be a mockery.
Here we are 2009, 233 years later, and we still have segregation. A group of people still are considered second class citizens and we are offered separate but equal status.
So, as the fire crackers go off, the LGBT community should formulate a plan to stop paying taxes, as they did with the Boston Tea Party, pick and choose who we allow in our establishments and who choose to serve.
Maybe then, our president and all these “conservative” lawmakers having affairs while preaching family values, would appreciate what life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness truly means.
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